TEARS of the FIEND GUIDE

CONTENTS:

1. Tears of the Fiend Foreword

2. Tears of the Fiend Walkthrough

Chapter I - Ehothorn

Chapter II - The Hunt for Allecia Ehothorn

Chapter III - The Relics

Chapter IV - The Ruins of Armindale

Chapter V - The Legacy

Chapter VI - Dreams of Armindale

Chapter VII - The Butcher of Armindale

Chapter VIII - The Demon Inside

Chapter IX - Grudges of the Past

Chapter X - The Butcher and the Fiend

Chapter XI - Tears of the Fiend

Final Words

3. Tears of the Fiend Epilogue

4. Tears of the Fiend Story-So-Far

5. Tears of the Fiend Trivia

6. Tears of the Fiend Troubleshooting

7. Editing, Using and Distributing

TEARS OF THE FIEND FOREWORD:

Tears of the Fiend is a first for Oblivion Modding, it is a rarity in the Modding world, and it is even rarer still in the professional game development scene. This is due to it's level of depth, the complex multi-layered nature of the path progression through the MOD, and the vast (dare I say bilbical) levels of dialogue and story relative to the size and scale of the quest itself. When I look at Tears of the Fiend, I think of it as a homage to the often unnoticed and underrated storytelling games (such as Baldur's Gate, Planescape Torment, Pathologic and Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth) and to the often overlooked storytelling MODs (such as Westly Weimer's "Solaufein MOD" for Baldur's Gate 2), which take near incalculable amounts of time to create, and yet will only ever remain popular to a select few players due to their non mass-market orientation. These games and MODs defined by own approach to Modding and thus will always serve as indirect inspiration for everything I do. I can only hope that Tears of the Fiend resides on a level of achievement next to these outspoken gems within the gaming world.

Many of you may have played The Legacy, others may have played The Butcher of Armindale, and as a result of this much of what you will see in this MOD will already be familiar to you. Tears of the Fiend is a convergent-storylines MOD (and also a continuation of both MODs), not an entirely new storyline from scratch. What has changed between The Legacy and The Butcher of Armindale (aside from the fact that the stories occur together) is how the two MODs interrelate to one another. Actions in The Legacy section of the MOD affect The Butcher of Armindale section of the MOD, and vice versa. Most important however, is that actions in both MODs (and the combined actions as a result of both MODs) will affect the Tears of the Fiend section of the MOD. If you were to draw a topographical mind-map to represent how the different elements of the MOD relate to one another, it would look something similar to a spiderweb in its intricacy. When you have completed the MOD, I actually suggest having a read through the Walkthrough in its entirety in order to understand the different elements, and the different paths through the MOD. It also gives you an opportunity to determine how successful your path through the MOD was.

Finally, I can only say that I hope you enjoy the MOD. I hope that you consider the storyline at length even when you aren't playing it. I hope that the main characters mean enough to you that they become synonymous with exploring Tamriel. And I hope that you genuinely feel regret when the MOD is over. Because if you -the responder- are experiencing this things, it means to me -the creator- that I have succeeded at what I set out to do. That alone justifies all that I have done to bring Tears of the Fiend to life.

TEARS OF THE FIEND WALKTHROUGH

First of all, I would like to point out that Tears of the Fiend, and the 3 MOD's that it essentially encompasses (The Legacy, The Butcher of Armindale and Tears of the Fiend) are an extremely difficult series of MODs to write a walkthrough for, due to the numerous possible paths through them. Unlike many story-driven games these days which give an illusion of choice, yet very little changes based on your actions (thus remaining linear on a global scale), in Tears of the Fiend the choices you make DO matter. Following one path will mean you don't see its alternate paths, and thus you will not see the dialogue or events associated with that unseen path. Now, since many choices change how events unfold in Tears of the Fiend, you can appreciate that a walkthrough for it cannot simply have a single linear "right" path. Aside from a few paths which result in failure, the majority of the paths remain "right" regardless of whether they are good or evil. The only thing that changes are the end results. Thus, to make this a TRUE walkthrough, I have written it to encompass all possible paths, with explanations as to how to achieve each.

As a result of this, you will notice that many sections of the MOD -especially those in which different choices will result in different paths- tends to look similar to a "choose your own adventure" book, with many instances of "If you have done <this>, go to <here>." Remember to read it in the same manner as you would a "choose your own adventure" book, and not as you would a conventional walkthrough. Reading this walkthrough from top to bottom will make next to no sense whatsoever, and thus would be a pointless venture. Hence, if you are told to "Go to Chapter III - Part 2" do exactly that.

Additionally, for the first part of the MOD (Which encompasses The Legacy) there are two main variables that your choices through the progression of the MOD will change. These are the Information Pool and the Evil Meter. The Information Pool will determine how much time you have at the end of The Legacy section of the MOD before Allecia is killed, with the higher the number resulting in less time to complete the section. The Evil Metre on the other hand determined whether or not your character will be able to resist his/her “darker impulses” in the final section of the MOD, and once again, a higher number limits your overall options.

CHAPTER I - Ehothorn

1.

With the MOD enabled, find yourself a safe place to rest (an Inn or Tavern will suffice) and rest for a period greater than 2 hours. You will be awoken by the arrival of an Intruder by the name of Edward Pellew, whose introductory speech more or less sums up the underriding premise for the entire MOD. At the end of his speech he will attack you. All you need to do to end the fight is hit him 5 times, and he will surrender to you.

If you are a low-end character and are having trouble defeating Pellew, the best strategy is a "Hit and run" attack, or alternatively try switching to a Bow and attacking from a distance. You will notice that different Inns and Taverns have a slightly different layout for the "rentable rooms." Try to find one which has a reasonable amount of running space, or enough objects that you can exploit the pathing in the close environment in order to avoid his hits, and deliver yours in return.

After the fight Pellew will speak to you again, and you will need to determine what to do with him. You can choose to kill him (which will eliminate him as an opponent later in the MOD, yet will permanently damage your characters alignment, bringing you closer to the "Evil" ranking and subsequently limiting the possible endings you can receive), or you can choose to let him live (which leaves him as an opponent later in the MOD, yet preserves your alignment regardless of what it is.)

CHOICE 1: Let Pellew Live - +1 to Information Pool.

CHOICE 2: Kill Pellew - +1 to Evil Meter.

Once you have made your decision, Pellew will leave and you will be pointed towards your next objective in the Quest.

2.

You will be advised via the Quest Update that you need to seek out books on Edward Pellew, and Quest pointers will indicate the 4 likely book dealerships. I can't actually TELL you which book dealership to go to since it is randomised, but eventually you will locate the correct one. When you have found the correct dealer, purchase the book "Pellew and Other Children's Tales." Read the book and you will be advised to seek out the Imperial Registrar in the Prison District of Imperial City in order to learn more about your heritage.

The Registrar can be found wandering in the courtyard outside of the Prison tower. Speak to him to learn that the Imperial Registrar has no record of your heritage.

IF YOU KILLED PELLEW: You will be prompted at this point to try inspecting your body for any distinguishing marks when next you rest. You need to rest in a "safe place" to trigger the next section.

IF YOU LET PELLEW LIVE: You will be advised that "perhaps an idea will come to you when you rest." You need to rest in a "safe place" to trigger the next section.

3.

IF YOU KILLED PELLEW: Every time you rest, you will be given the chance to inspect your body for any distinguishing marks or traits. The chance of locating a distinguishing mark is based off a simple probability algorithm, but the odds of you finding something increase noticeable every time you attempt to search yourself. Eventually you will locate a series of distinct Runic symbols, and will be advised by the Quest Update to seek out the Professor of Religious Symbology in the Arcane University. Continue to CHAPTER 1 - PART 4 from here.

IF YOU LET PELLEW LIVE: When you rest, you will be approached by Edward Pellew once again, who will tell you a story which serves as an analogy to your present situation. He will offer to search you for any distinct markings which might serve as a link to your heritage. From here you can choose to Kill him (which will eliminate him as an opponent later in the MOD, yet will permanently damage your characters alignment, bringing you closer to the "Evil" ranking and subsequently limiting the possible endings you can receive), You can refuse his help (which makes it slightly easier for Pellew to track you at the end of the MOD), or you can accept his help (which makes it significantly easier for Pellew to track you at the end of the MOD.)

CHOICE 1: Accept Pellew's Help - +2 to Information Pool.

CHOICE 2: Refuse Pellew's Help - +1 to Information Pool.

CHOICE 3: Kill Pellew - +1 to Evil Meter.

IF YOU KILLED PELLEW: Every time you rest, you will be given the chance to inspect your body for any distinguishing marks or traits. The chance of locating a distinguishing mark is based off a simple probability algorithm, but the odds of you finding something increase noticeable every time you attempt to search yourself. Eventually you will locate a series of distinct Runic symbols, and will be advised by the Quest Update to seek out the Professor of Religious Symbology in the Arcane University. Continue to CHAPTER I - PART 4 from here.

IF YOU REFUSED PELLEW'S HELP: Every time you rest, you will be given the chance to inspect your body for any distinguishing marks or traits. The chance of locating a distinguishing mark is based off a simple probability algorithm, but the odds of you finding something increase noticeable every time you attempt to search yourself. Eventually you will locate a series of distinct Runic symbols, and will be advised by the Quest Update to seek out the Professor of Religious Symbology in the Arcane University. Continue to CHAPTER I - PART 4 from here.

IF YOU ACCEPTED PELLEW'S HELP: Pellew will search you and eventually locate a series of distinct Runic symbols, which he will document for you. He will then advise you to seek out the Professor of Religious Symbology in the Arcane University. Continue to CHAPTER 1 - PART 4 from here.

4.

You will find the Professor of Religious Symbology just inside the first tower in the Arcane University. When you speak to him he will reveal to you that the Runic symbols read "Ehothorn", and will ask you where it is you located the symbols. You can choose to tell him if you want, but it only results in +1 to Information Pool with no benefits to you in return. From here you will be advised to seek out the Imperial Registrar once again.

Upon returning to the Imperial Registrar you will be advised of one Allecia Ehothorn, who lives in a residence known as the Ehothorn Estate in Cheydinhal, and is reputedly the only surviving member of the Ehothorn family. From here you are advised to travel to Cheydinhal and seek out Allecia Ehothorn.

CHAPTER II - The Hunt for Allecia Ehothorn

1.

When you attempt to enter the Ehothorrn Estate you will find that it is locked. If you have a reasonable lockpicking skill you can break in that way, or else you will find the "Spare Estate Key" hidden under a rock just near the entryway. Once inside, the information that you are looking for is resting atop a desk on the Second story. You will find a book entitled "Ehothorn Family Tree" and an "Ehothorn Crypt Key." Upon reading the "Ehothorn Family Tree" you will notice that all of those listed are women, and furthermore, it is more of a list than a family tree (with those who had died beforehand "crossed off" and those who are "yet to come" listed underneath. At this point you will be advised to seek out the local Bartender to learn more about the Ehothorn Family.

Upon speaking to the Bartender, you will learn that the Ehothorn family has always been small, and seems to have been cursed with ill luck as tragedy resulting in death always prevented the family from growing any larger. The Bartender will suggest that you visit the Ehothorn Family crypt for more information about the Ehothorns.

The Ehothorn Family Crypt is just behind the Ehothorn Estate (near the Cheydinhal city wall). Using the stolen Ehothorn Crypt Key, enter the Crypt and have a look around. The first thing you will notice is that the Crypt is entirely empty. Despite the fact that this is supposed to be a Family Crypt, no Ehothorns have ever been buried here. This should suggest to you that there is only one Ehothorn in existence: Allecia Ehothorn. At this point you will be prompted to confront Allecia Ehothorn. Head into the Estate to meet her for the first time.

2.

Upon re-entering the Ehothorn Estate you will be confronted by Allecia Ehothorn. The dialogue will progress for a time, in which you will learn that Allecia is the only Ehothorn, and she changes her name periodically to avoid suspicion (thus suggesting that she has lived for generations.) She will want to know you story and will request that you team up with her to track down your heritage. Refusing to provide her the information or join forces with her doesn't actually change anything, but it gives you an opportunity to put off the continuation of the quest until later if you want. Once you leave the Estate will Allecia, there is no turning back.

Towards the end of the conversation you will encounter the first of the "Flashbacks" in the MOD. You will be taken to the Ehothorn Estate as it was many years ago, and will eventually encounter a younger version of Allecia Ehothorn. This Flashback serves as the first clue to the link between Allecia Ehothorn and your character.

Once you return to the real world, you will depart the Ehothorn Estate will Allecia to begin the next section of the Quest.

