Kvaasik - The Unsinkable City

1 - The Rise of Thras
2 - The Cold Front
3 - Change in Wardrobe
4 - The Unsinkable City
5 - An Unlikely Patron

So far, I had experienced two main biomes of Skyrim: blood-freezing snowscape and insect-infested swampland. The latter region reminds me of certain parts of Thras, with an abundance of shallow pools and gnarled trees. I could begin to envision the Sload-filled Tamriel that S’Gast had foreseen; the polwygle pools where a new generation of Sload would thrive, the armies we would amass from both the living and dead, the temples that the locals will build in honor of the great Sload conquest.

I encountered another Imperial encampment, in which I lingered to become a bit more familiar with Tamrielic speech patterns that I yet to master. The language of these people still seems very alien to me. I have not said any phrase with more than three words, and yet even those syllables felt like small, squirming creatures trying to escape my mouth. After nearly an hour within the camp, the soldiers’ idle chitchat faded into tired silence, so I decided to move on. Soon, I could see the astonishing sight of Solitude in the distance.

Solitude sat upon an enormous archway made of stone, the buildings atop it glowing through their windows to contrast the night-stained sky. But, between me and the path leading to Solitude was a wide river speckled with the stars’ reflections. Swimming was not an issue for me, as swimming is a popular form of transportation in Thras. Even in cold waters, I was more comfortable in an ocean or lake than on land. So, naturally, I waded into the brackish river, made inky black with nighttime, and submerged myself completely.

However, about fifteen seconds into the deep water, I noticed a tight feeling in my chest, like a shard of glass was lodged in my torso. I realized almost too late—humans do not have waterbreathing capabilities. I flailed my arms wildly in a mad frenzy to reach air, and I broke the surface just when my lungs ran out. I gulped heavy breaths, both surprised and disappointed by this crucial weakness of the Tamriel-dwellers. Staying in this repulsive form will be much more unbearable without the amphibious nature of the Sload. I suppose everything has a price.

I found a cool, dry place to sleep for the night, tired from the travelling and soaking wet from the swim. It was in a small tunnel in the base of the cliff that supported the city of Solitude, which perhaps led into the city itself. The door to the tunnel was shabby and unused, so I supposed that no one would find me there. I took off my waterlogged armor and slept bare on the ground, as the Sload did in Thras.

In the morning, I woke up, dry and refreshed. My leather armor was slightly damp and a bit tight, but I still wore it without issue. I followed the tunnel I had slept in into Solitude, which belittled me with its size. Walls surrounded the city, composed of small gray bricks. Imperial flags, waving in the wind, peppered the city, sometimes accompanied by banners with a wolf’s head. Such a stronghold does not exist in Thras.

The leader of the encampment near Dawnstar asked me to deliver the message to Legate Rikke. The scroll was held safely in one of the Imperial armor’s pockets, which were apparently waterproof, as the scroll was only slightly damp. I could nearly predict what it entailed; probably just my potentially false news as to the positions of the Stormcloaks. I had no reason to open it, as it may even ruin my cover if the scroll was found untied.

However, before reporting to Legate Rikke (wherever she is, as I still have no idea of the layout of this place), I suppose that I should first become familiar with Solitude, as it is Skyrim’s capital city. A metropolis of such splendor must hold quite a lot of power in Skyrim’s economy, and could be a major point of resistance against the Sload. Memorizing this walled city could mean the difference between success and failure.