Thread Rating:
  • 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
The Stormhold Missionary
02-15-2010, 09:30 PM,
#1
The Stormhold Missionary
I finally found time to type up my piece of writing on the figurehead of the Constantinian Order who occupy Stormhold Cathedral and the nearby Chapterhouse. And here it is:

The Stormhold Missionary

Being a chronicle of the life of Lucius Constantine, founder of the Constantinian Order of Stormhold. Edited by Auroye Aldarnil.

Lucius Constantine was an Imperial missionary whose work took him to the Black Marshes in the effort of converting the resident Argonians to the faith of the Nine Divines. In truth, such missionaries had been making visits to the provinces since the earliest ages of the Empire but it was not until the Dunmer invasion had signalled an age of slavery that any notable successes were recorded. Lucius himself was the son of a hunter who had rejected his father’s hard-line teachings in favour of the grace and gentleness of Mara and it was through his own self-sacrificing effort that he was able to win over a portion of Argonians in mid-Western Black Marsh.

Knowing their value to the Empire, Constantine devised a plan to win their trust so that when the Dunmer slave wagons came, he had already set up business that made it more profitable for the Dunmer to exploit Argonian labour through the business than to force them into labour in foreign lands. By these means, many Argonians remained in their homeland, hard-working as ever though not as oppressed as under the Dunmer fist. Though this was hardly thought to be salvation, the Argonians were convinced enough of Constantine’s compassion and enterprise that they bestowed a degree of trust upon him. As was befitting of a respected foreigner, the Argonians led him blindfolded through the Naga-Cradle jungle and to the relative safety of Pholmolo, a village that few live to see if not under the supervision of natives.

It is written that here, under the watchful eyes of the shaman, he dreamt of a city in the North that had lived and died many times, each under a different guise. It did not take long for the shaman to identify his visions as pertaining to Stormhold, the city of the North.

Stormhold had long been a place of violent conflict and dispute. Traditionally, the Argonians had sought to pit themselves against the Naga there in some of their most brutal early rituals. And the marsh elves too had allegedly come under attack from their counterparts in Cyrodiil who had made the passage via the Panther River to put the behaviour of their wayward cousins to the test, although that story is little but myth. But it was disease that truly held sway in Stormhold. The city had a blight upon it that had always stricken its residents with fever. War, too, was a disease and its particular history of violence had always been likened more to an infection than to open aggression. It was a place where nothing was resolved and the flesh, like the weather, was in constant turmoil. Like Lilmoth, it festered.

At the time of Constantine’s vision, Stormhold lay mostly in ruins following a Dunmer attack and the Castle itself had been occupied by foreign forces. Constantine’s old hunting skills, as inherited from his father, proved vital in saving his life when challenged as an invader. Despite the protestations of the shaman, his presence in Pholmolo was treated with disdain by the warrior class. Although the shaman’s word was that which ruled the Ka’Pura, it was nonetheless a village decree that a stranger could be challenged to prove his worth.

The villagers of Pholmolo had a tradition of meeting the Naga in open combat and are still famed for their ability to tame some of the beasts that seek to claim the marshes as their own. In accordance to this tradition, Lucius was led to the cave of a Naga and what followed became somewhat of a folk tale in the area that had been put to song and would be used to demonstrate utmost respect for an outsider. In short, Lucius slew the Naga with tremendous guile and with no weapons. For this, he became known for a time as ‘Lucius Naga-Bane’.

Yet Lucius was not a warrior and he knew that his time with the Ka’Pura would be short-lived should he be forced to repeat his successes. Thenceforth, he reluctantly took part in the hunts, picking up what he could of the ways of the jungle by running with the Ka’Pura. Although Lucius would never be enslaved by them, he nonetheless knew enough of Argonian custom to know that abandoning this tribe would see him reviled and all his good work undone should he take his leave of them prematurely. It wasn’t long before he had his first opportunity to gain his liberty.

At the end of one hunt, the party had strayed to the outskirts of Stormhold and came under attack from Dunmer forces. Remembering his dreams, he stood his ground in their path and the Dunmer stalled, bemused by the feeble posturing of this lizard. Yet the bemusement turned to shock as they approached.

It would have been remarkable enough for a Dunmer to come face-to-face with an Imperial hunting alongside a renowned and ferocious Argonian tribe but what was unthinkable were the motions that this figure began to make. As he straddled the ground, his body hung low and his voice softly keening, a rootworm erupted horizontally across his path, forming a deep ravine in the thick, mossy soil.