CHAPTER III - The Relics

Allecia's Conversations:

For as long as this section of the MOD is running (up until the encounter with The Fiend) it is possible to experience four supplemental dialogue's with Allecia that will help to clarify precisely who and what Allecia is, as well as her involvement with you, and other aspects of her past

From the moment you are tasked with following Allecia to the Cheydinhal main gates, the timer begins. Every 1000 seconds you will see a spell icon appear advising you that Allecia wants to talk. Speaking to her will allow you to choose what questions you want to ask her, and it is possible to ask the same question twice if you so choose. This can only occur 4 times however, and since there are 4 possible questions it is usually a good idea to ask each of them once as opposed to asking the same question four times.

The actual dialogue options you choose in these conversations make no difference whatsoever to the rest of the MOD.

1.

Departing from the Ehothorn Estate, follow Allecia to the city gates. There she will reveal to you the location of the ruins of the former Ehothorn Estate, and suggest that you take the lead and journey there with her. Travel to the Ruined Ehothorn Estate (with Vanilla Oblivion you will likely only encounter an Imp or two as you journey there.) It should be noted that the quest pointer for the Ehothorn Estate is deliberately wrong at this point, and you will need to search around slightly for the ACTUAL location of the Ehothorn Estate. You can find it nestled up against a hill, a short distance from where the valley in the vicinity of the Quest Pointer levels out.

Upon arriving at the estate, Allecia will start a conversation with you. During the conversation you will experience the second Flashback, in which you will once again return to the Old Ehothorn Estate, as it is attacked by two unknown individuals, who subsequently set fire to the estate in order to kill you. When you return to the real world, Allecia will speak to you once again, and you will be advised to search the area for any clues which may link you to the Ehothorn Family.

There are actually two items you are looking for, and both are in the same place. As you look at the "front" of the Ehothorn Estate, you will notice a ruined tower leaning against the roof of the estate on the right hand side. Crouch down and slip between the gap created by the ruins leaning against the estate. Just inside the gap you will see a "Rune-Covered Tablet" resting atop a rock, and amongst the grass next to the estate (about a metre in front of the tablet) you will find a "Burned book." When you have both of these items in hand, return to Allecia.

She will explain to you what each of the items are, and suggest that if you want help identifying the significance of the runes on the Tablet, you should return to the Archaeologist Expedition that is about to leave Cheydinhal. Just after the conversation finishes you will be attacked by a number of wolves. Remember, Allecia is NOT invulnerable, and if she dies the quest is over. You need to draw as much attention from her as possible (by dealing as much damage to as many of the wolves as possible) and endeavour to take the hits FOR Allecia.

With the wolves dead, return to Cheydinhal (I'd suggest fast travelling.)

2.

The Archaeologists will be marked on your map if you have The Legacy Quest selected, but they can be found just inside the entrance closest to the Ruined Ehothorn Estate. Speak to Archaeologist Bsarnn, and he will reveal that the Tablet is from the Ruins of Armindale, an expedition site that -coincidentally- they are headed to at this very moment. Bsarnn will ask how you acquired the tablet, If you tell him that it is a "Family heirloom" you will gain +1 to Information Pool with no benefits in return. If you choose any of the other options (all lies) it has no detrimental effect. From here you will be given the choice as to how you want to acquire the location of the Ruins of Armindale Excavation Site. You can trade the stone tablet to him in return for the information at a cost of +1 to Information Pool, or you can refuse his help, and can steal the map at the cost of +1 to Evil Meter. If you opt to steal the map, you will find it sitting atop a crate just behind the Wagon. Be careful, however, as being caught stealing is a crime.

With the map in hand, head to the Ruins of Armindale (Excavation Site) on the map, just north of the Imperial City.

CHAPTER IV - The Ruins of Armindale

1.

When you first arrive at the Ruins of Armindale, Allecia will initiate a conversation with you, after which she will suggest that you both enter the Ruins. Once inside you WILL be attacked by numerous undead (called "Scourge of Armindale") who CAN quite easily kill Allecia. There are two tricks to getting through this section. First of all, you can cast either Convalescence or Shield on her to make her a bit more durable, or -and this is the method I usually use- simply charge ahead, and endeavour to kill the undead (or grab as much attention as possible) before she arrives. It is actual possible to kill all the undead in this section of the Ruins of Armindale before she reaches any of them.

Make your way through the ruins and you will eventually arrive at a door. Allecia will initiate a conversation with you here, and will suggest that you continue on ahead while she stays behind and sets up camp.

From here, travel on alone into the Deeper section of the Ruins, following the linear path of the caves. Eventually you will come to a rock wall that prevents further progression along the tunnels. If you wait for long enough, (usually only a few seconds) the quest will update, and you will be advised to return to Allecia. Travel back to Allecia and speak to her. She will advise you to rest rather than continuing the delve deeper into the tunnel system.

When you sleep, you will experience the third flashback. In this flashback you will witness a "dreamlike" fall of Armindale, in which Cleon, the Butcher of Armindale, speaks to you as if you are his master. This flashback will also initiate the quest "The Butcher of Armindale" in which you are advised that if you wish to learn more about the Butcher of Armindale you should speak to the Archaeologist's when they eventually arrive. At the end of the dream, you will return to the real world as normal, and Allecia will initiate a conversation with you. She will give you a "Mining Pick" and you will receive a Quest update advising you how to use it.

Return to the section of the Rock wall that prevents you from progressing further into the tunnel system, stand there for a few seconds and when prompted choose to "Set to work on the Rock wall." Like searching yourself for any signs on your body earlier in the quest, the chance to break the rock wall is based on a probability algorithm. If you fail, just keep trying again and again, and eventually you will break through.

Inside the rock wall rests the remains of the Armindale throne room (where you were when you spoke to Cleon, the Butcher of Armindale in the 3rd Flashback). Sitting just in front of the two thrones is a "Broken Enchanted Blade." Pick up the blade, and attempt to continue further down the tunnel system. Once again you will be blocked by a rock wall, and after a brief period of time you will be prompted to return to Allecia and show her the broken blade.

Upon arriving back at Allecia's campsite (which is getting more and more homely with every journey deeper into the mine), Allecia claims to recognise the blade, yet advises that seeking out it's owner can wait until you have finished your exploration of the Ruins of Armindale. Once again she will advise you to sleep.

When you sleep, you will experience the fourth flashback. In this flashback, Allecia wants to show you something. As she runs off, chase her up the staircase and along the ridgeline to the lookout, where you can initialise conversation with her. At this point she will reveal what is quite possibly the most important piece of information (as far as "solving" the mystery of your heritage goes) you have received so far. When you wake up, she will speak to you once again.

Return to the throne room again, and -in the same manner as before- set to work on the Rock Wall. Eventually you will break down the rockwall, and you can progress into the next room. There you will find a locked "rune-covered door" and 4 books sitting on a "Sundial"-like object. This particular room is commonly known amongst The Legacy fans as "The Sundial Puzzle." Attempt to "use" the door, and once again you will be advised to return to Allecia.

Upon returning to Allecia's campsite, you will find that the Archaeologist's expedition has arrived. Bsarnn the Archaeologist will speak to you and will lock the door to the deeper section of the mines to prevent you from returning. Speak to Allecia and she will advise you to track down the owner of the Broken Enchanted Blade you found earlier, by tracking down the one who enchanted it in the first place. She will refer you to an enchanter in the Market District of Imperial City.

If you speak to Archaeologist Biff at this point, he will offer to tell you the story of The Butcher of Armindale. Listen to his story, and at the end of it you will receive the next quest update for the Butcher of Armindale quest. In which you are advised to speak to Phinteas in First Edition in the Market District of the Imperial City to try and track down a book on The Butcher of Armindale.

NOTE: While you TECHNICALLY can work your way through The Butcher of Armindale quest from this point, I would suggest waiting until you have finished The Legacy section of the MOD first. For the purposes of continuity in this walkthrough, I will be doing exactly that.

2.

When you speak to the Enchanter, he will advise you that it was indeed him who Enchanted the blade, yet he will not give you the information for free. At this point, you can choose to tell him WHY you are seeking the blade at the cost of +1 to Information Pool, but at a severe discount to the price of the information, or you can simply pay the full price of the information. Once you have the information, he will tell you that the blade belongs to Maris the Hunter who lives in a cabin just outside of Bruma. You will be advised to head there next.

As you approach the cabin, if you chose to kill Pellew at the start of the MOD you will see a shrine honouring him just to the right of the cabin itself. Be sure to investigate the shrine and take the Sword of the Celestial from it. This sword is ESSENTIAL if you want to get the "best" ending to the overall MOD.

Upon attempting to enter the Cabin, you will be waylaid by Maris the Hunter. He will admit ownership of the blade, and demand that you tell him your story. After telling him your story, he will share with you an analogy that HE thinks appropriately fits your situation. After this, he will throw you out of his house. Any attempt to return to his house results in him throwing you out once again.

The trick here is to be patient. Eventually he will emerge to go hunting, and it is then that you can sneak in. I find that between 2200hrs and 0100hrs is the time that he most often leaves his cabin. Once you see him outside, sneak into the cabin, and travel down to the basement where you will find his journal. After taking his journal you will be prompted to show it to Allecia.

Return to the Excavation Site and you will find that Allecia is nowhere to be found. Talking to Bsaarn reveals that Allecia had stuck past him while he was hard at work, and she hasn’t been seen since. From here you have 3 options. You can pay the Archaeologist to give you the key to travel deeper into the Ruins of Armindale, you can steal the key from the Archaeologist for +1 to Evil Meter, or you can kill the Archaeologist and take the key from him for +2 to Evil Meter,

NOTE: If you are going to kill the Archaeologists, you MUST speak to Archaeologist Biff about the Ruins of Armindale (and learn about Cleon, the Butcher of Armindale) before you kill them, otherwise the quest will end with The Legacy.

Once you have the key, travel through the Ruins of Armindale to the Sundial Puzzle, where you will find Allecia waiting for you. Talk to her, and she will advise you that the time has come to try and crack the code that will let you into the next section of the mines. She also offers a small hint about how to break the code.

If you want to solve this section of the puzzle yourself, then do not read on until you have made it inside. If you are confused (or can't be bothered trying to work it out) a comprehensive explanation of the Sundial Puzzle resides below.

The Sundial Puzzle Explained:

During the course of your journey so far, you will have come across an archaic runic writing at several instances. The number system behind this writing is the key to getting through the locked door.

The book you found at the Ruins of the Old Ehothorn Estate taught you:

1 - A circle

2 - A circle with a line through it

3 - A figure-of-eight

4 - A square

Now examine the strange mechanism with the 4 books resting upon it. Allecia mentioned that it reminded her of a Sundial, and she was correct in that assumption. The four books each rests at one of the most important points on a Sundial - 3 O'clock, 6 O'Clock, 9 O'Clock and 12 O'Clock. Knowing the symbol that represents 3 O'Clock (a figure-of-eight as learned from the book found at the Ehothorn Estate) you can plot the shape of the Sundial. Thus, you now know that:

3 - A figure-of-eight

6 - A triangle

9 - A B- Shape

12 - A COLOURED circle with a line through it.

Now, looking at the shapes you have, you will see only 1 consistency. Both the number 2, and the number 12 consist of a Circle with a line through it. The only difference (which allows you to identify the different numbers) is that the 12 is coloured in. Thus, colouring in the shape denotes that it is in the "tens." for example, 11 would be a coloured circle. 13 would be a coloured figure-of-eight and so on. Thus, the complete number system that you have learned so far is:

1 - A circle

2 - A circle with a line through it

3 - A figure-of-eight

4 - A square

5 -

6 - A triangle

7 -

8 -

9 - A B- Shape

10 -

11 - A COLOURED circle

12 - A COLOURED circle with a line through it.

13 - A COLOURED figure-of-eight

14 - A COLOURED square

15 -

16 - A COLOURED triangle

17 -

18 -

19 - A COLOURED B-Shape

Now that we know MOST of the number system, the only thing missing is the actual combination needed to open the door. This can be found on the final pages of the Hunter's Journal, where he indicates the numbers "2. 14. 6." Those 3 numbers are the combination that you need to enter in order to open the door. Or, as it would be written in the Runic number system "A Circle with a Line Through It, A Coloured Square, A Triangle."

CHAPTER V - The Legacy

1.

