Info on Mirkmire.
A voriplasm digests someone in seconds.
404 Meet the Character - Jaxsik-Orrn said:
There we stood, calf-deep in ooze and blood. I looked left to see Kuseem drowning in voriplasm. He died well, but could not utter his final death-curse. He just made a gurgling sound, like a guar with its throat cut. His face, once sharp and covered in bright red war-paint, sloughed off his skull like a wet rag. All in one piece. Dissolving in a pool of green slime, right before my eyes.
They also cause weapons to corrode and break apart.
Meet the Character - Jaxsik-Orrn said:
Slime-covered ghouls approached from all sides. I crushed and cleaved, just as my root-mother, and her root-mother before her, had done. But my weapon, becoming coated in corrosive slime, sagged and cracked, growing weaker with every strike. Weaker and weaker. Just like Tlek. Just like me.
Jaxsik-Orrn defeats the voriplasms and their skeleton puppets, even as they smash grave-stakes at her (an image of a grave-stake for scale below).
Meet the Character - Jaxsik-Orrn said:
As I prepared to charge headlong into the Dread-Father’s arms one last time, I heard a hiss and a roar behind me. It was Jaxsik-Orrn. In that moment, I knew we would survive.
She set upon the voriplasms with such rage and strength that even I, her egg-brother, felt a hatchling’s fear well up in my throat-sac. Grave-stakes that the dead-not-dead wielded like clubs crashed against her armor, shattering in a spray of splinters and blood. Voriplasms lashed at her legs, leaving ragged wounds on her calves and thighs. But no injury, large or small, slowed Jaxsik-Orrn’s assault.
In the end, nothing remained of our enemies but broken bones and clumps of slowly fading ooze. Despite her seeping wounds, my sister lurched toward what remained of Kuseem, knife in hand. “Fight on, root-brother,” she whispered reverently, before prying what remained of his head from his ragged corpse.
Part of the main quest involves you entering a dream-wallow, where you enter the dreams and memories of someone else, and experience them too (which is in line with traversing dreams and memories in the Vaermina quest Skyrim, although in this case your body remains behind).
2:24, Hist trees reach deep into Nirn and to lands beyond Argonia, and thanks to the Hist, Argonians realise that some things are certain.
Murkmire said:
Xukas: The root bleeds slow and dry, but this is definately deep sap. We Bright-Throats use this in our dream-wallows. I think this is no coincidence.
Vestige: Deep sap? I didn't see any Hist trees outside.
Xukas: Hist roots strech very far, beeko. Deep down into the heart of xul-Nirn and out into distant lands.
I cannot say what tribe serves this Hist, but the message is clear. The deep sap is here so we can take it. For your dream-wallow.
Vestige: Are you sure I'm the one who should undertake the dream-wallow?
Xukas: Yes. Many things feel uncertain, but your role pounds like a drum in my mind. The deep is for you. The dream-wallow is for you.
Vestige: How can you be sure?
Xukas: With the Hist, some things are certain. I could try to explain it, but this is like trying to explain how to breathe underwater to someone who is not a fish.
I mean no offence. As a not-fish, you are one of the best.
Vestige: Thanks.
6:25, you enter the dream-wallow and examine the mural. You then enter a vision of the past. This is because you have entered someone elses memories (Famia is also partially experiencing them, and even comments on smelling smoke and tasting blood and such) (7:19).
Murkmire said:
Famina Mercius: I heard a name - Mateem. I...I think our friend is reliving an ancient Argonain's memories!
Online:Death and Dreaming - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP) Journal Entry (Online) said:
Xukas and Jaxsik-Orrn used the reagents they found to create a potent mind-altering smoke. I must breathe it in to begin the dream-wallow.
Journal Entry (Online) said:
My mind is reeling! A tangle of roots parted to reveal an ancient mural. I should see what I can learn from it.