He would later describe the event as a memory and yet his true meaning was lost on many for, as would soon be discovered, it was just the first of many such memories to recur within him. Though unknowing at the time, his genuflections had perfectly replicated that of the ‘worm-callers’, an ancient caste of Argonians said to be favoured by the Hist for their kinship with the worms of the marsh. It had come to him as nothing more than an inborn instinct but it had saved his life.

Retreating to a safe distance, the Dunmer were able to negotiate with this prodigy and bring about a parley. Knowing well the Dunmer’s treachery, Lucius had been sceptical at first but it was soon clear that the astute Dunmer captain had noted the value of such a skill as his and, knowing that he had been blessed, Lucius agreed to be brought before the Ordinator who resided in Stormhold Castle.

Lucius drew considerable interest in Stormhold. Rumours abounded amongst the slaves that their liberator had arrived whilst opposing captains, eager for the notoriety brought about by this capture, either ordered this newcomer to be chained or to become subject to an inquisition. As it happened, Lucius suffered from no such rebuke and was made the guest of the Ordinator in the crumbling ruins of the Castle. He told his story and the Ordinator was satisfied though, he conceded with some humour, could not guarantee total protection from assassination. After all, ambition was a characteristic much admired by the Ordinator.

Constantine spent much of the weeks following his meeting in the highest tower of Stormhold. This was as much from preference as it was from fear of his hosts. After a time, his mind began to turn inward and he began to meditate as he had been taught, focusing inevitably on what had driven him to perform such a remarkable feat. This was encouraged by the Ordinator as he could see that Lucius’ heart was still in some turmoil and he desired a resolution composed of the purest truth…before taking appropriate action.

It was during this time that Lucius’ faith in Mara’s blessings began to waver. His was certainly no blessing of the goddess’s making after all and, though his faith might win many admirers of the Divines, he felt that there was something baser, more real and less ethereal about this curious skill. So he began to wonder at the role that he must play.

He slept and with sleep came the dreams. Over time, he began to make sense of the visions that came his way and, though not unlike normal dreams in their fantastical character, they were nonetheless remarkably accurate in their depiction of place and character. So he came to conclude that his actions had been repeated before, perhaps many times, and that he was simply enacting a role decreed by a sacred land as a symbol of renewal. Over the course of these visions, he wrote feverishly into his journal and many such writings were later to appear in the codices of the Constantinian Order.

This would seem to indicate a return of Stormhold from its current state of creaking walls of rubble and, sure enough, with trade routes quickly established by the Dunmer and orders to buttress the defences, Stormhold once more became a functional city. The Dunmer symbol of the Phoenix was woven by the slaves of the Mercer’s factory into the tapestries that depicted the city under Dunmer rule. And, in the hubbub of activity, Lucius’ name was still whispered in some parts but he had sensibly remained away from the limelight, deftly repelling the Ordinator’s impatient questions about his condition.

Yet the city had one more challenge to face in its phoenix-like rise from the ashes as the Castle was yet again laid siege to by Argonian tribesmen making use of the Great Cistern. Lucius was pushed forward by the Dunmer militia and soon lost favour with the Ordinator by refusing to fight, despite his protestations of retaining his status as a Divine missionary and not a warrior.

Nudged aside, he soon found himself in the wolfish company of a Dres platoon and ushered forcefully into battle, attached by chain and dog-collar to its leader’s fist. The Dres had not believed the stories of Lucius’ skills and felt that the whole thing had been a shamanic conceit so they felt no fear in unleashing this foe of theirs like a pack dog and hiding its face beneath a Dres helm.

When the Dres leader was felled by an arrow, Lucius made his escape, though trailing a chain in his wake made it difficult to evade his captors and he soon found himself cornered in a newly planted arboretum with his back to a vine-ridden wall. Luckily, the location was where a hole had been drilled through to access the city and to which a battered group of tribesmen had been fleeing. Lucius had just enough time to tear off his helmet before a spear was loosed. The tribesmen treated him with some suspicion but responded to the arrival of the Dres with force.

Confused, Constantine was struck a glancing blow by a war-hammer and crawled, his head swimming, to a nearby pool. In the reflection on the waters, his dreams danced before him, framed by his face, and he experienced a moment of euphoria as the fragrance of the lilies met his nostrils. His blood pounded in his ears and, carried by a war song of the Dres, the two sounds combined to create a symphony with an altogether more melodic tune that struck fear and loathing into the Dunmer.

An eye witness may have remarked on the ability of Lucius to perform such a melody with no other instrument than his vocal chords but those knowledgeable enough to recognise the canticle would have shared the Dunmer’s awe. An Imperial was performing an Altmer paean!