After making your way through the locked door (thus solving the infamous Sundial Puzzle) you will enter the "mysterious chamber" for the first time. As you approach the Altar at the end of the room, you will enter the fifth flashback. In this flashback you and Allecia will be breaking into an orphanage in an attempt to steal a child. Talk to her from the rooftop, and then climb down the chimney pipe to enter the orphanage. You will need to fight 3 guards in this section (don't worry, Allecia is invulnerable, even if YOU are not). With the guards dead, "use" the door at the bottom of the staircase. Allecia will speak to you briefly. When her conversation is finished, simply "use" the door again the end the flashback.

When you return to the real world, Allecia will speak to you and will identify the orphanage in your dream. She will mark it on your map, and advise that you travel there looking for clues. Make your way out of the Ruins of Armindale (NOTE: Sometimes Allecia doesn't follow you at this point. If for some reason she doesn't, you needn't worry, she isn't important to this particular section) and head to the Ruined Orphanage she has marked on your map.

Upon arriving, speak to the Caretaker, and learn from him the events that resulted in the Orphanage's destruction. When you have finished speaking to the Caretaker, Allecia will initiate a conversation with you, and you will finally learn the truth of just WHAT is Allecia Ehothorn. With the greatest revelation of the MOD finally completed, head back to the Ruins of Armindale, and make your way to the Mysterious Chamber once again.

Upon entering the Mysterious Chamber, Allecia will fill in the last of the gaps regarding your Legacy, and will tell you to "lie upon the altar" to finally face your past. Make sure you are feeling healthy, have all self-buffing spells cast, and are generally ready to "run" before USING the base of the altar.

2.

At this point you will enter the sixth and final flashback. Before I begin explaining this section, it is important that you understand how the "time limit" works.

Depending on how high the Information Pool is will determine how much time you have to complete this section before Allecia is killed. The Information Pool represents the amount of information you have given away that will allow Maris the Hunter (and Edward Pellew if he is still alive) to track you down. The higher the Information Pool, the less time you have to complete the sixth flashback before Allecia is killed. The significance of having Allecia killed -aside from loosing a companion- is that you will not be able to experience the final section of the MOD (Tears of the Fiend.) If you gave away 5 or more pieces of information (in other words, the Information Pool is 5+) you will have only 50 seconds to complete the sixth flashback before Allecia is killed, beginning from when you FIRST enter the "dreamscape."

The trick to getting through this in 50 seconds (aside from taking every shortcut possible) is to also ensure that you simply "click through" the Fiend's dialogue instead of reading it (I usually suggest reading it the first time, then -if Allecia ends up being killed- going back and clicking through it.) Also be sure that your character has a reasonable Speed and acrobatics rating, and you take advantage of the other advice outlined later in this section.

At any rate, after appearing in the Dreamscape, follow the series of walkways (a few of them are dead ends) and try and spot corners you can jump across as well as stairwells you can jump down (for later on in this section.) Enter the caves, and continue through them until you come across a Dremora entitled "The Fiend." Speak to the Fiend to complete the story of your Legacy, and to determine where your future will take you. At the end of the conversation you will have a number of different dialogue choices, however, they will be limited depending on your progression through the MOD.

If the Evil Meter is Greater than or Equal to 2, you will have no choice but to "Embrace" the Fiend. This denotes the "comparatively" evil path you have taken through The Legacy. After this conversation is over, you will be returned to the Mysterious Chamber. Continue to CHAPTER V- PART 3 from here.

If the Evil Meter is Less than 2, you will be able to CHOOSE to "Embrace" the Fiend, or not to. The benefits that come from embracing the fiend is a suitable bonus to your Oblivion "Infamy" ranking, and an ability called Dark Legacy (which will be explained later.) However, you will NOT be able to progress through the rest of this MOD with anything except "evil traits." NOT embracing the Fiend gives you "good traits" including the ability to negotiate your way out of the final encounter in The Legacy section of the MOD, as well as several boons you will be given by the final protagonists in The Legacy section of the MOD (not to mention a suitable bonus to your Oblivion "fame" ranking.

If you choose to embrace the Fiend, continue to CHAPTER V- PART 3 from here. If -however- you choose to defy the Fiend, read on.

The Fiend will end the conversation with you, and the chase will begin. If at any point the Fiend catches up to you, you will instantly be killed. Similarly, if you fall off any of the platforms you will become trapped in the Abyss below. Thus, this attempted escape needs to be done with utmost haste and with all possible finesse. You need to cut every corner to take the shortest line through the caves. You need to jump across corners on the walkways (rather than running around them). And you need to jump DOWN the stairwells rather than running down them. If you manage to do all of this back to the altar where you arrived, you will succeed. And you will then be returned to the mysterious chamber.

3.

Upon returning to the Mysterious chamber, you will be approached by the final opponent in this section of the MOD. Who your actual opponent is will depend on whether or not you opted to keep Edward Pellew alive at the start of the MOD. Furthermore, depending on whether you completed the sixth flashback by embracing the Fiend of escaping him will depend on your final path of progression through the final encounter. And finally, depending on whether or not you managed to complete the escape from the Fiend in under the required time will depend on whether or not Allecia is alive.

If you chose to embrace the Fiend, you will have a new ability now called Dark Legacy. This ability GREATLY increases your Strength, Speed and HPs, however while the ability is active your screen will be blurred (like in the flashbacks) to represent the Fiend taking control. Furthermore, any "good" aligned creatures around you (especially guards) will attempt to attack you if you have the ability active. Be sure to use it discretely.

IF YOU KILLED PELLEW: Maris the Hunter will approach you, and speak to you for a bit. Depending on what he says allows you to determine whether or not Allecia is dead. If he says something along the lines of "we were in the process of chopping bits off Quuarll when you interrupted..." that means Allecia is still alive. If he says something else, that means she is dead. If you killed Pellew your only option here (regardless of whether you are good or evil) is to Fight Maris the Hunter. He is actually quite easy, being a rather typical archer with a few simple healing spells. When he lies dead, be sure to take the bow from his body. If Allecia is dead, continue to CHAPTER VI - Part I from here. If you managed to keep her alive, continue to CHAPTER V - Part 4.

IF YOU KEPT PELLEW ALIVE: Pellew the Half-Celestial will speak to you (Maris the Hunter will be in the background.)

- If you embraced the Fiend: Your only option here is to fight both Pellew and Maris. You will also have the option to "Fiendspeak" during the final conversation, which gives you an amusing opportunity to TERRIFY Pellew before you slaughter him. Maris is relatively easy as far as an opponent goes, however his ranged attacks deal considerable damage and he will heal Pellew and himself if he takes too much damage. Pellew on the other hand doesn't do a great deal of damage, however he has the Sword of the Celestial which gives him the ability to dominate Fiends (such as yourself) by knowing their REAL name (you will have learned this if you read Pellew and Other Children's Tales. It was how he defeated Quuarll - Allecia.) If you are hit 5 times by Pellew, you will see a message box advise you that you have spoken the first syllable of your Fiendish name. If you are hit a total of 15 times, you will instantly be killed, regardless of the damage dealt. Obviously the trick here is to either Hit and Run, or to use ranged attacks (eerily reminiscent of how you found Pellew the first time, wouldn't you agree?) When both Pellew and Maris lie dead, be sure to take the Sword of the Celestial, and the Bow of the Hunter from their bodies. If Allecia is dead, continue to CHAPTER VI - Part I from here. If you managed to keep her alive, continue to CHAPTER V - Part 4.

- If you escaped the Fiend: You can choose to either talk your way out of the fight, or to fight Pellew and Maris anyway If you want to talk your way out, simply try and convince Pellew of the fact that you are decidedly different from your pre-incarnation.

- If you negotiate your way out of the fight: After Pellew has spoken to you, be sure to speak to him again for an additional reward of the Sword of the Celestial. Maris also has a reward he will give you. If Allecia is dead, continue to CHAPTER VI - Part I from here. If you managed to keep her alive, continue to CHAPTER V - Part 4.

- If you decide to fight: Maris is relatively easy as far as an opponent goes, however his ranged attacks deal considerable damage and he will heal Pellew and himself if he takes too much damage. Pellew on the other hand doesn't do a great deal of damage, however he has the Sword of the Celestial which gives him the ability to dominate Fiends (such as yourself) by knowing their REAL name (you will have learned this if you read Pellew and Other Children's Tales. It was how he defeated Quuarll - Allecia.) If you are hit 5 times by Pellew, you will see a message box advise you that you have spoken the first syllable of your Fiendish name. If you are hit a total of 15 times, you will instantly be killed, regardless of the damage dealt. Obviously the trick here is to either Hit and Run, or to use ranged attacks (eerily reminiscent of how you found Pellew the first time, wouldn't you agree?) When both Pellew and Maris lie dead, be sure to take the Sword of the Celestial, and the Bow of the Hunter from their bodies. If Allecia is dead, continue to CHAPTER VI - Part I from here. If you managed to keep her alive, continue to CHAPTER V - Part 4.

4.

If you managed to keep Allecia alive, you will find her hiding in the shadows of the Throne Room in the Ruins of Armindale. If you get too close to her, she will attempt to initiate a conversation with you. She will advise you that she wants to kill you because you are an "abomination", and if you choose the wrong dialogue options she will do exactly that (or else you will kill her.) The "correct" path through the conversation is the one that perfectly imitates what your pre-incarnation said to her during the fourth flashback. "I can move quick with incentive," and so on. If you decide to kill her, be aware of the fact that you will never see the final "Tears of the Fiend" section of this MOD. If you keep her alive, you will gain her as a permanent companion, you will also receive the "Call Allecia" spell (allowing you to summon her if she gets lost) and also ownership of the Ehothorn Estate in Cheydinhal.

CHAPTER VI - Dreams of Armindale

1.

Assuming you spoke to Archaeologist Biff in the Ruins of Armindale (before he was killed by Maris and Pellew) you will have a quest update advising you to seek out Phinteas in First Edition in the Market District of the Imperial City. Upon speaking to him, ask him about the "Butcher of Armindale" and when offered, purchase the book from him. Read the book to find that it has been mutilated (and has missing pages), and speak to Phinteas once again to learn the location of the missing pages from the book.

Travel to Chorral, find Renoit's Books and speak to Renoit, who will advise you that Kashaan the Rare Book Dealer (who reputedly has the missing pages) is out of town. She will suggest that you sleep the night in the local Inn.

Rent a room there or "rest" in a safe area and you will be taken into the first of the Dreamscapes. In this dream you will witness Cleon's final farewell to his wife Alleria before departing for the Siege of Armindale. After the sequence is over, you will be returned to where you left off.

Now when you return to Renoit's Books you will find Kashaan there. Speak to him and either bribe of threaten him into giving you the missing pages. He will advise you that a bandit called Shann (who operates out of Bruma) has the last of the pages you need.

Read the newly acquired pages, and rest again to trigger the second Dreamscape. In this dream you will see Cleon, the Butcher of Armindale slaughtering the attendants in the Throne room during the Fall of Armindale. Once the sequence is over you will be returned to where you left off.

Travel to Bruma, enter the Jarrel View Inn and approach Shann. He will attempt to flee the moment he sees you. Follow him until he eventually gives up and attacks you. Cut him down, and take the last of the pages from his body.

Rest again to experience the last of the Dreamscapes. In this dream you will see the conspirators who killed Cleon hiding his body. Be sure to pay attention as you need to learn from this sequence where Cleon is buried if you wish to seek him out.

2.

From the third Dreamscape you will have been given the information you need to locate Cleon's Grave. There are two necessary pieces of information which allow you to pinpoint the location (although it is possible to find it with trial and error if you only learn one of the pieces of information.)

1. Cleon's Grave is buried somewhere under a Blacksmithy.

2. The Conspirator's who hid Cleon's body were wearing Anvil Guard uniforms.

There are actually two Blacksmiths in Anvil. The one that you are after is located in Castle Anvil, just inside the castle itself, first door on the right. Upon entering the Blacksmithy, if you enter the Blacksmith's chambers there is a note on the table which tells you the specific location of the entrance to the grave. Travel to the cellar room in the back, and look just under the edge of the carpet in the middle of the room and you will see the hidden hatch leading down to Cleon's Grave.

If you managed to keep Allecia alive, before you can enter the grave she will initiate a conversation with you, and will attempt to talk you out of resurrecting Cleon the Butcher of Armindale.

Enter Cleon's grave, and head down the passage to the left, where you will see a Skeleton surrounded by a number of potions. Look at the loot on the Skeleton's body, and take the journal you find there. Reading it will reveal precisely who the Skeleton belongs to, and what he was attempting to do. When you are ready for the next section of the MOD, take the Potion of undeath from the Skeleton's body.

3.