Journal Entry (Online) said:
In touching the mural, my consciousness was transported to a distant, dreamy marsh. And my body has taken on the aspect of an unfamiliar Argonian. I should explore the marsh. Perhaps I'll find some sign of the Remnant here.
8:43, Myndhal (an Aylied) stops an Argonian and sucks his soul out (at first I thought he got sucked in entirely, but a below gif clears this up).
Murkmire said:
Myndhal: Ah, another soul for our harvest? Delightful.
13:55, the Aylieds have hundreds of soldiers attacking (and the Argonian tribe slaughtered the first wave), and Myndhal rips out the scouts soul (this gif is much clearer on what happens).
Murkmire said:
Scout: They are coming! They are coming!
The Elves! More come, raj-kaal. Hundreds more!
Ra-Kael Druxith: How? We slaughtered them here like hog-fish.
Scout: That was only the first wave.
Raj Kaal Druxith: Kaoc. Fine ! Fall back to the Hist. We fight and die in its shadow. Bare your fangs, root-kin!
Myndhal: Yes, by all means - bare your fangs! I wouldn't want this to be too easy.
19:11, Sap-Speaker Kuzei sees that you are not Mateem (the ancient Argonian who's memories you're visiting), but sees you for who you really are. She also refers to events in your present and future (such as the location of the Remnant and the betrayal, by Kassandra, the sacrifice, by Jaxsik-Orrn).
Murkmire said:
Sap-Speaker Kuzei: Mateen-who-is-not. At last.
The sight of you warms my scales. I feared you would not come, but I was wrong. The Hist, in its wisdom, always provides.
Vestige: Mateem-who-is-not? You can see who I really am?
Sap-Speaker Kuzei: In this place, even the keenest eyes see little but embers of the truth, Rootmender. Here, we see with our souls. But these are questions for a dozing time. This moment demands action.
You seek the seed, correct?
Vestige: Seed? Do you mean the Remnant of Argon?
Sap-Speaker Kuzei: What you call it matters little.
The seed, this Remnant, waits in a dark and quiet place, and our souls hide within it. It calls for a protector, a guide, and a mentor that might lift it high and release its spirits in the bright-yellow sun.
Vestige: How can I find the Remnant?
Sap-Speaker Kuzei: I offer you my staff - a branch of great power. It will guide you to us.
Many branbles and snares remain, Rootmender. Betrayal, battle and sacrifie. But the Hist knows your heart and your strength. In time, you shall find what you seek.
Vestige: Thank you. If it will help guide me to the Remnant, I'll take your staff.
Sure enough, Kassandra betrays you and steals the staff right afterwards (which means one can interact with the dream-wallow and bring things back with them).
1:49, Kassandra goes through an Aylied gate powered by vakka stones rather than Aylied stones, and you have to find another vakka stone, which absorb energy from the Sun.
Murkmire said:
Famia Mercius: An Aylied gate? How long did those invaders stay in Murkmire? Never mind. It must need a welkynd stone to function. Let's have a look around.
Like an Oblivion Gate needs a sigil stone, an Aylied gate needs a welkynd stone.
3:35, the gate activates (it's called a Nexus gate).
4:00
Murkmire said:
Famia Mercius: So, she found a use for the Kajin-Jat Crystal after all. Damn! Goodness, languade. Sorry, I meant...no, no, I didn't mean it! Damn!
Without an empowered vakka crystal of that scale, we're stuck here.
Vestige: It's an Aylied gate like the one we just passed through. Can't we just find another welkynd stone?
Famia Mercius: It won't work.
Did you see how the gate glowed yellow as she walked through it? And how these stones lit up as she passed? Somehow, I think this gate only responds to Argonian vakka stones - stones like the Kajin-Jat Crystal.
Vestige: We found the Kajin-Jat crystal before. We can find another vakka stone around here somewhere.
Famia Mercius: Ha. I thought I was supposed to supply the optimism. You're right, of course. We just need to find one that's been soaking up the sun's rays.
