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late-nite-scholar · 10 months

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Aug 8th (Day 4): Prompt- Mortal / Sanctuary

Day 4: Sanctuary- Nythauriel is beginning her journey to see the world outside her people’s hiding places, and meets the last person she ever expects to. But thankfully not everything is as it was when her people went into hiding. Post-Dawnguard. Prompts by @tes-summer-fest

Redguard LDB x Farkas (mention only)

Warnings- None

Wordcount- ~1400

Description in alt text. Made in HeroForge

***

The world was so much bigger than the hidden valley and the cave network implied. Even the trade network tunnels to the other enclaves didn't truly convey how much world there was out there beyond their sanctuary.

It's a good thing I've got time to explore it. Nythauriel thought to herself, suddenly thankful for her people's long lifespans. Perhaps she could explore a lot of this world. There were even rumors some of her people had escaped to the old Atmoran homeland. Maybe it would be worth taking a trip. Not that she'd ever been on a boat, but the idea was rather exciting.

Unfortunately, the world wasn't exactly friendly to someone like her.

A group of men with pitchforks and improvised weapons blocked her path. The big man in the middle stabbed toward her with the rake he held.

"We don't want no Thalmor in our village!" he snarled.

She held up her hands, nearly as white as the snow that still held out against the warm sun in shaded corners. "I'm not Thalmor. I'm not even Altmer. I'm just passing through. I won't even stop, I promise."

"Don't come any closer!" The man shouted again.

"There's no need for that. I'll escort the lady, if she'd like." A soft, gruff voice spoke up behind her.

She turned, and found herself facing an enormously large Nord as tall as herself but much more broad. He was no doubt a warrior, dressed in well-made (and equally well-used) armor and carrying a large, black battleaxe on his back. But his silver eyes were kind and his smile gentle and she found herself suddenly at ease. She didn't trust humans as a rule, but this one? Somehow she just knew that this one was alright.

He led her past the mob, offering her a large, muscular arm. She took it, her face warming. Villagers were looking askance at them; this big Nord escorting probably the palest mer any of them had ever seen. He chuckled.

"This is gonna start rumors. I hope it won't get you in trouble."

She giggled in return. "I'll be fine. What about you?"

"My wife'll forgive me when I explain the situation."

They made their way out of the village and back onto the road. As they walked, she slipped her hand out of the man's arm. "Thank you so much for doing that."

"You probably get a lot of that, don't you? Hostility, I mean?"

"Yeah. I haven't been traveling that much yet, but yeah." She held out her hand, "I'm Nythauriel, by the way."

"Well met. I'm Farkas." They shook hands.

"Well met, indeed. I'm glad you came by. Not many will stand up for a mer out here in the arse end of nowhere."

"I'm here to help. I'm a Companion, it's what we do."

"A Companion? Who are you a companion of?"

He brightened. "Oh, you haven't heard of us? It comes from our founders, the Five Hundred Companions of Ysgramor."

She froze, and everything got really far away. Like looking through a small tube. Then blackness overtook her without warning.

Her eyes opened slightly to the feeling of being shaken. She saw the man's face and immediately fainted again.

***

Awareness came back slowly. She was lying on her bedroll, her pack set beside her. A small fire burned to her right, the man sitting and poking it with a stick. His axe sat propped up beside him, and her blood turned cold as she recognized it.

He turned at the sound of her gasp, relief washing over his face. "Thank the Nine! I was startin’ to get worried. Here, I made this. You should drink it." He took out a cup and filled it from a kettle sitting by the fire.

"What is that?" she demanded.

"It's a healing draught. Should make you feel better. Tastes half decent, too. Are you ill, or injured? You just kinda fainted there."

"Where are we?" She backed up. They weren't on the road. She couldn't even see the road! "Where have you taken me?"

"It's a wayside camp. Lots of people use it cause it's a little quieter. I didn't want you lyin’ in the road where you could get trampled." He frowned. "Is everything okay?"

Nythauriel pulled a knife from her belt. Farkas held up his hands as she snarled. "Nice try, Companion of Ysgramor. But your kind has already killed enough of mine. You won't have me, too!"

His brows knit together, but he made no move towards her. "I don't wanna kill anybody. Are you sure you're okay? I'm getting kinda worried…"

"Don't play dumb with me! You belong to a group founded on the genocide of my people! You carry Wuuthrad, the axe that yearns to taste my blood! As if you haven't done enough to us! Killed us by the thousands, drove us into hiding, others into the depravity of the Dwemer until they were twisted, wretched husks of themselves! How dare you pretend you don't know!" she shouted.

She watched realization dawn on his face. "You mean the Falmer… the Betrayed… you're a Snow Elf?"

"How do you know to call them that?" She hissed.

"My wife had a quest. We went to an ancient temple of your people. There was a priest of sorts there, a Snow Elf like you. That's what he called them." Farkas shook his head. "But he thought he was the last of your kind besides the Betrayed."

"What temple? What priest?"

