Fuck I love this story so much.

 

I'm rereading this story, again. Also simultaneously roleplaying in Skyrim a Velandryn Savani playthrough on a Wabbajack fork of Lexy's LOTD list, it's been an interesting experience.

Spoiler

I can't even begin to explain how much I love the fact that in chapter 1 Velandryn picks up the book 'The Refugees' and almost half a million words later he's still trying to read it unsuccessfully in chapter 24.

 

Velandryn Savani playthrough...?

 

I think that the story really picks up once Vel meets Serana which should be in the next chapter. Vel really begins to grow as a chapter then and the interplay between Vel and Serana is in part a huge reason for why I love this story.

 

It's a clear sign how much I'm invested in Dragon from Ash that this review made me irrationally irritated XD

 

I do sympathise somewhat. Having played Skyrim definitely gives you a stricter grounding in the fic. Little miss and Easter eggs that might be missed by the casual reader that help pull you through what can be a little bit of a slog early on.

The best part of the story for me is Vel's character development that starts to become apparent from around where you are and throughout the next phase of the story.

The dialogue with Serana, Elisef and others are a joy but getting there is a trial when the first part of the fic contains a lot of setup.

 

Yeah, I do see what you mean. I love skyrim, and because it’s a fandom I know, this is one of the best, or even the best, fanfics I’ve ever read. It deepens something I already love and have invested a great deal in.

Would I say it’s better than Abercrombie’s First Law trilogy, if I read both of them as their own fantasies without that prior investment? Probably not.

 

I mean it's the same as someone who's never seen Star Wars reading Blank101's stuff and thinking it's just a generic sci-fi story about an edgy rich kid getting high and dealing with his daddy issues. Some element of love for the source material (e.g enjoying Skyrim) is likely to compound your enjoyment of this story significantly.

 

Eh, I've never played Skyrim, and whilst the first few chapters are a bit tough to get into I fell in love with it. I guess I do treat it as a generic fantasy novel in many ways - but I enjoy it as such.

Mind you, I read plenty of fanfic that way, so it might just be a matter of taste.

 

I can only agree with most of the comments in this thread, this fic is absolutely fantastic, and I've very seldom something as good that wasn't published.

 

Chapter 25 is out:

https://m.fanfiction.net/s/11181393/25/Dragon-from-Ash

I continue to absolutely adore this story. Some rather solid characterization this chapter and I loved the tiny tiny bits of Dunmer culture were we given.

Just hoping the next chapter won’t take so long to come out. Should be fun to see the interactions with the Greybeards.

 

I saw this updated, but I hardly remember anything about it.

 

That felt like the end of Part One, if this was a three-part story.

I almost want to say the angst was a bit overdone this chapter? I mean it wasn't, but I very slightly felt like they weren't so much progressing / developing any nuance based off that interaction in the cave, but rather just kind of repeating the dynamic in a few different ways.

Don't get me wrong, I still lapped it up. And it was very refreshing having Lydia back in the mix; she's really a great character when she's a foil for V&S.

 

Extraordinarily late reply to this, but after reading the latest chapter and then seeing these posts again, this part of your post stood out to me as being particularly relevant. Velandryn has just reached quite an important milestone, and it definitely wouldn’t mean as much to someone who wasn’t as familiar with TES lore.

Spoiler

That is reaching High Hrothgar and finally embracing his role as Dragonborn, a title with a lot of heavy history in Tamriel largely due to Tiber Septim. The story even touches on this somewhat with how Serana, not knowing the full history of Talos or growing up in a world shaped by him, reacts differently to the inscriptions on the 7000 steps to Lydia and Velandryn. I reckon the next chapter might be one of the best to come - I've been waiting for some high level theological discussion between Velandryn and the Greybeads for a long time, especially on what it means for an elf to be Dragonborn (one of the more underdeveloped parts of TESV imo). Also I’m pretty sure meeting the Greybeards triggers Miraak’s cultists - either meeting them or being crowned Ysmir, I can’t remember.

I can definitely understand what you’re saying because a lot of the great parts of this story are Velandryn’s unique perspective as a Dunmer Dragonborn and his take on the more esoteric aspects of the lore. It’s basically a love letter to TESIII: Morrowind and the Dunmer in many ways despite being set in Skyrim.

Some completely unsolicited advice to better enjoy the nuances of the story: read about the history of Tiber Septim and his invasions of Morrowind/the Summerset Isles, each side of the Battle of Red Mountain (the Nord Tongues like Wulfharth and Jurgen Windcaller, and on one of the opposing sides Nerevar and the Chimer), the ensuing rise and later fall of the Tribunal (especially Vivec). A lot on the Dunmer in general would help, focusing on the things that shape their outlook like Velothand the psijic endeavor, plus Alandro Sul/the Ashlanders. A basic understanding around Lorkhan and the Nine/Eight Divines wouldn't hurt, plus what separates them from the Daedra.

Otherwise, Fudgemuppet have some decent videos that get into all the crazy TES metaphysics and reading some of the top posts on /r/teslore helps understand the bigger fan theories, although I’m not sure fan theories is even the right word when guys like Kirkbride exist. You’ll have to work that one out for yourself because I’m not touching it with a ten foot pole. I wouldn’t generally bother with doing that much reading to understand the context of one fanfic, but honestly Elder Scrolls lore is my favourite of any fictional universe and you might become a fan. If you get to the point where ‘FOUL MURDER’ means something to you, you’re going in the right direction.

 

I'll second the Fudgemuppet recommendation. They've done a series on the Daedric Princes that does an in character dive into their lore, including getting the voice actor for Sheoggorath in for one of the episodes. High production quality and very well written, I'd recommend it if you're even tangentially interested in the wider TES world.

EDIT: It's Shoddycast, not Fudgemuppet, though I'd recommend both.