Skyrim Books 12 : The Wispmother

[@warriorfire8103]

(possible spoilers for people who like to explore games without reading or using wiki to see what monsters and such are in the game) I always thought the moster was just in the books. over 100 hours into the game and just after listening to this book I encounter my first WispMother.

[@jasonfarrell9673]

It's nice to listen to someone pronounce fantastical names without tripping up horribly on them.

[@oneseraph]

Everybody loves story-time. Thank you Gopher, for making these videos. Please keep up the good work.

[@SteelTownErick]

The "Dovahkiin Relaxes Too" mod.

[@Nevsoldvids2]

If you check the Wikipedia entry for Lich, it shows the words origin and how to pronounce it. The source is The Oxford English Dictionary.

[@AarkonD]

the origins of the word Lich in fantasy settings all point to German roots so the h would be silent and it be pronounced lic(K) as Gopher did. think of the words Lichtenstein and Laibach or Bah the composer all of those also have silent (or very hushed and understated) h sounds.

[@Wartalk]

I honestly had a similar idea to do this... It's not that I'm upset someone beat me to it; I'm actually glad someone with a voice like yours decided to do this. Beautiful

[@mimikcute4662]

Funny thing is, based on Averna's words - an ancient wispmother under Whiterun's dungeon, a boy showed up when she was near dead and asked her if she wanted to be his mother. She said yes because why not she was gonna die anyway and by the time she woke up, she felt no pain, no hunger, no thrist and only had some thin pieces of cloths to cover her skin. What we can learn from that is, wispmothers tend to be very sexy.

[@feckadoodlethe2nd]

Sarethi was right. They are undead. I used a Bane of the Undead scroll and she fled like a scared skeever.

[@sc0608023]

Uncle Gopher, you seemed to take my advice at last, lol. Your reading is getting better. Keep it up!

[@AJUniverse]

There is one in the Labyrinthian dungeon you have to do during the college questline.

[@EliandIshtar]

love these videos keep up the good work :)

[@Jimileewatt1]

Not to sound creepy but is it just me who found this strangely relaxing?

[@lexluthor2109]

There is a quest in Frostmere Crypt where the last boss, the Pale Lady, is a wisp mother.

[@portentouslad5051]

"Fairly unmoved" great! It seems to be pronounced like Standard English and Received Pronunciation would suggest. see wikipedia and or wiktionary entries on "lich"

[@SBGJansen]

You can find one on the nexus. Mod number 5398. named Books Books Books. Adds all the missing books from morrowind, daggerfall and oblivion.

[@BaronOfHell666]

There is another book on Wispmother from a adventurer that is looking for challenge. You should read that one also. The adventurer has series of books about the beast of skyrim that he fought. Really good series.

[@malice926]

I'm liking these books more and more Gopher. Honestly I'd love to see you do this with the books in oblivion. Also there should be a mod that adds more books to the game, especially ones that were in previous games that aren't in the current one.

[@warriorfire8103]

Wasn't even a quest for me. Was just exploring and ran across these spirits and eventually was led to her.

[@OblivionZealot]

In the Elder Scrolls series they say Lich the way the do in WoW (Litch). If you play Oblivion or Skyrim they will pronounce it like Litch, not the German sounding ch. I don't think I remember any character in-game using the ch sound.

[@flying365989]

yes, if u killed the wispmother directly, which i did with one arrow, the wisps fall as well, dropping the thing... i forgot what thats called

[@RiotKurhein]

In modern fantasy fiction, a lich (pron.: /ˈlɪtʃ/;[1] sometimes spelled liche, cognate to Dutch lijk and German Leiche, both meaning "corpse") is a type of undead creature. Often such a creature is the result of a transformation, as a powerful magician or king striving for eternal life uses spells or rituals to bind his intellect to his animated corpse and thereby achieve a form of immortality.

[@SteelTownErick]

He does, and I need to look over them tonight, but he may not review all the ones he uses. We have a similar taste in mods, too. Just trusting his judgement.