"We call him Akatosh, but the priest said your people call him Auri-El. It was a huge place, bigger than any human temple I've ever seen. The priest was named Gelebor. He's still there, as far as I know."

"Knight Paladin Gelebor is alive?" She couldn't believe what she was hearing! "I learned about him in our history studies! He's… and the temple is still there…"

"Yeah. He's the only one there now."

"How did you get through the wayshrines then? Didn't you need to go through them to get in?"

"There were spirits guarding each one. They'd tell us their message and we'd go through."

"How did your wife end up going there, or even know where it was? We don’t even know where it is anymore!"

"It's a long story but basically we were dealing with vampires and needed Auri-El's bow."

"Auri-El's bow?" She shook her head. "Bullshit! Next you're going to tell me you read it in an Elder Scroll!"

Farkas shrugged. "We kinda did."

"What is your wife? That is way too much stuff for one person. Is she a goddess?"

"I think she is." He smiled softly. "She's Yokudan, from Hammerfell.”

“I’m not familiar with those people, I’m afraid.”

“You probably wouldn't be. They showed up a lot later. She's also Dragonborn, and that seems to be what attracts all the strange stuff.”

"Dovahkiin…" She frowned and waved her hand, a flash of blue light sparking from her fingers. "You're not lying…"

"What was that?"

"A spell we call 'Liar's Bane'. It's like clairvoyance, but so I can see if you're lying. And… you aren't."

"I'm not. Drink? You seem better but it couldn't hurt."

She took the tea and sipped it. It was rather nice, herbaceous and gentle. She looked over at Farkas again. "I'm sorry for freaking out."

"It's okay. I don't blame you. That must've been quite the shock. I, uh, didn't expect to meet another Snow Elf, either."

"Yeah, we tend to keep to our hidden places, our sanctuaries. It's the only way to stay safe."

"I understand. Where will you go now?"

"I'm traveling, seeing the world. I have heard stories of the Skyforge, and other places."

"Well I'm heading home to Whiterun, and our hall is right below the Skyforge. I mean, I understand if you don't want to be anywhere near Jorrvaskr…"

"Do you still have Auri-El's bow?"

"We do."

"I'd like to see it." She smiled. "I mean, if the rest of the Companions are like you, I think it'll be okay."

"Well, my wife is our Harbinger, our leader, and she won't let anything happen to a guest. I can promise you that."

"And if we travel together, it should be safer, right?"

"Should be, yeah."

A giggle burst from her lips. "A Companion and a Snow Elf walk into Whiterun…"

"Sounds like the start of a joke. Or a good story."

"Well, I hope it's the latter."

He gave her that gentle smile again. "I hope so, too."

#tesfest23 #tes fest 23 #tesfest23!#the elder scrolls #skyrim #the companions #companions of ysgramor #farkas #farkas skyrim #snow elf #snow elf oc #oc: nythauriel #tes fic #companions of jorrvaskr

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theandrogynousdragon · 2 years

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In Which a Son of the Reach Has Opinions on the Falmer

This is basically just my boy Yelling at Gelebor, because family/clan/folk are Very Important to him and he takes personal offense to Gelebor giving up on what’s left of his people. @reachfolk local man rants at a religious popsicle.

To find one of the original Snow Elves was not something Ruaidri had ever thought he’d see. The ancient Reachfolk had once harbored falmeri refugees, in the days of old Atmora, pledging to keep them safe from their persecutors to the best of their considerable abilities. They still honored that oath, devising ways to communicate with the falmer of the present, teaching them healing magics the Children of the Sun had once taught them ages ago, establishing a system of trade for those things the falmer could not make themselves so they did not have to resort to kidnapping and enslaving others. So to hear this man, this Knight Paladin of Auri-El, name them “betrayed” and then write them off as brutal savages in the same breath, that only incited his anger. The falmer he had spoken to had legends, of a group of their people being held in thrall by an “angry fallen god”, the enthralled ones never being heard of again. Ruaidri’s hands shook with his rage, to hear Gelebor condemn his own people for something that had not been their fault. “You call them betrayed,” he said slowly, trying to ignore the dragon instincts that screamed within him to put the man in his place, “and yet you have no mercy for them in your heart of stone, do you, Gelebor of the Wayshrine?”

“I beg your pardon?” Gelebor replied, offended.

“They are still falmeri, still your people, and you have a duty to them, Gelebor of the Snow Elves. A duty which you have abandoned! You took an oath, did you not, Knight Paladin? Why then have you forsaken that oath?”

“My oath of care does not-”

“Yes, it does include them!” Ruaidri roared, dragonfire sparking in his chest. “They are your people, you willfully obtuse man! You call them betrayed, and they have been, twice over, by their subjugators and by you! Your oaths will always include them, because they are as much Children of the fucking Sun as you are! I care not if they are no longer fair to look on, if their methods are strange to you, they are your responsibility, as a priest and war-chief of the Falmeri. How dare you turn your back on them! How dare you say they are not worth saving! They may not be the Snow Elves you knew once; they may never be that again, but that does not give you free reign to simply abandon them to whatever fate finds them! They have a culture of their own, Gelebor, they have music and art and their own gods! They were not slain by the Atmorans, by the Dwemer, and that is a blessing! They are alive, Gelebor! They! Are! Alive! Would that my own people could say such, that their ancestor was returned to them!”

