Topics of Tamriel
Herein will be a list of random dialogue to add flavor, context, lore, meaning, and life to the world of Tamriel Rebuilt.
Slavery Topics:
Legion Topics:
Religion:
Miscellaneous Topics:
Solsthiem: That's the island a ways north of us. The Empire built a fort there, and I hear all the troops who mess up royaly are sent there as punishment. It's probably a corrupt pile of bricks out there, being so far from the Emperor's eyes and all.
Solsthiem: I've seen boats from the north eastern coasts of Skyrim heading there. Probably bringing supplies to that frigid wasteland. Or perhaps they're smugglers. No idea what'd be worth smuggling out of there, though. Unless they're bringing something INTO the island.
Solsthiem: Technically a charter plot of land that belongs to Morrowind, the East Empire Company has been seeking to start up a mining operation out there for years now; they just can't find anyone crazy enough to face the freezing conditions and the unknown wilds. There are rogue clans of Nords that have been there for generations, and I'm sure they don't like the Empire coming in and planting down a fort and a mine, so there's that to worry about as well.
Solsthiem: Got enough snow up here in the northern Velothis, I don't want to see more of it out on some deserted iceberg. The Empire's got a fort out there for gods know what reason, though. I suppose you could hop a boat from the port if you really wanted to see how miserable it is for your own eyes.
OLD EBONHEART DIALOGUE: Generic Dialogue-
Goren Vonith:
Dres Formal Planning – River Striders
2016-01-17 16:36
4 years 12 months ago
Roa Dyr: This Chapel is the ever-watching eye for the Thirr River Valley. From here, I stand guard for all of my people who wish to live the life the ALMSIVI have dreamed for them. The Hlaalu kinsmen and retainers to the west and south want to take control of this holy area for economic reasons. They only see the Middle Thirr as an extremely important trade route, but it is also an extremely important part of Dunmer history, where the Exodus of Veloth battled the harsh currents and where our ancestors found true harmony with the nation of Morrowind. This is why I stand firmly from the Gardens; for the preservation of our integral aura, the anima of our forefathers that still burns within all Dunmer.
This Chapel: Yes, you are in the emerald shrubs of the Chapel. Below us are the servant's quarters. I tend to matters in here, my war room. My youngest son, Danvas, is here to study how I work in the arts of subtlety, tact, and precise timing. Across the hall is the my temple. My wife Tavylu is upstairs usually.
My middle son Llaren should be upstairs as well, divining principal and atoning in his Just fashion. Further down in the foyer my daughter Gilse can be found. She's preparing for the cohesion of our family and another Indoril noble family. In our absence I know she will be soothed as the house isn't garrulous, which is more than I can ask for. My eldest son...well, you should just speak to him. He's really quite something. There are other various retainers and our shrine priest who live here as well.
Danvas: Look for yourself. He's already much more defined than most Indoril nobles I know, and his cunning wit certainly settles well within the Gardens of Kwhoom-shal. With my guidance, he will be able to lead any army into the arms of victory just like I did.
Tavylu: She is my shadow, my light, and my solace. In her youth she had a gravitation towards the Order of Being and Resdayn's time line was her specialty. The Just and the Doctrine all fall within the Being, and the Temple has always steered our people in the right direction, just as they steered me towards her. These days she uses her extensive knowledge to help our Garden grow, to illuminate the dark waters of the Thirr, and she is also a commander of sorts of mine.
I have shown her my many Faces and she has loved every one of them with unparalleled devotion, and for that I am thankful. She many have some time to speak to you about her days of wisdom-chasing with the Thousand Feathers And Ninety-Four Corners House.
Llaren: He understands the odds that we face every day, but he knows only a fraction of how the Houses work. I would like to spend more time with him, teaching him how the geographic borders of our land are directly shaped by the political landscape, and not the other way around. However, recently I have been busier than I would like to elaborate on, dealing with many things both Hlaalu and non-Hlaalu related.
He is currently exercising his Just-Bonetending in his room daily, and the moons orbit his thoughts for that. One day he will know the difference between what truly divinely separates us from the Redoran or the Hlaalu or the Dres or the Telvanni; and that is the day his new rank in our House will come.
Gilse: She is beautiful, is she not %pcame? The joining of our hearths will be blessed by many finely tuned scathecraw wreaths. His treading in the scriptures of Llothis-Is-Law will certainly show acute Tisma-cuts that I cannot wait to gaze upon. I can still remember the day she was birthed, and how we cleaned her in the Dyruseraph Well in the foyer. How many pious days have passed since then is almost unbelievable.
Eldest Son: Really, just speak to him. It fills my heart with much middle-air, knowing he will someday place my shrine in this temple while he tends to the Gardens. His Bonetending is vast and proves he will rear a family well. His superior Velk-Augur-Tilling has impressed even a few on the Council of the Tapestries. I knew my teachings would grow within him, and his future is bright.
