Eyes of Death - Drago Red Eyes

Turn Draugr's eyes red in recognition of their loyalty to the Dragons and Dragon Priests they served in life upon death.

I've always loved the TES III Draugr's original red eyes, which were changed to blue in Skyrim. I hadn't really given much thought to previous games until OpusGlass made Cannibal Draugr of Solstheim to restore Draugr's cannibal culture. If you haven't heard of it, or don't know about TES III: Blood Moon, then you should head over to OpusGlass's mod page here. It's a great mod and you should get it! And smash the OG's "endorse" button while you're at it! Now, back to the point.

I liked the OG mod so much that when I came back from Solstheim, Draugr's blue eyes didn't look right. So I asked myself: "Why aren't they all or partially red, as a sign of worship to the god of death and the curse of serving dragons and priests? Are they cold? Is that why they are running around?" So, I'm stuck in the lore. What it says is:

Draugr are a "hand to mouth" people found in Skyrim. Although they bear a "whisper of life," they are classified as undead along with the dragon priests. Dialogue suggests they thought they were dead.

Draugr are the remains of souls from Atmoran and Norse people whose souls never left the body. This feature may have something to do with their relationship with the Dragon Cult and its priests, with Draugr serving as immortal servants. Skaal seems to believe that the Draugr were cursed by the Almighty Maker to not be dead as a result of surprising their comrades after being stranded on the island of Solstheim.

NOTE: This is the origin of the red eyes of the Solstheim Draugr, which signified the curse of the Almighty. Let's continue!

Others believe that they were cursed to never be killed by dragons after humans betrayed them during the Dragon Wars.

Bernadette Bantien of Winterhold College tells her story of the Dragon Priest's resting place in her book "Among the Draugr". She said that after about seven months at the site, Draugr gradually ceased his attempts to eliminate her and returned to his daily routine, at which time she made considerable progress in her research. As for the reason for this behavior, she suggested they probably just didn't think she posed a threat to them. Even an agreed upon agreement, as she reports that they spoke in "the tongues of the heathen."

Bantien mentioned that unlike other creatures whose hostility is easily understood, "these most singular of the living dead" are distinguished by vast differences in gait and speed. She uses their general movements and the tone of voice they use, as well as Draugr's glowing eyes, to better predict their intentions. The eyes "seem to be the key to their intentions," she said, describing Draugr's routine.

Every day, a different group of people wake up and walk toward their pastor. Once inside the sarcophagus, they would prostrate themselves before it for several hours and then carefully clean the area (she is associated with continued worship, even hundreds or thousands of years later). By placing spells around the tomb, Bandian was able to safely gain insight into the ritual. When a group of Draugr enters, she notices a transfer of magical energy, which she describes as "a unique flow of life force between worshipers and masters."

"The palpable flow of life force between follower and master" immediately made me think of the transference of life force when fighting vampires. So I thought of red eyes as a symbol of this transference.

To differentiate the Skyrim Draugr from the one on Solstheim, I lightened and darkened the blue of the iris and turned everything else to a darker red. So now get the best of both worlds. You can still see the blue color of Skyrim, but there is also red color from the previous TES part!

In case you want to break with tradition and establish continuity, there's a patch for OG's mod as well.

enjoy your meal!

〜V〜

————————————————————————————————————————

I always liked the original red eyes of …