Gelebor scoffed, “what would you know of such things, human man that you are?”

Ice magic crackled at Ruaidri’s fingertips. “Do not,” he whispered, “do not dare presume to dismiss my people’s loss.” He shuddered, struggling for control with his dragon’s heart. “My people were slaughtered by Atmorans, by Elfkind, by Nords, in every age of the world without relief. My people, Knight Paladin, have been hunted down like dogs. My parents died screaming. Tell me, Gelebor Great Father, have you seen your altars burn? Did you watch your family die, helpless to save them, or did you, in your infinite wisdom, look away? Have I suffered enough for you, son of Auri-El?” Ruaidri dragged in a gasping breath, face wet with tears. “My people have always held to the oath they made to help the falmeri kingdoms, so I will not let you abandon them now just because mercy is unpalatable to you. They are your people, Gelebor the Knight Paladin, and they need you still. May your precious Auri-El damn you, if you have eyes enough and yet refuse to see.” He turned then, to walk away, only to find Serana planting herself in front of him and grabbing his arm.

“Are you alright?” she asked quietly, and he thought, perhaps, in another life, he could have loved her the way she deserved to be loved.

“Mm, I’ve been better,” he rasped, scrubbing roughly at the tear-tracks on his cheeks.

A smile quirked her bloodless mouth. “Cathartic, was it?”

“A bit, yeah. I’m not apologizing, though.”

“And I would not ask it of you,” Gelebor said quietly, approaching them like one might a wounded bear. “I am sorry, for my harsh words earlier, Ruaidri. You have... certainly opened my eyes to things about myself I would not have seen without you. If you have the time,” he added, hesitantly. “I would like to learn what... what the falmeri have become, in my long absence.”

Ruaidri nodded, not quite a bow. “After we deal with whatever has happened to your brother. Then I would be happy to speak to you, of the Children of the Sun.”

#skyrim #my fic #gelebor is kind of Being A Dick here but he's also being yelled at by a very pissed off reachman #and he's been alone for a bajillion years he's become pretty callous #ru Goes The Fuck Off #also he's speaking in an Extremely Formal register bc he's trying to get his point across to an ancient being #discussions of genocide and religious trauma #lots of italics in here #also the love he's talking about with serana is not necessarily romantic love!!#they're friends but he's Very Aware that she is essentially immortal and is afraid to get too attached bc it would only cause her pain

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inthepineforest-blog · 7 years

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So I’ve got this long-suffering idea in my head about the mod I’d like to make for Skyrim if I actually had modding skills, and it’s basically this- a new-lands mod on an isolated archipelago, separated from mainland Tamriel by a supernatural, unceasing storm front and cut of from Tamrielic history, but peopled by her castaways. Unfortunately the dream in my head FAR outpasses anything I could conceivably create, and I don’t really expect anyone to read anything I post about it, but I plan on using mah tumblr to deposit all the crack I’m going to write about it anywho.

Warning- There is a heck of a lot of cracky fanfic about something that exists only in my head behind the keep reading, but if that’s your thing I hope you enjoy.

Bellanfell, Illvidreth- An Outsider’s Perspective

The Journals of Cassian Marcellus, formerly of U. Gwylim Press

It is the Tamrielic year 3E 380, and I have found myself washed ashore in a strange new land. I had been en route from Wayrest to Solitude when our ship, a slow moving Breton trading vessel, was pulled off course into the western seas. The mate was the first to notice the storm which the currents seemed to pull us inexoriably toward. Before we knew it, we were under the weather, beaten down by freak waves and pelted with hailstones. Buoyed up and down by the raging ocean with the ferocity of Kynareth’s own rage, I could do naught by hunker below, when I heard the reef tear the keel to splinters. A reef, here, in empty ocean pulled far from sight of the High Rock coast! As the ship began to fall to pieces, I must have dove through a hole on instinct, and gone limp in the frigid water.

When I awoke, I was lying on the sands of an unfamiliar beach. A forest of oak and birch lay before me beyond the rocks, and the remnants of my ship decorated the shore with tatters and spars. In some act of cosmic balance, I was quickly discovered by a kindly local shepherd, who lived not far from the beachhead and often went to watch for cursed travellers like myself. Upon being nursed back to relative health in his cottage, I asked where in Tamriel I could possibly be, only to learn that I wasn’t at all! Here, beyond the fringe of the western sea and isolated by eternal storms was an island settled by shipwrecks and castaways, peopled by driftwood.

