This needs to be pinned, the research you did on the lore is Awesome!

Are Fan Fictions stories by fans about videogames?

Pretty much (not so much videogames, but the universe they are in - see The Infernal City; not a game but based on the same universe), although mine are somewhat atypical. You'll find very fine examples elsewhere in this forum.

That was another great piece of work. I love this thread keep up the good work.

Lorca, two things:

One, the stories are excellent. Could you not expand some of those into full length fanfics? Please?

Two: your grasp of the lore is excellent. I have not seen a single challenge so far, and this forum is full of those who can see discrepancies if there were any. KUDOS!!!!

I can see when I'm on to a winner, and a loser - the Books the former, the traditional FF the latter. I'll carry on the story of the latter if demand is expressed. Back to the stories!

The Song of Martin, Part 1.
By Lorcka of Summerset.

I
Martin our Prince, the blessed of Divine Men and Mer,
Hath spent his years in sorrow, to Time sending prayer,
The Usurped City bravely under his faith unimpaired,
Unaware of the Dragonblood in the heart of this heir,
The burghers of Kvatch in his maxims finding care,
The flames of the past forgotten in cold mountain air.
Mehrunes the Enemy feareth not servants of Time,
In the wastes of Oblivion he plotted his foul crime,
In defence, the people of a city a last and only line.

II
The good Emperor takes flight in corridors hidden away,
Princes and sons by traitors and cultists swiftly slain,
The fate of a repentant Prisoner decided that starting day,
By efforts of brave Blades viscous knives are allayed.
Called the Lord forth the Prisoner and spoketh his last words:
"Stand against the Prince of Destruction and his mortal servants.
He must not have the Amulet of Kings. Take the Amulet,
Give it to the Spymaster. He alone knows where to find my last son.
Find him, and close shut the jaws of Oblivion."
With such words the Prisoner knew his grave given duty,
Seek out the Spymaster and save the Starry Heart of Dawn's Beauty.

III
In silence the Spymaster sat, stalwart and gallant,
The story of a conjuring Prisoner giving horror and truth,
To the Prisoner the location of the Prince he did grant.
The Walls of Kvatch, no longer stood strong,
For wicked spawn from Oblivion carried them in fight,
The people slain in terror, town guard held the night.
Smoking red sky and foul fire spewing gate,
Now held the plateau, binding good Prince in doom,
The Soldier leading his men in hopeless darkened gloom.
The Prisoner heeded the Soldier and entered the gate,
The spark from his fingers saving a captive from his fate,
In struggle with demons he battled cruel Dremora power,
Clashing with the heinous he scaled a bloody tower,
At the end of this trial he grasped an unholy stone,
From the Deadlands of the Daedra the volunteer was thrown.
Honour bound and soaked with fury the guards yelled their charge,
With gleaning swords and flying arrows laying Daedra to cold ground,
Guards in blood sacrifice to their worthy town, the Soldier lead them on,
A stone chapel standing defiantly against the enemy horde,
The Prisoner found the Prince tending to his flock,
But deigned to battle onwards, the Daedra throng to stop.
Legion and demons in ancient bloodsport fought,
In arena now cast down, where now brave men did bleed,
The gate now lifted led Soldier, Legion and Prisoner in,
To castle under evil master, their Count most good to find,
The warriors in the fire no goodness found within,
But only the ring of a righteous man, his body now maligned.

IV
Says the Prisoner to the Prince, his identity now known,
Come back to a holy place and claim your rightful throne,
Riding back to the Spymaster, this place beset with blood,
Found the greatest soul gem of our time vanished and gone.
Making haste to a fortress, Prisoner, Prince and Spymaster,
Forged scheme to recover the sacred gem, theft of it disaster,
The city of White Gold, Prisoner found messages kept obscure,
To the home of evil blasphemers a death he brought most sure,
Master spirited away to a tempered realm of his own creation,
The holy gem of ancient souls held in his personification.

I am so glad you did not drop this thread, this has been one of my favorites since you started it! Awesome!

Orphans of the Stars
By Lorcka of Summerset

Many traditions tell us that although the trickster Lorkhan was the one who manipulated et'Ada into the creation of the mortal plane, the ultimate architect of our world was in fact the sorcerer god Magnus. He withdrew at the last moment, unwilling to involve himself in the sundering required, also unwilling to dwell in the realm of Oblivion as Daedra, unsundered yet still involved in our plane. Rather, he fled Oblivion for Aetherius.

