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Research: Elsweyr

Tags: #ESO 
  • Member
    May 26, 2019

    Of all the far-flung provinces of this great Empire, none may be quite as welcoming as Elsweyr. Don't let their beastly countenance fool you. The Khajiit are, by and large, a friendly and gracious people, eager to host visitors and entice travelers with all manner of goods and services. If you wish to vacation in a land of carefree ease, gentle breezes, and plentiful warmth, look no further! ~ Guide to Northern Elsweyr

    A new chapter means a new dive into the lore of the land and its people, the Khajiit. This chapter is hugely significant because it lets us explore things we've only ever been able read about. It also introduces new fauna, such as the Terror Bird:

    Known locally as the khrasaat, these huge, flightless, carnivorous birds tend to be incredibly aggressive, and are both intelligent and beautiful to behold. I plan to get as close to one as possible. Lone Khajiit warriors often hunt these animals to prove their own ferocity, but they die almost as often as they emerge victorious. ~ Terror Birds: Up Close and Personal

    Northern Elsweyr is also home to gryphons, as seen in flying in the distance (top left).

    We also learn a few new words and terms in Ta'agra:

    Ziss'vo - I think this was introduced with Murkmire. It seems to be an exclamation, used in context like "Ziss'vo, could you work with me here? Just take your gold and act astounded, alright?" The Khajiit also shorten it to ziss to express annoyance, anger, surprise... It could be the cat-equivalent to the Orsimer's "tusk."

    Rhook - This one is used often, much like the Altmer's cerum or ceruval. It's a friendly and respectful term, used in context like "thanks for the help, rhook."

    Kra - Another expression, used like "Kra! How did you hold this hammer so long? Like hot coal on the paws, right?"

    The chapter also gives us a new class to play, The Necromancer, and we can find clues in dialogue to help us get a feel for how the Khajiit of Anequina view the practice.

    Are you playing Elsweyr, or planning to on June 4th? If so, share your discoveries below so that we can cast the light of Jone and Jode onto the many mysteries of the desert! From architecture to flora, or dialogue to Akaviri burial customs - share your findings with us. Also, moon sugar cookies for anyone who can find a new volume of Investigator Vale... I cannot find it no matter how many bookshelves I search :D

  • May 27, 2019

    Is that first picture a screenshot of a city or promotional art? Because it looks really fascinating and you can almost see an Altmeri influence on it in some ways (it reminds me a lot of parts of the Imperial City). Very interested in the architecture of Elsweyr personally, I think the Khajiit have some of the more fascinating styles of building and forging.

    I do like how clearly they're selling the fact that Khajiit don't abhor Necromancy like other cultures, makes it a bit more interesting to hear from their viewpoint because it isn't all about how evil it is. 

  • Member
    May 27, 2019

    This entire thread will probably contain spoilers so I'm just going to type "spoilers" a bunch of times so that actual spoilers don't show up in the feed. Spoilers Spoilers Spoilers Spoilers Spoilers Spoilers Spoilers Spoilers Spoilers Spoilers.

    That should do.

    So while exploring the new zone I stumbled upon one of the side quests that revolves around one of the local vampire clans. This clan seems to be unique in that they don't actively prey on the living; or didn't until their Clan Mother was killed, instead they would protect the dead in exchange for blood and then following the Knahaten Flu they started feeding on animals:

  • Member
    May 27, 2019

    Dragonborn2121 said:

    Is that first picture a screenshot of a city or promotional art? Because it looks really fascinating and you can almost see an Altmeri influence on it in some ways (it reminds me a lot of parts of the Imperial City). Very interested in the architecture of Elsweyr personally, I think the Khajiit have some of the more fascinating styles of building and forging.

    I do like how clearly they're selling the fact that Khajiit don't abhor Necromancy like other cultures, makes it a bit more interesting to hear from their viewpoint because it isn't all about how evil it is. 