Upon taking the Potion of Undeath from the body of the skeleton you will be immediately relocated to the Abyss of the Faithless. Just after arriving you will be approached by someone who looks extremely familiar. So very familiar that this particular NPC just so happens to look exactly like you, and ALSO has the same name as you. Talking to this duplicate reveals that he represents the soul that originally owned the body (he calls it a vessel) that your character now occupies. He will also advise you of where to find Cleon.

Follow the blue fog across two bridges, and be sure to kill the two skeletons on the second bridge before climbing the ridgeline of the crater. As you approach the crater you will see Cleon and his Demon fighting against an army of undead, and the Narrator will speak again.

Join in the fight with Cleon and his Demon, fighting the Minions of the Abyss and being VERY careful not to hit Cleon or his Demon. When all of the Skeletons are dead, speak to Cleon, and after the conversation watch as he converses with his Demons, before returning to speak to you. Once he has finished his conversation he will return to speak to you, and the two of you will leave the Abyss of the Faithless.

Upon returning to Cleon's grave, Cleon will speak to you and eventually request that the two of you travel together. You can turn him down if you want, but it doesn't really do anything except stop the quest here. Once you have accepted his partnership, you now have Cleon the Butcher of Armindale as a companion, and will receive a new ability "Call Cleon" which will allow you to summon Cleon to you.

CHAPTER VII - The Butcher of Armindale

1.

During your travels together, Cleon will speak to you at regular intervals. You will know when he wants to talk because a new ability "Cleon wants to talk..." will appear as a spell icon on your interface. The actual timer that determines his conversation is set to 1500 game seconds, which equates to about 20 - 25 minutes in real time. During your conversations with Cleon you will be attempting to build a repour with him, however -due to his Malevolent nature- this isn't particularly easy. An overview of how to complete each of the conversations is listed below:

Beneath each conversation you will see the responses that will affect how Cleon thinks of you. If you come across a response during your conversations with Cleon which you don't see listed below, that is because it has a neutral effect, and does not change your standing with Cleon.

Conversation 1:

You have a better idea? -1

I don't care what you think. - 1

Very well, I will follow your lead. - 1

Conversation 2:

They seek only the fame and fortune. + 1

They exist for that delusion. + 1

Having no morals makes one stronger! + 1

Conversation 3:

They know their God will reward them. - 1

You are wrong. - 1

Conversation 4:

It may be based on facts. - 1

You may be right. - 1

You still had free will. + 1

Conversation 5:

You could out-think your opponents. + 1

Conversation 6:

As far as this particular section of the MOD goes, this is the penultimate conversation, as it will determine your relationship with Cleon (and subsequently the majority of your path through the closing stages of this section of the MOD.) After a brief interchanging of dialogue, you will have the option to try and convince Cleon to teach you his strategies. The possible options are outlined below, as well as the conditions necessary to succeed at the task of convincing Cleon to teach you. If you fail, you can still continue the MOD, but it will be a more linear path as Cleon will harbour no respect for you, thus limiting your approach to him.

Because of the challenge it presents. - If your rating with Cleon is 2 or higher, this will convince him to train you. If it is less than 2, you will fail to convince him.

I have already immortalised myself... - If you rating with Cleon is 1 or higher, this will convince him to train you. If if is less than 1, you will fail to convince him.

Because I am an apt pupil. - This will fail regardless of your relationship with Cleon.

I can succeed where you failed... - This will fail regardless of your relationship with Cleon.

Conversation 7:

No relationship changes.

Conversation 8:

No relationship changes.

Conversation 9:

This is only a brief conversation, in which Cleon will request that you return to his gravesite for reasons which he will only reveal once you have arrived.

I suggest ensuring you have any potions you may require, as well as any other combat components necessary to ensure you will succeed in the upcoming encounter before heading to Cleon's Grave.

2.

Upon returning to Cleon's Grave, Cleon will initiate a conversation with you (if for some reason he doesn't speak to you of his own accord, you should speak to him instead.) The options you choose during the course of the dialogue don't really matter, and at the end of the dialogue Cleon will fall to the ground to be replaced with the Demon that you saw in the Abyss of the Faithless.

The Demon that represents The Butcher of Armindale is similar to a normal Daedra with one major difference. If you attempt to flee from him, he will turn himself invisible, and teleport to your location. After which he will cast a fireball spell on you and engage you in normal melee combat. He also has a lot of hit points to make the fight more challenging (however, Wizard of Thay from the ElderScrolls Forums has completed this fight with a Level 1 character, so he is far from invincible.)

After you deal a lot of damage, the Demon will fall to the ground dead. Soon after you will be drawn into Cleon's Mindscape to confront the Demon Inside once and for all.

CHAPTER VIII - The Demon Inside

You will arrive in Cleon's perverted version of the fall or Armindale. Flames, blood, and the fog born of his deluded mindscape serve as the basis for this plane of existence.

Just after arriving you will see Cleon's Demon run off into the distance. Once your controls are enabled, chase the Demon through the city of Armindale. Periodically you will be interrupted by one of three versions of Cleon (Young Cleon, Middle-Aged Cleon and Old Cleon) who will speak to you for a bit and then die. Just after speaking to Old Cleon you will approach and Arena. "Use" the Arena doors to enter the Arena itself.

Once inside, you will see another version of Cleon (nicknamed the "Referee") Speak to him to begin the final section of the "Butcher of Armindale" section of the MOD.

IF CLEON LIKES YOU: You will know because the Referee will advise you of the fact that you are now the General in command of the army. He will tell you that you need to order your warriors to defeat the Demon Inside and it's minions, and will ask you how you wish to position your archers. There are 3 possible endings that can be achieved from here:

- "Good Ending" - To achieve the good ending, place your archers on either side and behind the warriors; Have your warriors stick together, and Split your warriors into 2 groups when they are attacked. The good ending allows you to more or less bypass the "recovery" section of the MOD (which is easy but time consuming.) After you are returned to the "real world" Cleon will speak to you and request that the two of you continue to travel together as companions. Continue to CHAPTER IX: Part 1 from here.

- "Evil Ending" - To achieve the evil ending, place your archers on either side and behind the warriors; Have your warriors stick together; and choose EITHER Fight as individuals or Remain as a group. The evil ending ensures that Cleon remains a malevolent bastard, and also allows you to see the "recovery" section of the MOD (which is interesting as far as story/character development goes.) After you are returned to the "real world", Cleon will speak to you and then leave. Continue to CHAPTER IX: Part 2 from here.

- "Bad Ending" - To achieve the bad ending, choose any combination except for the two listed above. The bad ending ends The Butcher of Armindale, results in you loosing Cleon as a companion, and halts any further progress into Tears of the Fiend. If you end up with the bad ending, you will be returned to the real world, and your quest will end. You can stop reading here as nothing else is going to happen as far as the MOD is concerned.

IF CLEON HATES YOU: You will know because the Referee will advise you of the fact that Cleon does not respect you, and as such you will merely be a pawn to fight the Demon Inside, not a General. You will be transported to the Arena floor beside a somewhat cowardly version of Cleon. After he talks to you, open the gate and advance on the TRUE Demon Inside... who just so happens to wear your face, and just so happens to have Allecia Ehothorn at his/her side.

This is actually a pretty standard fight (and MUCH easier to win than the 0.51 version of The Butcher of Armindale final fight.) Just ensure that you attack your duplicate (The Demon Inside) first. Once your duplicate is dead, Allecia becomes vulnerable and will only live for a certain amount of time before dying herself (regardless of whether or not you hit her.) This is indicative of Allecia's attachment to your character, as you will have learned during the course of The Legacy.

From here, depending on whether or not Cleon lives or Cleon dies will depend on the ending you receive.

- Cleon Lives - "Evil Ending" - The evil ending ensures that Cleon remains a malevolent bastard, and also allows you to see the "recovery" section of the MOD (which is interesting as far as story/character development goes.) After you are returned to the "real world", Cleon will speak to you and then leave. Continue to CHAPTER IX: Part 2 from here.

- Cleon Dies - "Bad Ending" - The bad ending ends The Butcher of Armindale, results in you loosing Cleon as a companion, and halts any further progress into Tears of the Fiend. If you end up with the bad ending, you will be returned to the real world, and your quest will end. You can stop reading here as nothing else is going to happen as far as the MOD is concerned.

CHAPTER IX - Grudges of the Past

Pre-requisits: To get this section of the MOD you HAVE to have kept Allecia Ehothorn alive during "The Legacy" section of the MOD, and you HAVE to have received either the "Good" or the "Evil" ending in the "Demon Inside" section of the MOD. If you have not met these pre-requisites, you will not see the "Tears of the Fiend section" of the MOD.

1.

After returning to the real world (if you have achieved the GOOD ending to The Butcher of Armindale section of the MOD) you will now have both Cleon and Allecia as your companions. This section is on a timer of 1000 seconds (which equates to about 16 minutes) after which Cleon will demand to speak to you. Initiate a conversation with him to begin the first dialogue from Tears of the Fiend.

Cleon will reveal that he knows about the influences your predecessor had on his corruption, and will demand that you tell him the full story.

If you refuse to tell him something: He will become angry and will walk off. This leads to the "Recovery" variant of the storyline. Continue to CHAPTER IX: Part 2 from here.

If you tell him everything: He will be appreciative of your honesty, and agree to continue travelling with you. Continue to CHAPTER X: Part 1 from here.

2.

After Cleon has left, a quest update will advise you that you might be able to find him in one of the cities. Travel to the Imperial City Market District and you will eventually be stopped by a member of the Black Horse Courier who will provide you with the latest edition of the Black Horse Courier, and promptly depart. Read the newspaper to learn that Cleon was last spotted in Cheydinhal murdering two guards, and that the only witness to the murderer frequented the local tavern.

Make your way to the tavern in Cheydinhal and speak to the Barkeep (the same one you spoke to regarding the Ehothorn Family). From her you will learn some very basic information, and be advised to track down the Archaeologist who witnessed the murders. However, after leaving the tavern you will be intercepted by a guard by the name of Eladnimra of Noelc, who -regardless of what you say- will believe you are resisting arrest, and will promptly knock you out.

You will awaken in a prison cell. After a brief period of time you will be approached by Eladnimra of Noelc who will threaten to do you harm unless you reveal information about Cleon to him.

If you tell him about Cleon: Eladnimra of Noelc will release you (remember to collect your equipment from the chest at the end of the Prison Hallway). Head up to the entryway to discover that Eladnimra of Noelc was Cleon of Armindale all along. Cleon will reveal his disappointment in your decision to betray him, and after a long speech he will attack you. Killing him will end the MOD, and will also result in Allecia Ehothorns death. If you receive this ending, you can stop reading the walkthrough right now as this MOD has nothing more for you to enjoy.

If you refuse to tell him about Cleon: He will eventually leave, and return approximately 60 seconds later to threaten you further. If at any point you reveal information about Cleon, read the above result. If you remain silent, he will leave you alone, and return again later. This time he threatens Allecia Ehothorn as well. You have no choice but to say SOMETHING at this point. Tell him that you what you say will mean nothing, as he "gets inside his opponents minds." After this he will leave, and a short time later your cell door will open. Collect your equipment from the chest at the end of the Prison Hallway, and head up to the entryway to discover that Eladnimra of Noelc was Cleon of Armindale all along. At this point you can choose to continue to travel with him, or refuse his partnership. If you continue to travel with him, take the key he offers, advice Allecia to follow you, and leave the prison to emerge in the outer section of the Ruins of Armindale.

CHAPTER X - The Butcher and the Fiend

1.

After the Chapter IX - Part 1 conversation, or the "Recovery" (Chapter IX - Part 2) section of the MOD, "The Butcher and the Fiend" section will begin. The first conversation is on a 1000 second timer (about 16 minutes) after which Cleon will want to speak to you. Initialise a conversation and choose the dialogue options that best suit you (it doesn't really matter what you pick.)

After this, Rest for a while (or Wait). You may have to repeat the process several times. Eventually you will be alerted to an argument between Cleon and Allecia. Speak to each of them in turn, and once again, choose the dialogue options that best suit you.

Once you have spoken to both of them, Rest or Wait for a while longer, and eventually you will be alerted to another argument, after which Cleon will initialise a conversation with you, and will leave the group, advising you that if you wish to seek him out you will find him in Three Sisters Inn in Skingrad. He also demands that you leave Allecia behind if you choose to seek him out.

2.

Go to Skingrad, tell Allecia to wait somewhere within the city. Go to the Three Sisters Inn and speak to Cleon. He will advise you to follow him. Follow Cleon out of the city and into the farming regions surrounding it. If for some reason he begins to stray (or you suspect that his pathfinding has bugged out) simpy talk to him to put him back on track. Eventually he will lead you to a derelict barn, and enter a crypt hidden beneath mounds of overgrown grass. Enter the crypt.

