I've spoken quite a bit about the High Elf situation in Skyrim in my Imperial article, and a small amount in my Redguard article, also. In comparison to previous Elder Scrolls titles Altmers in particular have a much greater role to play in proceedings than before. And interestingly it all begins with what happened after the conclusion of Oblivion.
If you played through to the end of Oblivion, and completed the Main Quest, then you'll know how the Oblivion Crisis really ended - the sacrifices made and how it all panned out. Well, that was the how it was
seen to have transpired in The Empire. The Elves, however, had their own take on things...
During the Oblivion Crisis transport gates from Oblivion were opening up all over Tamriel. In the Summerset Isles, homeland of the High Elves, The Thalmor claimed that THEY had defeated the Daedra, and closed the gates to Oblivion. Hailed as heroes by High Elves and Wood Elves alike The Thalmor used the Oblivion Crisis as a way of furthering their own agenda, uniting both races as a second version of the Aldmeri Dominion, a coalition of Elves governed by The Thalmor.
And so began a very complicated period in Elder Scrolls history. Because as far as The Thalmor are concerned the Oblivion Crisis was the fault of the weakness of Men. They vehemently believe that THEY ended the crisis ( No MAN could have done that ) and that the age of Men ruling over Tamriel had to come to end. They waged War for 30 years with The Empire, taking control of several provinces, and while peace was eventually achieved it seems very much that it was only pressed for because The Empire were not looking likely to win. They managed to force The Thalmor out of Cyrodiil itself, but territories such as Elsweyr (Homeland of the Khajiits), Black Marsh (Homeland of the Argonians) and (until its liberation by the Redguards) Hammerfell had all fallen under Thalmor control.
This is what happens when you don't have a Septim Emperor on the throne...
In Skyrim The Thalmor very much see The Empire as only still existing because they allow it to be so. The peace treaty signed at the end of the war allows them to move freely across the entire Empire and hold Embassies in places of their choosing throughout the provinces of The Empire. This is why you'll encounter them in several places out on the road in Skyrim, and how they hold one such Embassy, up near Solitude. They also have a representative in the Mage College up in Winterhold, and Justicers keeping a watchful eye over the Jarl of Markarth, in Underhold Keep. There's a clear and definite presence, that's for sure.
It's no secret that they consider themselves the 'Superior Race' of Tamriel, as they walk around in their sharp black robes. They are quite deliberately fascistic both in outlook and design. They believe that any reference to Men being even as capable as Merfolk must be scorched out. It's why the worship of Talos, the Man who ascended to a God, is banned across the whole of Tamriel, as a term which The Thalmor insisted upon in declaring peace with The Empire. And as you'll see, they hunt down anybody who breaks that rule.
In creating a High Elf character it's hard NOT to have that in the background. While I certainly wasn't setting out to produce some kind of distasteful Elf-Supremacist character, it does kind of set a scene for how
the Altmers are perceived in Skyrim. So I decided that as far as the game was concerned while my High Elf wouldn't exactly be setting out to hunt down Talos worshippers and generally be evil, they would treat encounters with The Thalmor as respectfully as possible. After all as a native of Alinor to them The Thalmor would be agents of the government. THEIR government. So a certain amount of somewhat wary respect would be necessary.
And here is result. This Ocato - High Elf Mage. And purely a mage, at that. No Battlemage hybrids, with heavy armour or swords to assist. Ocato was going to wear Mage Robes, choose to activate The Mage Stone, and fight purely with Spells. High Elves have the highest starting Magicka of all races in the game, making them prime candidates for pure magic users. They also have the ability to trigger a higher regeneration rate of Magicka once per day. Ideal.
I had originally planned to create a female High Elf Mage. But a key criticise I have over the new Elf face styles in Skyrim is that while I feel that they really do suit the Wood Elves with High and Dark Elves it's a very different picture. For male characters it's not so bad, but female High Elves? It's really not easy to produce a female High Elf who... well, doesn't in some way look vaguely haggard or grotesque. Especially when hair is added.
It's a little bit annoying. I find it somewhat difficult to believe that such Elves would find it quite so easy to blend into everyday society in Skyrim. Female Elves in Fantasy games tend generally to be considered to be
outstandingly beautiful. I dont expect the see the insanely porny big-boobed fantasy elves in Skyrim ( Much like so many mods which were made for Oblivion ) but it would be nice to be able to produce a female elf who looks a little more in step with the aesthetic of other races in Skyrim. They stand out as just looking
quite... odd to me.
