Eternal Study of Immortals

By Jagne Stormskull

Struggle.

This is the nature of the Arena. To exist within the Arena is to know it. To forever exist in the Arena is to forever know it.

So why then? Why do mortals seek to exist forever? This paper shall serve as a study of immortals, not just of the type, but of their motives for rejecting death by age.

The Vampire:

A literally bloodthirsty undead creature with free will, and no expiration dead. During the few times I have been able to speak to vampites on peaceful terms, I have obtained multiple answers about why they chose unlife. One said was for vengeance, while another simply wanted to travel all of Nirn, something that they could not do if they died so soon. Of course, many do it for power, some even seeing the immortality as a “side benefit.”

The Lich:

Another free-willed undead. The lich takes the form of a skeletal necromancer. Liches seek this path for a combination of power and further knowledge of necromancy. One told me that she felt that death would be a coward's way to escape from the Struggle of the Arena, and that the only legitimate reason for one's Struggle to end is if they end it by force.

The Hagraven:

Though I am not entirely sure if they are immortal, I have met Hagravens that I knew as mortals long ago, suggesting either immortality, or a much longer lifespan than normal. Like liches, Hagravens gain great amounts of both knowledge, and power in their chosen field of magick, often shamanic in nature like my own. Beyond this and the fact that some of my fellow Reachmen follow them, I do not know much of the Hagravens.

Accidental Immortal:

I do not know of any besides myself who have faced this particular curse: immortality through contact with cosmic energy. This brand of immortal has no choice in the matter of their agelessness, and as such, does not have the same kind of motives for immortality that the others have. I know from experience that becoming an immortal without a plan gives one a lot of time to think, to study, to fight, to do, well, whatever.