In the process of fleeing he ripped a great hole in Oblivion, which mortal eyes perceive as the great source of light seen during day. Similar Anuic beings followed his lead, tearing smaller holes in the fabric, which we interpret as the stellar constellations.

Magnus is, to mages and Altmer in particular, one of the most compelling divine characters in all Tamrielic mythology. Without his last minute choice to leave, we would not be bathed in the divine light and magic which blankets our world in magicka, for any and all to use. The actions of the Magna Ge give us our birthsigns, which even the most inept user of magicka could use. Without Magnus and his choice, our world would be a mundane, trivial and eternally dark place. We would be forced to defend ourselves in fumbling blindness against Daedric aggressors using only the materials of Nirn, not the gifts of Aetherius.

Imagine a world without Restoration, for example; diseases rampant and wounds festering. Magnus spared us this fate. What view should we mortals take of the actions of a god? On first examination Magnus and his children appear indecisive cowards - designing the means to create our plane, but unwilling to put his power into it, as did the et'Ada who became Aedra. Neither was he willing to take any further interest in our plane, like the Daedra. Did he know that mortals would need the gifts of Aetherius, to heal, to defend, and thus make a concious choice to sacrifice his stake in our world and tear a hold in Oblivion for the sake of mortals and our plane?

In reaching Aetherius, could we discover Magnus, long removed from our plane? If so, what would he think of mortals? Pity? Revulsion? Indifference? It seems unclear, given that we cannot know his motives for fleeing. Both men and mer attempts have been made in the past to reach Aetherius, in the form of the Altmer Sun Birds of Alinor and the Reman legacy of the Imperial Mananauts. Neither were able to give us any new insights on Magnus or his children. Such attempts have now been largely abandoned by scholars, citing the futility of reaching magic by magic.

These expeditions were not wholly without merit, however. These pioneers brought back fragments of Aetherius, commonly known as 'meteors', which also fall to Nirn occasionally. Such fragments, of either 'iron' or 'glass' are incredibly rare, however such fragments are unusually common in the ruin of Ayleids. In the seminal work 'Magic From the Sky', by the late Irlov Jarol, Jarol hypothesises that Ayleid Wells have the purpose of harvesting magic from Aetherius. However, they are place seemingly at random. Their function today seems unusually charitable for a race of viscous slave-keepers and torturers. Is it possible that these 'wells' are in fact launching sites to recover the fragments of Aetherius, or some sort of beacon to draw in the falling fragments? 'Varla' stones, literally translated as "star stone", support this idea. The Ayleids seemed to find their wells worth building, reaping the magickal rewards. Should we now abandon our efforts to reach the purest magicka of Aetherius?

Your research is amazing!

The Kamal Creation Myth
Published by Lorcka of Summerset.

Preface.
I recently received a fragment of an ancient scroll, brought to me by a robed apprentice who had come into possession of it. When I asked about its origin, he said that it came only from '...a friend in the east', and was originally found in the possession of one of Almalexia's Hands, elite Tribute guards who patrol the streets of Mournhold. I replicate the fragment of text here:

"In the start there was the divine cold. The cold made the snow. Seeing the snow, two fierce winds howled upon it. The winds raged against each other, casting the blessed snow into the air. The glass passed, and the snow began to settle about the ground.
The winds once again blew, the calm wind triumphing over the winds of discord which would destroy the perfect whiteness. The snow, once disparate flakes, froze into one solid vision of ice. The cold of the sky, the one who laid the snow upon the ground, was frozen also. He shattered, the cold heart of our world thawing in painful fire.
The snow gave birth all. The blessed Snow Hell of the north remained faithful to the vision of the divine cold. The snakes of the south ate the snow. The monkeys danced upon the snow, breaking the surface and creating the thousand islands. The cats fly above the snow and bind themselves to the glass,"

The word "cold" came into play quite a bit, but the vision as you described it was in such detail that it could be visualized easily.

Well, these are Snow Demons we're talking about. Tsaesci have a thing for egg metaphors, the Kamal would probably do the same for the snow and cold.

Oh Darn, I thought you had posted another chapter!

(sorry to tease you like that...here ya go.)

Goblins: Society and Culture
By Lorcka of Summerset.

To many, the creatures known as goblins are best ignored, or left to Fighters Guild patrols. However, far from being mindless beasts, the creatures have a complex clan-like social structure and an almost alien culture. Even within the species itself there is great variation and conflict.

