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For the Shadow of Conflict, see Umbra' Keth.
"But unknown to kings and High Mages, the flames of war will forge a hero. It is this hero's destiny to alter theirs, and change the world of Shadowkey."
Shadowkey intro[src]

The Soul of Conflict, also known as the Hero of Azra's Crossing, was a title given to the protagonist of The Elder Scrolls Travels: Shadowkey. The Hero was named the Hero of Azra's Crossing after they saved the town of Azra's Crossing — the town in which their adventure begins — and called the "Soul of Conflict" for their role in defeating the Umbra' Keth, also known as the Shadow of Conflict.[1]

History[]

Beginning[]

Undriel

Skelos Undriel

"Alarm! Your village is under attack."
The Elder Scrolls Travels: Shadowkey

At the beginning of Shadowkey, the Hero is living in a town known as Azra's Crossing, when it is suddenly attacked by bandits. The Hero manages to fight off the bandits and saves the inhabitants of Azra's Crossing from Delfran, the leader of the bandits. Inside Delfran's Hideout, the Hero finds Skelos Undriel, a shadowmage who tells them that more may be at stake, as well as a Shadowkey, a strange artifact that can be used to open Shadowgates.

Collect Five Star Teeth[]

Back at Azra's Crossing, Skelos informs the Hero that he is being hunted by Jagar Tharn, and that he needs a place to hide until he is safe.[2] After the Hero clears Earthtear Caverns to use as a hideout, they are told that someone is using the ongoing War of Bend'r-Mahk to create a powerful entity known as the Umbra' Keth, also known as the Shadow of Conflict. Skelos urges the Hero to realize that this entity must not fall in to the hands of Jagar or any other mages of his kind, for it could mean disaster for Tamriel.

Fortunately for the Hero, Skelos tells them of a solution; together, they must find the five Star Teeth, enchanted crystals with the ability to fight Shadow Magic. Skelos tells the Hero their location, and they then go off to retrieve them. Travelling to Ghast's Pass, the Hero finds the Witch Tree, a sentient tree in possession of one of the Star Teeth. The tree says that three tasks must be completed before the Hero can be given the Star Tooth: the first task is to save Olpac Trailslag from two zombies, the second task is to find the cameo of Rene Violet's mother and return it to Rene, and the third and final task is to retrieve the Shadowkey residing within Twilight Temple.

Inside the Twilight Temple, the Hero finds Pergan Asuul, a powerful shadowmage looking to control the Umbra' Keth.[3] Once Pergan is defeated, he tells the Hero that they will fight two more times. The Shadowkey is taken from Pergan Asuul and taken to the Witch Tree, with that, the tree finally presents the first Star Tooth.

The Hero travels all over the region, finding the other Star Teeth. The Hero finds Porliss Caith, an agent of Hammerfell, who holds one of the Star Teeth; they also find Tanyin Aldwyr, an agent of Skyrim; Perosius, an assassin in hiding; and Lakvan, a bandit leader with a strong connection to Jagar Tharn.[note 1] Inside Lakvan's Stronghold the Hero finds Pergan Asuul once more. Pergan exclaims that Azra Nightwielder, the first ever Shadowmage,[4] lingers in Fearfrost Caverns. The Hero defeats Asuul once again and travels to Fearfrost Caverns.

Find Azra Nightwielder[]

Azra Nightwielder

Azra Nightwielder

The Hero reaches the Fearfrost Caverns, where a large crystal lies. As the Hero approaches, the crystal reacts to the proximity of their Shadowkeys, and breaks open. Inside the crystal resides a mage, who appears to have amnesia. The mage asks the Hero to help him find his identity, and the Hero — realizing that this is Azra Nightwielder — tells the mage of his true identity. If the Hero finds Azra before defeating Asuul for the second time, the quest will instead involve the Hero travelling to Lakvan's Stronghold in order to find the mage's identity. Once Azra is told of his true identity, the main quest continues as normal.

