The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim is one of the most popular games of all time. However, it’s been more than a decade since Bethesda released a new Elder Scrolls game in the main series, and it may still be several years before Bethesda releases The Elder Scrolls 6.
While Elder Scrolls fans can’t make TES6 come any faster, a committed team is working on a sprawling project to expand The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim far beyond the land of the Nords. That’s the premise behind the Beyond Skyrim project, whose Cyrodiil team just released a new teaser trailer.
The ambitious Beyond Skyrim mod’s new “Skingrad Story Teaser” introduces fans to Beyond Skyrim’s iteration of the city. Straddling the road west of the Imperial City, Skingrad is a prosperous town protected by high walls and the castle rising from the mountain above. However, the walls and towers do little to protect the citizens from threats already inside. Despite some of the local’s attempts to downplay the problem, Skingrad is being plagued by a series of mysterious murders the local rulers can’t, or won’t, stop.
The city’s rulers blame Count Janus Hassildor, a vampire who ruled Skingrad during the events of The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion. One character describes him as an “ancient and evil vampire” seeking revenge against the city he once ruled. However, another character notes that one of her predecessors wrote a defense of Janus’ rule many years ago but died before her work could be published. The trailer’s final piece of spoken dialogue is of a character realizing that he has come face to face with a vampire. However, there still appears to be more going on than meets the eye.
Count Janus was a minor character in Oblivion’s main questline, being one of the nobles that players must appeal to for aid against the invading Daedra. However, he has a more prominent role in Oblivion’s Mage’s Guild questline and is a crucial piece of the game’s quest for curing vampirism. None of the interactions in the Beyond Skyrim trailer paint the picture of a blood-crazed vampire, though, anything is possible after 200 years.
Skingrad was also home to a few of Oblivion’s more memorable NPCs. Notable residents included an alcoholic blacksmith, a paranoid wood elf, and a dark elf alchemist with an unhealthy fixation on corpses. While Beyond Skyrim takes place 200 years later, some fans may be curious to see if there are any references to the city’s old inhabitants.
Unfortunately, the trailer doesn’t indicate how long it is until Beyond Skyrim: Cyrodiil’s full release. It’s also unclear if the Skingrad region will get an early release like 2017’s Beyond Skyrim: Bruma. However, the team seems to be making progress and plans to stream Skingrad gameplay on Sunday, July 10 at 7:00 PM UK time or 2:00 PM Eastern/11:00 AM Pacific.
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/s.
