Hour 5: Nightboat to Solstheim

Solstheim! It's here I'll cut my teeth, make my fortune, and acquire artifacts of unholy might. I arrive a lowly level 6 mage, and by the time I return to the mainland all Tamriel will fear the name Tharon-Zul! I arrive at night, and spend some time wandering around Raven Rock and enjoying the change of scenery:

When dawn breaks, I head out into the wilds of Solstheim, just to see what's out there. I come across powerful enemies very quickly, including Ash Spawn, Ash Hoppers, and Burnt Spriggans, all of which slay me with ease if I don't have my skeleton horde nearby to distract them and soak up damage while I constantly replenish their ranks.

I meet a Dunmer trying to start some kind of mining operation, but he needs 1000 gold to hire enough workers. He hints at a great treasure buried in the earth, so of course I must make it mine, and loan him the money. Afterwards I find his journal which he left carelessly lying around, in which he practically admits to having no idea if there's treasure or not. Oh well, I'll immolate him either way.

Continuing my travels, I come across a herd of these massive and bizarre creatures called Netches:

While their peaceful and should probably just be left alone to live out their days, Tharon-Zul can't permit them to live. They might possess some kind of power that I could absorb by slaying them. Initially I summon my usual skeleton warrior horde to battle them, but they're powerful brutes and smash my army aside before flattening me. However, I re-try with an entourage of skeleton fire-mages this time, and the barrage of flaming death makes short work of them. It turns out they didn't have any power for me to absorb.

I also run into a madman who rants about some kind of 'black book' which drove him insane. I'll have to investigate this further, as I could glean powerful knowledge from such a tome.

Eventually my wanderings lead me to the far side of the island from Raven Rock, where I discover a powerful wizard who lives inside a giant mushroom:

Speaking with him in his magical tower, as well as to his clumsy apprentice, sounds like it offers tantalising opportunities to become more powerful myself, bringing me one step closer to total dominion over all Tamriel. That's 3 promising leads in the last hour - it seems Tharon-Zul has definitely come to the right place.

Hour 4: A Dwemer Dilemma

And so I head to Whiterun for the first time. If there's one thing I don't miss, it's the overly-long winding path that leads to the front gate. But, it's worth it:

Is there a more splendid and welcoming sight in all of gaming?

Travelling first via Honingbrew Meadery, I arrive at night and make my way to Dragonsreach. Ignoring the Jarl for now, I purchase a few spells from Farengar before hesitantly looking through the Phenderix Magic chest in his room (a mod). It contains an ungodly list of spells of every kind imaginable, but I don't want to be greedy and ruin the gameplay experience - I just want something a bit more powerful than my current repertoire. I settle for a few skeletal summons and a ghost warrior summon, and some more powerful fire-based spells. From Farengar I purchase some ward spells as I don't think I've ever used these before.

Feeling more confident now, I fast-travel back to Alftand and invade the exterior ruins with my skeleton horde (I'm level 4 now):

I enter the 'ruined tower' from before and fight my way through a few more Dwemer spider-things, but it turns out to be a fairly small location and I exit at a lower lever. After checking online I learn that I can't enter the dungeon proper until completing a certain quest. Not to be deterred, I decide to try those other ruins I saw from the Nightgate Inn. I trek across to them from the inn and they turn out to be Irkngthand. Another skirmish with bandits camping in the ruins ensues. I do love how they have bedraggled squatters camping out amongst the mighty ruins of the Dwemer - it helps to create a sense of the extreme age of the ruins, and brings to mind peasants taking refuge in the Colosseum in the years after the fall of the Roman Empire.

Before long I discover that Irkngthand too is quest-locked and I can't explore it without doing some Thieves Guild quests. Dejected that my quest for ultimate power is being denied, I cast my eyes further afield. Solstheim! For all the time I've spent in Skyrim previously, I've never completed the Solstheim storyline and have barely spent any time at all on the island - it's practically unknown to me. I don't intend to do the main quests, but it could certainly prove an interesting diversion instead of traipsing around the same old places. I head to the Windhelm docks and seek out a captain willing to take me to Raven Rock:

Hour 3: Lost Knives

I head for the Hideout. On the way there I come across a warrior named Dasturn, wearing an incredibly cool-looking set of ebony armour:

What's up with his face? It looks like the helmet is empty. Anyway, he seems powerful and therefore cannot be tolerated to live. I surround him with my skeleton horde and he's cut down - although he shatters my skeletons in a single blow, I can raise them faster than he can slay them, and he's whittled down bit by bit. It turns out to have been a very worthwhile endeavour, as the ebony armour's worth a good bit of gold, and what's more, he's carrying 2000 ebony arrows, worth 2 gold each. I'm rich!

I pass by some 'revelers' further down the road, but rebuff their requests to join them. They then wander off across a bridge and I watch as an enraged River Troll charges out of the bushes and tears them to shreds! I surround it with my skeletons and it too succumbs eventually, though it smashes aside two at a time with its powerful swipes, and it's all I can do to re-raise them fast enough.

Shortly before the Hideout, I pass by Fort Amol. There looks to have been a massacre here, with dozens of bodies strewn about.

I enter the fort but find it populated by mages. I manage to just about slay the first one, but when 2 more arrive who easily slay my skeletons from afar and kill me with a single firebolt, I reload and beat a hasty retreat. These pathetic mages will suffer the wrath of my undead horde in good time.

Finally, I reach the Hideout, and easily slay all the bandits within, as my skeletons charge forward and seek out foes. The cave is one of the more impressive ones, with a large central cavern with bridges fanning out from a central 'hub'.

