Castles:Theatrical Stories

The following stories will be occasionally told by Melodramatic subjects:

Love Poem

Here is a love poem from a Markarth bard named Yngvar:

My lover's heart is numbing stone
That hides in ice beneath our sight.
So some decry, "It is not there,"
While others whisper, "Yet, it might."

Though stone is born from fevered ash,
Once formed it yields no whiff of heat.
So too, her heart betrays no love,
Nor comforts those embracing it.

As mountains grow and yearn for sky,
Then climbers, conquering, ascend.
With chisel, rope, with axe and pick,
They force the rock to yield to them.

A peak stands proud amid the range,
Invincible, and scaled by none.
Those who try wash down her slopes,
Their eye-born streams obliquely run.

For brash assault could never pierce
Those guarded depths that lay apart.
But patient water gently shapes
A furtive channel to the heart.

My love is delving water, ice
That cracks with cycles of the sun.
A lapping, yearning, whispered plea
Will mark the time 'til I rush in.

For I have dwelt among the rocks,
My city carved from rugged stone.
So in that burrow I will creep and
Warm the soul which makes my home.

Mysterious Akavir

This is an excerpt from the book Mysterious Akavir:

Akavir is the kingdom of the beasts. No Men or Mer live in Akavir. Men once did, but they were eaten long ago by the vampiric Serpent Folk of Tsaesci.

Had they not been eaten, they would have eventually come to Tamriel. The Nords left Atmora for Tamriel. Before them, the Elves abandoned Aldmeris for Tamriel.

The Redguards destroyed Yokuda so they could make their journey to Tamriel. All Men and Mer know Tamriel is the nexus of creation.

Tamriel is where the Last War will happen, where the Gods unmade Lorkhan and left their Adamantine Tower of secrets.

Who knows what the four nations of Akavir think of Tamriel, but ask yourself: why have they tried to invade it three times or more?

Tale of Two Moons

Here is a classic Khajiit poem entitled Tale of Two Moons.

As the sky falls white on Elsweyr
When the frost forms on the lake

When the fires blaze in brightness
When old bones begin to ache

Then cats cast off their budis
And fur keeps out the cold

And small moon chases big moon
And tells him secrets old

But then blue skies o'er Elsweyr
When rivers stream with light

When fires die in ashes
When youth again takes flight

Then cats rewrap their budis
And comb out rich, thick manes

And big moon chases small moon
And frees her from her chains

The Amulet of Kings

In the First Era, a powerful race of Elves called the Ayleids ruled central Tamriel with an iron hand.

The haughty Elves relied on their patrons, the dark Daedra Lords, to provide armies of dead spirits.

With these unholy armies from Oblivion, the Ayleids preyed without mercy upon the young races of men.

On behalf of them, St. Alessia, first of the Cyrodiils, sought the aid of Akatosh, the Dragon God of Time.

Feeling pity for humanity, the lord of the Aedra drew blood from his heart and blessed St. Alessia with it.

As long as her heirs would remain true to the dragon blood, Akatosh would keep the Gates of Oblivion sealed.

In token of this Covenant, Akatosh gave to Alessia and her descendants the sacred Amulet of Kings.

Thus does Alessia become the first gem in the Amulet of Kings, the Red Diamond at the center of the Amulet.

This is the Symbol of the Empire and of the Septim line, surrounded by eight other gems, one for each divine.

So long as Alessia's heirs bear the Amulet of Kings, mortal man need not fear the hosts of the Daedra Lords.

But should the Empire slacken in its dedication to the Divines, should the blood of Alessia's heirs fail...

Then the barriers between Tamriel and Oblivion will fall, and the Daedra will once more trouble this world.

That was The Amulet of Kings, by Wenengrus Monhona.

The Betrayed

Here is a poem about the tragic fate of the Snow Elves, titled The Betrayed.

And when the Snow Prince fell to ground,
The Ice Elves divided above and below.

Now vanquished and brutally bound,
One moment had shattered all they did know.

The once cool wind on their skin,
Now replaced with the heat of the flame.

And a pride once felt deep within,
Forgotten along with their name.

Torn from their home of ice and frost,
Thrown into the pitch black dread of night.

Living in fear as their minds become lost,
As their eyes begin dimming the light.

Chained and enslaved,
What once was light turned to blackness.

Alone and betrayed,
Sinking deeper into madness.

The Cantatas of Vivec

Here is an excerpt from The Cantatas of Vivec.

The gaunt ghostfires loom as subtle shrouds,
Smokes and shades on the biers of Red Mountain.

Arches and spires line the rock halls,
Dimly lit by the spirits of the dead.

The blood of broken hearths and houses
Runs in red rivers, blossoms in fountains.

Girdled round within walls of wit's glass
The shattered hosts slumber in cradles of ash.

But when shall they wake?
What dark crucible may kindle their souls to light?

How long beneath red-reeking clouds
Must flickering watchfires burn?

How many lifetimes of labor and lament
Will it take to seal this restless tomb?

The Warriors Charge

Here is an old Redguard poem about the constellations, titled The Warrior's Charge.

The star sung far-flung tales
Wreathed in the silver of Yokuda fair,
Of a hued Warrior who sails
His charges in the serpent's snare

And the Lord of runes, bored so soon,
Leaves for an evening's dare,
Perchance to wake, the coiled snake,
Take its shirt of scales to wear

And the Lady East, who e'ery beast,
Asleep or a'prowl can rouse a scare,
Screams, her eye alight in the sky
A worm no goodly sight can bear

The mailed Steed, ajoins the deed
Not to be undone from his share,
Rides the night, to scale bright,
Leaving the seasoned Warrior's care

The serpent rose, made stead to close,
The targets laid plain and there,
But Warrior's blade the Snake unmade,
And charges roam no more, they swear