[@marttanek]

From what "Xargh" wrote I would assume that lich shouldnt rhyme with witch - because of the use of "ch". My native language is czech where we use "ch" also - and when we say "lich" (we use the same word), we pronounce it the same way Gopher does.

[@mase9975]

Each to there own. I enjoy the story telling and don't care about one word that may or may not be mucking up my enjoyment. Anyway great story. Remember Gopher ! You must burn the trolls with fire!!!

[@justinmckay6309]

Skyrim is my favorite game

[@drag00n77]

i think its cooler the way he pronounces it even if its not correct.

[@TigonIII]

Google translate pronounces it like Warcrafts lich, although they aren't always right by any stretch.

[@GreenOnionBrother]

So according to a few sources it comes from the Germanic word for corpse. (lih) This word has various "descendents" and due to different consonant shifts (of which my native language = German has had plenty) they are no pronounced differently depending on the language. I mean, somewhere it states that it should be smth like "like", but that's based on one pronunciation. In some languages it's even pronounced like "lick". The German equivalent is Leiche, whereas the "ei" is pronounced like the "i" in "ice" and "ch" is pronounced the way you pronounce "lich". So basically it doesn't matter how you pronounce it, in one language or another it's probably right, but the commonly used English pronunciation doesn't sound very intimidating IMO.

[@Ninjagaming-sd6qi]

I have fought a wisp mother before although when I killed her the wisps did not perish however when I killed them I heard whispers saying "thank you" so I believe that wisps were the wisp mothers kills I found the wisp mother bye a glowing light

[@arecusu111]

i love this series so much hehehe there my bedtime stories :3

[@galbreath34]

Here's an idea for a challenge. Reward the first person that can find a fairly mainstream dictionary that actually cites any pronunciation besides lɪtʃ with being able to design the character (slider settings) for your next Let's Play. That'll give incentive to hunt for validation of your pronunciation, and it'd be cool to have a fan design the character's look and you can choose a backstory to go with that look.

[@colebusby7816]

TO the the Collge story line and when you go to Laborynth or however it is spilled you will fine one

[@galbreath34]

By the way, none of the ones I found list alternate pronunciations, which they tend to do when there are recognized variations. I've heard gamers pronounce it as you do, or the more phlegmy German one and find it quite fine personally. I tend to say lich like witch (like the IPA), but I honestly don't think I've said the word more than a dozen times out loud (never played WoW).

[@EddyGurge]

An argument could be made that Lich is pronounced similar to LIKE. I however, am not going to make that argument.

[@einwolf]

I prefer the lich pronunciation to the lik pronunciation mainly just because it feels awkward to me calling something a lick. But that's not really anything to do with how other people say it.

[@Whit3ace]

I pronounce it by how its spelt, I didnt even know there were other pronunciations.

[@JadePriestess]

I've fought at least 10 wisp mothers and the wisps die if you kill the wisp mother.

[@jasonfarrell9673]

Best reason I can think of for not pronouncing it as "lick" it how weird the plural would sound. The plural is liches, and "lick-es" is very awkward.

[@0SRapt0r]

He's just probably not that tired right now. You don't need to read something beforehand to pronounce things correctly, more so if it's in your native language, like for Gopher. I would need to read it beforehand because I'm not natively english myself.

[@GophersVids]

Wiktionary? :)

[@iasonakamimosa2574]

Since you have asked how topronounce Lich- "on Wikipedia as a comment to the question, where lich is characterised as "a type of undead creature in fantasy fiction", it would appear that the word is directly taken from the near-obsolete English word lich. lich, n. b. A dead body; a corpse. [OED] This is the same word as appears in lich-gate or lych-gate, where coffins would wait before going into the churchyard with the priest. OED gives the pronunciation /lɪtʃ/ ("litch") and that's certainly the pronunciation of the first half of lych-gate."

[@MrArth13]

Its not a typo the name is actually wiktionary

[@harcibarack]

I found only 1 not too far from Riften. (I have 4 characters above lvl 30). It was a long fight.