Make your way through the crypt until you find Cleon. Speak to him and he will advise you that you are now in his wife's gravesite, and to enter the adjoining tomb to "gaze upon the face of his beloved wife." Enter the tomb to find that it (much like the Ehothorn family crypt) is entirely empty. Return to Cleon and speak to him once again. He will reveal to you the extent of Allecia's manipulation (and reveal her for the metaphorical and literal Fiend that she is).

Mid-way through the conversation you will be drawn into a Dreamscape which is essentially the same as the first Dreamscape in which you saw Cleon bidding farewell to his wife, however, this one will continue after Cleon leaves and you will see who his wife Alleria really is. After this you will be returned to the real world and Cleon will speak to you once again.

Cleon will deliver his ultimatum: bring Allecia Ehothorn to the Ruins of Armindale where she will face judgement at his hands for her crimes. After this Cleon will leave.

Return to where you left Allecia and speak to her. Regardless of what conversation choices you pick, she will eventually agree to Cleon's Ultimatum and advise you to travel to the Ruins of Armindale for the final confrontation.

CHAPTER XI - Tears of the Fiend

Before you attempt this next section of the MOD, make sure you have Edward Pellew's Sword of the Celestial. If for some reason you don't have it, you can find it in the following locations:

If you killed Pellew at the start of the MOD: You will find the Sword of the Celestial in a shrine dedicated to Pellew just out from of Maris's cabin.

If you killed Pellew at the end of the MOD: You will find the Sword of the Celestial on his body in the "Mysterious Chamber."

If you left Pellew alive: Speak to Pellew in the "Mysterious Chamber" to receive the Sword of the Celestial.

When you are ready to head to Ruins of Armindale, travel through the Excavation site with Allecia Ehothorn following you, return to the Mysterious Chamber and "use" the rune-covered door to the right of the Altar (as you face the altar from the entrance to the chamber.)

As you enter the next cave system Allecia will initialise a conversation with you and advise you that she has poisoned you. She will speak for a bit and then leave. After that you will be affected by a "drunken" effect due to the poison. An interesting little trick is to "sleep-off" the poison before entering the next chamber. To do this, rest for 3 hours, wait for 10 seconds afterwards, and rest for another 3 hours. You may need to repeat this process a few times until you see a message advising you that the poison has worn off. You don't NEED to do this in order to complete the next section (as the poison will wear off eventually) but it definitely makes it easier to complete the next section.

When you are ready, be sure to save your game and enter the door at the far end of the tunnel.

When you enter, approach the front of the platform and you will hear Cleon delivering a death threat to Allecia. Immediately run into the room to the left and "use" the hatch. Sprint down the corridor, jump off the nearby platform (don't waste your time running down the stairs), continue up the ladder and out into the Arena again. Run towards where Cleon started (the gate to your right) run up the fallen pillar and drop down into the gap created between the platform and the gateway. Run down towards the Arena Bloodworks, enter the door, ensuring you get a Torch out (if you don't have one already) and ignite it prior to entering. In the next room, take the middle (largest) passage, pausing before running up the other ramp (back into the Arena) long enough to push the lever nestled in the corner of the room (to the right of the ramp heading upwards.) Head up the ramp, and out the door back into the Arena.

If Allecia is lying dead on the ground: You have gotten the "Cleon Alive, Allecia Dead Ending." Refer to the section on Tears of the Fiend Endings below for more information on that ending, and HOW TO AVOID IT.

If Allecia is alive: Talk to her and convince her not to throw away her life. After that, continue below.

After this, head back into the Bloodworks (with Allecia following) and draw the Sword of the Celestial. Be sure to buff your character with spells and items, and when you are ready return to Cleon's section of the Arena (where you crawled through the gap) via the Bloodworks tunnel you first entered the Bloodworks through.

The moment you get too close to Cleon he will attack you. Similar to how Pellew fights in The Legacy section of the MOD, you will now use the Sword of the Celestial to try and cleanse the Demon Inside that represents Allecia from Cleon. Every 5 hits you will see a message advising you that Cleon has gasped out a part of Allecia's fiendish name. After repeating this process 3 times (15 hits in total) Cleon will stop fighting you and the next section of the fight will occur. Remember, when fighting Cleon you aren't TRYING to deal too much damage (it is actually possible to kill him) and the Sword of the Celestial on it's own does next to no damage. All you need to do is hit him, and I personally find that using "Hit and Run" tactics is the best way to survive this fight.

If Allecia dies before you hit Cleon 15 times: You have gotten the "Cleon Dead, Allecia Dead Ending" as Cleon will continue to fight you if he succeeds in killing Allecia. Refer to the section on Tears of the Fiend Endings below for more information on that ending, and HOW TO AVOID IT.

If Allecia is alive: Continue below.

You will now have a chance to confront the Demon Inside. Fortunately both Allecia and Cleon are "Essential" now, and as such cannot be killed. The Demon Inside fights EXACTLY the same way as Cleon's Demon did when you fought that before the "Demon Inside" section of the MOD. For strategy on how to defeat it, refer to that section of the Walkthrough. When you have eventually dealt enough damage to Cleon's Demon (entitled Allecia Ehothorn) both Allecia and Cleon will stop and wait for you to speak to them.

It doesn't matter what order you speak to them, provided you definitely speak to each of them before leaving the Arena. When speaking to Allecia the choices you make don't really change much aside from some of her ending dialogue. However, when you speak to Cleon he will mention that he is considering retirement. To keep him in your party, you need to choose dialogue option that explains to him his reasons for being in the Abyss (his Hubris), after which he will agree to remain as your companion.

If Cleon goes into retirement: You have gotten the "Cleon Retired, Allecia Alive Ending." Refer to the section on Tears of the Fiend Endings below for more information on that ending, and HOW TO AVOID IT.

If Cleon agrees to stay with you: You have gotten the "Cleon Alive, Allecia Alive Ending." Refer to the section on Tears of the Fiend Endings below for more information on that ending.

Tears of the Fiend ENDINGS:

What follows is a more detailed explanation of the possible endings you can receive in Tears of the Fiend:

Cleon Alive, Allecia Dead Ending - This ending is the easiest one to get (and unfortunately the most unsatisfying, in my opinion.) Cleon will speak to you, tell you his justification for killing Allecia, and continue travelling with you. You will get to keep Cleon as a companion. To avoid getting this ending, you need to be INCREDIBLY quick during the first section after you first enter the Arena. The second you hear Cleon beginning his speech, start running towards the hatch. You need to be "flawless" as you complete this section. Cut every corner, jump down every ledge, and squeeze through the gap (after running up the fallen pillar) in a single attempt. If you do all of this (and flip the lever as soon as you are able to) you WILL be able to save Allecia.

Cleon Dead, Allecia Dead Ending - A pretty simple ending. This means that Allecia has died during your combined fight with Cleon, and as a result Cleon has fought you to death. You loose both of your companions, and gain nothing in return. To avoid it, ensure that you deal the 15 hits to Cleon with the Sword of the Celestial as quickly as possible, and do your best to grab Cleon's attention from Allecia during the fight.

Cleon Retired, Allecia Alive Ending - Cleon chooses to retire from battle, and as such will no longer serve as your companion. However, perhaps the best justification comes from the knowledge that he retires to a life of peace and quiet and happiness -something the Butcher of Armindale has never before experienced. To avoid this ending, just ensure that you choose the correct dialogue path during the final dialogue with him just after the defeat of the "Allecia Demon Inside."

Cleon Alive, Allecia Alive Ending - The best possible ending to the MOD (in my opinion.) You manage to rid Cleon of the last of his Demons (this one representing Allecia) and you keep Allecia Ehothorn alive during the process. Furthermore, you managed to convince Cleon not to retire into a life of peace and quiet. In this ending you keep both Allecia and Cleon as companions, and your storyline and mark upon Tamriel is yours to create from this point onwards.

Final Words:

And so it is that you have finished the Tears of the Fiend MOD, and regardless of what ending you have received you should be pleased to see that you managed to make it to this particular section of the MOD. It is a long and difficult haul, and features a higher word count than all of Vanilla Oblivion, yet hopefully you have enjoyed the experience, and will enjoy keeping Cleon and Allecia as companions (if you managed to do this.) I've had an amazing time writing and scripting this MOD, and I harbour a great deal of pride in the completed work. I can only hope that you managed to get as much out of this MOD as I put into it, and that you found the story as it unfolds to be engaging enough to warrant reading each and every line of dialogue. To me, that is reward enough for my efforts.

If you managed to get the "Cleon Alive, Allecia Alive Ending" I would suggest reading the "Tears of the Fiend" epilogue contained elsewhere in this guide. Though it takes a few liberties regarding how your character may continue with Allecia and Cleon. Regardless, it is a short story that I wrote one night at work, that I feel delivers the final necessary story element to the epic Tears of the Fiend tale.

TEARS OF THE FIEND EPILOGUE

The short story that follows was created at a point during this MOD's development when I needed a source of inspiration and motivation to continue. It takes some liberties with how your character's story may have progressed after the events of Tears of the Fiend, and also a few small liberties with The Elder Scrolls lore, yet for the most part it is relatively canon to events that have transpired, and Tamrielic lore.

“…As usually happened when I concluded my tale and fell into silence in order to appraise its impact on my eager listeners, I felt only disappointment welling within me. Disappointment that always accompanied the vast oceans of disbelief and scepticism that rolled across the crowd. Disappointment that not one of them would ever appreciate the magnitude of the events that I had described, nor would they ever comprehend it.

Not for the first time, I wondered why it is that I devote so much of my time to recounting the tale of my Legacy and how it wove in a tangled web around the story of the Butcher of Armindale. Yet almost before the question had finished forming, I knew the answer, and as it always did it came to me in the harsh voice of Cleon: ‘To immortalise ourselves within the pages of history. To ensure that our mistakes are never made again. To preserve the blood that was spilled on the streets of Armindale.’ And so it was that with the voice that had once haunted my nightmares still echoing in the cramped confines of my mind, I resolved myself for the hundredth time to continue telling it. I would tell our tale forevermore if that is what it took.

‘How long has it been since you last visited the Ruins of Armindale?’ one grizzled, middle-aged mercenary asked, draining the last of his tankard and slamming it unceremoniously on the wooden tabletop as if to accentuate his question.

‘A few years, or a few decades,’ I answered, somewhat cryptically. ‘Time doesn’t mean as much to me now as it once did.’ And though the answering look was awash with scepticism, there was more truth in my words than I could ever truly convey. In the aftermath of the events that had transpired in the Ruins of Armindale, I had found values that existed elsewhere in Tamriel, and not placed so much emphasis on the passing of Time. To tell a tale such as I did required a suspension of the mortal perceptions of Time, as it operated outside of what most mortals would ever understand.

From the back of the room I could hear the unmistakable mumblings of dissention. The soft tremors of doubt and disbelief that would eventually evolve into a fully-fledged earthquake if they were not quelled early. I had seen this reaction from my audience countless times, and though it bothered me that the citizens I had once fought to protect from the darker aspects of my Legacy were so quick to discount my stories, I never let my feelings show on my face. My outward appearance remained as unflinching and impassive as if it were chiselled from stone.

‘In a world filled with tales of Demons and Gods waging ceaseless war upon the face of our brittle plane of existence, why is it that you are so quick to dismiss one more tale of fantasy and legend? Could it be because your own lives are so predictable and morose that you are incapable of suspending disbelief?’

Right on cue, the two dark robed individuals who shared the table with me removed the heavy-hoods that concealed their faces, and spun around on their stools to face the roiling crowd.

‘Leave them be,’ one of them spoke in a harsh voice, seemingly devoid of any real emotion. ‘You waste your efforts trying to convince this lot that there is something more than their empty lives have offered them thus far.’ My companion returned his mug to the table, making no conscious effort to impede the flow of ale that gushed from the unsettled cup onto the already-stained table.

My second companion smiled, and her eyes sparkled with the same inner fire that had captivated me when first I met her. ‘Yes, you wouldn’t want to risk fracturing their innocent perception of the world by removing the veil from their eyes and exposing them to the truth. Come, my friend, allow your voice a moment to rest and finish your ale before one of us does.’

Silence ensued; the unsettled rumblings having vanished completely as their eyes finally conveyed to their minds precisely what it was that they were seeing. Both Cleon –the former Butcher of Armindale- and Allecia Ehothorn harbour attributes that can only be described as unmistakable. And to the same extent, seeing them in the real world for the first time is truly awe inspiring, regardless of whether or not you choose to belief the stories about them. There is something beyond mere mortality about them, and upon appraising the crowd I knew that they could sense it as well.

