Tear Jerker / Beyond Skyrim

• Many a player of Oblivion have reported that discovering the abandoned ruins of the once proud Cloud Ruler Temple is a major depressing moment. Not only did the Thalmor commit a full-scale purge of the Blades, but they didn't even bother with claiming their old headquarters as their own. After they smashed it, they just left the building to rot and decay. What also really helps selling the moment is the song, "Last of the Guard" a more subdued and mournful version of "Peace of Akatosh", playing in the background as you explore the ruins of the temple.
  • Just the fact that such an iconic location in Oblivion's main quest line where so many key events occured is in such a ruined state. You really get the feeling that despite everything Martin Septim and the Hero of Kvatch did, none of it mattered in the end due to the rise of the Thalmor.
• Captain Adius, Bruma's local guard captain who has helped you in quite a few quests, is carted off to a prison camp by the Thalmor for his sympathetic treatment of Talos worship. You are hit with a paralysis spell and left helpless to watch. Making it worse is that this comes moments after he confides that your actions have restored his faith in the world.
  • It can be avoided, but the action needed to do so leaves Adius uncertain if you did the right thing, without the faith he would otherwise express.
• The Announcement Trailer for Morrowind — The New North. This Morrowind is a very different and darker place than the one you saw 200 years before in another lifetime. It has been devastated and the end of the trailer punctuates this fact with an image of Nerevar's Star and the Tribunal's symbol shattered.

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