| Wing of the Crow | |
|---|---|
| Type | Plane |
| Realm | Aurbis |
| Appears in | ESO |
The Wing of the Crow is a pocket realm belonging to the Luminary Crow. It was shaped and hewn into being in the same way she chose her form. The reason for the realm's formation was unknown, though the Luminary Indrik theorized that the realms of the Luminaries had formed due to the wisdom of Aetherius, which did not wish for the Luminaries to be both alone and wandering.[1][2][3]
The realm resembles a copy of Shalidor's ancient maze, Labyrinthian, it was shaped by the Crow to be the perfect trial space. As with the realms of all Luminaries, it had a warded door and a key which one had to use to enter it.[2][4][2]
HistoryEdit
CreationEdit
The realm is as old as the Crow, created at the time of her birth.[1][2]
At some point after 1E 2250, [5][6][7] the Scholarium was lost along with Eyevea, which it was located under, transported to the Shivering Isles due to a bargain Shalidor made with the Daedric Prince Sheogorath in exchange for the Folium Discognitum.[2][8]
Knowing that nothing she or the Luminaries could do would outpace the greed of a Daedric Prince, Ulfsild first froze the Luminary Gryphon in a tempest of ice, the magic of which she tied to a ward she left behind. This prevented the enraged Luminary from confronting Sheogorath, a being against whom even he was no match, while also preventing the Prince from discovering the Scholarium and Luminaries, which would've been disastrous.[9][10][11][2][12][13]
Ulfsild than used what time she had to enact a final plan meant to assure that Scribing would not become lost to the world. She used part of her own soul in a ritual that combined her spirit and a copy of her mind from that moment in time, flashing them upon the great wellspring of arcane power she'd gathered in the Scholarium's Scribing Altar, to create a new Luminary of Magic through a ritual described as the ultimate act of Scribing.[2][14][15] Thus the Lumnary Crow was born. With her birth she chose the shape of her physical form, and her personal realm, the Wing of the Crow, was also shaped and hewn into existence in the same manner, and became connected to the Scholarium via its own door.[4][1][2]
With the doors closed, the altar became dormant. Without that beating heart, the mastery of Scribing was believed to stagnate.[2] The Scholarium itself was not discovered, however, for it had been warded against mages, Princes, and powers, long ago, and those defenses held strong even in the Shivering Isles. The Crow did not have much time to speak with Ulfsild, her other self, before the doors were sealed.[2]
Rediscovery of ScribingEdit
In 2E 582, either before or after Eyevea was returned to Tamriel by Shalidor and the Mages Guild, the Scholarium was rediscovered by a group of knights from the Order of the Lamp. During their arrival, complications arose, necessitating the sealing of the doors to prevent a catastrophe, as the once dormant altar became unstable, threatening the lives of everyone present. The disaster was prevented due to the intervention of the Vestige, who replaced the unstable focusing crystal. This potentially also prevented the discovery of the Scholarium by Sheogorath, an event which would've been catastrophic.[2][16]
After the magic was calmed, the Scholarium's caretaker, the Luminary Crow, directed the Vestige to seek out the other Luminaries and gain their support in order to return their strength to the altar. An act equated to inheriting Ulfsild's legacy and leaving a mark on spellcraft itself.[2]
The Inheritor of the Scholarium retraced Ulfsild's footsteps, guided by her echoes and the True Sight Lens she'd left behind to allow them to see magicka as she could, discovering the fable and keys, breaking the wards, and entering the Wings of the Indrik, the Dragon, the Gryphon, and the Netch, to reconnect the Scholarium with them. The Luminaries gave the Inheritor a series of challenges to complete in order to prove themselves as Ulfsild's Inheritor. After their tasks were completed, the Luminaries agreed to lend their power.[3][17][9][1][2]
