User blog:Dargoo Faust/Lord Harkon vs. Miraak

The Elder Scrolls is a series with many a "dark ancient evil of the past what will kill the world", and Skyrim is not nearly an exception. Its DLCs introduced two colorful villains that antagonize the Dragonborn and his or her efforts, one the leader of the Volkihar clan of vampires, and the other an ancient Dragon Priest turned acolyte of the Deadric Lord Hermaus Mora. In the end, however, which ancient evil is truly the bigger threat? Will the master Vampire feast on the blood of a dragonborn, or will Miraak return to reek havoc on the entirety of Tamriel?

Lord Harkon, patron of the Volikar clan of vampries and antagonist of the Dawnguard DLC.

VS.

Miraak, the first dragonborn and thrall of Herma-Mora, antagonist of the Dragonborn DLC. WHO IS THE DEADLIEST?!

SEASON 1 EPISODE 12

ELDER SCROLLS ARENA

Lord Harkon


"You have found our fortress. You have returned my daughter. But what is it you seek? Is it to be one of us? To make the darkness your own? To feast on the souls of the living...and the dead? Or are you with them? The Dawnguard. They think they can stop us. But we will find them. The Elder Scrolls will be mine. And the tyranny of the sun shall end!"

- Lord Harkon

Lord Harkon is the patron of the Volkihar Clan of Vampires, and serves as the primary antagonist to the Dawnguard DLC independent of the faction chosen by the player. Thousands of years before the events of Skyrim, Harkon struck a deal with the daedric prince Molag Bal, offering the lives of a thousand innocents in return for the gift of immortality. In return, the prince turned Harkon and his wife and child into pure-blooded vampires, capable of powerful dark magic.

Still fearing his mortality in spite of this gift, Harkon uncovered a prophesy named the Tyranny of the Sun, created by a corrupted snow elf priest. It stated that an ancient artifact named Auriel's Bow, when tainted with the blood of a daughter of Coldharbour, would blot out the sun and allow vampires free reign over the day. His wife, Valerica, knowing this meant the sacrifice of herself or her daughter, locked herself in the Soul Cairn and her daughter in a tomb for thousands of years, before she would be uncovered by the Last Dragonborn.


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Harkon's Sword

With an Akaviri design, Harkon's one-handed sword bears a resemblance to a Wakizashi, although it is weaker than a typical blades sword. Harkon's sword really shines in its enchantment: When wielded by a vampire, the sword drains a sizable portion of health, magicka, and stamina on every strike, blocked or not.

Drain Life Spell

Like other vampires, Harkon can cast a spell that drains the life energy of his foes for his own, albeit at a slower rate when he isn't in his Vampire Lord form.


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Vampire Royal Armor

Worn only by the leaders of clan Volkihar, Harkon uses an enchanted light armor that allows his magicka to regenerate twice as fast, giving him more fuel for his Vampire Lord form spells and life drain abilities. It's constructed of a leather plate over the chest, two leather gloves, and leather boots. The remaining portions of the body are either uncovered or covered in cloth. In-game, the armor ranks slightly higher than leather armor in terms of strength.


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Vampire Lord Transformation

Harkon is one of the few and the most powerful Vampire Lord, which allows him to undergo a physical transformation into a powerful magical being. In this form, Harkon has exceedingly superhuman strength, speed, and reflexes, as well as a wide variety of spells and abilities he has access to, such as Invisibility and Night Vision. In and out of this state, Harkon is highly resistance to frost-based attacks, but susceptible to fire-based attacks.

Blood Magic


 * Drain Life - An enhanced version of the typical vampire spell, Harkon can sap the vitality of his foes to restore his own health.
 * Raise Dead - Harkon can raise powerful corpses to do his bidding, anywhere from skeleton thralls to reviving his Gargoyle minions. However, when a reanimated thrall is killed, it disintegrates and cannot be revived again.
 * Invisibility - During his battle with the Dragonborn, Harkon turns invisible to get the upper hand, retreating to higher ground while leaving his opponent to fend off an onslaught of skeletons and gargoyles. This ability, however, wears off once Harkon is damaged.
 * Summon Gargoyle - Harkon can summon several Gargoyle minions, which harass his enemies while he pushes forward the attack. Gargoyles are superhuman monsters made of out of solid stone, which can jump at high speeds at enemies and attack with deadly claws.
 * Corpse Curse - A powerful paralyzation spell, which renders targets immobile for ten seconds if they cannot resist the magic. This, however, takes up a large portion of the user's magicka, meaning it can only be used seldomly in battle.

Night Powers


 * Bats - To escape an inopportune situation, Harkon can transform into a cloud of bats every couple of dozen seconds, flying away to higher ground or a safe spot to confuse his foes and recuperate.
 * Vampire Sight - Harkon has an enhanced vision in the night, illuminating dark corners and seeing in the nighttime with perfect clarity.
 * Detect All Creatures - Harkon can see enemies through walls via his enhanced senses, with living beings appearing as clouds of blood red smoke in the distance.
 * Mist Form - Once every minute, Harkon can become a cloud of mist, losing his ability to hit or be hit. In this state, he can recuperate and regain some of his lost health.
 * Supernatural Reflexes - Harkon can enter a state of enhanced perception and speed for a short period of time, appearing as if time is slowed down in the state. In reality, Harkon is moving at inhuman speeds, too fast for his opponents to react.
 * Night Cloak - Harkon is passively surrounded by a cloud of bats that drain the health of enemies within melee range.