[@SteelTownErick]

Off-topic (sorta), I'm planning on starting my first FO:NV runthrough this weekend. Tonight, maybe. What mods do you recommend? I've played FO3, by the way.

[@ClarksonNo1]

Im pretty sure he has a video series on FONV mods.

[@sry4head]

these Videos are great!

[@GophersVids]

Source?

[@Xargh]

rhymes with witch. And a bit of the why: "Yes, the etymology is the difference. "Loch" is a borrowing from a Celtic language in which the fricative (like the German CH) existed. "Lich" is from an Old English word "lic" - originally pronounced like "lick" - that was eventually palatalized to "lich." Oh and I was not going to bitch about it, just made me curious Love the vids by the way. You make exam period bearable.

[@ViolenVaymire]

thank you!

[@SBGJansen]

As a Dutch guy. I can say, gophers pronunciation comes much closer to the original than the one that rhymes with witch. In no other language is that nonexistent T pronounced. The way Gopher pronounces it, is very close to the German leiche although he might want to adjust it a little to the Danish/Dutch/Old English "Lick" pronunciation. Although, who cares anyway? Sounds good either way.

[@ChaosDraguss]

According to wikipedia it rhymes with witch (unless I've been pronouncing china wrong all this time). All hail the wisdom of wikipedia

[@TheVoraxith]

By Talos, how I wish KZbin would let us post links in the comments. Oh well. Just Google "lich wiktionary" - answers all questions about pronunciation and etymology.

[@banethesithari]

it would be interesting if you could read ciceros diary i know theres 4 volumes but there all short

[@ViolenVaymire]

i have over 1000 hours in skyrim and have never come across a wisp mother,does any one know were i can find one?

[@MWMORRONE]

I agree.

[@krillemy]

NEW version of Realistic Lighting Overhaul ver. 4.0.3

[@GenerationTheGreat]

Hahaha I assumed that because Gopher predicted there would be debate, people wouldn't debate it. Then I scroll down to the comments. How silly of me.

[@AnotherPostcard]

I always pronounced it "leech" myself, but that's probably only because I used to play WarCraft III back in the day. I do not mind how you say it, Gopher.

[@PedroMDIX]

I always kill wispmothers before,with they master dead they only stop to glow and fall assuming the form of a small rock,there a wispmother in the Labyrinthian. Tip:Don't waste time tryin to kill the minions,kill the creature who conjure them,with their summoner dead the die too.

[@MigrantThought]

I always wonder what your opinion are on some of these?

[@drag00n77]

pronounce it however you want...its like the word paladin. you can say it: pala-din or: pall-ahh-den

[@Ides385]

Funny that you didn't know if this would work a first (and myself). Now it gets more views than your Lets Play Vampires. Though I like both and of course Lets Play Skyrim gets more than both combined

[@shredhead67]

I don't care what you call it, they all die the same with cold steel in them....

[@Lagomaster24]

I asumed it was pronounced lich because of the way its spelled commonly

[@preferredpronoun3689]

'Litch' sounds better than 'lisch' imo. More of a whip snap to 'Litch'.

[@galbreath34]

I really don't care about the pronunciation of "lich", but since you sort of made it a challenge in the video, the OED (at least the online service which should match print), Wikipedia, and dictionary,reference,com all agree on the IPA lɪtʃ for the pronunciation. I don't care one way or the other (I've even heard folks do two others the German ch that sounds like a cough and pronouncing it pretty much like lick), but there doesn't seem to be any disagreement amongst dictionaries Brit or Yank.

[@CharmCityKid2]

Wiktionary says the word is pronounced lich- rhymes with bitch. It's definition is (archaic) 'a dead body or corpse' [from 9th c.] or the meaning from fantasy role playing.

[@maomaomi5434]

Are there any wispmothers in the game? I never found a single one and I've been playing it for 6+ years now

[@qilinpsy]

Hey Gopher, nice video! am a small psytrance producer and wanted to ask you, if I can use samples fom this video for a current forest-psy track i am working on. Hopefully you will read this, seven years after the upload :D.