With their trials completed, the Luminaries granted their Sigils to the Inheritor. Placed at the altar, the Sigils restored the connection between the realms of the Luminaries and the Scholarium, and their strength flowed into the altar once more.[3][18][19][10][20] With their strength fueling it, the altar could once more achieve incredible feats of magic, allowing it to "shape the very heart of magic itself" and translate its very essence into mortal hands with the Luminary as the intermediary, thereby changing, or rewriting, both the magic and the mortal, as the practicioner scrawled their soul upon the page.[2][1] As beings of pure magic the Luminaries were said to have understood magic in a way mortals never could and so, their power, freely given, allowed one to access arcane mysteries most could only dream of. Indeed, scribing was said to have been somehow destined to channel the power of the Luminaries from the start.[2][1] This reconnection led to the great power of the Luminaries causing new Ley Line activity across Tamriel, thus making Affix Scripts, Signature Scripts and Luminous Ink appear across the land[1][21][22][23][24]
With the support of the other Luminaries now assured, the Crow revealed the truth. She was the final Luminary, created by Ulfsild herself, and the last who could lend her power to the Scribing Altar. The chaotic magic that had originally led to the rediscovery of the Scholarium was a result of the Crow's own presence, as Ulfsild's ritual had never been fully refined due to the urgency of the situation not allowing enough time for it.[2]
In the Wing of the Crow the Vestige underwent the final trial to be declared the inheritor of Ulfsild's legacy. Within the Luminary Crow's replica of Labyrinthian, the Inheritor navigated the invisible path through the maze aided by the Fox, who had been tasked to help by Ulfsild herself,[11] broke the wards, and bested the Chimera Aut'arioth, which the Crow had summoned to serve as the final challenge. The Dragon and the other Luminaries than appeared, and acknowledged the Vestige as the inheritor of Ulfsild's legacy. With the final test completed, the Crow guided the Inheritor to retrieve her own Sigil, which Ulfsild had taken with her when she departed, so it too could be added to the Scribing Altar, amplifying its power further.[3][4] Knowing the Inheritor had other adventures calling to them, the Crow chose Order of the Lamp Votary Nahlia to act as the Scholarium's new caretaker. Thus Scribing returned to Tamriel.[2][16]
GalleryEdit
The Crow's Labyrinthian
The Crow within its copy of Labyrinthian
Aut'arioth, the Inheritor's Bane, within the copy of Labyrinthian
See AlsoEdit
- For game-specific information, see the Elder Scrolls Online
article.
ReferencesEdit
- ^ a b c d e f g The Indrik's dialogue in ESO: Gold Road
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q The Crow's dialogue in ESO
- ^ a b c d The Dragon's dialogue in ESO
- ^ a b c The Wing of the Crow quest in ESO: Gold Road
- ^ Loremaster's Archive - Scribing — Votary Nahila
- ^ Mages Guild Charter
- ^ Ulfsild's Log: The Indrik — Ulfsild
- ^ Arch-Mage Shalidor's dialogue in ESO
- ^ a b The Gryphon's dialogue in ESO
- ^ a b The Wing of the Gryphon quest in ESO: Gold Road
- ^ a b The Fox's dialogue in ESO
- ^ Ulfisild's Echo of Regret's dialogue in ESO
- ^ Ulfisild's Echo of Loyalty's dialogue in ESO
- ^ Fable of the Crow
- ^ Ulfsild the Evergreen's dialogue in ESO
- ^ a b The Second Era of Scribing quest in ESO: Gold Road
- ^ The Netch's dialogue in ESO
- ^ The Wing of the Dragon quest in ESO: Gold Road
- ^ The Wing of the Indrik quest in ESO: Gold Road
- ^ The Wing of the Netch quest in ESO: Gold Road
- ^ Sigil of the Dragon Analysis in ESO
- ^ Sigil of the Indrik Analysis in ESO
- ^ Sigil of the Gryphon Analysis in ESO
- ^ Sigil of the Netch Analysis in ESO