I struggled unsuccessfully to conceal a broad grin that snaked its way across my mouth, feigning a look of resignation as I turned back to face my half-empty tankard. ‘Perhaps you are right, my friends. I doubt that any of this lot has the intellect to fathom the existence of The Butcher of Armindale and The Fiend.’ And with that I pressed the mug to lips and drained its contents.

That was how I had learned to win the crowd despite standing at the foot of a seemingly unscaleable mountain when I first I began my tale. Tell them the story, then follow up by showing them the story. Looking into the eyes of Cleon and Allecia, even small-minded mercenaries could see the monolithic struggles that the two of them had experienced. Looking into their eyes, the listeners could see the truth of my words. It had worked a hundred times before, and as I had expected it had worked now.

Out of nowhere a serving girl appeared, and within moments all three of our tankards were filled to the brim. Cleon took this as an invitation to continue drinking, and promptly emptied his mug before turning to face me, his expression grim as always.

‘Times are changing; before long there will be none who remember the Fall of Armindale. Perhaps the time has come for you to cease telling our tales, and let the world move on as it is destined to do. Perhaps we three should fade into obscurity and leave the historians to make up their own minds about us.’

‘You are wrong,’ I said, somewhat venomously, this was not the first time that this particular topic had arisen. ‘By remembering the past we will help people to remember the consequences of such actions. We can ensure that such events do not reoccur.’

Allecia shook her head, her dark eyes betraying her thoughts on the matter even before she spoke. ‘With every year that passes the impact of your story lessens, and the number of people who believe the entire tale to be a fanciful fiction increases. How long has it been since anyone even recognised you as the Champion of Cyrodiil? Surely saving the world warrants more respect than that.’

I opened my mouth to reply, yet strangely I could not find the words to carry through with the argument. Like always, Allecia had summed up the entire situation with a few simple sentences, highlighting the gravity of our position with the perfect analogy. No one remembered who I was or what I had done only a few years ago. No one cared that all of Tamriel had very nearly suffered eternal torment at the hands of the forces from Oblivion. To the populace of Tamriel, all that mattered was the future, the lessons of the past were quickly forgotten, and so too were my stories.

For the first time since I had last walked out of the Ruins of Armindale and thanked the Gods that the world as I knew it had not come crumbling down, I genuinely considered giving up.

Before the Tears of the Fiend had washed away the centuries of pain and anguish that had created the vast rift between Allecia and Cleon, the Butcher of Armindale had been a man of fire and steel. Yet after, with his tale told, and his story in its closing chapters, he too had considered retirement. Looking at him now, with his grey hair and once hard-bitten face cursed with age, I suddenly felt that same weariness wash over me and for the first time considered what it might be like to settle-down permanently in the Ehothorn Estate. Perhaps my days of adventuring were over as well.

The sound of a chair sliding across the hardwood floor drew me out of my reverie and back to the world around me. A stranger –similarly garbed in a dark cloak- had taken a seat in the last position at our table, and was busily helping himself (or herself) to an untouched loaf of bread that sat at the tables’ centre.

‘There are other tables, friend,’ Cleon stated, making no effort to hide the malice in his voice. Despite having rid himself of the Demon Inside many years ago, Cleon had never done away with his aggressive tendencies entirely.

‘There are indeed,’ came the gruff response, in a manner that made it impossible to determine the speaker’s gender. ‘Yet I chose this one for a reason.’

‘Would you care to share that reason with us?’

The stranger stared critically at Cleon, and from where I sat I could see the whites of his eyes. Finally he shrugged and turned to face me, an air of seriousness surrounding the movement. ‘I believed your story. Once –not all that long ago really- I helped shape the destiny of this world, and now I am nothing but a myth, a forgotten relic. I know how quickly the populace becomes unappreciative of those who do the most to serve it, and I know that the damage done in the past drives you now to ensure that such damage never occurs again.’

In an instant, the stranger had done precisely what was necessary to captivate me. I was enthralled by him, eagerly awaiting his next words. Feeling a certain kinship to this dark-robed individual and the similar pasts we shared.

‘If I told you that there was a way to undo a single act, a single decision that had brought about all of the destruction that you spoke of, would you take it?’

The question stirred curiosity within me, and despite the impossible nature of the question itself I did not believe it to be hypothetical. This stranger, this brother, genuinely wanted to know the answer to the question. How fortunate it was, then, that I knew the answer before the question ever arose.

‘I would.’

Though I could not see his face, I could tell that the stranger was smiling. ‘You would be willing to do this, knowing that the lessons learned through the fall of Armindale at the hands of General Cleon prevented such a thing from reoccurring. You would seek to undo those lessons in order to save a few thousand innocent lives?’

The manner in which he spoke demanded that the response be considered at length, and I had every desire to fulfil that request.

Though lessons had been learned from Armindale, the fall of so prosperous a city had had unforetold repercussions. It had weakened Cyrodiil’s economy to a point that it had taken decades to recover. The weakened economy had in turn resulted in a lower military budget, which in turn had led to the lack of Soldiers to fight against the Hordes of Oblivion that Mankar Cameron had called forth. If Armindale had lived, Kvatch may never have fallen, and the thousands of lives that would be spared if Armindale was not destroyed suddenly became twice that number. The Hordes of Oblivion may well have been beaten back much quicker, and the devastation they wreaked may well have been negated. Perhaps Martin Septim may even have lived to rule Cyrodiil and elevate the land to new levels of social perfection. Though there was enormous risk in such a decision, I honestly felt that the potential for reward was greater. Worth the risk, to be sure.

‘Despite all that was learned from the fall of Armindale, I think that I would still be willing to change the decision that resulted in the fall of Armindale.’

‘So be it then. Of all those in Tamriel who understand the magnitude of such a decision, only you and I can justify the need to make it. We share unique insight that no others do, thus we need to think and act in a manner beyond mere mortals. Despite our own mortality, of course.’ He returned the now half-eaten loaf of bread to the table, and crossed his arms over his chest. ‘Tell me, have you ever been to Morrowind?’

I frowned, remembering the Dunmer name for continent yet failing to understand the stranger’s desire to use it in place of its more commonly accepted name. ‘You mean Vvardenfell?’

He tensed up, and I sensed that the name of the continent was something he had struggled with in the past. ‘I mean Morrowind,’ he countered, somewhat sharply. ‘Have you been there?’

‘No I have not.’

‘The Gods on Morrowind are closer to the mortal plane of existence than they are in Cyrodiil. The God Vivic himself resides within the town named after him, and other more benevolent Gods maintain direct links to their mortal followers. Though the Gods will not play an active hand in shaping the destiny of this land, they are not above granting a small boon to its saviours. Rest assured, I speak from experience.’

His words should have struck me as unlikely or impossible. Surely my own experiences and dealings with the Gods and Demons of Tamriel were unique, and yet still I eagerly awaited every word he spoke. I believed that he spoke truth. ‘Tell me more.’

‘If you are willing to prove yourself, and you are willing to justify your decision beyond doubt, I would guess that you may be able to earn a boon from one of the Gods. But you have to be certain; you have to be truly dedicated to the task.’ His eyes –invisible as they were beneath the hood is his cloak- bore into mine, gauging my reaction and struggling to read my intentions…”

***

‘…It would be a lie to say that I didn’t have doubts at that point in time. Any creature that harbours intelligence enough to call itself ‘sentient’ would have doubts if it were placed in a similar situation. Yet as I reflected upon myself, and considered all the elements to the equation I found that I unerringly came to the same conclusion…’

I paused for a moment, looking at the crowd gathered around the campfire and wondering whether my story was having any impact whatsoever. What I saw did not fill me with much hope. Hesitantly I glanced at Allecia, seated beside me atop a long-dead tree trunk and gazing longingly upwards at the stars burning bright in the night sky. As if sensing that I was looking at her, she turned to meet my eyes and offer a small nod of encouragement before returning to her star-absorbed vigil.

Taking a deep breath, I continued my tale.

‘The Stranger told me the specific details, and I listened to his every word as if it were spoken from the mouth of a God. What he was saying was so incredulous, so seemingly impossible and yet so decidedly real to me that I simply could not ignore it. He told me of Morrowind –excuse me,- he told me of Vvardenfell and of his experiences with the Gods that reside there. And though he never did tell me who he was, to this day I have my own opinions as to his identity.’

I could hear Allecia chuckling beside me. She did not share my opinions on the Stranger’s identity, avidly believing that the individual I thought him to be was nothing more than a mythological character. I think it amusing when I reflect upon the fact that the populace of Cyrodiil now thinks of me as a mythological character, essentially placing me in the same boat as the stranger –by Allecia’s reasoning.

‘We talked for hours upon hours. We talked until the black of night vanished and the crimson radiance of a new day bathed us in its blinding light. And then, once all that needed to be said had been said, the stranger departed and Cleon, Allecia and myself retired to our shared room to plan the next step in our journey.’

I could see the attention of the massed individuals beginning to waver, and I knew that I was losing the interest of the crowd. This particular section always fell flat due to the lack of excitement or story progression, and so I did as I quite often did in these instances and simply summarised it.

‘The three of us travelled to Morr… Vvardenfell-‘ I hurried to correct myself, ‘-and began our search for a God that could grant us our boon. In truth, the details of our travels are quite inconsequential. We met with Vivic –whom we found to be nothing short of an arrogant ass- and resumed our searches elsewhere, before finally settling on the one God that had a demonstrated involvement with the beings of the mortal plane: Azura. Azura, who worked closely with the Nerevarine during the Dagoth Ur incident, and who has always been reputed to be fond of the mortals of Vvardenfell. It was at great expense, and after many trials and tribulations that we were finally granted the opportunity to speak to with Azura in a mist-filled chamber deep within a long-forgotten temple dedicated to her worship.’

I paused, and used this opportunity to focus my thoughts. This was the aggregate, the crucial element to my story that would determine whether or not it was embraced by my listeners, or rejected. The telling of this section was paramount to the effort of telling the story.

‘With a Priestess of Azura guiding us, we called to the Goddess…’

***

“…In truth, I had not expected to be able to speak directly to the Goddess. I had thought that any conversation between us would take place via signs that the Priestess would interpret, for even though we had spoken to Vivec in the flesh –or spoken to his Avatar at least-, there was something truly immortal about Azura, something beyond that which Vivec could convey. So you can imagine my surprise when the Goddess answered my words directly, her distinctly feminine voice echoing around the empty chamber.

‘You have come a long way, Champion of Cyrodiil.’

Her every word commanded obedience and loyalty, and I have vague images of dropping to my knees and prostrating myself before her. Yet despite being in the presence of a God, my only thought was: at least she remembers that I am the Champion of Cyrodiil.

Whether she had intercepted my thoughts or I had spoken them aloud I will never know, yet she answered them as if they had been directed at her. ‘Yes, Champion, that is a part of the reason that I chose to speak to you. Only a select few are blessed by my presence.’ Her every word was arrogant and patronising, and yet I perceived no arrogance. She was simply stating a fact when she spoke to me.

‘You know why I am here?’ I asked aloud, somewhat hesitantly at first.

‘I know,’ she replied, casting an appraising glance at my two companions who had wisely opted to remain silent. ‘Tamriel owes you a favour, and since the populace of Tamriel are not in a position to remember you, let alone grant a favour, I will pay it for them. But tell me, are you certain that this is what you want?’

‘I am certain,’ I replied, steeling myself against what was to follow.

‘If you are certain, then you had best tell your companions what change you would have me make.’

Both Cleon and Allecia looked at me expectantly, waiting for the answer that they were sure was to come. We had only spoken on this topic once in all our travels, and even then we had only spoken on it vaguely. I would ask that Cleon never be made a General in charge of the army that would eventually lay siege to Armindale. Cleon would simply remain an ordinary soldier –though still in the thrall of The Fiend- and never amount to anything nearing the scale of the Butcher of Armindale. The three of us had determined that this was the one change that was least likely to cause a lasting –and potentially damaging- impact on Tamriel’s timeline, and yet would still achieve our goal of restoring Armindale.

But little did my companions know that I had since concocted another change that I had not deemed to tell them. A change that, while potentially more damaging, would undo the damage that my pre-incarnation The Fiend, and Allecia Ehothorn had caused more than two centuries ago. And now, as the Goddess waited patiently, I was suddenly frightened at the prospect of revealing my deception to my companions.

