Lore:Aydolan

Vateshran Aydolan
Vateshran Aydolan
Race	Reachman	Gender	Male
Born		The Reach
Died		The Reach
Next Ruler		Rites Matron
Resided in		Vateshran Hollows, The Reach Hunting Grounds Coldharbour Deadlands
Appears in		ESO

"Every leader that falls, every warrior that bleeds—the vateshran knows them all. Each who survive the Rites earns a vateshran song that will last forever" — Rites Matron of the Spiritblood Clan

Vateshran Aydolan of the Spiritblood Clan, the Spiritblood Champion was a Reachman storyteller and historian who followed the Carinar the Sharp after the Quicktalon Clan was divided by the patricide. He was the creator, and one of the first champions of the Vateshran's Rites performed in the ancient caves of the Vateshran Hollows, which later served as the clan's coming of age trials, as well as the trials for the chieftains. Following his death he remained on the Nirn as ancestral spirit to oversee the trials and guide the generations of Spritblood.

History

Aydolan's greatest achievement - Vateshran Hollows

Ancient Past

Aydolan was born in the Reach as a member of the Quicktalon Clan at some point before 1E 2502, before the times "anyone can remember". Already as a child he was an exceptionally skilled and determined hunter, fighting foes much bigger than himself, overcoming the hardships through swiftness and determination.

Eventually, Carinar the Sharp, the son of the chieftain of the clan plotted against his father and killed him. His actions led to the sundering of the Quicktalon Clan, which split into two factions - one which supported Carinar and the other loyal to the deceased chieftain. Aydolan was among the group of supporters of the Carinar and followed his new chieftain south. He was singing tales of the triumph and strength of Carinar during this travel and in turn was given the role and the title of the Vateshran - one of the keepers of ancient tales and stories of their clan and kin. Given that the clan was newly formed he effectively became the first of the clan's Vateshrans and remained the most famous among them.

One of his most known achievements was the creation of the Vateshran's Rites, a set of trials held in the ancient caves of the Vateshran Hollows, where the veil between the planes of Nirn, Deadlands, Coldharbour and Hunting Grounds was thin. They were prepared for the Spiritblood Clan members as a rite of passage as well as the trial for many chieftains of the clans of the Reach. Everyone who survives the Rites earns a vateshran song that will last forever and the title of Spritblood Champion. Those who passed the trial were considered an adult and fully-fledged members of the Spiritblood Clan. He passed the trial himself and obtained the title of the Spiritblood Champion.

At some point in history, Aydolan died, but he decided to remain on the Nirn as an ancestral spirit to guide the next generations of the Reachfolk, a practice that was not unheard of among certain clans of the Reach. He was not the only Spiritblood clan member to continue to oversee the Rites after the death. A group of Reachfolk spirits maintained parts of the trial located in the Hunting Grounds.

One of the Totems of the Brave in the Vateshran Hollows

2nd Era

Circa 2E 582, the Vestige accepted to participate in the Vateshran's Rites and accepted the challenge to travel through the realms of the Oblivion. Aydolan guided them through the numerous trials as he did to the previous participants of the rites. After Vestige completed all the challenges but the last one Aydolan greeted them in the part of the trial known as the Champion's Circle where he revealed that the final test is to best his spirit in combat.

The trial was interrupted by Maebroogha the Void Lich, who consumed Aydolan's soul and unmade his very being in order to be able to manifest in this realm. Vestige slew the lich but spirit of the first vateshran of the Spiritblood Clan was absorbed into the Void and no more.

Legacy

Despite the death of the First Vateshran the practice of the Vateshran's Rites remained alive for generations. Even after his soul was destroyed the trials remained active and were maintained by three sisters of the Spiritblood Clan - Binder in the Dark, Lamenter of the Slain, and Rites Matron.

As a Spiritblood Champion who passed the rites he was, just like other warriors of the Spiritblood who felt defending the ways of their ancestors, was honored by having Totem of the Brave erected in his honor and earned a vateshran song that was was passed down and sung forever.

Gallery

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  One of fellow Spiritblood Clan members who overseen the trials after their death

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  Rites Matron

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  Lamenter of the Slain

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  Binder in the Dark

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  One of the Spiritblood Champions

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  One of the Spiritblood Champions

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  Maebroogha absorbed the spirit of the Aydolan

See Also

• For game-specific information, see the Elder Scrolls Online article.

References

Note: The following references are considered to be unofficial sources. They are included to round off this article and may not be authoritative or conclusive.