Lore:Skeevaton

Skeevatons
A Skeevaton (ESO)
Type		Fabricant
Range		Clockwork City
Appears in		ESO, Legends

Skeevatons are fabricant creatures that, despite their name, resemble mice or small rats moreso than skeevers. They can be found all across the Clockwork City and inside the Brass Fortress. They were created to serve as couriers of information to and from the archives, as well as for probing tiny, inaccessible areas of the Clockwork City. To this end, they contain a sensory tool that sends out pulses of detection magic to survey objects of interest and search within specific parameters. At some point, skeevatons were over-produced, and the denizens of the Brass Fortress had a skeevaton infestation on their hands. The series of events that followed the infestation was a mess that ended in many fabricants becoming scrap. Wind-up Bears and Motorized Tigers were produced to stop the Clockwork Hounds, which were fabricated to stop the Clockwork Cats that were created to stop the mass-produced skeevatons. Sotha Sil destroyed all these fabricants, with the execption of the excess Skeevatons, which one of his followers chalked up to the God's sense of humor. The skeevaton, resembling a copper mouse, lacks legs and moves using a rotating ball housed within its center. Legend has it that its inventor designed the skeevaton to clandestinely observe fellow scholars.

Skeevatons can be further modified to give them offensive and defensive capabilities. A common modification is a secondary set of motility gears for increasing the skeevaton's speed. Micro-magicka condensers can be installed, allowing them to absorb and dispel energy. This unit has the potential to overload active constructs. Some skeevatons are modified to be able to deploy barriers, protecting itself and other objects. The shock chassis is another modification, sending jolts that can harm living tissue and fry animunculi. For restorative purposes, some skeevatons are fitted with restoration emitters that create a magical field around the skeevaton that mends distressed metal, dissipates residual heat, stabilizes energy emissions, and other processes with which to maintain smooth operation. Some are modified with a pneumeria chamber, which allows the controller to directly inhabit the skeevaton, called trans-corporeal operation. It poses a risk, as the skeevaton being severely damaged while inhabited can kill the user. Furthermore, skeevatons can be programmed to recognize and follow an individual mortal, replicating pet behavior on the surface of Nirn. Some have been smuggled out of the Clockwork City.

Gallery

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  Skeevaton (Legends)

See Also

• For game-specific information, see the Elder Scrolls Online and Legends articles.

Books

• Skeevaton Modification and Operation by Associate Zanon — Excerpts from a thesis about Skeevatons with commentary
• The Fabricated Fauna of Clockwork by Endilaril, Naturalist — A naturalist's research notes on the Clockwork City's artificial wildlife