[@csweezey18]

Lich: www.dictionary.com/browse/lich?s=t

[@ubernugget]

dictionary(dot)reference(dot)com/browse/lich its the one that rhymes with ditch

[@DausMCBPS]

how do you make your character read a book?

[@MysteriousPear802]

I think its pretty obvious that that wispmothers are female snow elves spirits. As they have elf ears, pale white skin, and one can be found in a dwemer ruin. Pretty much a fact.

[@gianttheworldender914]

yes but they can also be found above ground, I personally believe the wisp mother state can be achieved through conjuration by any one.

[@willl676]

+martin luther My theory is that it is a lich/spirit form like state that can be induced via ritual or happen spontaneously as happened with Daggerfall's King Lysandus.

[@SpiderRanger1]

I'm actually quite certain you pronounced it correctly... li(t)ch is more of an anglicized version. the cognates are Dutch lijk (k), German Leiche ("ch" pronounced as you did), Norwegian/Old Norse lik and so on.. none of the Germanic cognates have the "tch"; this is more of the English version.

[@TheGreySpacer]

@Gopher I'm with you on the pronounciation of "Lich". Pronouncing it like "witch" sounds stupid.

[@abe95able]

500 videos SPECIAL!!!!!!

[@Hengebobs]

Maybe I'm just old, but playing pen & paper rpgs in the 80's lead to looking up alot of words. I've always said 'lick' when pronouncing 'liche' and i'm from California originally. Don't see why any one would make such a big deal out of its pronunciation seeing as you are talking about a word absorbed into modern english from old folk tails that weren't english.

[@elf_prince_aefion]

I guess you can pronounce Liche however you want; I prefer "Litch", however it would be pretty funny if someone pronounced Wrath of the Lich King as "Wrath of the Lick King." :D

[@gregconen]

Both Oxford English Dictionary, etymononline, and wiktionary support Xargh's etymology, from Old English lic. OED explicitly compares it to ditch, which comes from Old English dic. You could make an etymological case for pronouncing it with a plosive, like dike, also derived from dic, or alike, which derives from Old English gelic, which is derived from the same Proto-Germanic word as lic. But there's no etymology to support the fricative; sorry, but your way is definitely wrong.

[@AspiLeo]

You pronounced the word “lich” correctly. It stems from the German word “Leiche” and the only reason many English speakers pronounce it “litch” is because they don’t know the origin and even if, many have trouble with the pronunciation of “ch”. Edit: Leiche means corpse.

[@krillemy]

me neither

[@von_swierk]

Lich is pronounced lɪtʃ but if you want to be special you can say like in norwegan lik or danish lig

[@dranyam00mada]

why do you pronounce lich like you do Gopher?

[@lorddiego7962]

Talos Guide you!!

[@von_swierk]

Say it like*

[@joshvalenti5652]

next vid will be 500

[@0SRapt0r]

I actually found it for you, KZbin was kind of an ass and didn't let me post the link no matter how much I messed with it, so I sent it to you in a pm. Go read it if you are interested!

[@TheFrizex]

I like the way you say "lich" just don't say "melk" lol

[@KawaiiKodora]

Fair enough, though technically it's only pala-din. Just saying.

[@Pontus28]

Book.

[@NannyOggins]

Since a Lich is a mythological entity there can be no people who might be considered expert enough to dictate how the word is pronounced!

[@geribaldi2]

Could I have some coco while you read me a story?

[@SpiderRanger1]

han er ikke det, han forklarer det hele tiden; han er britisk, men bosatt i Norge :)

[@jasonfarrell9673]

I wrote this comment while I watched, by the way, before "lich" came up. I was being sincere, not being a sarcastic ass!

[@lloydy3010]

The internet lol

[@dsprandom]

ghost of a flea.com

[@SkildNinja]

It's "Litch" not "Lick". World of Warcraft. Dungeons and Dragons.

[@ApimpNamedslikbak100]

posting links could be cool but then think about all the spam there would be

[@Galldune]

dictionary,com