Have a look around. I'll stay here and try to puzzle out another method in case you come up empty-handed.
5:31, you enter another Aylied gate, and end up in an...interesting landscape.
Blue light and floating pillars. Along the way, you see the visions (memories) of two people (Myndhal and Hautern), who speak.
Murkmire said:
Myndhal: After all this time, this is all we could manage...a lifeless vault of qateways, availing us nothing!
The journal of an explorer who got lost here for a week and died.
Online:Doomed Explorer's Journal - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP) Doomed Explorer's Journal said:
For seven days, I have wandered the halls of this ruin. By the end of the second, I found myself hopelessly lost. By the end of the fifth, I ran out of food. Now, as the sun sets on a full week of quiet misery, I cannot coax even a single drop of water from my canteen. It seems I will die in this place, surrounded by ghosts and prodigious stone gates.
These magic doors, how they mock me! Each whispers promises of escape, but in crossing their threshold, I find no sunlight—only a bright void, then older, still-darker vaults. This Ayleid masonry is so stark. So solemn. While I shall die in the open, I nonetheless feel like I'm already entombed. Buried in a massive stone coffin.
I do not die alone. The veil is thin here. So thin! I heard only whispers at first—Argonian whimpers, and Ayleid voices adrift on the wind. But by the third day, I saw them with my waking eyes: Ayleid ghosts, in all their garish splendor. They did not see me or react to my presence. They only went about their business, reenacting the events of their ancient lives. Some of these vignettes surprise me with their sheer banality. Others, however, feel rich with forgotten truth and arcane menace. Something terrible happened here—to the Argonians at first, then the Ayleids later. Something in (or perhaps beneath) this ruin insists that I watch these events play out; insists that I apprehend the gravity of their consequences. Some force demands that I understand. This is why I die, I think. I fail to understand, and so I must remain.
If anyone finds this journal, pay careful heed to these ghosts. They tell the tale of some great Argonian prize. I only wish I had the insight to learn the deeper truths hidden within their words.
Enough writing for now, I suppose. I see yet another gate nearby. Perhaps this one will lead me home. I just need to gather my strength. A few moments rest is all I need.
Right after that, you end up in another place and fight some Aylieds, including this nameless, totally peak human at best mofo (at 5:54).
6:07
Murkmire said:
Myndhal: Souls do not just vanish, Hautern! Find them, or I will find someone else who can.
The conversation is cut off by the player going through the door, but a new line of dialogue begins right after.
Murkmire said:
Houtern: My lord, this Hist's magicks are unlike any we've encountered before. The souls are pulled to a focus of some kind. Without finding the source...
Myndhal: The Remnant...it always comes back to the Remnant. Continue your search, I have much to consider.
7:23, there's some interesting dialogue, but unforunately the player leaves before you can hear it all again.
Murkmire said:
Hautern: My lord? You wished to show me something?
Myndhal: Cast your eyes across this vast expanse. Tell me, what do you see?
7:39, on the bizzare biology of argonians and their endurance.
Murkmire said:
Myndhal: If the cold doesn't do it, try something else. They're lizards. They can't possibly adopt to everything.
Hourtern: That's the thing. I don't think they are just lizards. I don't know what they are. Their physciology is... I don't know how theyr'e even alive.
Myndhal: Keep trying. There must be some way to break them.
They'll tell me their secrets one way or another.
Also of note, Hourtern caused the temperature here to decrease to the point that it snowed in this chamber.
8:10, the magic of the stone (likely the Remnant of Argon) is compared to the "Light of Magnis given form."
Murkmire said:
Hourtern: We found a suitable stone, my lord. The arcane properties are unlike any I've ever seen before.
Myndhal: Yes. We should have been researching them from the beginning. The Light of Magnus given form. Remarkable.
Right after that you enter another gate, fight Myndhal and kill him, then go on to battle Kassandra and kill her too.
