Summary
Although released over a decade ago,The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrimremains popular thanks to a still active modding community and re-releases on newer platforms. However, it would not have gotten there if the base game lacked iconic moments it could call its own.
Despite having a main story and a civil war subplot that are fairly linear affairs with only a handful of outcomes, there are moments where a sense of choice shines in the game’s design. This largelycomes out duringSkyrim’s many sidequests, where their nature as affairs separate from any grander plot makes multiple options easier to account for. Yet one of the best lines is required to be said for a questline and sets a high bar for its potential successor inThe Elder Scrolls 6.
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One Line in Skyrim’s Dark Brotherhood Questline Perfectly Sets the Tone
The Dark Brotherhood is one ofThe Elder Scrolls' most iconic factions as it allows players to explore some of Tamriel’s darker sides by taking payment in exchange for peoples' lives. WhileThe Elder Scrolls 6can improve on the Dark Brotherhoodin many ways, one thing it should keep is how players can join it.
Should players attempt to enter the Falkreath sanctuary before triggering the questline, the Black Door guarding its entrance will ask, “What is the music of life?” which players will obviously not have the answer to. After completing that first quest that sets them on the road to becoming an assassin, they can respond with, “Silence, brother,” and opening the door.
It’s a small moment in the grand scheme of the game and even the faction, but it helps set a mood where players will become a part of a group whose name and notoriety spread fear throughout Tamriel beforeSkyrim’s events. The door speaks with a sinister presence and the answer carries an ominous tone, perfectly setting up one of the more morally dubious organizations moments before walking through the door. This is not to say that the Dark Brotherhood’s representation inSkyrimis all dour, since Cicero’s presenceas a jester adds some levity during his time in the game.
On top of being a great mood-setter, making the Black Doors' question return inThe Elder Scrolls 6would carry on something that started inOblivion. It’s debatable whetherOblivionorSkyrimhad the best Dark Brotherhoodstory, but both lead with the set-up of an initial assassination before formally committing oneself to Sithis and the Night Mother. The primary difference is in what is asked, as the former’s Black Door asks what the color of night is instead of about the music of life, but they’re both effective with their intent.
With the Dark Brotherhood being one ofSkyrim’s most popular factions, there is almost no doubt that it will return inElder Scrolls 6to offer more assassination contracts. It should also carry onOblivion’s lead-up, since the quest can only be triggered by murdering an innocent person, meaning the protagonist had already shown themselves to be someone who murders with little to no cause. A case can be made about starting it with another quest asSkyrimdoes, but there is something eerie about catching the organization’s eye due to killing someone unprompted.
However Bethesda decides to tackle theDark Brotherhood inThe Elder Scrolls 6, keeping the Black Door and making its question just as haunting is an effective way of setting up the faction while making it feel consistent with its representation in the previous games. Depending on where the game is set, it can also help to imply that the organization has risen back to the level of prominence it once had during Tamriel’s Third Era, taking contracts from all corners of the continent to exact someone’s vengeance for the right amount of money.
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrimis available on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and legacy systems.
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