 * -|Harkon in action=

Notes
 * Harkon will not have access to an alter of Molag Bal to heal from.
 * As there is no day and night cycle in Coldharbour or Apocrypha, Harkon will have neither the consequences of being in daylight nor the benefits of the night.
 * This battle takes place before the events of Dawnguard.

Miraak


"He was once one of them, the Dragon Priest. He ruled here in their name, ruled over Solstheim. But he did not serve the Dragons... he devoured them. And like them, he seeks to return. You didn't really think that you were the only one? He was the first. Dragonborn!"

- Storn Crag-Strider

Miraak was one of the ancient Dragon Preists that served Alduin and his kin during the ancient Merethic Era, before coming into possession of one of the Black Books of the Daedric Prince Hermaeus Mora. Under the tutelage of the prince of forbidden knowledge, Miraak learned a shout capable of bending the will of his enemies, even the immortal dragons. Using his heritage as a dragonborn, he staged a coup against his dragon lords, killing and absorbing the souls of dozens of dragons before a fateful confrontation with the dragon priest Vahlok.

Crippled and dying, Miraak suddenly dissipated from the face of Nirn, and was assumed to be dead. In reality, he was taken into the realm of Apocrypha to serve as a thrall of Hermaeus Mora for eternity. Trapped in a realm of Oblivion, Miraak plotted his return to his island of Solsteim, eventually gathering enough knowledge and power to manifest himself in the minds of its denizens and attracting the interest of the Last Dragonborn.


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Miraak's Sword

As an ode to his mysterious master, Herma-Mora, Miraak uses a sword that has no real life counterpart, looking like an enormous blade wreathed in tentacles with an eye in its guard. When swung, the sword forms a poisonous tentacle whip that drains a sizable portion of stamina. Where Miraak's sword shines, however, is its composition: the sword is stronger than any other in the game, even surpassing Daedric weaponry.



Miraak's Staff

Miraak uses a powerfully enchanted Staff to create a wall of writhing poisonous tentacles that poses a passive threat on the battlefield floor. They drain stamina and health, and have a lingering damaging effect until the enemy is completely out of their range.


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Dragon Priest Mask

Like his breatheren, Miraak uses an enchanted mask given to him by his dragon overlords, which fortifies is Magicka, giving him a larger pool of mana to fuel his spells. His mask is magical in nature, surpassing even Daedric armor in strength.



Miraak's Robes

Miraak doesn't cover the rest of his body in armor, however he has a powerful set of enchanted robes. They have two enchantments: one allows him to absorb a quarter of the magicka of offensive spells and shouts used against him, the other gives him a chance to spawn an explosion of poisonous tentacles on his enemies whenever he strikes them.


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The Thu'um and Magic

As a Dragonborn, Miraak can absorb the ancient knowledge of Dragons he kills to utilize various powerful shouts, which are essentially magical powers that can be used without the need of Magicka. While not at the level of the Greybeards, Miraak is far more afluent in the art than the Last Dragonborn, and uses various shouts in tandem with one another, bearing only a small cooldown of around a dozen seconds.

Shouts


 * Fire Breath - Like a classic dragon, Miraak can shout a powerful burst of flame at his foes, doing passive damage over time as long as the enemy is on fire.
 * Frost Breath - Miraak can also blast his enemies in a shout of frost, slowing them down and draining their stamina.
 * Dragon Aspect - Taking on the semblance of a powerful dragon, Miraak can only use this shout once a day (although it should last longer than the duration of the battle). It enhances his other shouts, gives him a spectral armor that makes up for his lack of coverage, and greatly enhances his strength and stamina.
 * Become Ethereal - When Miraak is at low health, he uses this shout to become invulnerable, but unable to attack back. When in this state, he typically retreats to call one of his Dragons to heal from.
 * Cyclone - Like Unrelenting force, the Cyclone shout throws an enemy into the air with a strong gust of wind, dealing lighting damage to them before allowing gravity to do its work and stun his enemies.
 * Whirlwind Sprint - Miraak can move at incredible speeds in short burst, typically using this shout to escape an unfortunate position and call down a dragon to heal from.
 * Unrelenting Force - The classic Skyrim shout, unrelenting force sends foes even as powerful as Harkon flying in the opposite direction, stunning them until they get back on their feet.

Spells


 * Lighting Bolt - Miraak is a capable mage, using the lighting bolt spell to fling heavy-hitting magical attacks at his foes. They also do light damage to magicka and stamina.
 * Wards - A ward is a restoration spell used as a shield against other spells. Miraak's ward blocks offensive spells for a number of seconds before breaking and needing to be recast.
 * Self Healing - Miraak can also cast a self-healing spell to give him short bursts of health regeneration.


 * -|Miraak in action=

Notes
 * Miraak will not be able to summon his three Dragons to heal from.
 * This battle takes place before the events of Dragonborn.

Setting
As Vampires accumulate in greater numbers across the face of Skyrim, a number of the menace reaches the island of Solsteim and raze the city of Raven Rock. Harkon's army sweeps over the island until an unnamed thrall discovers a Black Book of Hermaeus Mora, returning it to an altar of Molag Bal as sacrifice. Enraged, Hermaeus Mora challenges Molag Bal in a classic battle of strength, offering to wager each of their strongest champions in a fight to the death, with the winner keeping the Black Book. Molag Bal calls upon the ancient vampire Harkon and Hermaeus Mora pulls Miraak from his realm, and the two fight in an arena inbetween the realms of Coldharbour and Apocrypha.

The battle will take place in a unique arena, half of which being the Summit of Apocrypha, and the other half being a section of Coldharbour resembling the chamber in which Harkon is fought in the Dawnguard DLC.

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