The island I had washed up on was known as Windsend, and home to the twin towns of Flotsam and Jetsam, and let it not be said that the locals were not aware of themselves. Windsend is but part of a larger archipelago, known to the locals as Bellanfell, or Illvidreth- either way, a rough eytmology is “Storm-land”. After thanking the shepherd for his kindness and retrieving what I could from the washed up remains of the ship, I, and a few others who had found their way ashore, made for the largest island, known if it is thought of at all as the Mainland. Since I have made my academic career of documenting the people of Nirn, I may as well continue in this new world, and hope that these journals may help some future castaway in learning about Bellanfellic society.

A History of Settlement-

The consensus on who first settled in Bellanfell seems to be rocky at best. Two major groups seem to have a claim to it; the Vindurlings of the north and the Velodmer of the western island Velodfer, though the Na-Diren of the southern mainland seem to have arrived not long after. The narratives are very similar- it seems that a few ships from a larger force became lost in the storms and currents- in the Velodmeri case, from the Chimer exodus to Morrowind, and in the Vindurling case, from the Ysgrammorian Return from Atmora- and found themselves washed up, alone, in a new land. Proving that some things are the same everywhere, these ancestors to Nords and Dunmer immediately fell to fighting when exploring parties came across one another in the wilds.

Somewhat later though likely in the very early first era, the first and only intentional crossing was made- Nedes enslaved by Direnni High Elves and facing invasion from Nordic forces built a hasty armada and fled, in the hopes of finding land in the western sea. A small force of Direnni ships sailed after them, but both found themselves caught in the storm and shipwrecked. It seems the Nedic survivors outnumbered the elven, for the two forces found themselves evenly matched in this new land and, forced into unity by the raids of their neighbors, established a foothold in the southern mainland. A branch of this new society seem to have split early and become the Moradmer of Hyarnum, on the eastern coast.

The next large group of people to arrive were Yokudan settlers, aiming for Hammerfell but pulled off course like many before them. It seems the Nedic-Direnni society had a firm grip on the south by this point in history as the Yokudans were not able to blaze the warrior path across the land as their cousins did in Tamriel, and in fact largely integrated into Na-Diren society. A nomadic faction splintered off and migrated to the grasslands south of Hyarnum, intermingling with the Moradmer there, and that region is still largely the home of their pastoralist descendents.

The west coast, between the volcanic ranges of the Vindurlings and the great lake of Alatilin, seems to have changed hands multiple times. First a battle ground between the Vindurlings and the Velodmer, it seems to have been settled by Nedic speaking peoples in the mid First Era expanding from the Na-Diren in the south. It was later reconquered by the Vindurlings, who founded the city of Arkast, and fortified the region against the Velodmer. In a similar fashion to their Bretony cousins, the nedic Gondrini assimilated their northern rulers and a new national identity emerged from the fusion of nedi-altmeric and atmoran. However, the area remained a battle ground for the other powers of the archipelago, and maintained its independence by building a robust martial culture, Bellanfell’s first true standing army, and an advanced series of fortifications.

The Kingdom of Gondrinfel fell from stability right around the turning of the Third Age of Tamriel. A combination of earthquakes, internal division, and increased pressure from the Na-Diren kingdom of Athnilin saw the fracturing of Gondrinfel, and the countryside became a haven for bandits. The last king of Arkast died in battle in T. 3E 243, as the city was sacked by Vindurling pirates. Their leader, Hodniak Spear-Breaker, declared himself overlord, and used the city as a base of operations.

It was in these relatively recent times that the last major migration of Tamreillans seems to have taken place. The island has seen a constant stream of shipwrecks, as sailors of all flags have gotten pulled away navigating around the coast of High Rock, with a handful of survivors integrating every decade or so- often enough to keep Tamriel in the knowledge of the populace, infrequently enough to make Tamriellans a rariety. But in T. 3E 288, half a legion seems to have lost its way from Uriel V’s expedition to Akavir, thought downed in a freak storm. The missing ships in fact crashed ashore in Bellanfell, predominantly on Windsend.

The surviving Legionnaries quickly regrouped, and the mixed company of Tamrielic races constitute the largest migration since the First Era. The regrouped Cyrodilic Legion voted as a block to stay together, and offered their services to the people of the archipelago as a means of support, using their expertise as fighting men, road-builders, and blacksmiths to quell banditry and revitalize infrastructure, predominantly in the south. After getting back on their feet, the Legion under Legate Mennia Pelagius moved with the blessing of the Kingdom of Athnilin into Gondrinfel, and liberated the populace from the bandit overlords. In a desperate move to escape, Pirate King Ionnas Hodniakson is thought to have set Arkast ablaze, and while the Legion succeeded in capturing him and his followers, the city burned to the ground.

The Legion was dispatched to mop up the remaining pirates, and Legate Mennia oversaw the rebuilding of the city under the eyes of the Town Elders. Tension rose once again as the King of Athnilin began to make demands of what he thought were his new subjects. The Legate asserted both the Legion and the Gondrini’s independence from any throne or fief, and was named Lady Protector by the City Council. The Legion fort built by the ashes of Arkast was christened Cyrodinium, and the rebuild town became absorbed into it. Led by the new Lady Protector, the Legion served to fend off a series of border raids by the slighted King of Athnilin and the enterprising Vindurling lords, and have remained independent.

