I know there’s a lot of Aristheron in this chapter, but he and Murlesson are inextricably linked in their paths and destinies, eheheheh. Also, level-grinding montage! Murlesson (despite being a classic warlock) would totally play bard in DnD: put points in random stuff and be ready for anything!

Now, I know why Bioware wrote the Skotia fight the way they did. The Trandoshan tablet relic was supposed to be indicative of the Inquisitor’s interest in objects of power; however, probably the real failing was that Zash just exposits at you what it is and what it’s for. I know she was the one doing the planning “for years”, but if the Inquisitor had been the one to find it, and find out what it was for, it would have been far more satisfying, given a feel that s/he’s smart, and, well, inquisitive, rather than a sassy meathead that just does as s/he’s told. So that’s what happens here, even if I decided not to get too deep into it (it’s only used for this one quest, after all). It does make Zash a bit less knowledgeable, and it still feels stupid, and Murlesson lampshades that it feels stupid, but it’s worse in the game imo.

Crazy Sith break-down music: 8D

EDIT: added when he gets his tattoos; he didn’t have any before this.

Part 3: Alliance

Part 4: Mud, Blood, and Artifacts

“How lovely to see you, apprentice!” Zash greeted him cordially when he arrived in her little office in the overwhelmingly massive Sith Sanctum. “How was your journey?”

“It was fine,” Murlesson brushed off the inquiry. “Are you acquainted with a big ugly half-machine Dark Lord? He had a message for you. Several, actually.” Continue reading →

Oh hei, it’s a chapter of emo-pants-boy. I wasn’t going to go into detail about the first optional dungeon, and then Tharash had the suggestion that it might be the place for Murlesson to win Aristheron’s interest, and then when I actually started getting into it I was like “look at all the potential for character development!” so that’s why I’m actually including a dungeon : O Also I’m trying to give myself permission to do the opposite of what I normally do – normally I try to be as concise as possible, but then I miss out on a lot of internal character stuff, a lot of scene-setting, so hey, this one’s going to be a little more laid-back and rambly than my normal fics. I also went back and edited some things in the first two chapters to be more in line with the new concept. This fic has been branching out like a tree in the last couple weeks, and there’s lots of stuff I’m excited about! It bears less and less resemblance to the Bioware story all the time, but that’s not a bad thing in my eyes. >.>

Jonathan Young’s cover of Unravel is so perfect for Sith Inquisitor (with hints of SI/Ashara) I can’t even. It’s not specifically for this chapter – in fact, I probably won’t officially ‘use’ it until near the end of the story, but since I discovered its applicability I wanna let people know!

Someone’s been champing at the bit to get back to playing with Achiyo, though, so I’m gonna have to keep going with FFXIV after this.

Part 2: First Step

Part 3: Alliance Continue reading →