Journal of Karatus the Imperial

[HighFligher]

Background story: Karatus was leading the execution of stormcloak soldiers at Helgen. Just fresh in from Cyrodiil, he was feeling the harsh cold winds of Skyrim and longed to be back in the Imperial City, at the heart of his beloved empire. But, for Titus Mede II's sake, he must fight the stormcloaks and put down this feeble attempt at a rebellion.

As soon as he arrived in skyrim, he felt the trouble ahead. He had heard stories about the Thu'um, of the power of Ulfric Stormcloak's power. This was far from the safety of his home in Cyrodiil, and the family he so dearly loved. His father, a great and honoured legionnare, and was greatly respected by all. Karatus had been taught some of the ways of the sword by his father, but was still very much a novice. The time of his father's death was a painful time for Karatus, and on that day he swore oath to the empire and to his father's legacy.

It was a quiet day at the time of the execution, and Karatus assumed it was to be a solemn occasion. That was, until one of the stormcloak prisoners became free from the binds of strong imperial law and released ulfric stormcloak's gag. It was on this day Karatus witnessed the horrific power of the voice. The revolt of helgen had just begun. Some of the legionnares escaped Ulfric's terrible power, however, many honourable legionnares were lost that day. Karatus was tied up, looted, and left for dead. With life leaving him, he managed to escape and make his way to a small town Riverwood.

Large Influence from BIGwooly in this!

II - GENERAL PLAY RESTRICTIONS
- proceed through the game intro and then leave the cave with NOTHING
- difficulty set to 'master'
- HUD set to 0%
- brightness dropped down 2 notches
- only carry 30% of what game allows
- only carry 30 arrows max
- must fully sheath weapon to use a potion
- may not harvest unreasonable items (if a dead elk has a garnet don't take it)
- may not activate overpowered/unrealistic perks (like conditioning; heavy armor weighs nothing)
- must sleep for at least 8 hours every day (allowed to make rare exceptions)
- must eat 3 meals a day (allowed to make rare exceptions)
- must always carry clothing (worn under armor)
- may not use smithing or enchanting (must find/purchase all gear)
- may not swim while wearing armor
- may not enter freezing water unless on a horse
- may not use in-game map unless at a known location
- may not fast travel (except by cart)
- may not use exploits
- may not cut wood for money
- if you set off a trap and it injures you then you are dead
- may only use manual saves after sleeping (resting)
- when character dies must load from the most recent save
- if character dies must return to an inn and wait (recover) for 7 days
- must spend 300 gold with the innkeep to cover room and board

- a mercenary's fee is for (1) 24-hour period
- a companion may carry 10% of your carry ability
- when a companion/mercenary dies they are dead, no save loading

- a horse may carry 10% of your own carry ability
- you may not access the 10% that your horse is carrying during combat
- when carrying items back to your horse you may not use sneak or have a weapon drawn
- horse must be fed 5 points of health per day (it is assumed horse will also eat grass)
- if horse dies it is dead, no save loading

 

[HighFligher]

Sundas, 17th of Last Seed, 4E 201

Today has arguably been the worst day of my life. It's a godsend that I'm still alive, and I fear had I been tied up any longer I would not be writing this journal. But I digress, today has shaken me in a way that no draugr, vampire, or any other abomination could have. The voice of a monster.

If I hadn't agreed to come over to this gods-forsaken wasteland with tullius, I'd be downing all the mead I could, back in Cyrodiil. But alas, the past cannot be changed, and I am here, in this remote village Riverwood, with nothing to my name.

My knuckles are raw and my feet ache from all the hunting I've done today. I've managed to kill two deer and a fox. This lifestyle really isn't for me, I can't keep up with the deer in Skyrim, they run, quick as an arrow! And after selling all my venison, antlers and pelt, all I had was enough for food and board at the sleeping giant inn!

Tommorow I hope to earn enough septims to buy a nice iron sword I've seen today at the blacksmiths to give my knuckles a little rest. It's not much, but it'll have to do until I muster enough strength & resources to find the legion headquarters in Skyrim. But tonight I eat the salmon I caught and rest. It's going to be a long day tommorow.

 

[HighFligher]

Morndas, 18th of Last Seed 4E 201

I'm eating lunch at about 12 O'clock as I write this, but it's been a long and eventful morning, so i'll start at the beginning.

I woke this morning at 6AM, with a goal in my head. I was going to buy that Iron sword. I would go and hunt some elk, still with just my fists. I thought I could pick flowers and hunt animals and then sell my bouquets and hides & venison for the coin. So I ate some bread, drank some ale and I was ready to go!

I set out from Riverwood towards the south entrance, picking flowers for the bouquets and chasing Elk and Deer, in the hopes of somehow being undetected. Then, while I was about ten paces away, I caught a glimpse of a grazing Elk. It was huge! The biggest I have seen for a while, and I wasn't about to pass up this chance. I chased the Elk down the road until it came to an old, worn dirt path with some stones, going upward. I followed the Elk until it came to an Abandoned Mine, or so I thought.

Suddenly, out of the blue, I felt a sharp, piercing pain in my back. I turned around swiftly to see a giant orc in some fur armor lumbering above me. I assumed he was just a simple bandit or brigand, but still, without any armor or weapons, I stood no chance, and he would soon overpower me. As I felt a sense of impending doom creep upon me, I remembered something my father taught me back in Cyrodiil. He taught me my Imperial-Born Power of commanding the voice of the Emperor Titus Mede Himself. It was at a cost though, as the power could only be used once a day. I unleashed my persuasive, soothing voice, and it seemed to quell my enemy's rage. It had worked! I used this chance to sneak attack the enemy, doing lots of damage. I punched, punched, and punched some more through the pain as the Orc's weapon pierced my feeble roughspun tunic. Eventually though, through what seemed like a million punches, his life left his body, and I felt a supreme sense of relief. From his body, the scum had nothing more than an Iron Sword on him! He also had his armor which I took, which was sadly too big for myself, and some gold. I took his armor back to Riverwood to sell.