‘Tell them, or say that harbour doubts, and leave this place,’ Azura prompted, her will weighing heavily upon me.

I distinctly remember taking a deep breath and closing my eyes, preparing myself for the repercussions of what I was to ask. My mouth felt dry and my tongue felt as if it had swollen to the point of filling my mouth, yet somehow I still spoke, somehow I made the demand of the Goddess.

‘I want you to altar the past so that my Pre-incarnation and the Fiend that would become Allecia Ehothorn never decided that they would attempt to take control of Tamriel. Instead, they decided to live out their lives in solitude on the outskirts of Cheydinhal.’

I had considered the numerous eventual paths that history may take from these changes, and had decided that they were all positive. Regardless of our lack of interference rumours would abound of two Fiends in Cheydinhal, and Pellew and Maris would come to investigate. They would then kill my Pre-incarnation and Allecia Ehothorn would use the body of a kidnapped orphan to grant new life in the form of Me. Armindale would live, Cleon would make his own decisions in life, and Tamriel would prosper.

Yet at that moment, as I turned to stare at Cleon I saw only abject horror in his eyes as he realised precisely what it was that I was asking. His mouth opened as if to object, but he was cut silent by the Goddess.

‘It is done,’ she stated simply, her tone unwavering. ‘The change is a small one, and the repercussions are also small –else I would not have allowed it-, yet in the end they will serve to better Tamriel.’

Her words struck me like a blow to the face, and I blinked in astonishment. ‘The repercussions are small?’ I asked, confused. ‘How can saving thousands of lives be a small repercussion?’

She never got the opportunity to answer –indeed she didn’t need to- as I was quickly distracted by Allecia’s startled shriek from beside me. I turned to see what was the cause of her surprise, and instantly felt my blood turn to ice at what I saw.

Cleon, the Butcher of Armindale was aging rapidly. His grey hair grew to shoulder length, then began to fall out, tumbling effortlessly down the length of his body to settle at his feet. The lines already marking his face became more pronounced, transforming before our eyes into elongated wrinkles that criss-crossed his face, quickly enveloping his countless scars. His stature gradually became what I could only describe as ‘uncomfortable’ to behold, and he seemed to shrink in size until he was shorter even than Allecia.

‘What have you done?’ he demanded, his voice changing in pitch as it continued, yet the angry temperament that fuelled it remained the same. ‘Now I’ll never have known either of you-‘ His last words vanished into unintelligible huskiness before falling silent entirely.

Cleon’s eyes never left mine as his body wasted away into nothingness, and throughout it all I felt only guilt. Eventually his eyes lost their focus as cataracts grew across the once fiery orbs, and blindness set in. To me, his sightlessness was no reprieve, as he continued to gaze at me unseeingly.

Finally, his figure wavered and collapsed to the ground, his breath –the last breath of the Butcher of Armindale- escaped in a ragged gasp, and then fell silent forevermore. Cleon was dead.

I turned back to Azura’s wraith-like form even as the skin from Cleon’s body vanished, and the exposed bones grew dark and crumbled to dust. ‘What happened? Our changes should not have resulted in Cleon’s death!’ I demanded, feeling hot, salty tears welling up in my eyes.

‘Cleon’s life will have resulted in death, because death is the only constant to a mortal life. Something that neither you nor Allecia will ever understand.’ Her words seemed sad, yet they held resolve. ‘Cleon died almost two-hundred years ago at the age of sixty-seven. He ended his life in the same manner as he began it: as a farmer.’

The pain I felt could never be described in mere words. The sense of grief that followed Azura’s explanation tore at my soul, leaving me empty inside, my heart aching. I had set out to repair the damage that my Pre-incarnation had made, and only ended up creating more mistakes.

‘What of Armindale?’ Allecia demanded, a stream of tears tumbling unerringly from her eyes. The Tears of the Fiend.

Azura answered without hesitation, and to this day I remember wondering if a Goddess could feel compassion in light of her words. ‘Armindale is a ruin, buried beneath the mountains to the north of Imperial City.’

‘How could that be?’ I demanded, turning to cast a final, forlorn look at the ashes of what had once been the Butcher of Armindale.

‘Because Armindale was destined to fall. Even without Cleon to lead the army, another General –equally as skilled, though without the malevolent streak- stepped in to take his place. And though the innocents of Armindale were spared the General’s wrath, prompted by the Lord of the city –whom the General had graciously spared- they rebelled against the attackers and were quickly silenced. The city was destroyed in the resulting uprisings, and the army moved on. Exactly as it had under Cleon’s command.’

‘But what of Cleon, what happened to him?’

The Goddess’s eyes burned with intensity despite the lack of physical substance. ‘Cleon left his life as a farmer and became a soldier. In the wake of the destruction of Armindale he returned to his family’s farmstead –which he had inherited- and there he remained until the day he died.’

‘But why? Why would history remain the same despite our changes?’

‘The timeline is as much a living entity as either of you. It can see changes that may result in long-term damage, and it knows how to protect against the changes. Provided the change is small, history will usually return to the original path that it set upon in due time.’ She stared directly at me, an expression of sorrow standing prominent on her mist-like features. ‘Why else do you think that the Gods do not undo the damage that Tamriel has suffered throughout the eons since its creation? A big change will do irrevocable damage. A small change results in nothing. Time is fluid, like a river, and despite whatever deviations the water may take during it’s descent from the mountain, it still ends up returning the same path. Only a landslide can ever change that, yet not without destroying the river itself.’

And so the revelation was made. The truth was revealed, and the lesson that I had never learned was finally taught to me. I had spent my entire life struggling to make a mark on the pages of history –with Cleon and Allecia by my side-, only to find that I constantly failed. And up until this point in time I had never understood that these failures were due to the fact that in the vastness of history, my tiny changes would never deviate the original course in the long run. I was as destined to be forgotten as all others. And so, with my changes impossible to unmake, there was only one question left to ask Azura:

‘If you knew that our changes would have no lasting effect, why grant them at all?’ I asked, my heart near breaking. Allecia beside me, similarly distraught…”

***

I was interrupted before I could complete the story. A hard-bitten young Huntsman to my immediate left rose to his feet and spat unceremoniously in my direction. ‘Your stories are fairy tales meant to scare young children, nothing more. If you had presented yourself before us as a tale-weaver, then perhaps we would respect your oratory abilities. Yet you began your tale under the pretence that the events within had actually taken place, which is obviously false. I demand that you move aside and let another share tales founded in truth with the rest of us.’ A murmur of general agreement followed his words, and both Allecia and I were prodded away from the centre-seat in front of the campfire.

Almost before we had vacated the seat another body was resting comfortably atop it, his mouth already open in preparation of his own –doubtless heavily-embellished- tale. Moments ago I had been the centre of attention, now I was forgotten in light of the new storyteller.

Standing beside me, Allecia remained silent. Her eyes glistened with a certain sadness, yet they harboured no surprise. Both of us had seen this before and she had become accustomed to our tales being dismissed as fanciful delusions. I –however- had not.

Time had weakened the strength of my words, and now the Champion of Cyrodiil was a near-forgotten myth. Furthermore, without Cleon beside me to offer a certain level of reality to my stories they quickly descended into the realms of fictitious tales in the minds of the people of Tamriel. To them, I was nothing more than a middle-aged individual travelling with a young Imperial woman. To them I was nothing.

‘You can still tell me the ending to your story,’ Allecia prompted, grasping my arm and forcing me to face her.

‘You already know the ending,’ I argued, ‘you were an integral part of it.’

She smiled, somehow remaining unperturbed by the obscurity in which we now shrouded ourselves. ‘I know it, yet it never hurts to be reminded of it.’

I nodded resolutely, and with the Morrowind shoreline lapping noisily in the panoramic coastline that stretched endlessly before us, I concluded the story of my Legacy for the final time.

‘Azura responded to me question, her words forever shrouding my existence in shadows. “I granted the change you desired because I knew that it would result in only one lasting worthwhile change. I knew that for the first time in his life, Cleon would be happy.”’

TEARS OF THE FIEND STORY-SO-FAR

The story that follows is the timeline of events leading up to when Tears of the Fiend begins. All of the information contained within can be pieced together throughout the Tears of the Fiend MOD, and has only been novelised for the purpose of making it more interesting to read.

200 years before the events of Oblivion, two Fiends left the Abyssal Planes to take up residence in Tamriel. They named themselves the "Ehothorn family" and established their estate several kilometres from Cheydinhal. The Fiend who would later come to be known as Allecia Ehothorn was essentially the brains of the partnership, where as her companion was the brawn. And though she was obviously submissive to him, she recognized his weaknesses due to his lack of subtlety in his approach.

Eager to gain some manner of control over Tamriel, yet knowing that taking a direct hand in conquering the realms would be suicide, the Ehothorns opted to use a more subtle approach to achieve their ends. They found a young man who could be easily coerced, and they began to train him in the ways of a leader. Their victim was a boy by the name of Cleon, who had been born into a farming family and longed for escape from his menial existence, and the opportunity to make his name in the pages of history. So desperate was he to achieve greatness that he was completely oblivion to the Ehothorns manipulating control over him, as he evolved from a farming boy, into a soldier and steadily progressed through the ranks.

At some point in time his burgeoning abilities and insight as a tactician finally removed the veil from his eyes, allowing him to see precisely how the Ehothorns were controlling him. He refused to listen to their advice any more, and vowed to make his name as a soldier in his own way. Knowing that they couldn't afford to lose him after having invested so much effort, Allecia Ehothorn decided to try a different approach. Without the Fiends knowledge, she created a new name and image for herself -Alleria- and made herself an important figure in Cleon's life, Eventually the two were married, and through subtle manipulation and underhanded subversion she managed to sway Cleon back into the Fiend's thrall.

Finally, with Cleon now ordained a General, the time had come for their march across Tamriel to begin. Cleon led his armies to the city of Armindale and promptly destroyed the city, slaughtering everyone. With the Fiend whispering advice in his ear, he tore apart the city and demonstrated to the realms just how dangerous an enemy he was.

He then continued his march towards Imperial City, eliminating some of the smaller cities and destroying all who opposed him. He was looking very much unstoppable, however his own bad habits soon became his downfall. One night while drinking with his soldiers in celebration of their latest victory he was waylaid by a group of Assassins, forced into a back alley and murdered. His body was then taken to the leaders in Imperial City, who decided on a somewhat radical course of action. So desperate where they to prevent his return to the realm (by resurrection or other means) that they took his body to castle Anvil, and there he was entombed in an unmarked, hidden crypt beneath the Castle Blacksmithy. Those who knew of his precise whereabouts took their own lives and the secret of his tomb stricken from history.

Realising how close they had come to being discovered, the Ehothorns opted to remove themselves from public eye for a time. Knowing that their immortality would draw attention over time, they decided to adopt new names (still remaining underneath the Ehothorn Family banner) and created stories about how their "parents" (former pseudonyms) had died, spreading this story throughout Cheydinhal, and alleviating any concerns regarding the fact that they did not age. Throughout the years up until the Player's discovery of Allecia Ehothorn's true identity, Allecia would continue to use this naming trend in order to maintain a certain level of anonymity.

Regardless of this, rumours still abounded of a Fiend that had taken up residence on the outskirts of Cheydinhal (though few in the town ever indicated that it was the Ehothorns), and eventually the rumours attracted the attention of Edward Pellew - an aspiring Hero who had been blessed (or cursed) with Celestial blood, granting him ridiculously long life, and a certain level of control over Fiends, Demons, and the downright Evil. As a hero, Edward Pellew had been constantly met with failure, and so desperate was he to make a name for himself (and thus live up to his ancestors ascendency) that he swore to eradicate this Fiend and free Cheydinhal forevermore. Travelling with him was Maris, a Bounty Hunter (or Hunter as he called himself) who had become enraptured after seeing Pellew's abilities in action, and had volunteered to serve as Pellew's companion in his quest to rid Tamriel of all fiendish entities. The two of them began tracking down the Fiend's trail, which naturally pointed them in the direction of the Ehothorns. A number of close calls saw the Ehothorns evading Pellew and Maris by the narrowest of margins, and Pellew's desperation increasing to dangerous levels.

In a dream, Allecia Ehothorn prognosticated (prophesised) her companion's demise at the hands of Pellew and the Hunter, and so she delved deep into Tamrielic lore, and knowledge of the occult, searching for a way for him to escape his fate. Finally, she found her answer, and approached the Fiend with her idea. the two of them would begin a process that would transferred the Fiend's soul from his body to some manner of catchment device, and would then transfer that soul into an empty vessel - the body of a child- which would essentially allow the Fiend to live on after death.