    That's loading screen art, captured when entering the Rimmen Palace, I think. I figured it showcased the architectural style very nicely :D

    The necromancy thing is interesting, and the cats don't seem to be all that judgemental about it. There isn't the stigma there is in other cultures, yet they're not so chill that they'll tolerate disrespect. I mean, we can take Goldie's shots of the Tenarr Zalviit vampire clan - the local Khajiit encouraged vampires to watch over their dead by leaving offerings of blood. It's like a contradiction, in a way: They want the undead to safeguard their dearly departed from... What? Necromancers?

    It demonstrates, at the very least, that there is a great deal of respect for the dead (or was at the time the practice was in effect, which may have been many centuries ago), as well as a respect for the undead, the vampires. I don't think this was/is a widespread custom as this is the only example of such an arrangement, but it opens up worlds of possibilities. It's probable individual clans have their own customs, for we see ornate royal tombs and also humble stone cairns out in the desert. It could be something that speaks of Khajiiti individuality over generalisation, which in turn means a great deal of freedom to interpret how our characters feel.

  • May 28, 2019

    Elsweyr, the necromancer and the bard songs are beautiful.

  • Member
    May 28, 2019

    Hasir said:

    Elsweyr, the necromancer and the bards songs are beautiful.

    Totally agree. The necromancer and I had a rocky start. When fans were nagging ZOS for it I suppoerted the idea, although that as more out of a desire to see more options than an actual fondness of the archetype. Then there was all the hype around its unveiling and the penny slowly started to drop that it wasn't as subtle as I had expected or hoped, something that really delayed my interest because I felt it reduced potential options in terms of approach to the class. Yet I'm having a blast with it, and surprised myself by going the magicka route over stamina... despite my whining about how stam characters get the rough end of the stick in terms of class identity despite the necromancer having incredible stamina morphs. Or so I've heard. None of that mattered in the end, I found the angle I needed written upon the Stone of Atonement outside of the Temple of the Hidden Moon in the Ashen Scar:

    Agree about the music, too. What do you (and anyone else) think of the new theme music this update?

  • Member
    June 3, 2019

    It's been a little while since anything was added, so I thought we'd take a little look at something very uniquely Khajiiti, the dro-M'athra. Vastarie explains in response to our use of the term:

    Wait, what?

    Wow.

  • June 3, 2019

    Damn, okay that sounds fascinating as all hell. I really enjoy the idea that there's something almost...wrong about the Khajiit in a way that no other Race can really understand, or at least something that makes them just different on a spiritual level. The connection to Namira is also fairly interesting, gives the Prince something to do after being what I've always felt is a really minor Daedric Prince for so long (as opposed to Dagon, Sheo, Azura, Mephala, Molag Bal or Malacath who always seem extra important to someone). 

    Very, very interesting stuff though.

  • Member
    June 4, 2019

    Dragonborn2121 said:

    Damn, okay that sounds fascinating as all hell. I really enjoy the idea that there's something almost...wrong about the Khajiit in a way that no other Race can really understand, or at least something that makes them just different on a spiritual level. The connection to Namira is also fairly interesting, gives the Prince something to do after being what I've always felt is a really minor Daedric Prince for so long (as opposed to Dagon, Sheo, Azura, Mephala, Molag Bal or Malacath who always seem extra important to someone). 

    Very, very interesting stuff though.

    Right? Absolutely fascinating. This is the stuff I play for xD

    I think all the clues are there, in that one quest. There's that clarification on the ja-kah'jay:

    As well as this book, The Tale of Three Moons:

    I have a feeling that the duality Vastarie talks about is connected with this Moon Beast. Like, the ja-kah'jay or lunar lattice is the collective soul of all the Khajiit. The Moon Beast could be the opposing force, like a collective soul of all the dro-M'athra. Like two big cats snarling at each other from across the void.

  • June 5, 2019

    I know that it's not the only meaning of the word, but I can't help but imagine that the Moon Beast is just screaming profanity at the Khajiit in an attempt to get them to turn 'evil' or whatever. It's ridiculous and we've had our chats about whether the Moon Beast is related to Namira or Lorkhan and all that, but it's sorta funny and I can't get it out of my head now. 

    But yeah, it's all really fascinating to me as someone with 0% real exposure to Khajiit mythology (I know there's a tonne of new stuff but I'm not exactly up to date on the older stuff).