Bellanfell Proper- The Mainland

Kingdom of Ath-nilin

Cyrodinium

Carcuillin

Hyarnum

Eldinbrum

Velodfer- the Western Island

To be added to...

#The Elder Scrolls #sort of #what even are tags #cracky cracky fanfic #bellanfell

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varondiil · 7 years

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WORLDCANON: Falmer Government and Faiths

The contents of Dawnguard undoubtedly sparked much interest in the until-then enigmatic race that was the Snow Elves, even going so far as to illuminate the status of the head of their religion, the focal point of their faiths.

but what of the other aspects?

What of military, of economy? The status of the Falmer empire before it fell? We only see this small glimpse into a very small(though by no means minor) facet of Falmer culture as a whole. While we know Auri-El was chief among the elven gods(and no less such for the Falmer), what of the others?

It is known that the Snow Elves also revered Trinimac, Phynaster, Syrabane and Jephre, but how heavily these featured in the daily live of the falmer peoples nor their position in the ruling governmental body(whatever that body may have been) is unknown.

Working with what we know in regards to the lore and in-game experiences, I therefore propose that the Falmer’s religion goes much further than simply faithful practice, but in actuality governed the very people itself.

The Snow Elves were a Theocracy.

I imagine given the heavy pressure that faith is shown to have presided over the Snow Elves during the course of the dlc(though it may simply be because it was their only temple left standing), that the Snow Elves gave much import to their various deities and practices, even more so than the contemporary mer of the time.

Whereas the others however had societies made up of royal families that shared sway over the masses hand-in-hand with their various churchly bodies, the Church made up the government of the Falmer on a whole.

I believe that the Falmer society was comprised of City-States, divvied up over the land of Skyrim in various “holds” comparable to the nordic system seen today, and that each church served as both temple and center of commerce for their respective states, being the most heavily-populated area as well as the center of any major military forces the falmer had.

Given the status of Arch-Curate and Knight-Paladins(the only two confirmed ranks we’ve known to have of Falmer) it can be gleaned that the Snow Elves had at the least an advanced concept of Knighthood --- though whether that falls in line with our own codes of chivalry are unknown.

However, being that a Paladin is by definition an “honor guard” --- a knight of such skill they are plucked from the ranks to serve as holy protector of a place of worship or royality and thus acting as a living hand of that body --- it wouldn’t be too unsafe to say that each Arch-Curate of the major temples held beneath them a force of Knight-Paladins as guard and standing army.

An Arch-Curate by this means would serve as both Priest and Governor, acting as king/chief/president what have you over their respective territory. Arch-Curates were both heads of faith and state, spread across the Falmer Empire, with no one ruling body holding voice over another. In this manner a relative peace was maintained in which open trade and commerce was encouraged, as while the various holds all held their own patron deities, all of the falmer gave reverence to each of the varying gods that temples were erected for.

In tandem with this, snow elf armor and architecture heavily features animal symbols(wolf/bat motifs along the armor collar, celtic-like trinity knots, etc) that lend credit to the belief that either the worship or reverence of wildlife/natural forces was strong enough to feature on their arms and armor.

This may fall under their worship of Jephre, but it may go further than that.

Whilst the Falmer ruled their kingdom in city-states, temples serving as stronghold, capital, and church, there were still mer among them that lived in the lowlands. As stated in a previous entry of mine, not all Snow Elves lived in the frozen peaks and mountain ranges that allowed the erection of their great stone cities. Many lived in the lowlands, the pine forests, the tundra and steppe plains.

I wouldn’t doubt that among them were many nomads, and of whom the worship of the land around was much stronger than that of the residents of the cities. This isn’t to say there was a religious divide amongst the falmer, only that there was heavy respect and acknowledgement for the forces of nature; a spirit in every tree, wolf, and ridge. This aligns itself with Jephre, who is a major power in their pantheon, but also diverges into its own offshoot --- as a friend of mine pointed out, closely like the beliefs of Shinto.

Going back to the presence of military and where it falls beneath this; I don’t believe that the Falmer had any sort of standing army. At least, no standing army for the whole of Skyrim.

Each Temple had beneath it its own standing force of highly trained, almost spartan-esque honor guards. Few in number but heavy with skill. Beneath the Knight-Paladins were knights themselves, whom probably still served the church but not exclusively, and instead served to protect the people of the hold/state they occupied. Below these knights were the common foot soldiers; who I tinker with the idea of having been trained in whichever State held the temple of Trinimac, the Knight of Auri-El, but I digress.

Suffice to say there was no overall governing military that protected the whole of Skyrim, but rather that each State held its own military strength, and while lowly foot-soldiers were free to come and go from whichever hold they wished(being neither knight nor paladin), there was no sort of inter-state body that could rally a force. Each Patron-Deity had beneath it its own army, that served only the good of that State.