Needing a place to complete their work, they opted on the Ruins of Armindale, and constructed a chamber there in which they could begin the process of preparing for the reincarnation. The two of them snuck into an orphanage not far from Imperial City and kidnapped a child of suitable age and appearance whose body would serve as the vessel for the Fiend's pre-incarnation. In order to escape pursuit by the guards, the Ehothorns set fire to the building and left it to the burn to the ground.

Yet while they escaped, their actions did not go unnoticed, drawing the attention of Pellew and Maris (who at this point were struggling to discern where the Ehothorns had been hiding all this time). They followed Allecia and the Fiend back to the Ehothorn Estate, and waited until Allecia left the Estate on an errand. They then burned the building to the ground, killing the Fiend and completely destroying the Estate.

Allecia fled to the Ruins of Armindale where she began the process of transferring the Fiend's soul from the catchment device to it's new vessel - the body of the child. The process of this forced the original soul out of the body, thus killing it and sending it to the Abyss of the Faithless - the realm in which those who have made no patronage to a particular God are sent to live out eternity after death. However, before the process could be completed Maris the Hunter attacked Allecia, breaking his enchanted weapon in the process and destroying the catchment device. Allecia fled with the child, narrowly managing to escape Pellew and the Hunter.

Knowing that she would not be able to run forever and unsure as to whether or not the reincarnation of the Fiend had succeeded, Allecia decided to leave the Child in an Orphanage in Imperial City, branding him with a number of runes (which read "Ehothorn") that would guide the child down the path of his Legacy, should his memory remain in tact.

For a time Allecia roamed the lands of Tamriel, however a conversation with a former Argonian Shadowscale (Ruined-Tail by name) revealed to her the importance of Home. She returned to Cheydinhal, and there she constructed a new Ehothorn Estate, continuing the charade of the "cursed Ehothorn Family", which always resulted in only one family member being alive at any one time. Though she knew that Pellew and Maris may well strike at her, she doubted they would do so while she remained in the open. And without a reason to attack her, she felt safe enough to remain in the Estate. And so it was that she remained there, biding her time and hoping that her Companion's, -the Fiend's- reincarnation would return to her with his memories restored and his desire to remain with her intact.

Soon after this Maris and Pellew parted ways. Maris opted to return to life as a Bounty Hunter -having seen Pellew as being nothing more than an abject failure in light of Allecia's escape, and the devestation that was caused to the Orpahange before they managed to eliminate the Fiend. Where as Pellew continued his hunt for the Child that Allecia had left in Imperial City. He knew the race, the gender, and the Legacy of the Child -which he did not doubt would begin to show itself in time, manifesting as a seemingly unbeatable individual who would doubtless leave his mark on Tamriel-, yet there was no way for him to locate the Child until the Legacy had begun to manifest itself. He devoted himself to discerning all the potential candidates within Imperial City, and removing names from the list as they fell out of contention. During his search, his poverty stricken family (a wife and son) dies of illness due to having no money to pay for treatment. This in turn was due to Pellew having squandered the family fortune in his hunt for the Fiend.

And so the Player's tale began. He defeated Mankar Cameron and Dagon, placed Martin Septim on the Throne and closed shut the gates of Oblivion forevermore. The Player made a name for himself, and demonstrated that he harboured something more than that of an ordinary mortal citizen of Tamriel.

And all the while, Edward Pellew watched closely...

TEARS OF THE FIEND TRIVIA

- Edward Pellew is named after Admiral Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount of Exmouth and Commander of the famed HMS Indefatigable.

- The Runic writing that make up the name "Ehothorn" in this MOD is the Marcomannic variant found mainly in the southern part of the Carolingian Empire

- The title "Professor of Religious Symbology" is taken from the book "The Da Vinci Code."

- The directions in the Archaeologist's Map are the directions to find the Melee Island Treasure from The Curse of Monkey Island.

- Maris the Hunter is taken from Marius, the narrator from Diablo 2.

- Maris' anecdote that he relates to the player is taken from Planescape Torment.

- The enchanting recipe sitting atop the Enchanter's stall in the Market District of Imperial City is the recipe used to find Monkey Island in The Curse of Monkey Island.

- Biff the Archaeologist (Bsarn’s second-in-command) is named after “Biff the Understudy” from Baldur’s Gate. (An in-game Easter-Egg that occurred if you killed a main character who was crucial to the story progression.)

- The Abyss of the Faithless, the Half-Celestials as well as most of the religious aspects in the MOD draw inspiration from the Forgotten Realms and PlaneScape campaign settings.

- Cleon is named after the Athenian Strategos of the same name who died at the battle of Amphipolis during the Peloponnesian War.

- The town "Armindale" is named after the Australian town "Armidale" for no particular reason.

- Shann the Bandit's voice files are taken from the character Xzar from Baldur's Gate.

TEARS OF THE FIEND TROUBLESHOOTING

QUESTION: I’ve played The Legacy and/or The Butcher of Armindale. Is there any way I can skip through those sections of this MOD, or use my existing save to determine what part of the story I am up to?

ANSWER: No you can’t. The reasoning behind this is twofold: First of all, the way Oblivion works prevents separate .esp files from interacting with one another –thus, TheLegacy.esp or TheButcher.esp cannot interact with one another, and certainly cannot interact with TotF.esp. Secondly, Actions in The Legacy and The Butcher of Armindale section of Tears of the Fiend now shape how the rest of the MOD plays out, meaning that Tears of the Fiend has to be played in its entirety.

QUESTION: The dialogue isn't staying on the screen long enough for me to read it, what's going on?

ANSWER: The "silent.mp3s" are used to force each line of dialogue to stay on screen for 8 seconds. If they aren't installed correctly, the dialogue will flick by too fast to read.

The Voice files (Silent.mp3s) need to be placed in the following directory:

"Oblivion\Data\Sound\Voice\TotF.esp\<Race name>\<Gender>\"

It is also a known issue that foreign language versions of Oblivion need to have the dialogue files renamed due to the fact that the directory structure is different to the

English version of the game.

For instance, these applies to Spanish Oblivion needs:

Argonian->Argoniano

Breton->Bret n

Imperial->Imperial (no change)

High Elf->Alto Elfo

Redguard-> Guarda rojo

Nord->N rdico

QUESTION: What is with the voice files that don't have any sound?

ANSWER: They are "silent.mp3s" and are used to force the dialogue text to stay on screen for a specific amount of time, in the case of TEARS OF THE FIEND it is for approximately 8 seconds.

QUESTION: How come I don't hear any voiced dialogue?

ANSWER: For THE BUTCHER OF ARMINDALE section of the MOD, most of the NPCs are voiced except for some parts of Cleon's dialogue. In THE LEGACY and TEARS OF THE FIEND sections, nothing is voiced. The voice files you installed are "silent.mp3s" and are used to force the dialogue text to stay on screen for a specific amount of time, in the case of TEARS OF THE FIEND it is for approximately 8 seconds.

QUESTION: On some of the books I receive during the quest I see no text or pictures OR when I open them Oblivion crashes to my desktop. What's the problem?

ANSWER: That means that you have installed the pictures in the book to the wrong location. The correct locations is: Oblivion/Data/Textures/Menus/Book/TheLegacy/

QUESTION: Oblivion crashes to the desktop any time the FLASHBACK spell icon appears, what is happening?

ANSWER: This bug is the bane of my existence. The Flashback/Dream sequences use a series of effects that increase the demand on system resources to dangerous levels. Strangely, most crashes occur on either very LOW-END PCs, or very HIGH-END PCs (usually with 2GB+ memory), with MID-RANGE PC's working fine. As of yet, no one has managed to determine why this problem occurs. In THE LEGACY I created an alternate version of the .esp file which was a "low-end" version designed specifically to counter this particular problem. If I receive enough instances of the problem reoccurring in TEARS OF THE FIEND I will do the same.

QUESTION: Whenever I enable the TotF.esp file, Oblivion crashes at the main title screen. Is the MOD bugged?

ANSWER: No, it's not bugged, this problem happens when you have Knights of the Nine installed. The solution is to change the load order of the MODs, placing KotN either before or after TotF.esp (the opposite to however you had it set up before.)

QUESTION: I am at a crucial part of the MOD, yet whenever I speak to the necessary NPC he says "I HAVE NO GREETING" or just makes ordinary "idle" conversation with me. Why is this?

ANSWER: There are two reasons that this commonly occurs. First of all, MOD conflicts often result in this problem in dialogue-intensive MODs (I have no ideas.) For the purpose of testing I'd suggest disabling all MODs except for Tears of the Fiend, and testing to see if the problem still occurs with the other MODs disabled.

QUESTION: Allecia and Cleon's Pathing is kind of buggy. How can this be fixed?

ANSWER: As NPC pathing relies on the pathnodes within Oblivion to move, it can't really be fixed. For the most part Allecia SHOULD "warp" behind you when you get too far away from her, and she will warp to the player when you trigger certain key events, or reach certain key locations (to avoid you having to wait for her to catch up.)

QUESTION: During the final encounter with the Half-Celestial and/or the Hunter, I return to the “Mysterious Chamber” only to find that I cannot do anything, and none of the NPCs present will speak to me. What should I do?

ANSWER: This is a REALLY annoying bug that is caused by the way the Oblivion Engine handles scripts relating to the player’s character’s state within the game world. There is no simple fix for it from a MODding perspective, but fortunately all you need to do to bypass it is to bring down the console by pressing “~”, typing “enableplayercontrols” and pressing “Enter.” (Obviously without the “ “).

QUESTION: My game won’t save and results in really strange video errors after I have recovered Cleon from The Abyss of the Faithless. Why is that?

ANSWER: In order for this MOD to work you NEED to ensure that you have updated Oblivion to 1.1 or above. If you are running 1.0 (or it’s many unpatched derivatives) you will encounter this problem. If you have this problem, and have only just noticed you have yet to patch it, acquire the patch from http://elderscrolls.com/downloads/updates_patches.htm, and load up a save BEFORE you encounter Cleon in the Abyss of the Faithless.

QUESTION: Allecia/Cleon have become invisible after entering a new zone/cell. What’s going on mate?

ANSWER: This has been a problem with Companion MODs in Oblivion since its release. There is no known fix. Simply change cells or fast travel and the NPC will be restored to you.

QUESTION: Allecia/Cleon have become stuck when trying to exit a certain quest-specific chamber part way into the MOD. How can I resolve this?

ANSWER: If the chamber you are talking about is the one that I am talking about, there is an alternate exit door aside from the one you came into the chamber via that was included for exactly that reason. Simply exit via it to ensure your companions follow you.

QUESTION: Does this MOD work with Shivering Isles?

ANSWER: Sort of. You can run the MOD in parallel to Shivering Isles, however you cannot bring Allecia or Cleon to the Shivering Isles themselves, and I’ve had reports that even bringing them close to the Shivering Isles portal can cause the game to crash. In other words, if you want to run this MOD with a Shivering Isles version of Oblivion ensure you avoid everything Shivering Isles related.

QUESTION: I'm having a strange bug that hasn't been covered in the README so far. What should I do?

ANSWER: First of all, DISABLE any MODs you are running and load up a save BEFORE the bug occurs. Try running THE LEGACY from there and see if the bug repeats itself. If it DOES, then I suggest you send me an E-mail at Simyaz@bigpond.com OR drop by THE LEGACY forums on elderscrolls.com.forums (just do a search for Simyaz to find my thread) so that myself, Wizard of Thay, Arilita or AndyW can try and resolve the problem.

EDITING USING AND DISTRUBUTING

I really don't care where or how you distribute Tears of the fiend, The Legacy or The Butcher of Armindale provided that you don't change the attached ReadMe's (all 3 of them) and you don't remove this guide or take undue credit for the MOD's creation and development. Feel free to use my script and NPCs all you want, but PLEASE don't plagiarise my story/dialogue. Obviously I can't do anything to stop you, but seriously, there can be no justifiable reason to steal my writing. Basically, as long as you aren't going to publish any changes to this MOD (By posting it online or distributing it in any way) I don't care what changes you make.

If you want to translate any of my MODs into another language with the intent on using it for something other than personal use (distributing) be sure to contact me at Simyaz@Bigpond.com first for permission, and the relative conditions associated with the translation.

Tears of the Fiend, The Legacy and The Butcher of Armindale are Copyright © 2007 Paul 'Simyaz' Thomson

I would also like to put forward a special thanks to: Arilita, Wizard of Thay, and dev_akm from the TES forums (elderscrolls.com/forums.) Without your help this MOD would never have eventuated.