I decide to walk back to Windhelm, across the strange, acidic 'hot springs'-type landscape which lies to its south:

I pass by Bonestrewn Crest, wherein my skeletons trounce a few enemy skeletons. I thought a Dragon Mage would appear here, but it didn't. I was disappointed, but it's probably for the best as I doubt I'm powerful enough to face one yet. I also stumble across Witchmist Grove, but my skeletons slay the witch before I even realise what's happening.

I reach Windhelm and collect my reward from the sea-captain Kjar - 500 gold. Not enough in my opinion - he has insulted me with a paltry sum, and next time I'm in Windhelm I'll immolate him for this insolence

For now, though, I sell off my loot for a good bit of gold - several thousand, in fact, and decide that it's high time I improved my repetoire of spells. I'll go and see Farengar in Whiterun.

Hour 2: Windhelm-bound

I'm now laden with items, some very expensive, and need to sell them off. I remember Windhelm being unexpectedly beautiful due to the graphics/lighting mods in 'Return to Skyrim', so decide to head there. Rather than trek back around the mountains (via Fort Dunstad) I decide to make for Wayward Pass, a more direct route. I travel along the bleak northern shore for some way, and come across an Argonian making camp in the wilds:

I try to attack him - Tharon-Zul has no scruples and will murder and and all in the pursuit of more power - but he's decked out in dragon gear and I stand no chance. I move on, slaying wolves and more Horkers, and before long I reach level 2, allowing me to summon 2 skeletons.

By the power of two skeletons, I shall rule this land

I pass Frostflow Lighthouse, but decline to investigate it. If I remember rightly, there are tunnels to a filthy Falmer den below it, and you have to fight a Chaurus. Not interested.

Before reaching Wayward Pass, I stumble upon the ruins of Alftand. Although I'm not interested in scummy Falmer hovels, the Dwemer ruins which lie above them are something I'm extremely interested in. Who knows what unholy relics lie undisturbed within those ancient places, waiting for the arrival of a sorcerer with the power to wield them? In order to gather as much power as possible. I'll need to explore these cursed ruins at some point. As I furtively poke around the ruins, I see a terrifying sight ahead. It turns out to be a Frost Giant, which I don't remember ever seeing before. Strangely, it's named, and doesn't attack me:

It won't talk to me, however. After several unsuccessful attempts to slay it, I realise that if I stand inside the ruined hut and Flame it, it can't reach me but I can whittle it down.

I then start to explore the Dwemer ruins, but only get as far as slaying a couple of spider guardian-things before realising I have very little carrying capacity left. I may as well return at a later point. Onwards to Windhelm!

The rest of the journey is surprisingly uneventful. I discover the Nightgate Inn, which looks out onto some even more impressive Dwemer ruins, which I'll return to at some point. I traverse a long, bleak stretch of frozen lakes, before passing through Anga's Mill, and finally into Windhelm.

Just outside of Windhelm, I come across a merchant with 26,000 gold - she must be part of a mod. It's very convenient, as I'm able to sell all my gear to her in one go instead of going to multiple merchants. Alltold, I now have 3295 gold. Selling the expensive Daedric gear also caused me to level up to level 3. I allocate a point to conjuration dual casting. Even though I won't need it, it allows me to have 3 summons.

I wander around Windhelm for a bit before heading to Candlehearth Hall and picking up a quest from a sea-captain to slay some mutinous crewmen or something. He'll pay me a whole year's salary for it, so I can hardly refuse. I'm to head to Lost Knife Hideout, in the south, to locate my quarry.

Candlehearth Hall looks amazing in the evening with the surreal lighting mod.

Hour 1: Mythic Dawn raid

I've started a new Altmer character in Skyrim called Tharon-Zul. He is hell-bent on acquiring as much power as possible in order to rule over all Tamriel with his summoned horde of evil. I'm using the same mods as Ilmiril ('Return to Skyrim') with the addition of a mod that increases summonables by 1 for each skill point added to Conjuration. Summons also don't expire unless slain.

In the dungeon of Helgen with the first member of my fledgling horde.

I'll forgo all combat, focusing only on magic, mainly conjugation and destruction. Tharon-Zul is destined to become the most powerful mage in Tamriel - he'd never sully his hands with crude physical combat!

After breaking out of Helgen, I remember from other playthroughs that the Mythic Dawn in Dawnstar have good robes and expensive gear. I head there immediately. On the way I defeat some ice-wraiths at the Weynon Stones, and come across a huge brawl at Fort Dunstad, which is littered with slain bandits and soldiers. I clear out the survivors and even find an inexplicably named one slain in his bed:

Eventually I reach Dawnstar and survey the small town from a vantage point on the battlements. The Mythic Dawn are based in the two buildings on the Eastern shore:

I approach and choose my moment. Having come here by the most direct route, I'm still level 1 and have never dared to take on this challenge at such a low level before. I'm hopelessly outmatched - my skeleton goes down in 1 hit, as do I, and I reload several times. I almost give up, but I then remember that I can use my Altmer power to increase magicka regen - something I've rarely used before. It proves to make all the difference, as I'm able to quickly focus down two Mythic Dawn members with a constant blast of Flames. I ransack their bodies and they're carrying a fair bit of Daedric gear and very useful jewelry, and I don their robes which increase magicka regen by 75% (better than the Black Mage robes from Helgen, which are only 50%). 

By this point, the local guards have intervened and start firing a hail of arrows in my direction, so I decide to quit while I'm ahead and flee from Dawnstar. When I'm stronger I'll return to wipe out the cult once and for all. The fools want to summon Mehrunes Dagon to the mortal plane once more, and since I intend to rule it, I can't let that happen...

I flee to the ice fields to the west of Dawnstar, and slay a pack of Horkers before stumbling upon the lair of a Frost Troll. Again hopelessly outmatched, after a few reloads I find a rock to stand on where it can't reach me, and am able to slay it with my Flames spell before it figures out a way to get to me. Pathetic mortal scum!