How the Talos Cult Came To Be

[Rats]

there was once toying with the idea of expanding the Talos Cult featured in the vanilla to be the main antagonist in the Legion storyline. here's a book based on that idea, a monologue of a cultist for the player to find akin to the "Honor Among Thieves" book in the vanilla. basically, the cult is a heretic perversion of the Cult of the Emperor Zero. the language is meant to resemble the speech pattern of the cultist in question, so it has grammatical etc. etc. errors. these are all intentional, but if they make the text unbearably hard to read or ridiculous, lemme know ok.

How the Talos Cult Came To Be
by Bardilango

the early days of the Red Legions and a promise of a new Talos

A word came from King Cuhlecain that any deserter caught would be skinned alive and hanged. Ptuh.

Well enough, them legions thought. And they went and smeared their faces and bodies with the carmine mud used to mortar brickwalls. Some of 'em even done and fashioned a noose around their necks so that the judges-martial would not need to look for no rope. And the reddest and the most fearless of all was General Talos. A tiger of a man with dragonbone for stomach.

So, when King Cuhlecain gave his royal, tsk-tsk, order that the General Talos would lead the Colovian irregulars to break the impregnable Sancre Tor it was like a blind sighthound yelping commands at a storm cloud. Pathetic. General Talos did as General Talos damn well pleased. When the dragon god cast him, he done and broke the mold.

That day, his face painted red, General Talos dubbed the king 'Emperor Zero'. Ye know how the story goes from henceforth out, don't ye? All mess of things happened and the General got crowned the Emperor One. Tisk. For us he always remains the General.

The cult priests at the shrine of the Emperor Zero will no doubt call us perverters of the faith. But them wrinkly eunuchs ain't called 'zeroes' for nought. Tisk. Nay, we're no heretics. We do revere the Emperor, in our own way. The way a fowler reveres the fowl and the way a flame reveres the moth. The moment the trap springs around the pheasant's neck and when the lunamoth's wings burst into flames. The One fellin' the Zero.

I do this for ye, Red Legions, for I loves ye, he said. Aye. Ye've heard of this, haven't ye? But when General Talos was five score and number-of-the-divines years old he done and whispered this: "I will come and return to ye in the shape of the strongest of yer ranks. Find me. March on and be duly loved. I will accompany ye every step of yer way."

What's that, lad? Quit yer quivering. I need you to write this down.

Ye see, here's what we knows to be true. The Zeroes and Ones will appear in cycles, over and over again until the end of time. 'Tis only natural. And General Talos will march with us. A god of Men, of War, ain't gonna remain a-sky forever. Nay, he will come to us in flesh, clad in iron. He'll be chosen by camaraderie and proven by battle, a mortal as ever.

I tell ye, this Septim on the throne is just another Emperor Zero. Pelagius, Uriel, Cephorus, whatev'r they're called. A Zero which a One, a General Talos, must follow.

Shh. Don't mind the racket, lad. That's just 'em damn Blades banging on the door. We don't have much time. I need ye to keep yer quill-arm steady. On with the scribbling, ye coward. I'm going to say this bit only once:

There's signs loyal men can follow. Some brothers work in secret beneath Darius' Legion of Orsinium Scum, some more in the western border forts I reckon. And deep within the old castle of the Ebon Heart. Ye want names, don't ye? Ha, over my dead corpse. No names, only signs. A faithful man should look for red mud and coiled nooses and swords ready to draw weaklings' blood. Mark my words, lad. We'll crown the Emperor a Zero and follow the General Talos to a beautiful victory.

Come now, lad. Leave the quill. The door's breaking down. Time to see what yer stomach's worth. There be tortures ahead.

[img]http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y417/rats_tr/cult_of_talos_zps8fcc5b47.png[/img]

[arvisrend]

Nicely done! My only gripe is the mix between a learnt and a highly colloquial speaking style (I assume it's speech, not writing?); at times it sounds like Tormund Giantsbane warging into Tywin Lannister. For example, zeroes and ones don't appear to me a metaphor that would come into the mind of a legionnaire speaking dialect. But that's all in one's standing, and a text that messes around with the reader's class consciousness can be great -- I just want to make sure you are doing this on purpose.

Btw, do you have any comments on [url=http://www.tamriel-rebuilt.org/old_forum/viewtopic.php?t=23569&start=80]my q2-29 edits[/url]?

Weird apostrophe after "wings"?

[Yeti]

Great text, Rats. I always felt the Talos cult in the vanilla game felt rather half-assed, and its location in the sticks rather perplexing (any cultists hoping to assassinate the Emperor would likely gather in an area of more importance). I hope we can one day do the idea justice.

[gro-Dhal]

Should be henceforth, not henceworth. It's all good though. I think the language is fine.

[roerich]

Terrific work. I like the subtle fourth wall breaking.

[Rats]

Finished.

Fixed both "wings" and "henceforth" and made general edits to the text for its betterment. Added new book art.