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.

2 comments:

  1. Where did you find a horse to travel up with mountain? Good for you for trying to read all of the tablets, I got lazy and impatient going up the hill that I stopped after the 4th tablet. I like your comparison of the story the tablets are telling with a man in slavery. Very insightful!

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  2. Oh I should've read those tablets! I mostly relied on the people I came across to give me the information. You're very observant about all the scenery and information that you are given!

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