Azra asks the Hero to meet him near Azra's Crossing, where he tells the Hero that there are in fact seven Star Teeth, not five. Azra then gives the Hero his own Star Tooth and the location of the final Star Teeth.

Glacier Crawl[]

Inside the Glacier Crawl, the Hero finds an Ice Tribe hidden deep within, who had stolen the final Star Tooth from its original location. The Chieftain and every member of the ice tribe are massacred, and the final Star Tooth is eventually retrieved.

Further down the Glacier Crawl, the Hero finds Captain Nym, who tells them of the origins of the Star Teeth; that they were taken from the sky with airships, and that the ice tribe had raided one such airship and murdered everyone inside. He may or may not have given the Hero the Star Coif, depending on if the Hero had all seven Star Teeth at that point.

Final Battle[]

Umbra Keth

Umbra' Keth

Once the Hero had obtained all seven Star Teeth, they could finally face and destroy the Umbra' Keth inside the Crypt of Hearts. Inside the crypt, the Hero finally defeats Asuul for the third and final time, and moves on to fight the Umbra' Keth, which claims that with the Soul of Conflict, it can become whole. The Hero leads the entity to the Vault of the Heavens, and places down the Star Teeth, making the "Shadow of Conflict" vulnerable.

Once the Hero defeats the Umbra' Keth, the threat is gone, and they take a teleporter created by Azra Nightwielder back to Azra's Crossing. They return to Azra, who states that they truly are the Hero that he hoped they would be.[5] Though the Hero is victorious in their quest, the fate of the Soul of Conflict after this point is unknown.

Physical appearance[]

Though the final screen of the game depicts a robed silhouette holding what appears to be a longsword, there are sixteen different appearances that the Soul of Conflict can take, with two genders for each of the eight different races available in Shadowkey.

Gallery[]

Personality and traits[]

The Soul of Conflict is a silent protagonist, and is generally a character in which the player can reflect their own personality. However, the Soul of Conflict is presumed to be brave and upstanding due to their involvement in clearing the bandits from Azra's Crossing without hesitation. Throughout Shadowkey, the Soul is claimed to have the soul of a hero,[6] this further supports the idea of the character being courageous and especially selfless.

The responses that the Hero may give when talking to characters indicate a person who is always happy to help, but they may also have options to be more strict, not embarking on pointless quests when the character should be happy that they are alive.[7] Most dialogue options also indicate a very optimistic attitude, as generally expected of and seen in a Hero of The Elder Scrolls series.

Powers and abilities[]

Most of the Soul of Conflict's powers are dependent upon the class chosen by the Hero in the beginning of the game. With the different classes available, the Hero is capable of using a wide variety of spells and can wield numerous weapons, ranging from daggers to magical longswords.

The Hero is shown to be able to use Shadow Magic to some degree, to the point where they are able to summon another version of themselves from another reality[8] and wield weapons created using Shadow Magic, such as the Shadow Stabber.

Additionally, the Soul of Conflict merges their shadow with Azra Nightwielder's.[source?]

Notes[]

  1. The order in which the Star Teeth are collected is not set, and any may be collected at any time.

Trivia[]

  • The name Soul of Conflict refers to the conflict of two forces in the use of Shadow Magic; meanwhile, the Shadow of Conflict refers to the shadows created by conflict, more specifically, the conflict between armies at war during the War of Bend'r-Mahk.
  • The Hero is always seen wearing leather gloves when a weapon or spell is equipped, no matter the actual armor piece that is being worn.
  • The Soul of Conflict has a joke about a skeleton in a bar that never seems to land.[9]

Appearances[]

References[]

  1. Events of The Elder Scrolls Travels: Shadowkey
  2. Dialogue with Skelos Undriel
  3. Second Scroll of Shadow
  4. First Scroll of Shadow
  5. Dialogue with Azra Nightwielder
  6. Ending narrative of Shadowkey
  7. Dialogue with Heather
  8. Shadowkey multiplayer gameplay
  9. Dialogue with a citizen of Dragonstar West
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