Here I am about to choose a side of a war I should have no part in. I was curious what was the main reason behind the war that caused the deaths of so many in Skyrim. I knew it had to do something with the worship of Talos so I decided to visit the local Talos worshipper in Whiterun and the temple of Talos in Windhelm. From what I gathered, the Nords worship Talos because he was a simple nord like them who learned how to use the voice because he was dragon born. Talos heroics were so great that when he passed he rose into the divine afterlife so the Nords worship Talos so they can follow in his steps and reach a better after life.
Speaking with the temples priest in Windhelm I was given an opinion on why the Thalmor elves of the empire would ban the worship of Talos. Many Thalmor are bitter towards the humans of Skyrim because of war that ended in the Thalmors favor not too long ago and they did not particularly like the ideas of humans becoming divine. So they banned the worship of Talos to figuratively spit in the faces of the Nord race.
This resulted in secret worshipping that the empire let go because as Skyrim is part of the Empire, many nords in the empire can sympathize. However Ulfric and his rebels brought much attention to the worship of Talos since they fought in his name and in the name of Skyrim. This caused the empire to buckle down on worshipping and thus a clash began. Tensions rose and blood was spilled, and now here I am in a war I have no stake in. Yes, people fight to protect their families and friends. Yes people fight to protect their home. Yes people fight because they will die otherwise. But me? I'm just a lizard who was caught crossing a border. Why am I fighting?
My take on this war in real life reminds me of the crusades. I remember learning about the crusades in middle school, but other than that I have no further knowledge. A war of worship and clashing religions because one side has to have their beliefs prevail. Innocents were caught up in the war and were slaughter as a result. Christianity and Muslim beliefs, Nords and Thalmor worships, people die because of peoples undying beliefs. I'm not going to delve into religion here because I am agnostic myself, but my take on this fictional war and the crusades: you start a war because of your beliefs and because you think you are right, but are the people who lay dead at your feet fighting for their own beliefs wrong? Or are you too narrow minded to believe maybe you're both wrong?
Monday, May 4, 2015
Friday, May 1, 2015
5.1 Learning Dragon Tongue
Dragonborn eh? Well I'm now closer to my cousins than I could wish for! Speaking to the Jarl of Whiterun I was told I could learn more about my ability to "shout" from the Greybeards who reside near Ivarstead in High Hrothgar. These Nords really like their mystic mythology, but I figured it would be knowledgable. Riding on horseback I conquered a difficult mountain to reach Ivarstead, a very nice little town with some pesky bear problems. I spoke to a woman named Fastred who had a belief that the Graybeards lived a life without uttering a single word, which is somewhat ironic considering they know the "way of the voice".
Starting my way up I found a tablet that explained dragons were the original rulers of Mundus and that their voice was the law of power. Continuing on my way I met some goats, a troll, ice spirits and a few travelers. A man named Barknar that I spoke with told me most people do not travel the very high steps of Hrothgar and some hikers just enjoy the atmosphere and travel on the steps. A second tablet told of how dragons ruled "man" and that men were weak and had no voice. The tablet after that told of the strong will of men and their war with dragons that only resulted in dragons shouting them down.
It got cold up here... A snowstorm came and blanketed the steps as I continued my journey. I met another travler named Karita who liked to mediate on the tablets, something shared between her and Barker. The fourth tablet spoke of a dragon named Paarthurnax(it implies) who pitied man and allied with Kyne to teach men the voice, a war of voices began. The fifth tablet read, men won the war and shouted Alduin out of the world and that mens voice was also strong with heavy sacrifices. The story continues with the sixth tablet: Sky-Children(words I am assuming) found the first empire with shouts and sword while dragons left the world. Seventh story told of Jurgen Windcaller and his decision to choose silence and hailing a new title of Jurgen the calm after standing against seventeen disputants built his home on the Throat of the World. Ninth, can't find the eighth, told of Tiber Septim being summoned by graybeards to be blessed the Dovahkiin.
Finally reaching the end of the steps I met the graybeards, possibly nord men who have learned the knowledge of the voice. They told of me how as a Dragonborn I am able to bypass the years to takes to learn the voice. I'm pretty much a prodigy. I also have the unsettling ability to rip the souls out of dragons. Master Arngeir told me I must now pursue my destiny, whatever I choose that to be.
Voice in the game of Skyrim is used as a sort of power. Its use and history is embedded in war and the freedom of men. While everyone uses their own different racial language, the "voice" is power and control in the realm of Skyrim. The history a player can unfold through the tablets explain how the voice dominated man until man learned the way of the voice, but then the voice had to be limited because it was abused by man. Not going to lie, it reminds me of slavery. A man once shackled begins to enslave other man, but it's abused and unfair to the rest of the world and had to be silenced, similar to how the voice is. It's implantation is strange though as language is meant to bound people together, but here the voice is a language meant to overpower and control.
Starting my way up I found a tablet that explained dragons were the original rulers of Mundus and that their voice was the law of power. Continuing on my way I met some goats, a troll, ice spirits and a few travelers. A man named Barknar that I spoke with told me most people do not travel the very high steps of Hrothgar and some hikers just enjoy the atmosphere and travel on the steps. A second tablet told of how dragons ruled "man" and that men were weak and had no voice. The tablet after that told of the strong will of men and their war with dragons that only resulted in dragons shouting them down.
It got cold up here... A snowstorm came and blanketed the steps as I continued my journey. I met another travler named Karita who liked to mediate on the tablets, something shared between her and Barker. The fourth tablet spoke of a dragon named Paarthurnax(it implies) who pitied man and allied with Kyne to teach men the voice, a war of voices began. The fifth tablet read, men won the war and shouted Alduin out of the world and that mens voice was also strong with heavy sacrifices. The story continues with the sixth tablet: Sky-Children(words I am assuming) found the first empire with shouts and sword while dragons left the world. Seventh story told of Jurgen Windcaller and his decision to choose silence and hailing a new title of Jurgen the calm after standing against seventeen disputants built his home on the Throat of the World. Ninth, can't find the eighth, told of Tiber Septim being summoned by graybeards to be blessed the Dovahkiin.
Finally reaching the end of the steps I met the graybeards, possibly nord men who have learned the knowledge of the voice. They told of me how as a Dragonborn I am able to bypass the years to takes to learn the voice. I'm pretty much a prodigy. I also have the unsettling ability to rip the souls out of dragons. Master Arngeir told me I must now pursue my destiny, whatever I choose that to be.
Voice in the game of Skyrim is used as a sort of power. Its use and history is embedded in war and the freedom of men. While everyone uses their own different racial language, the "voice" is power and control in the realm of Skyrim. The history a player can unfold through the tablets explain how the voice dominated man until man learned the way of the voice, but then the voice had to be limited because it was abused by man. Not going to lie, it reminds me of slavery. A man once shackled begins to enslave other man, but it's abused and unfair to the rest of the world and had to be silenced, similar to how the voice is. It's implantation is strange though as language is meant to bound people together, but here the voice is a language meant to overpower and control.
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