Sure as a Storm
For @saltymaplesyrup as a prompt fill and for their birthday!!!
Has:
Chaos ✅
Weird Shit Happening ✅
Stronk Nord Lady✅
Dragons ✅
Hidden Characters ✅
Stalhrim ✅
Skaal ✅
A Character Who Does Not Have a Head for Lore Because That's Funny When a Story is For Maple ✅
Did We Mention Chaos? ✅
I hope you enjoy it, my friend! It was a ton of fun to think through the prompt, even if it did go off the rails >:]
Without further ado,
Sure as a Storm
Silje Ice-Shaper pushed back the hood of her thick fur coat and ran her arm across her forehead with an exhale. She risked taking off a glove to rake her fingers through sweaty, coppery hair and tucked it back, before pulling the hood up over her head again and replacing her glove. Regardless of the temporary warmth her hard work brought her, it was cold today, and getting colder. Clouds were roiling in the distance, darkening not unlike her mood. She didn’t much like the prospect of another day in these open barrows with the weather due to be as bad as the elders warned.
Sure as a storm, they’d said, you’ll get caught in the worst of it.
Not that she hadn’t listened—no, it was that she frequently took their words more as advice, rather than law. The village desperately needed the Stalhrim if they hoped to have enough to trade, considering how supplies in Raven Rock were dwindling by the day. The sooner the materials were collected, the sooner her father could forge the enchanted ice into blades and armor that would sell for plenty in town—or if she was lucky, Windhelm. She’d never been given the opportunity to leave Solstheim, even for trade.
Silje had heard musings from the odd Dunmer mercenary who frequented their settlement that there was some kind of conflict brewing—something awful on the horizon, worse than the blizzards. She could still hear the annoying rasp in his voice as he explained the circumstances of the situation, but none of it made sense. She didn’t understand enough about the Nords in Skyrim to know why some Imperial god would cause such a problem—only that they were fighting about it, so logic followed that weapons and armor would be needed. Maybe they would trade for more gold than expected. It would mean surviving said storms, if the ground was unsteady enough and the fighting found its way here. All-Maker preserve them should that be the case. -> Read the rest on AO3.
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"Stalhrim is undeniably mortal-made. Focus on the brazier. I don't recognize any of these markings as burial motifs, but stalhrim was traditionally used in funerary rituals. I know Nords abhor spellcraft, but this looks like an arcane focus to me."
--Verita Numida
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@trinimac i have thought about this back and forth for the greater part of seven months (not deeply but frequently) and yes, in-game stalhrim is referred to as magical ice but from a worldbuilding standpoint................ what if it were chert
visually stalhrim weapons look like knapped stone:
which like. isn’t necessarily reason enough; obviously yeah stalhrim visually resembles em but so do dragonbone weapons but being found on a volcanic island means that despite not knowing the Deep Geological History of skyrim (though the skyrim geological survey is cool as shit and provides good pointers) with significant heat and tectonic activity, silica from nearby volcanoes as well as a coastline (for limestone formation), conditions for chert/flint formation are favorable and therefore could be the reason for the specificity of solstheim being the only place to find stalhrim, with stalhrim being a unique variety of chert/flint (like ohio flint or pedernal chert or any other kind of chert/flint associated with a specific formation/member)
the analogy isnt perfect because stalhrim encases the (more recent) corpses but it sure is cool to think of the geological implications of a unique type of material found only on a volcanic island and what real-world analog can be found to flesh out a little detail of How It Would Actually Work.
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Skyrim Ask Game
Feel free to answer either as the player or on behalf of your original characters!
Atronach: If you could summon any character or creature with a Conjuration spell, which would it be? What would they do?
Barb: Do you ever complete the College questlines? Which one?
Cistern: Which Guild Hall is your favorite? Why?
Dunlain: What is your favored type of magicka? Least favorite?
Eldergleam: Describe your favorite obscure location in Skyrim.
Forbidden: If you could choose to betray any Guild Dark Brotherhood style, which would you choose and how?
Grimsever: Which Daedric weapon do you obtain most often? Is it because of the reward or simply a love for the associated quest?
Honeyside: Which house did you buy/build first? Is is still your first choice?
Imperial: In your current story, are you including the Civil War questline?
Juniper: When you need to heal, do you reach for a potion or an entire wheel of cheese?
Kolbjorn: When fast traveling, how do you visualize your character moves from place to place? Do they magically appear or is it a time skip while they walk or catch a wagon? Perhaps something else?
Lakeview: If you have a preferred romantic partner, who is it and why?
Moonstone: What do you do during downtime between quests to unwind? Do you even take a rest?
Nightingale: If the player character was not the Dragonborn, what would your character be doing? What would their life look like?
Oghma: Which deity would you gladly forge a pact with? If able to set the terms, what would you gain or lose in this deal?
Pinewatch: If you could rewrite the backstory of any character, who would it be? What would it be?
Quill: If your character is the Dragonborn, how do they want their story to be told? Sung in a song, penned in a poem, written in a lengthy tome, etc.
Ruin: Is there anywhere in Skyrim you refuse to enter? Why?
Stalhrim: When adventuring, do you prefer robes or armor? Do you change into a more casual outfit between quests?
Thane: If thrust into a position of power such as a Jarl or a particularly influential Thane, how would you react? What kind of ruler would you be?
Understone: Do you respond to summons sent by the Jarls as you become more well known? To you, are the requests for your aid respectful or demanding?
Vigilant: Are your characters religious? Which deity do they follow, and how do they worship? If not, why?
Windstad: If you could join any enemy factions (bandits, necromancers, etc) which would it be?
Xylo: If you use melee/ranged weapons instead of magicka, how did your character train to use that weapon? Where did they learn?
Yngol: Does your character have any tattoos or use any cosmetics (war paint or traditional make up)? What meaning do they have?
Zephyr: What is your character's favorite meal? Is it from the base game, a DLC, or something not included that you feel they'd just love?
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"I hate Solstheim, and i hope i never have to go back there."
When still young, Ranno was sent to Solstheim to do research on stalhrim, but they didn't know how dangerous that place could be. He was the only survivor during a werewolf attack.
That day, he lost the most important person for him.
i wanted to give him some lore, ya know.
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