» Thu Nov 22, 2012 3:09 am http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Japhet%27s_Journal
What happened to Japhet? My interest is piqued by his representation as a Draugr, and I'd like to hear your opinions.
My prospective theories at the moment are:
- Japhet did not truly become a Draugr; his representation as a Draugr is to denote how he died of starvation, and how well the cold preserved him.
- Japhet died of poisoning from the ice moss, which introduced certain embalming chemicals into his system. And thus he seemed preserved/embalmed in a manner similar to most Draugr.
- (Crazy Speculation Theory) The ice moss turned Japhet into an actual undead Draugr. I have little to know substantiation for this theory, except for Bethesda's choice to represent him directly as a Draugr. Surely a skeleton would have done the trick? And in the case of Theory #2, why would he write, "OH GODS HELP ME," at the end of his journal? I suppose that could mean that when he could no longer escape, he finally realized the futility of remaining on the island, and thus wrote "OH GODS HELP ME," but what I want it to mean is something akin to, "I looked in a mirror and realized that I've been undead for thirty years. OH GODS HELP ME," with suicide coming soon after.
