Predictions for Blackwood

Aristocles22

I'll get the ball rolling, if this hasn't been covered already. My first guess: Keshu is a villain, probably the one who will die at the end of the chapter. She's clearly ambitious in a chapter where the evil Daedric Prince of ambition is present. She wants to restore Black Marsh to the way it was, when they would sacrifice people to Sithis. Even if by some fluke her intentions are good, the means by which she will take to realize them will not be. Any friendly behavior on her part will be a front. Also, her lore book mentions her followers willing to follow her to Oblivion. That's not necessarily a metaphor on Nirn, and in this chapter, will be quite literal.

That, and her nickname is "Black Fin." That's barely removed from something also Sithis related, like "Black Hand." She's clearly not the overarching enemy of this year's content, she's more like King Svargrim was for Western Skyrim. That said, I don't rule out the possibility of her turning away from evil before her death and sacrificing herself to help make things right.

RaddlemanNumber7

This Chapter is a TES IV nostalgia trip.

I expect the actions of the Black Finn and her followers to presage the actions of Argonians in TES IV. The Black Fin will lead an invasion of the Deadlands in order to drive back the daedra and close the Oblivion gates.

Aristocles22

That never actually happened IN Oblivion, that was mentioned afterwards. That said, after I checked the Twitch stream again, it seems like her followers think Dagon is an offspring/manifestation/aspect of Sithis, and they're on his side. It's looking like they're evil and/or misguided and if they do anything good, it will be as part of a last-minute redemption. Thing is, they only knew when and where the gates would open because they followed the Hist, and the Hist told them what to do to stymie Dagon's invasion. Without following the Hist, they'd have had no chance against him.

The_Drop_Bear

Aristocles22 wrote: »

That never actually happened IN Oblivion, that was mentioned afterwards. That said, after I checked the Twitch stream again, it seems like her followers think Dagon is an offspring/manifestation/aspect of Sithis, and they're on his side. It's looking like they're evil and/or misguided and if they do anything good, it will be as part of a last-minute redemption. Thing is, they only knew when and where the gates would open because they followed the Hist, and the Hist told them what to do to stymie Dagon's invasion. Without following the Hist, they'd have had no chance against him.

The whole argonian invasion of the deadlands is mentioned once in lore, in the novels. And it is mentioned by a drunk argonian arguing with his friend, one who had been called out for believing in propoganda moments before. It's also mentioned that no argonian ever remembered it.

It's hinted that the an-xielee pulled a thalmor and claimed that to get into power

JMadFour

Somehow, someway, a Tharn will make an appearance to screw things up for everyone.

Cireous

In Blackwood, the sun will never shine, the skies will remain grey, and the weather will always be gloomy

---So, I just rewatched the Preview event and I take my prediction back. Sunny skies will prevail in Blackwood after all. None of this Murkmire gloomyness forever business.---

Aristocles22

The_Drop_Bear wrote: »

Aristocles22 wrote: »

That never actually happened IN Oblivion, that was mentioned afterwards. That said, after I checked the Twitch stream again, it seems like her followers think Dagon is an offspring/manifestation/aspect of Sithis, and they're on his side. It's looking like they're evil and/or misguided and if they do anything good, it will be as part of a last-minute redemption. Thing is, they only knew when and where the gates would open because they followed the Hist, and the Hist told them what to do to stymie Dagon's invasion. Without following the Hist, they'd have had no chance against him.

The whole argonian invasion of the deadlands is mentioned once in lore, in the novels. And it is mentioned by a drunk argonian arguing with his friend, one who had been called out for believing in propoganda moments before. It's also mentioned that no argonian ever remembered it.

It's hinted that the an-xielee pulled a thalmor and claimed that to get into power

Perhaps, but one way or another, following Mehrunes Dagon is universally a big mistake. While terms like good and evil are hard to apply to daedra, it is fair to say that following most daedra leads to disaster, especially this particular one. Anyone who follows Mehrunes Dagon is a fool, and a very dangerous one at that. Let's just say that we shouldn't get too attached to Keshu.

Firstmep

Somehow the invasion will be limited to 2 small subregions of the map, but everyone will treat it like its a massive world ending threat.
Same way dragon never learned how to fly out of Elsewyr, for example.
Not very ambitious of Dagon.