12:43, the Remnant contains the souls of an ancient tribe of Argonians called the Root-Whisper tribe, encased in amber by the Hist to protect them from the Aylieds. However, it was only meant to be temporary, and this drained the tribes Hist tree to a death-like state for sustaining the Remnant for so long.
Murkmire said:
Famia Mercius: There You are. I...I'm sorry, it's very hard...to concentrate. The Remnant called out to me. It...it wannted me to take it, but only for a short time.
We have to be quick.
Vestige: Are you alright?
Famia Mercius: For now, but I can't hold this for long.
This belongs...it belongs to someone else.
This Remnant. I see now. It contains all the souls...all the souls of the ancient tribe. Their name was...the Root-Whisper Tribe. Yes. Yes, that's it.
I know what we have to do.
Vestige: How do you know?
Famia Mercius: Touching the Remnant, I can hear their voices. Old, like stone and willow roots. The souls inside are confused. They escaped the Aylieds, but then...a life in amber.
The Hist kept them safe inside - but it was never meant to last this long...
Vestige: How can we set them free?
Famia Mercius: Go fetch...yes, go fetch Xukas and Jaxisk-Orrn. I can only hold the Remnant. The three of you have a larger role to play. I'll explain it when you get back.
Please, hurry. I...I can only bear the weight of it for a little while longer.
You, Xukas and Jaxsik-Orrn then enter the Remnant, and Jaxisk-Orrn sacrifices herself to lead the Root-Whisper tribe back to the cycle. Within, Sap-Speaker Kuzei recognises you from the past, and says that had Kassandra succeeded to gain the Remnant of Argon, many would have suffered.
The loading screen for this place (a quote from Morian Zenas) says that this is not a physical place, and the mind interprets this location the best it can.
Online:The Remnant of Argon - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP) Loading Screen (Murkmire) said:
"What can the mortal mind do when transported to a place that is not a place? It has no choice but to interpret its surroundings as best it can."—Morian Zenas
Onto other notes, the ancient Argonians used sun-magic to seal one of their structures.
According to legends, Murkmire once extended much further South before it sank into the sea.
Loading Screen (Murkmire) said:
At the southernmost extremity of Black Marsh, the region informally known as Murkmire gradually slopes away from the interior uplands of the north until it fades into the ocean. Legend holds that the land once extended much further south before it sank beneath the waves.
Sithis is Change, and so thus all temples and alters to him are different, though the Teeth of Sithis are the biggest (at least in Murkmire).
Online:Teeth of Sithis - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP) Loading Screen (Murkmire) said:
As Sithis is Change, there are naturally no standards for Sithis altars or chapels—but in Murkmire, there is certainly no larger temple to the Dread Father than the Teeth of Sithis.
Online:Xul-Thuxis (place) - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP) Loading Screen (Murkmire) said:
The name of this place translates from Jel as "Snake-Means-Death City," and it's known to be an ancient center of reverence for Sithis, the Dread Father whose other names are Chaos and Change.
13:55, the Aylieds have hundreds of soldiers attacking (and the Argonian tribe slaughtered the first wave), and Myndhal rips out the scouts soul (this gif is much clearer on what happens).
19:11, Sap-Speaker Kuzei sees that you are not Mateem (the ancient Argonian who's memories you're visiting), but sees you for who you really are. She also refers to events in your present and future (such as the location of the Remnant and the betrayal, by Kassandra, the sacrifice, by Jaxsik-Orrn).
Blue light and floating pillars. Along the way, you see the visions (memories) of two people (Myndhal and Hautern), who speak.
6:07
8:10, the magic of the stone (likely the Remnant of Argon) is compared to the "Light of Magnis given form."
The loading screen for this place (a quote from Morian Zenas) says that this is not a physical place, and the mind interprets this location the best it can.
According to legends, Murkmire once extended much further South before it sank into the sea.