Little Advice: Live under the grace of ALMSIVI and you will be rewarded with more than a humble life, or even a blessed afterlife. There are many abstruse and sinuous Walking Paths in the Temple, %pcname, and in understanding the bending of the shadows of patron saints and the walking Three one can garner a cognizant pulse of the physical world.
My rank in Great House Indoril has only been granted to me after countless hours of rumination about myself, my soul, my nation, and my nation's souls. After a homologous recognition from Almalexia herself, I am finally able grasp what the title of Illuminated Elder truly means. With hard discipline and swift meditation, %pcname, you may get a glimpse of the same spacial acuity I embody. One would hope to gain such insight in their lifetime.
Imperial Legion: Though the armies of men may trample upon our Hoom-Gates and march along our Benevolent Life-Streams, the Empire never has been and never will be the inheritor of Morrowind. This nation belongs to the Ancestors, the Greater Ancestors, and the Tribunal; the Serpent-Diamond-Tiger-Drake cannot change that. It is embedded in law and in history.
Latest Rumors: Rumors carry burdens upon the lips of the Unjust, %PCName. Surely you already know that. There are no rumors, only Mediation and Sessions of Spirit-Hearing. The Indoril speak only in Truths.
House Hlaalu: I have bathed in Boethiah's maw with the Hlaalu magistrates. I have opened the Gates of my Thousand-And-Three Gardens to allow their people to eat and drink and sleep and breathe the air of Indoril blood. But they are confused; lost in the turbulent waters of Ages. I thought that their leaders would realize the perfection of our House and walk like us unto the Dawn of Glory, but they instead slither and strike at their own kin and kinsmer, much like the Pendulant Drake of Cyrodiil does. They have stepped off of Veloth's path, and pray as I might for them, I feel I will one day have to shed Hlaalu blood; the same blood I have warded with my own shields held in my own hands in battles before. Gold is but a material good; the Love of Morrowind is the priceless treasure they must truly seek if they hope to rise to divinity with the rest of us.
House Redoran: The Shield of Morrowind. The Marches provide much protection to the honest workers of Dunmer society and they keep the roads safe, even for the Imperials, so goods can reach over the borders that the Red Diamond has put in place. Wines, herbs, weapons, armors, and traditions come over to our people from Cyrodiil, and without House Redoran the meek immigrants would never have made it here. That is not to say that they are at fault for anything, as they are simply doing their Just Honors in keeping our homeland safe. House Redoran is known for their support of the Temple and they know the Virtues of Hoom-Shal Octaves; without them, Morrowind would have surely suffered more tragic losses when the Empire decided to wage war against us.
They are merciless tacticians and fret not in the face of any advisary, much to the pleasure of Vivec in his Smoke-Atlas-Kinship. Go and see Olmu Llendu in Marak; he is the purest embodiment of a Redoran that the Tribunal can ask for, and he is a smart leader. One can learn much about Faith and War just by watching the way he walks amongst his Hornhall corridors.
2016-01-18 02:44
6 years 5 months ago
Nitpick, I don't think the idea of Aetherius as the afterlife fits well with the Dunmer religion. Oblivion would probably be more suitable.
2016-01-17 16:36
4 years 12 months ago
Updated the Roa Dyr dialogue. I’d really love some feedback on it so far.
2015-08-10 20:50
2 weeks 6 days ago
Hm, I’m afraid for the most part I can only really echo some earlier comments I’ve made on your dialogue. My dialogue example in the first link may have actually backfired to a degree in that regard:
Your dialogue is very dense, using a lot of relatively obscure English words – often incorrectly or confusingly (“[...] the house isn't garrulous [...]”? The house isn’t excessively talkative?) – as well as a dense sprinkling of made-up phrases, to the point that the individual words and phrases cease to have clear meanings of their own and just read like a condensed mass of flavour. The dialogue is very hard to review and provide feedback on because it is so impenetrable, and I’d imagine a lot of players would give up trying to read and understand it as well for that reason.
As I’ve said before, the dialogue of Morrowind, whether of the Daedric Princes, Vivec, Dagoth Ur, Yagrum Bagarn, Divayth Fyr, Master Neloth or even Therana, tends to be very clear, to-the-point and understandable. Dialogue serves to communicate; to convey information. However knowledgable, metaphysical, insane or alien the speaker may be, they tend – with very few exceptions – to either talk in a way the player will understand, or not talk at all. Dialogue in Morrowind is very functional.
I’d argue that even applies to literature. Despite its reputation, most of the 36 Lessons can be read quite easily. Grabbing a line at random: “ To which the major domo said, 'Duke Kh-Utta, your legions while mighty are not enough to destroy Nerevar or the Triune way. Look upon the Hortator and see the wisdom he takes to wife.' “ The actual language is not hard to grasp; it’s actually very straightforward. What makes the lessons such a challenging read is that they make no secret that there’s a lot to read between the lines, and figuring out how to read between the lines presents the real challenge. Without understanding the narrative thread and purpose behind the lessons, the individual passages seem disjointed and random, but in and of themselves they are not hard to read.