The goblin habitat is always dark, damp and typically underground. Caves appear to be their naturally preferred habitat, but many tribes have emigrated from their original caves to other suitable locations, such as sewers, mines, Ayleid ruins and abandoned First Era forts. The tribe will not hesitate in using force to secure their new home, attacking undead or living residents alike. What prompts the move is unknown, but it is likely that the tribe has become too numerous for their original cave dwelling.

Goblin society is extremely hierarchical, with each member of the tribe having strictly defined duties. The lowest members of the tribe are the rat farmers and chefs, who are easily slain and cowardly by nature. The next tier are the rank-and-file goblin soldiers, typically given poor iron weapons until they can prove their worth. Next are the Skirmishers, who are commonly found in scouting parties, or guarding the entrance to their lair. The Berserkers ar the highest tier of the common soldiery, who take the role of heavy shock troops for the tribe.

The ruling tier consists of the Warlord, or War Chief, colossal beasts who tower over even the tallest Nord. These goblins appear to rule the more mundane aspects of tribe life, as well as deciding when to go to war. Ruling alongside the War Chief is the Shaman, the spiritual leaders of the tribe, who are in in many respects more important than her male counterpart, for only she is permitted to carry the symbolic staff. Her death can plunge a tribe into chaos. They, like we, appear to place great importance on martial prowess and arcane power.

Goblins place great importance on symbols, the various tribes supporting a very materialistic society. Their magical totem is a symbol of the more advanced tribe. Other tribes will attempt to capture it to prove their superiority. The tribe will not cease its efforts to retrieve the staff until it is physically unable to. Those caught in the middle of a goblin war are well advised to flee, for it is when the tribes are at their most fierce. Goblins may also raid isolated settlements to steal trinkets and gems, likely to offer them to the tribal elders in return for favour.

Goblins have also been known to kidnap men and mer, their remains to be found in many goblin dens. This is likely to be a similar show of strength, although darker purposes can be speculated. Curiously, goblins are not necessarily innately hostile to the races of men and mer, for in my travels I discovered a Breton who had assumed the role of Shaman. I have been unable to replicate this strange scenario, however. Their relationship with civilised race is typically one of hostility, savage murder and theft with no overall strategy and purpose beyond the acquisition of wealth. My fellow Altmer have been able to control these beasts, as far as they are able. I have yet to see any good use for them, beyond directing their base savagery. Trusting ones life and defence to these beasts appears to me a great folly, so I am forced to discourage this dangerous practice.

Should a traveller encounter a goblin, they are best advised to run back to civilisation. Goblins always travel in packs, and can quickly overwhelm the strongest defender through strength of numbers. Redguard history tells us that in the early days of the Ra'Gada the settlers fought waves of goblin invasion and viscous goblin hordes, defeating them only through Redguard skill. The civilised races must consider the goblin tribes a mortal enemy, a threat to be exterminated, a threat that cannot be left to grow unchecked. Even placing the foul creatures under our thrall as indentured servants is too dangerous. Contact your local Fighters Guild hall if you wish to help secure your town against this menace.

As a dabbler into 'historical' treatises I must say a HELL YEAH to that kind of research!!!

BTW...since you are so good at 'mock history' could you please take a look at my second last post on "OF Blades, Fights, and Assassins" and give some comments on how I can add a historian's touch to my style?

Sure thing. The dash of history in the last paragraph isn't exactly http://www.imperial-library.info/dfbooks/b087_notesredguard.shtml, though. Well, anymore than the whole universe is mock, anyway!

Sorry it took so long Lorca, I tried to read this last night but every time I got on to read I got pulled away from the PC. Your stories always deserve my full attention, so I waited till I could give it, lol. Really interesting - you are the king of research! - Oh, I found out a piece of Lore today that is Awesome, I am just trying to figure out a way to work it into my story! Lol.

Taxonomy of Oblivion: Fauna
By Lorcka of Summerset

Stunted Scamp
Repens Acutus Minor
The smaller variant of the lesser Daedra Repens Acutus. Physically weaker than the Major variant, they also lack most of its arcane abilities. They rely on a targeted fire spell, and sharp claws, for offence. Like all Daedra they have an innate weakness to shock damage, as well as a resistance to fire. The alchemist has no use for these creatures, as no part of it can be refined to draw out a magical charge of any kind.

Scamp
Repens Acutus Major
A common sight both in the Deadlands and conjurer lairs, the common scamp can be dangerous if underestimated. They appear to take the role of 'hunting dogs' for Dremora, and are used for "trifling tasks" unworthy of other Daedra. Unlike the smaller variant, they may thwart the efforts of a mage using a minor spell reflect spell on itself before commencing battle. Alchemists can remove a portion of their leathery skin, to be dried and ground into poisons. Wortcraft is not recommended, as the primary effect is to damage the arcane reservoir.

