When they’re not casting spells on chickens or being hunted down by Mythic Dawn-affiliated couriers, Skyrim’s Dragonborn has a litany of more important quests to complete.
From battling foes like Alduin and the ebony warrior in the vanilla game, to tackling the myriad of fresher nemeses and opportunities added to the game over the years by modders, the to-do list of Tamriel’s saviour is almost never-ending.
However, they do occasionally get a chance to stop and take in the beauty of a location like Sky Haven Temple, which has captured many players’ imaginations over the years with its exotic Akaviri architecture. Perhaps inspired by this, a new mod is seeking to make Skyrim’s Akaviri elements a bit more lore-friendly.
Did you wish there was a bit more to Skyrim’s Blades?
The mod in question is called ‘Akaviri History - Lore-Friendly Additions and Tweaks’ and is the work of modder pleonasmo3ponto, who has elected to use their first ever mod to try and make the trappings of Skyrim’s Blades a little more impressive.
They’ve done this in a number of ways, the first of which being a light overhaul of Sky Haven Temple, the ancient stronghold hidden away in the Reach, which is now entered via an very cool Akaviri arch and has a bunch of freshly added tombstones, pots, and stone tables dotted around its interior, in order to help make it feel unique.
You’ll also find some nifty new Akaviri goodies to add to your inventory inside both the temple and Delphine’s basement hideout in Riverwood, with Blades-themed bows, battle axes, and greatswords now being available alongside the vanilla game’s Blades sword.
Meanwhile, the mod gives characters like Esbern a bit of a lore-friendly makeover, with a fresh set of robes and a unique dagger making the old man feel more like the loremaster of a prestigious group.
Also included are a couple of patches designed to work with popular mods like The Beyond Skyrim team’s ‘Beyond Skyrim - Bruma SE’ and Jelidity and Parapets’ ‘CoMAP - Common Marker Addon Project’.
The former of these patches is particularly of interest, as it’ll ensure some of the additions made to Sky Haven Temple are also applied to Cyrodiil’s Cloud Ruler Temple, in addition to giving you the chance to grab a cool Draconian Madstone amulet from Castle Bruma.
So, brush up on your Akaviri history, install away, and make sure to follow us for more updates on The Elder Scrolls 6 and the wacky world of Skyrim modding.