Aristocles22

Firstmep wrote: »

Somehow the invasion will be limited to 2 small subregions of the map, but everyone will treat it like its a massive world ending threat.
Same way dragon never learned how to fly out of Elsewyr, for example.
Not very ambitious of Dagon.

There are limitations to the MMO, of course. If Dagon's invasions happened everywhere, that would be free Chapter content for everyone. If it helps, we already have Dagon's Oblivion gates in parts of Auridon, Valenwood (City of Ash), and even a bit in Elsweyr. Possibly more, if I missed something.

The_Drop_Bear

Aristocles22 wrote: »

Firstmep wrote: »

Somehow the invasion will be limited to 2 small subregions of the map, but everyone will treat it like its a massive world ending threat.
Same way dragon never learned how to fly out of Elsewyr, for example.
Not very ambitious of Dagon.

There are limitations to the MMO, of course. If Dagon's invasions happened everywhere, that would be free Chapter content for everyone. If it helps, we already have Dagon's Oblivion gates in parts of Auridon, Valenwood (City of Ash), and even a bit in Elsweyr. Possibly more, if I missed something.

Yeah in the livestream when talking about the portals they made it sound like they were experimental oblivion gates, which makes no sense as we already see several in the game.

hands0medevil

IMO Skyrim 2.0 aka Elsweyr storyline was ok, Dawnguard 2.0 aka Greymoor storyline was meh and with Oblivion 2.0 I expect it to be even worse (because of covid and in general as quality of each new release is getting worse imo). I don't care about companions and there is nothing for me in the new chapter. I'm afraid to buy any new content as all new sets coming with it might be considered OP and disabled in dying, forgotten pvp mode.

Tommy_The_Gun

I think that a "villain" will probably be a leader of Mehrunes Dagon cult (Mythic Dawn ? ). Also, I think that on eso stream, one of the devs mentioned that Argonians have various tribes and one of those tribe will be following Mehrunes Dagon, so they may be working with the cultist.

As for Keshu being a villain - I dont think it will be the case. It is a Border of Black Marsh and Cyrodiil. Imperials are heavily weakened by 3-banner war, so they don't want to provoke any conflict. Argonians on the other hand want to keep their lands and prevent any potential invasion.

In true Elder Scroll fashion, I think it will be a player's job to unite Argonians (lead by Keshu) and Imperials in Leyawiin, against one common enemy - Mehrunes Dagon.

Also... I really wish that we will finally see the Argonian dude from trailer... Nothing was mentioned about him, all we have seen is the trailer. But, I have my theory:

If you have done the prologue quest then you may be suspecting it too (Spoilers if you have not done prologue quest yet !):

"We know" - Dark Brotherhood and the mysterious Argonian will most likely be a Shadow-scale assassin, that is on a mission to prevent daedric invasion from happening, so he has a list of targets that know too much.

We know that the Imperial character in the trailer is a Player Character. This whole cinematic looked like basically a new tutorial - starer quest for the new chapter.

ankhor8

By default i am supporting Keshu. A strong supporter for Saxhleel growth, development and progress. Ready to defend and protect her leel at the moment.
We will learn how she is depicted and what she wills as the river flows.

Aristocles22

ankhor8 wrote: »

By default i am supporting Keshu. A strong supporter for Saxhleel growth, development and progress. Ready to defend and protect her leel at the moment.
We will learn how she is depicted and what she wills as the river flows.

Yeah, that's the sort of people who usually end up being the villains. She wants to turn the clock back to when the Argonians were more powerful, and seems like she is following Mehrunes Dagon in an attempt to produce the change she wants. Whether you think that's right or wrong, it won't likely end well. And I highly doubt it will end with her still alive. Redeemed, maybe, but only after giving her life to stop what she put into motion.

But let's get one thing clear: it looks like she's in favor of regress, not progress. Uniting the Argonians and Imperials of Blackwood/part of Black Marsh would require that the Argonians there first stop following Dagon in the first place, which means getting Keshu out of the equation or changing her mind. Which probably means her death one way or another.

Aristocles22

As for the Dark Brotherhood, I expect that the Argonian guy from the promos may be the assassin. He's probably a shadowscale working for the DB. So far, every past or present shadowscale working for the DB has died. Let's see if he does. I don't know his name, but I'm sure we'll find out. I'll call him "shoeless" for now, given how he lacks those in the promo or the title screen.