This was referred to as Lucius’ ‘second blessing’. The missionary, wrapped in tendrils of fog, strode forth from the midst of battle and each combatant felt the weapons plucked from their hands as if pick-pocketed. The roots of the jungle swayed, creaked and adjusted, striking further up to the sky and forming a wedge between the two forces, through which Lucius strode and was not heard of again until months later.

Records thereafter are scarce and often judged misleading but the Constantinian Order popularly claim that Lucius met with ‘the chosen’, an ‘inner circle’ of men and women of mer, man and beast, and passed down the wisdom of his experiences. Their names remained secret and though it is reliably thought that the monks of the Order inherited these names, the exact details are hard to come by. This is less due to the lack of evidence but more convincingly attributed to the volumes of rapturous scribblings penned by fanatical preachers.

Lucius himself is alleged to have lived some months and perhaps years longer since his name appears elsewhere in the folk tales of other Tamrielic races, sometimes by different names and yet all recorded during the time of his life and in keeping with his description. It was on one such sojourn to Cyrodiil that he was slain by an arrow from an unknown source. Ashalat, his Bosmer companion at that time, writes of Constantine’s expectation of his own death and his glee in meeting it, having evaded the tortures heaped upon so many other martyrs. Ashalat clearly believed the arrow to have come from the Divines and for the arrow to have represented their acceptance of him in releasing him from his mortal coil.

Yet what thereafter transpires is the source of most disputes on the matter of Constantine and his true meaning.

What is certain is that Constantine’s body was brought back to Stormhold and enshrined in Stormhold Cathedral even as it was being re-constructed around him. What remains in dispute is Constantine’s physical state at the time this was happening. On this basis, a schism has developed amongst the Order between those who classify themselves as being of the ‘true faith’ and those who simply regard Lucius as just another voice of the Divines.

Those of the ‘true faith’ believe in a version of events that reinforces the edicts of the Constantinian Order and places an importance on the spiritual condition of the body. This being that the body of Lucius underwent a remarkable transfiguration over the course of seven days.

All parties had allegedly put aside their animosities after the beloved missionary’s death so that they might each watch over this stricken enigma. Those that did so bore witness as Lucius’ body morphed between the physical appearance of all known, civilised Tamrielic species (and more besides) before eventually settling back into its normal shape. And, as with his second blessing, he carried the songs and murmurs of each folk with him upon his deathly lips, some of which was transcribed into writing and became the ‘Codex Alexius’.

The ‘Codex Alexius’ is the holy book of the Constantinian Order and gives testament to a ‘lost time’ in which Stormhold was more than the cradle of a mere beast race but the source of a super-race in which men, mer and beast were one and the same. What became of this race is unclear although it is generally thought that a global cataclysm was the cause.

The events of the Codex are interpreted by some as being the ‘fault’ of other celestial forces such as the Divines and the Hist. As such, it is suspected by many Cyrodiil scholars as being a ‘false testament’. Needless to say, the Codex is the reason why the Constantinian Order remains excommunicated from the temple of the Nine Divines to this day and why Stormhold is still regarded as a hive of heresy. The fiercest critics continue to denounce Lucius, especially where his writings emphasise his being ill-at-ease amongst any folk for long. They therefore categorise him as a perpetual nomad and an outsider, claiming that his writings are little more than wish-fulfilling fantasies. In truth, however, few scholars can fail to be touched by the wisdom and forthrightness of his words and the criticisms only serve to underline the veracity of his claim to be an incarnate soul of the lost city.

Some monks might have left the faith, fearing the backlash from their Cyrodiilic cousins but this is the black marshes, where any chance of peace, hope and liberty from the ravages of disease is much to be sought after.

It is thought by many that the monks keep the tomb of Lucius a secret whilst they insist that the body dissipated as ethereal smoke after the seventh day. Their claims are given some credence by the locals as, despite their lack of popularity from many sources, their adherents are rarely subject to the plagues that continue to blight the city.

As for the Argonians, the Ka’Pura still bear a sneaking regard though a number of fundamentalist devotees to the Hist such as the An-Xileel hold the Codex in nothing but contempt. To date, this remains possibly the greatest threat towards the fabled destiny of Stormhold, the cradle of the new flesh.
Cunning Linguist (Writer and Voice Actor - Lost Spires, St and many, many more.)
Lizard King - Leader of the Black Marsh mod
[Image: Buserbar.jpg]
Reply
02-15-2010, 10:12 PM,
#2
 
You're a very good writer, IG! I managed to read the whole piece - it was interesting!

Koniption
Yeah, don't let those little turds get you down. Dingleberries stick for a while, but eventually they fall off. Cool
Reply
02-15-2010, 10:17 PM,
#3
 
Unlike KP, after I read about 7 lines into any piece of writing I start to stop reading, but from briefly scanning it through, it looks pretty good. =)

Nice one, IG! :goodjob:
Trespassers will be shot.
Survivors will be shot again.