Upon venturing out again I came across a pack of wolves. They were focused on attacking a stray dog. I saw this as my opportunity to strike while the wolves didn't notice me, their pelts would fetch a nice price from a blacksmith. However after killing the wolves and looting their pelts, I noticed the stray dog following me. I couldn't afford to give it any food, but it still kept following me, I think it was grateful for me saving it from the wolves. I expect it will run soon, as right now I'm nothing but a poor peasant eating stale, dry bread and drinking swill cheap ale, not even capable of obtaining good armor. It follows me still though, and has done since this morning.

Arriving to Riverwood and after selling the pelts, me and the dog (whom I have yet to name) decided to make our way to Whiterun, the large city north of Riverwood. Riverwood was useless and didn't have many vendors, and the inn was awful, so I decided we would go to Whiterun. It was 10AM, and it took us 2 hours to reach Whiterun, where I was stopped by a guard telling me about dragons! Hah! What a fool! although when I came from Riverwood, he let me right through.

And now, here I sit, eating bread and ale, while the dog eats some salmon I caught earlier.

 

[Docta Corvina]

Hey, neat! I'm excited to see more stories/journals about Legionnaires, especially those fresh from Cyrodiil. I've been interested to see what other writers think such soldiers would in turn feel about being in Skyrim, about the Stormcloaks, Nord ways, etc.

I'm looking forward to reading more of this!

 

[HighFligher]

Hey! Thanks for showing your interest, I appreciate it! I'm working on another entry right now, I really enjoy playing this way, it feels so much more real!

 

[HighFligher]

Afternoon of Morndas, 18th of Last Seed 4E 201

Tonight I rest in the very Nordic inn, the bannered mare, after a long afternoon of money and resource gathering.

After eating my lunch, I sat and pondered for a while, whether to rid myself of this infernal dog that was following me everywhere. In the end I decided against it, just in case it would run away soon. After coming to that decision I headed out of the city to do some hunting, to gather money, and it turned out to be quite the adventure!

I walked east out of the city to look for some Elk and deer. I saw a few deer grazing near a giant camp. It was a risky move as my sword was weak and iron, and took a few hits to take out a deer, and it would be a wasted effort for it to just simply run into the giant camp. So I waited for an hour to examine where this deer would go. It turns out it ran straight into the giant camp, possibly because this dog was still following me, barking at me in such a way it would send my prey running.

Walking north on the outskirts of the city brought me to a small rocky alcove carved into the east side of Whiterun and, from what I could see it had been inhabited by two bandits that I luckily caught sight of before I stupidly ran in. I sat and formed a plan of attack on these brigands and while planning something caught my attention. A man was sneaking up towards me. I approached him, and he said to me that he wanted me to hold onto something, and that if I double-crossed him he'd kill me. He was lucky I didn't have my true Imperial force behind me, or he would be in for some reckoning. Although when I checked, he had given me a great gift. Hide Bracers Of Minor Wielding, he called them. They greatly increased the power of my one-handed weaponry. These could be useful!

About ten seconds later I was approached by another man, who was looking for his hide bracers. At this point I had to suck up my sense of justice and take them, they would be valuable to me in the future. I told him the thief ran away. Then I decided to attack the bandits. I lunged in for the archer, dealing heavy damage to him, and when he recovered from the shock of the blow, before he could attack, the dog attacked! I was astonished as the dog tore him to pieces! the fight wasn't over though, and with my little helper, We leapt on the other bandit like a sabre cat leaps on it's prey. They weren't very tough bandits, although one of them was clad in Iron armor which sadly again didn't fit me. Then looking to my left, it must've been the bandit's horse! this was even more useful for carrying things for sale back to Whiterun.

After I made the first trip to Whiterun to sell the bandit's goods, I came back to the alcove and looted some poisons and a potion that would grab me some gold back in Whiterun, at an alchemist's I had seen.
however while I was Mercilessly ransacking the place, a group of four high-ranking bandits set upon me! There was one In head to toe heavy armor, and three other mages! this must be the dead bandit's comrades, and they were thirsting for my blood!

I unleashed my soothing Voice of the Emperor to calm my enemies as I made my getaway on their horse.
after selling all of my goods, I had around 200 Gold coins! My pockets were heavy as I headed off to the Bannered Mare to get some rest, when I overheard a woman talking about a man who was stalking her. I offered to help, as there were likely more coins for offer, and because Whiterun is an Imperial town, and it sounds like this man was out of order, which is important that I should deal with these petty matters to keep the empire's citizens safe. It seems I was correct. Skyrim houses many an arrogant nord, but this one takes the sweet roll. It seems most of these 'Sons of Skyrim' lack class and etiquette, possibly why they're so barbaric. The man that was 'stalking' the woman in the market was nothing more than a bard, so I kindly asked him if he could leave Carlotta (the woman) alone, on my behalf, to which this nord buffoon insinuated that I desired her for myself! Ha! It's seems like even a simple request is too much for this stubborn race, and he wanted a brawl. I wouldn't drag myself down to a stalker's level, so I simply paid him, as my care for this citizen was more than my lust for gold. As I left to tell Carlotta about the bard, 67 gold coins down, she thanked me greatly, and gave me a lot of coins! 250 to be precise! It seems that the eight are smiling down at my generosity today!

But alas, it had been a long day, and I grow weary. I shall eat some cooked venison, and give the dog some salmon meat, it seems like he'll be around for a while.