This lends credit to the relative swiftness in which the Snow Elf Empire fell at the hands of the Atmorans, for as powerful as each states’ army was, it was by no means a match for the sheer numbers rallied beneath Ysgramor. In this manner each Arch-Curate probably distanced him/herself from whichever state was currently under siege, having wished not to lend their own armies and leave themselves vulnerable but to continue to deal with the affairs of their own State so that their army was intact if Ysgramor should break through.

This in addition to their preference for mountainous terrain for cities limited their areas for major population centers, making an easy target for Ysgramor once having ended one State and moved onto the next.

In summation:

The Falmer Empire was a Theocracy divvied up into City-States, each ruled by an Arch-Curate who acted as both head of faith and government beneath their Patron Deity. There was open trade between all the states as a whole, and each state boasted its own standing army that served the needs of the territory and their temple.

the Temple-State of Trinimac, as the god of the knight, served to train would-be soldiers hand in hand with the Temple-State of Syrabane, who taught them to combine their martial training with arcane arts to become proficient spellswords.

The Temple-State of Auri-El(prior to the Chantry, which was built during the Atmoran Invasion), served as head of the empire(while no “official” capital nor temple took precedent over another in any real capacity, Auri-El was their chief god and thus considered their grandest hold).

The Temple-State of Jephre was the source of most(not all) agriculture, I would think, having consisted of those who pay respect to the lands and the wild things, and reap the bounty that it provides to feed the people. Under this, many of the nomadic tribes paid more homage to Jephre than any else in daily life, and the whole of the Falmeri people practiced a passive animism that gave honor to the spirits in all living things.

#Snelfcanons #falmer #snow elf #snow elves #skyrim #|| wOW THIS TOOK A WHILE TO WRITE ||

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templardragonknight · 7 years

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The Stormcloak Bible DEBUNKED PART 7 (Stormcloaks Are Wasting Skyrim’s Resources?)

In the seventh part of this “bible” (http://colonel-killa-bee.tumblr.com/post/152901379035/stormcloak-bible-part-7-stormcloaks-are-wasting) the author talks about if the stormcloaks are wasting Skyrim’s resources or not, about if Ulfric was the true cause of the war and even about the Thalmor. Lets get started.

"From the Imperial perspective, Ulfric is causing this war by revolting, and they’re keeping the Thalmor out of Skyrim by fighting Ulfric and preventing Talos worship." it is extrenely funny how he distorted the imperial arguments in this part (and I can already say that distorting facts to support his position is a characteristic of the author) because imperials do not say that the empire is keeping the Thalmor out by fighting Ulfric, they say that Ulfric's rebellion is actually preventing the Empire from rebuilding itself effectively and deal with the Thalmor as soon as possible. Also saying that the Empire is preventing Talos worship and not the Thalmor shows eighter ignorance or dishonesty from the author having in mind how:

> The Thalmor had to come personally to demand Ulfric's arrest after they found out the imperials were trying to secretly allow Talos worship in Markarth;

> There are no legionnares guarding the Thalmor Embassy or Northwatch Keep;

> Imperial soldiers are not sent to help Thalmor Justiciars around;

> The Thalmor Dossier about Ulfric reveals that they wanted to intervene in the war and save Ulfric from being executed, wich means that General Tullius refused to allow Elenwen to enter Helgen;

> If the player ends up becoming an enemy of the Thalmor to the point of the Thalmor sending troops specially to kill him/her, the Empire does not give a shit and does not send soldiers to assit the Thalmor;

Then he says that Ulfric was not the true cause of the war, what is already nonsense. First the war did not start when Ulfric killed Torygg, it became WORSE after that. Hadvar, Vuwulf and Solaf reveal that the war was already going on years before the return of the dragons and Hadvar specifically reveals that Torygg died months before Alduin attacked Helgen. And even if the war started when Torygg died: it would have never happened if Ulfric tried to use diplomacy instead of violence since Torygg was open to debate (if you say this to the author he will probably cry about how talking to the High King at "the belly of the beast" would be foolish... but KILLING the High King at the "belly of the beast"? Totally wise I suppose).

Now talking about the laws thing: Solitude was under IMPERIAL control, and by the imperial laws, the nords are allowed to follow their traditions IF such part of the tradition does not hurt anyone (that is why the nords are allowed to visit the Hall of the Dead, make war paints, have long hair and beards, worhip Shor, etc), so this already makes Ulfric’s action illegal. “But it not part of Skyrim’s laws” well this is the main problem with most stormcloaks: they do not distinguish law from tradition. Just because something is tradition it does not mean it should be a law (or that it would make sense to make it a law. Like forcing people to visit the Hall of the Dead would be just ridiculous). And being or not na actual law, such act is nonsense and savage as only the dumb brutes try to solve everything by using the sword. The art of ruling men (and also mer and beastfolk) is not just about battles and wars (that is also what dictatorships often do), it is more about debate and diplomacy, about trying to solve a problem without causing the deaths of many. All of this without mentioning that your physical abilities (and in this case magical abilities as well, since Ulfric used the Thum’m to unfairly kill Torygg) have absolutely nothing to do with your intelect and your efficiency in diplomacy.