[Image: mini-Skyrim2.jpg]
Reply
02-15-2010, 10:39 PM,
#4
 
Quote:Originally posted by jucklesjenk
Unlike KP, after I read about 7 lines into any piece of writing I start to stop reading, but from briefly scanning it through, it looks pretty good. =)

Nice one, IG! :goodjob:

:lmao: Thanks, JK! It is a bit long, isn't it? Thanks for the compliment, KP.
Cunning Linguist (Writer and Voice Actor - Lost Spires, St and many, many more.)
Lizard King - Leader of the Black Marsh mod
[Image: Buserbar.jpg]
Reply
02-22-2010, 08:00 PM,
#5
 
Fantastic bit of work. You've somehow managed to pack in a huge amount of TES lore while making something all your own...

Very well done, sir.
Core Member of Black Marsh (Lore and Modding)

Retired Editor of Silgrad Tower

77 interiors completed and counting!
Reply
02-22-2010, 09:33 PM,
#6
 
Cheers, Deeza! :goodjob: I was planning on making use of this gorgeous little mod for the cover: http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=27527 . I'll have to write at least a partial version of the 'Codex Alexius' too. Either that, or I could have it unopenable by means of some magical hex to ward off unbelievers. I don't think the Codex will be the sort of thing distributed in hotel lobbies by Gideons International anyway...
Cunning Linguist (Writer and Voice Actor - Lost Spires, St and many, many more.)
Lizard King - Leader of the Black Marsh mod
[Image: Buserbar.jpg]
Reply
02-22-2010, 09:42 PM,
#7
 
:lmao:

Actually I've encountered those covers before when I was looking for stuff for High Rock. Beautiful, aren't they?
Core Member of Black Marsh (Lore and Modding)

Retired Editor of Silgrad Tower

77 interiors completed and counting!
Reply
02-22-2010, 10:08 PM,
#8
 
Yes, I think one of them is from the Lindisfarne Gospels. The fact that I can recognise it makes it a little too 'real-world' for our purposes though...I'm hoping I can perform a little extra Photoshop trickery on them. =)
Cunning Linguist (Writer and Voice Actor - Lost Spires, St and many, many more.)
Lizard King - Leader of the Black Marsh mod
[Image: Buserbar.jpg]
Reply
02-22-2010, 11:16 PM,
#9
 
Sounds good.
Core Member of Black Marsh (Lore and Modding)

Retired Editor of Silgrad Tower

77 interiors completed and counting!
Reply
04-05-2010, 01:05 AM,
#10
 
I read the whole thing.

It's an incredible piece of narrative, good writing skills, it's very interesting, it's epic.

Ehem... same as I expressed some thoughts concerning Alexius paintings, I would like to share my thoughts after reading the above write-up. I hope you don't mind. I'd like it to be constructive. It is a friendly critique, so I hope nobody gets emotional or takes offence.

So... after having said the above, here goes...

I have to say that what I read confirmed what I suspected about the project. Black Marsh seems to be largely epic. (heavy Tolkien style) I have nothing against long narratives. Actually I enjoy reading them and I tend to go heavy on the narrative myself.

Yet sometimes you can say more by saying less. It's OK to have a rich background, epic history, complex surroundings, where you can place your story. Sort of to set the stage.

What I am trying to say is that I don't find arc anywhere by now. I also don't find any of the regular elements of the story, one of which is conflict.

What is presented is 2d, not 3d. It's a perfect background. Yet now let's nest our storyline in it. Who is (are?) a protagonist? Where is an antagonist to stop him? How will they clash? How will they change (grow) over time? What journey will they go throu in order to understand what they will understand at the end? What point we want to prove with the story?

Perhaps my questions arise, because I haven't seen the mainline theme of the project.

Let me compare to the Star Wars saga. You have all the tribes, the planets, the robots. You've described it all very well. But where is Luke and his quest to overthrown the Emperor and confront his father? Luke, who transformed from a silly kid to a powerful jedi knight.

Well, it doesn't have to be that classic, I just give an example.

Getting back to Lucius and Constantine's Order. There were a couple of things I didn't understand. What is actually the purpose of the Order, what do they proclaim? I mean each god of the Nine represents something. Say... Dibella is a godess of beauty, aestetics, good taste and wealthy life. After reading this narrative I have no idea what Constantine's Order proclaims. There is much about Codex Alexius, but it doesn't actually say what the Codex says.

Why would the Nine banish Constantine? Is it simply because they perceive him as a competition?
Reply


Forum Jump:


Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)