Clannfear Runt
Ferinus Armo Minor
The lesser variant of the Clannfear. Similar to the Stunted Scamp, it is smaller and physically weaker than the Clannfear proper. Its claws cannot be ground down to produce potions of any kind.

Clannfear
Ferinus Armo Major
This lizard-like lesser Daedra, base minded and brutal, is among the swiftest species found in the Deadlands, using powerful hind legs to charge toward its enemy. In attack, it uses its spiked crested brow to gore opponents and razor-sharp claws to slice through armour. Even the strongest warrior may find themselves staggered from the viscous assault of the Clannfear. Mortals are advised to kill the beast at a distance, to avoid its devastating melee abilities. It also has an innate ability to reflect a small portion of damage back to its attacker. Clannfear claws have valuable alchemical properties, as the powder may be mixed with distilled water and consumed, curing common diseases.

Daedroth
Megas Lacerta
Although the word 'daedroth' is technically only the singular form of the plural 'daedra', in common parlance it has also come to mean the hulking, reptilian lesser daedra. Resembling a large bipedal crocodile, this giant beast attacks primarily by attempting to lacerate an opponent with its needle-like teeth, after swiping opponents of their feet with powerful arms. They are also able to spit fireballs at range. Before commencing battle, it is able to cast a minor shielding effect on itself. The alchemist, if he is able to fell the creature, may pry its teeth from its jaws. Wortcraft on the powder will produce a Nighteye effect.

Flame Atronach
Malevolens Inflammatio
Any elemental atronach may be found in the wastes of the Deadlands, however the Flame Atronach is most suited to the lava-filled, fiery environment. Taking an almost feminine form, the diminutive creature will attack with fire spells at range. If forced to melee, the flame atronach will throw powerful punches to defend itself. Like all atronachs, it is completely immune to its own element. Like all atronachs, they are immune to poisons and reflect a portion of damage back to their attacker. Mages are well advised to use frost to cool the burning magicka of this creature. Fire Salts may be scraqed from the fallen Flame Atronach. Unsuprisingly, these can be used to create Fire Damage poisons, or Fire Shield potions.

Shock Atronach
Malevolens Fulgur
Another common atronach seen on the planes of Oblivion, and the most dangerous elemental variant. The beast resembles a chaotic mass of boulders, although takes a vaguely humanoid form. Attacking with Shock Damage from range and on touch, it can also lash out with its unique form. It cannot be paralysed with potions or spells. Salts scraqed from its fallen form are unique among the atronach alchemical offerings, as they can be used to create Restore Magicka potions.

Frost Atronach
Malevolens Gelus
The rarest form of atronach seen in the Deadlands, they resemble blocks of ice in humanoid form. Slow and sluggish, most adventurers should be able to bring them down with a fire effect at range, dodging their frost attacks. Scrapings may be used in a similar manner to Fire Salts.

Spider Daedra
Arachnida Atrox
Although traditionally in service to Mephala the Webspinner, Spider Daedra can also be found in the Deadlands. Resembling a female form on a grotesque arachnid abdomen, the Spider Daedra attacks with lightning and a poison spit. They will invariably summon a Spiderling in battle, tiny creatures which will paralyse their foes. Prolonged battle is ill-advised, as the Spider Daedra can restore itself. They are surprisingly weak to frost attacks, however. Alchemists can draw Daedra Venin from the poison glands of the creature, allowing alchemists to replicate their paralysing and health damaging attacks. Secretions of Daedra Silk are of use to thieves, as it carries a Nighteye and Chameleon effect.

Xivilai
Acerbus Formidilosus
Towering, dark skinned horned beasts, the Xivilai on its own is more than a match for all but the strongest warrior. Able to wield claymores, battleaxes and warhammers in one arm, it can also attack using its claws and a myriad of arcane powers. It is capable of summoning Clannfears, can Shield itself and attack with fire and shock spells. The Xivilai also has the ability to absorb half of the spells cast on it, the bane of many a mage who have faced down this colossus. They appear to be the most intelligent of the Deadlands fauna, some Xivilai being given names and duties by Kynmarchers. Should an alchemist manage to slay one, their Daedric heart can be carved out of the chest cavity and used to created a much-needed Restore Health potion.

Beastly!

I applaude you. The amount of reading to get the lore right must have been of epic proportions.

I know, Lorca is a Lore Master!