The author says that "Skyrim law allows the Jarls to challenge the king or queen of Skyrim to a duel, and if the King is slain, a moot is called and then a new king or queen is decided" but as it turns out it is another arrow on his own knee. While it is true that the moot should be called when a king dies without direct heirs (https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pocket-guide-empire-first-edition-skyrim in the fourth paragraph), if by nordic tradition the king's widow is a direct heir Elisif should automatically becomke High Queen. If the widow is not considered a direct heir, the moot should be called with or without a war on (as the book does not mention any exception), but Ulfric not only does not want such Moot to happen (during the quest "The Jagged Crown", at least if you joined the Stormcloaks, he can be heard screaming "And Damn the moot!" when Galmar tells him that the jarls are upset and demand the Moot) and even says that it will not elect Elisif as long as HE has any say in it (and the tradition does not say the Jarl of Windhelm has any priority, you know). Ulfric's actions actually go AGAINST the nordic tradition.

When the author says "You might think that Empire law automatically overrules Skyrim law, but consider that in the Empire, slavery is illegal, and yet the Dunmer of Morrowind were allowed to continue the practice regardless" he shows ignorance regarding Morrowind's history, as slavery (that was actually outlawed by the king of Morrowind during the events of TES IV http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Slavery “By 3E 433, it is mentioned that Helseth Hlaalu, the king of Morrowind, has outlawed slavery.[5]"* https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Helseth "Subsequently, he renounced the slave trade, setting the remaining Houses of Indoril and Redoran against him in a bloody civil war. Helseth emerged from the war battered, but without the loss of his essential powers, leaving the slave trade generally destroyed, and slavery without a foothold in all of Tamriel, although the practice persists in remote areas away from Mournhold") was allowed in Morrowind thanks to something called the Treaty of the Armstice (http://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Armistice) and the terms of the treaty allowed Morrowind to retain a high degree of self rule and allowing things that were not allowed in other imperial provinces in exchange for giving the Numidium for Tiber Septim and allowing the imperial forces to act in the province. Skyrim has no treaty like that.

Then he talks about the Thalmor (typical). Lets see what he says: “And if they did secede, the Thalmor would be removed from Skyrim altogether, and anyone that’s read my previous entries know that logistically, the Thalmor cannot invade Skyrim anyway, so the Empire do not in fact keep the Thalmor out, they are in fact the sole reason the Thalmor are there in the first place” you mean when you said that the Aldmeri Dominion can not invade Skyrim thanks to how treacherous the Sea of Ghosts is (and fuck the fact that the Atmorans, who did not have the same technology the Aldmeri Dominion has, have dominated such seas and used them to travel to Tamriel and raid it for centuries) while you said that the Empire could send reinforcements to Skyrim trough SHIPS (you know: passing trough Dominion controlled seas, going all the way from Hammerfell's to High Rock's seas only to reach the Sea of Ghosts in northern Skyrim)? Or how you mentioned that mountains would prevent the Thalmor from reaching Skyrim, even tough the Empire has managed to overcome that obstacle for centuries (with Tullius even saying that controlling The Rift would secure their communications with Cyrodiil during "Season Unending")?

Without mentioning that saying that “Empire do not in fact keep the Thalmor out, they are in fact the sole reason the Thalmor are there in the first place” is actually not true (it may look like a fact, but it is not), for this we just have to take a look at the so called "Markarth Incident" itself: Jarl Igmund and Cedran reveal that the Thalmor themselves demanded the Empire to arrest Ulfric, with Cedran even saying that a whole group of them personally came to Markarth for it. If by 4th Era 201 the Thalmor are directly acting in Skyrim, personally hunting arresting Talos worshippers, while a short time after the end of the Great War they did not personally do it, the Empire itself is not the (only) reason of why they are acting in Skyrim (and the only faction that could have made it worse by revaeling the Thalmor how Talos worship is strong in Skyrim is the Stormcloaks thelselves). The fact that the Thalmor were not present in Skyrim right after the Great War is also revealed by Alvor: en.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Alvor "It's from that treaty that ended the Great War, remember, when the Emperor was forced by the Thalmor to outlaw Talos worship. We didn't pay much attention to it when I was a boy - everyone still had their little shrine to Talos. But then Ulfric and his "Sons of Skyrim" started agitating about it, and sure enough the Emperor had to crack down. Dragging people off in the middle of the night... one of the main causes of this war, if you ask me." Alvor basically reveals that everything was just fine before Ulfric and his followers began agitating. If we take these clues and combine them, it becomes clear that, altough the Thalmor would be allowed to do it, the Dominion did not immdediately come to imperial lands to hunt down Talos worshippers, hoping the Empire would arrest them by itself and only after the events in Skyrim (in other words: the Stormcloak Rebellion) clearly showed the Empire was not doing it so the Thalmor decided to hunt Talos worshippers all by itself.

