It's going to be a tough year in Skyrim, possibly the toughest yet. A millennia-lost Elven race will return to plague the lands of Men, twisted beyond recognition by poison and enslavement. A mythical hero will lead them, clad in sorcerous metal which gives him command of the elements themselves. And a terrifying magical artefact, hidden away by an elusive organisation of mages, will reveal its true power and purpose. If you thought beating Alduin was too much to ask, you might want to head south for the winter.
Those, at least, are my current deductions about Skyrim's first, timed Xbox-exclusive DLC pack, titled Dawnguard and slated to debut at E3 2012. Bethesda hasn't exactly rammed hard facts down our throats over the months since release: besides a tantalising sizzle reel of unimplemented Skyrim features, the publisher's let slip one and but the one image. To the untrained eye, it looks like a bloke in a horned hat with glowy eyes. To the trained eye, it looks like... a bloke in a horned hat with glowy eyes. Thanks, Beth.
That hasn't stopped determined Elder Scrollers rifling for hints. Users over at the official Skyrim forums struck gold in April when they uncovered a mysterious new folder in Skyrim update 1.5.26 for PC. Labelled "DLC01", it's full of tantalisingly titled assets - assets which suggest that my earlier ruminations about the activities of Mehrunes Dagon may have been unfounded. "CrossBow_IdleDrawn". "SnowElfPrinceFireBall". "RF_SeriousToPlayful". We're through the looking glass here, people. Time for some epic descriptive passages.
The Snow Elves, see, are the Falmer - the creatures who populate the ruins of Blackreach. They weren't always eyeless, sallow-skinned mutants, eking out a violent tribal existence in the cellar. They once ruled a mighty civilization, extending right across the face of Skyrim. But then the first human settlers arrived from the northern continent of Atmora, crossing the Sea of Ghosts. At first the two races were friendly, but the Elves became perturbed by mankind's breeding rate, fearing that they would soon be outnumbered. So they struck, sacking the great city of Saarthal and driving the survivors into the ocean.
It proved a costly mistake. Years later, the Nord hero Ysgramor returned from Atmora with his fabled Five Hundred Companions and declared war on all non-human races. The Elves were beaten, routed and hunted through their lands. They rallied briefly at the Moesring mountains in Solstheim under the leadership of the fearsome Snow Prince, but the latter's unlikely death at the hands of a grieving child brought Snow Elf resistance to an end. The host fled into the caverns and tunnels of northern Tamriel, seeking refuge among their sibling race the Dwemer. Instead of welcoming the refugees as equals, however, the Dwemer enslaved and degenerated them, force-feeding their brethren poisonous fungi to weaken their eyes and minds.
8 comments so far...
msbhvn on 19 May '12 said:
Nice investigation, Ed. There's so much lore in Elder Scrolls games if you have the inspiration to look for it. It's a shame the main quest of Skyrim wasn't so riveting, but some story driven DLC will be most welcome. Can't wait for E3, when Bethesda will finally tell us something and stop bloody teasing!
Grummy on 19 May '12 said:
y'know, this whole first DLC is leaving me pretty underwhelmed. What I want from my Skyrim updates and DLC is more expansion on the base gameplay, not more story and quests. Don't get me wrong, those things ARE welcome too, but the problem with just having those is that once you've played through them, then its over, only to be played again months or years down the line. Expanding on the basic gameplay, adding new weapons, new monsters, new animations, more involved ambient gameplay, these things last throughout the whole of the game, and matter more to me. Right now, the best thing about this DLC is the prospect of Crossbows, which I'm not actually all that fussed about using myself, I just like that they're being added.
OXM ETboy on 19 May '12 said:
Cheers, but trust me - I've only dipped a toe. Check out what Michael Kirkbride (former Bethesda man) wrote about the Eye of Magnus - http://www.imperial-library.info/content/kinmune. I can only hope he's taking the piss.
Clanger67 on 19 May '12 said:
Bloody hell,pretty deep stuff,lol.
mistergrimm on 19 May '12 said:
wtf did i just read
EdDeRs1 on 19 May '12 said:
we do know what happend to the Dwemer, they messed about with the artifact the Heart of Lorkhan, said to be the heart of a god who had it ripped out by other gods for createing the world, when the Chimer attacked at the Battle of Red Mountain they used it but somethign went wrong, and they vanished, but what we still dont know is why they vanished, we know how. But what can i say, a war against the Snow Elves sounds epic, but what im still waiting for is the chance to take the fight to the High Elves and kick them and there rediculous pointy ears out of Skyrim.... FOR THE EMPIRE!!!! oh and the Wood Elves, bloody traitors.... but odds are that wont happen till the last bit of DLC, but for all we know they may ally with us to fight the Snow Elves in Dawnguard.
oh and when it comes to that spear.... i think my Boomstick has other ideas, THAT SPEARS MINE!!!! unless it needs the archery skill to use then its yours
lovinit on 20 May '12 said:
Blimey... Well I can wait to see how this turns out..Been long in the tooth for the DLC, hope its worth it. Loved/Love Skyrim, but currently on a back burner until DLC turns up..Fingers X.
jaydee93 on 24 May '12 said:
This sounds epic and all but i think it would be better if the snow elves came back and joined the thalmor....levaing the humans in trouble so they come up with a way to bring back the dwemer and there a kick ass battle to settle whos best throw in a few awesome weapons/armors and one or two new areas and that would be my ideal dlc pack