Skywind | Ashlanders (Ryan Cooper Voice Acting Demo)

A selection from my roles as various Ashlander Dunmer NPCs in “The Elder Scrolls Renewal: Skywind” project. The marvellous background tracks "Fear Not, For I am Watchful", "Dance of Death" and "Merciful and Benevolent (featuring Sharm)" are courtesy of Fredrik Jonasson and form part of Skywind's OST.

LINKS:
http://ryjoco.co.uk
https://tesrenewal.com/skywind-faq
http://fredrikjonasson.net/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEJyykcEqJgJFOsghJDX6Yg
https://jonassonfredrik.bandcamp.com/album/skywind-ost-fredrik-jonasson
https://soundcloud.com/fredrik-jonasson/fear-not-for-i-am-watchful
https://soundcloud.com/fredrik-jonasson/skywind-dance-of-death
https://soundcloud.com/fredrik-jonasson/skywind-official-soundtrack-merciful-and-benevolent-feat-sharm

IMAGES:
[1] Erabenimsun Camp by Micah Ghost: https://twitter.com/tesrskywind/status/732957334650130432
[2] Skyrim Special Edition Landscaping by Micah Ghost: https://twitter.com/TESRSkywind/status/790951176334221317
[3] Red Mountain Ash Plume by Crestycomb: https://www.reddit.com/r/skywind/comments/8l1i84/red_mountain_ash_plume_by_crestycomb/
[4] Unknown Sadrith Mora concept art
[5] Ashlander Chitin Armour by Ravanna: https://www.reddit.com/r/skywind/comments/5hwlnd/ashland_chitin_armor_by_ravanna/
[6] Lake Nabia and Marandus Concept by MBanshee: https://www.deviantart.com/mbanshee/art/Skywind-Lake-Nabia-and-Marandus-556602861
[7] Guar and Mudcrab soft toys by Joseph Lopatta: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/12KQq
[8] Steel Armour by Smartinus: https://www.reddit.com/r/skywind/comments/5hdgpa/dunmer_steel_armor_by_smartinus_and_ravanna/
[9] Ashlands concept by Mbanshee: https://www.deviantart.com/mbanshee/art/Morrowind-2-554291949
[10] Seyda Neen Weathers by Crestycomb: https://twitter.com/TESRSkywind/status/981204983310946305
[11] Daedric ruin WIP by Rovan3011: https://twitter.com/TESRSkywind/status/773565020089290752

Weapon sound effects provided by the Immersive Sounds (weaponry) mod: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/45314/

To create a clear distinction between the Ashlanders and settled Dunmer of my previous video, I localised the rasp to the throat only. My Dunmer rasp is driven from the diaphragm, through the throat and out to create a strong breathy rasp. The Ashlander sounds rather sickly by comparison, as though inhaling the ashen air surrounding Red Mountain for so long has damaged the vocal chords.

As Imperial English is not the first language of the Ashlanders, their cadence is choppy, with the rhythm of sentences coming across as erratic and broken. The accent is vaguely Eastern European (this is common among the other Ashlander actors). On occasion, the tongue clicks audibly. I normally would remove these, but they seem to work well for Ashlanders. Not only does it allude to a dry mouth, it is also evocative of the click consonants one might hear in certain African cultures.