I had Ocato exit Hegen with Hadvar. I figured a High Elf to more likely to trust an Imperial than to take up with a Nord freedom fighter, even if that didn't result in his joining up with The Imperial Army. A pure Mage in the Army is GOING to get his ass kicked...
While obviously the majority of armour and weapons available during the tutorial sequence very much caters for Warriors there ARE still Mage options. Every character has 'Flames' and 'Healing' available at the start
of the game. A spell tome of 'Sparks' is available in a locked cage in the Torturer's chambers, next to the body of a guy dressed in Novice Mage Robes and Hood. The Robes speed up Magicka regeneration and the Hood gives you 30 points extra Magicka. Added to Ocato's already ample Magicka stats this made dual wielding the spells of Flames and Sparks really very easy, and didn't result in the issues I had with my Battlemage, where I could only take down one enemy at once, before my Magicka was drained.
Outside, and down the hill, I chose to activate the Mage Stone, to ensure my Magic skills rose quicker. Hadvar was disappointed by my choice :) I also decided to but on some boots and gauntlets, to give me some kind of armour value, as I had with J'Ram-Dar, my Argonian Thief. It wasn't going to make a huge difference, but Light Armour in those two places didn't feel to be too much of a betrayal. If I could pick up some enchanted versions at some point later, or enchant them myself, I could either improve that armour value, or make other spell schools cheaper to cast. That would be acceptable.
Of course starting with Hadvar means you have access to Alvor's house and the obvious suggestion to use the forge. I had Ocato do a bit of Smithing, for the levelling. Improving those leather gloves and boots, and smithing some armour for a companion. It seemed wrong not to, really. I have no intention of taking the Perks from the Smithing tree, but this early level up allowed me to reduce the cost of some spells before heading out, and getting closer to getting the Perk for get a Dual Casting bonus. I also turned those Wolf and Bear Hides into Leather armour to sell back to Alvor.
Wearing such light apparel also provides the advantage that you're always going to be able to carry a bit more loot than your Heavy Armoured characters. I got plenty of cash from selling my Helgen loot, and supplemented it by chopping wood, and selling it to Hod at the Mill. This allowed me to pick up as many Spell Tomes as I could. The selection at The Riverwood Trader is a little bit limited, but it did get me important spells like 'Oakflesh' and 'Frostbite'. Frostbite meant I could dual wield the two opposing Elements of Fire and Ice, which covers the weaknesses of most enemies in the game. Oakflesh is essential if you're only wearing Robes. It gives you some actual physical resistance, which given the number of melee situations up at Bleak Falls Barrow was going to come in most handy.
As you can see I opted to adopt Sven as Ocato's follower. I supposse Lore wise it would have been more sensible to take Faendal (In an all Elves in-it-together sort of way), but I wanted somebody to cover melee situations, rather than ranged attacks. I had range sorted with my magic. So I spent the last of my cash buying Sven some solid Steel Armour, and headed up the mountain. He was able to fight at close quarters where needed. Sure, as with when I was playing as Cassius, he did have a habit of walking INTO Ocato's line of fire. But he survived it. It worked out okay.
It is a shame in some ways that there are no 'finisher' moves for Spellcasters. At least I haven't experienced any so far, anyway. But there is a level of satisfaction in setting an enemy on fire, knowing that even as you back away to flee on occasion, they are still taking damage from your handiwork. Oakflesh did seem to do its job, and while I did still take a fair bit of damage if three Draugrs attacked at once, I did still survive. I was also able to take down two enemies in a row before my magicka was spent. It was clear that in the long run I was going to need to keep a stash of Magicka potions on me, but this was a little more forgiving than my Battlemage playthrough.
So, having made it to the Word Wall and taken care of the Draugr Boss, I was actually quite pleased with Ocato's progress. Using purely magic did raise my levels up a fair bit. By the time we'd left Bleak Falls he had the Dual Casting bonus Perk, and the first level of Augmented Flames. Upping my Destruction Magic skills looked like it wasn't going to be too difficult to achieve.
The next step seemed obvious. I could either take Ocato to Whiterun, to face of against a Dragon (Hmmmm. Maybe I should have opted for Augmented Frost...) or to make the long trek up the map to the Mage college at Winterhold. I needed more Magic like a magic junkie, and somehow I didn't think that the General Store in Whiterun was going to give me my fix...
We'd see. But I'd say that Ocato pushing for a chance to be Archmage at some point was pretty much a given. :)
Good stuff.
Next Time: A Dark Elf Spellsword. Come back and see...
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