The Book of Noxaura – Guardian Defender of Cyrodiil

Stories take on lives of their own.

All writers know this, even very new amateur writers. The story of Noxaura and Aric is no exception. The ongoing journey of Archpriestess and Archmage takes them from the very familiar terrain of Skyrim to the mostly unfamiliar territory of Cyrodiil.

Even if you have played Oblivion one-hundred times, Cyrodiil of the 4e 213 will differ considerable from the Cyrodiil that The Hero of Kvatch would remember. Travel times are, once again, longer. Buildings and structures have appeared that will seem new, but possibly were just not discovered when you last visited. So, in the words of William Shakespeare,

Tis your thoughts that now must deck our kings,

Carry them here and there; jumping o’er times,

Turning the accomplishment of many years

Into an hour-glass.

Thoughts are beautiful things.

Preface

Each of us resides in our own Skyrim universe.

We are all Dragon Born; that much we have in common. But we are men or women, Nord or Imperial or Elf or a member of any number of custom races. We are fighters or thieves or mages, or a combination of the three.

Those of us who choose to write about our universe must begin somewhere, either in a cart on our way to the executioner’s block, or many years after that noteworthy day.

The Skyrim inhabited by Heimdall Aric Belrud Aamutähti, Dragon Born, Archmage, Companion, Thane of Haafingar, Eastmarch, the Pale, Whiterun and the Reach, is introduced to you in the two-hundred-thirteenth year of the Forth Era. Alduin is defeated, as is Harkon and Miraak. The Civil War rages on. Aric has long since scoffed at any attempt to limit him to adopting only two children. Now, at the not-so-ripe-old-age of forty-four, many of his adopted children are adults themselves, and actively assist him in bringing and maintaining peace to Skyrim, while still finding time for their own adventures. Some familiar faces have aged alongside Aric, others seem to be frozen in time. You may ask yourself “merciful Gods, how long have those two Redguard warriors been standing at the Whiterun gate asking about that woman?” It is a fair question.

As with all parallel universes, this one will diverge from your own in certain aspects. Please allow it to do so. It has a life of its own, as I discovered as I was documenting it.

We all ultimately have an appointment with the executioner’s block. It is what we do with the time we have while we inhabit this universe that matters. Use the time well.

Acknowledgements

A Modder named FalmerBane wrote a small follower mod Noxaura – The Wolf Queen Priestess which introduced Noxaura to the Skyrim universe. She came equipped with a diary. It was during my most recent playthrough that I became acquainted with Nox and, after reading her diary, I thought it would be interesting to continue to add to it. Little remains of that original diary. What started out as a fun little idea grew into what you are about to read and, I hope, enjoy. In the process you may recognize incidents from the Amorous Adventures mod produced by Foxfingers, and from the Fight Against the Thalmor series by Dreifeis, female housecarls where there should be male, a twin sister that did not exist in game, an elimination of the cap on adoptable children, travel times that are longer than those experienced in normal game play, characters and language that will remind you of North American First Nations Peoples, an occasional word in Sanskrit, and magical spells and abilities that are not found anywhere in the Elder Scrolls universe. In my attempt to at least make a passing nod to lore friendliness I spent much time googling “Female Nord Names” and “Maps of Tamriel” and “Skyrim Travel Distances” and, my personal favorite, “How long did Serana spend entombed?”

Cover image by Daniel Kamarudin used with permission - Thank you Daniel!

The Elder Scrolls® or Skyrim® names, logos, branding elements, artwork, etc. are the intellectual property of Bethesda Softworks.

This is a work of non-commercial fan fiction and not intended for, or to be used for, commercial purposes.

A separate, and well deserved, thank you to the Skyrim modding community, who have kept Skyrim alive, and allowed it to thrive, for so long.

Copyright © 2021