I’ll try to illustrate what I mean more clearly using a few examples:
House Hlaalu: I have bathed in Boethiah's maw with the Hlaalu magistrates. I have opened the Gates of my Thousand-And-Three Gardens to allow their people to eat and drink and sleep and breathe the air of Indoril blood. But they are confused; lost in the turbulent waters of Ages. I thought that their leaders would realize the perfection of our House and walk like us unto the Dawn of Glory, but they instead slither and strike at their own kin and kinsmer, much like the Pendulant Drake of Cyrodiil does. They have stepped off of Veloth's path, and pray as I might for them, I feel I will one day have to shed Hlaalu blood; the same blood I have warded with my own shields held in my own hands in battles before. Gold is but a material good; the Love of Morrowind is the priceless treasure they must truly seek if they hope to rise to divinity with the rest of us.
House Hlaalu: I have strived, as all Indoril strive, to bring prosperity to the Hlaalu. Long have they benefited from our charity, generosity and just rule. Now they have strayed from the true path, lost and confused. They no longer walk with us on the road of glory but strike at our feet and disrupt our pilgrimage like a scuttling-bug on Veloth’s path. I have lead brave Hlaalu against the lizards of the southern swamps, have held many of them, dying, in my hands. Now I fear the day is approaching when black hands must embrace them instead. Prosperity lies not in Imperial coin, but rather in ensuring a bright future for the Dunmer people.
This is shorter, but still over 512 characters, and it still reads more like a speech – or perhaps a passage from a letter – than dialogue.
House Hlaalu: They have profited from us, walked the true path with us, were like children to us. Now they shame us, they disappoint us, and they lurk in the shadows, waiting to strike at us. I have lead brave Hlaalu against the lizards of the southern swamps, and have held many, dying, in my hands. I fear the day is approaching when black hands must embrace them instead. Prosperity lies not in Imperial coin, but in ensuring a bright future for the Dunmer people.
This still reads like a rant, but not – I think – unnaturally. It conveys the important points while clocking in under 512 characters. Tha language is straightforward, but not, I think, without flavour.
Eldest Son: Really, just speak to him. It fills my heart with much middle-air, knowing he will someday place my shrine in this temple while he tends to the Gardens. His Bonetending is vast and proves he will rear a family well. His superior Velk-Augur-Tilling has impressed even a few on the Council of the Tapestries. I knew my teachings would grow within him, and his future is bright.
Eldest Son: You need but speak to him to understand my pride. It brings me great comfort to know he will someday place my shrine in this temple while he tends to the gardens. The depths of his insight and astute application have impressed theologians of notable schools. He has flourished well under my instruction, and Veloth’s people will continue to flourish under his.
A few other notes:
Across the hall is the my temple. My wife Tavylu is upstairs usually.
Across the hall is the chapel. My wife Tavylu is usually upstairs. – generally, a ‘temple’ should be a distinct structure. While confusing, Indoril Chapels contain chapels or shrines, not temples.
’House’ is generally not capitalized in Morrowind dialogue, unless as part of a proper name (House Hlaalu, House of Troubles). I personally choose to capitalize it on the forums, to avoid confusion with ordinary houses, but naturally a drawback is that, if that practice is common on the forums, it will tend to carry over to in-game dialogue, which it shouldn’t.
I do not think Ilvi would really expect any of his sons to lead armies in battle. Ilvi may certainly have personal martial experience due to fighting in the Arnesian crusade, but which of his ancestors before him had any martial experience? The Indoril probably didn’t take part in any of the minor border skirmishes with Tiber Septim’s legions over four centuries ago which preceded the signing of the Armistice, (the Indoril favoured taking up defensive positions in the interior of Morrowind, which became a moot point as the signing of the Armistice forestalled Tiber Septim’s invasion), and before that, the last time Morrowind was at war was, to my knowledge, the last time the Akaviri invaded, some time in the middle of the second era. Generally, though Indoril would naturally expect to lead the Dunmer in warfare, warfare has no place in the utopia the Tribunal established. They may train in combat, but, aside from the rare duel, (I think the Indoril would tend to prefer employing the Morag Tong over duels, when they choose to do either), they wouldn’t really expect to have to use that training.
I would suggest drastically simplifying the language and shortening the entries, and generally using made-up phrases very sparingly and in isolation, so that they can have their full effect and so that players can read over them and piece together a meaning from the context without having to stop and break the flow of the dialogue. I would also suggest arranging and hiding the entries in spoiler tags, to make this topic less intimidating and easier for people to review.
2016-01-17 16:36
4 years 12 months ago
I added spoiler tags to all of the topics to make it easier to navigate.