Then he talks about how the empire left Morrowind at it’s own during the Oblivion Crisis. *Sigh*, how many times will I have to refute Part 2? If the empire was having trouble protecting Cyrodiil, how in the name of the Aedra would the imperials be able to protect Morrowind? The best chance Morrowind had was being helped by the empire AFTER Cyrodiil defeated Dagon’s forces, otherwise both provinces would be weak against the daedra at the time (it is also funny how he blames the Empire for not helping Morrowind when the heart of the Empire is under attack, but does not give a shit about how Ulfric sends most of Windhelm's guards to the war to the point of them being barely able to investigate murders in the city, or about how Ulfric does nothing about bandits that do not threaten nord land as it is revealled by Brunwulf. Hypocrisy again). And at the moment he citated Adril Arano he shot himself (AGAIN). How? Due to what he previously said about slavery in Morrowind: if there is really slavery being illegally practiced in Morrowind, and House Redoran supports it form some reason, the currently weakned empire would face difficulties trying to find the slaves and their owners in Morrowind.

Then he talks about how the Empire “abandoned” Hammerfell (*sigh*, this post is gonna be just an enhanced Part 2, but that is okay). If the empire did not care about Hammerfell, then how can we explain General Decianus' decision? In the book it is explained that "In Hammerfell, General Decianus was preparing to drive the Aldmeri back from Skaven when he was ordered to march for Cyrodiil. Unwilling to abandon Hammerfell completely, he allowed a great number of 'invalids' to be discharged from the Legions before they marched east. These veterans formed the core of the army that eventually drove Lady Arannelya's forces back across the Alik'r late in 174, taking heavy losses on their retreat from harassing attacks by the Alik'r warriors." and this eventually helped to weaken Arannelya's army, what obviously helped the redguards of Hammerfell when they fought the weakned forces of Lady Arannelya to a standstill for five years. And if one still thinks that the empire really betrayed Hammerfell (in other words: if the empire had other choice), then it is worth mentioning another part of the book: "there is a great difference between agreeing to such terms under the mere threat of war, and agreeing to them at the end of a long and destructive war. No part of the Empire would have accepted these terms in 4E 171, dictated by the Thalmor at swords-point. Titus II would have faced civil war. By 4E 175, most of the Empire welcomed peace at almost any price." and having in mind how I previously showed that the empire was in no shape to fight by 4E 175, then seeing the sign of the concordact as a betrayal is foolish (what would not be the case if it was signed by 4E 171).

Then the author says “And yes I know they say they can’t because they’re watching their southern border, so their answer instead is to run Skyrim’s economy and resources into the ground to protect their own interests, at the cost of Nord lives and money with little or no sacrifices of their own?” I think he never read Hadvar's dialogue in the UESP. Hadvar explains that the Empire only had it's attention caught after Ulfric killed Torygg, wich means that the Empire barely cared about Skyrim and it's resources for most of the war. And this contradicts what the author himself revealed in his post about the conversations in the Blue Palace, as one of the conversations there shows that Solitude alone has had more efforts towards the war than Cyrodiil itself (Bryling: “Simple. Let the Empire fight its own war, with its own funds, and without hijacking our supplies and soldiers. Let Haafingar rebuild.”), and it is dfinitely not like the imperial supporting provinces were just trying to protect themselves from the Stormcloaks.

About the rest of the dialogues dialogues: I already talked about them in Part 6 and showed that his observations about them are biased and nonsense. Also what he says here: “ If they really wanted to do what was best for the greater good and to defeat the elves, they’d have let the moot take its course, and unite with an independent Skyrim if Ulfric won, having an ally against the elves with full resources and a full army free of the casualties of a civil war because the Empire couldn’t let go of their source of free silver and bodies to protect themselves.” is nonsense since I already explained how the one preventing the Moot from happening is Ulfric, not the Empire.

Now to end this post: I already showed that the empire is not wasting Skyrim’s resources as they need such resources not only to continue to make Skyrim a good place to live, but also to rebuild themselves for an eventual second war against the Dominion… and the empire is now forced to use part of these resources for a war started by the Stormcloaks.

Well, the author already cried about this critique, saying that Tullius stuck in a stalemate with him until the dragonborn gets involved (and fuck the fact that this is just part of the game’s mechanics, to prevent any side from winning before the players joins one of them... and it is definitely not like Hadvar says that Tullius has turned things around for the Empire), saying that Rikke struggles to make Tullius take the rebels seriously (yet this is just a proof of what I said as a great imperial general would only underestimate his enemies if they were no match for the imperial legion if the legion decided to use everything it has), about how many rebels are former leggionaires (even tough they still not use the strategies the legion taught them) and also crying about the nords being the bulks of the empire (and fuck the fact that one can not win a war only with brute force, as strategy is also extremely important).

*oh wait, it appears that all I said is irrelevant because The Stormcloak Guy says the Wiki is full of misconceptions and that my points are irrelevant simply for using it. It is argumentum ad hominem but you know, someone that is biased does not care and fuck if the UESP, that the author heavily relies on, says the same.

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