WitchBearJoin Date: 2014-09-25
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THE COMPLETE HISTORY
OF THE NORDS
AND SKYRIM
A BOOK BY SILANNAH SADEAN
4E 402
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The Northern Province of Skyrim; cold and rugged. Climb any one of its icy peaks and you’ll soon realize why this old kingdom is considered the “Throat of the World.” Skyrim’s pine-covered peaks hold four of the five tallest mountains in all Tamriel, making it a land kissed by sky. To the uninformed outsider, Skyrim conjures up images of only snow and mud, and while there is truth in this, its citizens know Skyrim as a land of breathtaking vistas, mighty rivers, and above all, a place of proving. It is a land where heroes are made, crafted in the harshness of the land’s embrace. To know Skyrim is to know its people.
A tall and sturdy race, well suited for the cold climates of the northernmost province, the Nords can tolerate the cold like no one else. If their fair skin and yellow hair does not give them away, then their thick muscles and large frame surely will. The Nordic people have been taming Skyrim’s harsh interior for generations, and it shows. They are no strangers to hardship, whether it be farming the land or defending it against the occasional Sabre Cat, the Nords have been strengthened by their need for survival. And they’ve done more than just survive; throughout history, the Nords have proven themselves to be some of the most skilled melee fighters in the realm.
Violence is an accepted aspect of Nordic life.Their people face battle with a ferocity that shocks and apalls their enemies. When he passes from this world, a Nord isn’t remembered how he lived, but rather how he died. His tireless quest for honor and glory has made the Nords a force to be reckoned with. Make no mistake: this is a race of conquerors.
On the battlefield, Nordic warriors are arguably the hardest fighters Tamriel has ever seen. When the Ancient Nords attacked a city, they had no need for siege engines or calvary. The elite among them spoke in the Dragon’s tongue. Equipped with only their voice, they could force down the doors of an enemy keep. A strong Nord can instill bravery within his men with his battlecry, or stop a charging warrior with his chilling roar. A Nord’s voice is his strongest weapon, and he attributes this gift to the Aedra.
Atop the Throat of the World, in an age long forgotten, the sky goddess Kyne breathed life into man. With her divine breath, the Nord found their strength. Most Nords acknowledge the Divines as their gods, but unlike the rest of the Empire, the Nords see the Divines as notably more war-like. Just ask the nearest Nord what he thinks about life and death, and you’ll have a brief glance into their culture. A Nord will tell you that there exists a place so magnificent, so honored, that the entrance lies hidden from view. Sovngarde, it is called.
Sovngarde was built by the god Shor to honor those Nords who have proven their mettle in war. Nords who die with sword in hand are rewarded with a feast that never ends. Within this Hall of Valor, time as we know it has no meaning. The concepts of life and death are left on the doorstep, and those within exist free of pain and suffering. The path to Sovngarde is littered with the fallen.
This unique belief system in where only the strong prosper in this life and the next, is the very thing that has made the Nords a damned near unstoppable force throughout Tamriel’s history.
The history of the Nords is one of migration and retribution. Before they took the name “Nords”, this race of men called themselves Atmorans, denizens of the continent known as Atmora.
Long ago, Atmora had erupted in a great civil war that had left the continent drowning in its own blood. In the midst of this chaos, a visionary gathered all who would follow him, and set sail to the south in an effort to build a new life for his people. After a perilous journey across the Sea of Ghosts, their ship touched down in modern day Skyrim. Finding the land already occupied by Mer, whom they called “Snow Elves”, the Atmorans named the land “Mereth” in honor of them. The Atmorans and the Snow Elves lived relatively at peace for many years,which would be unheard of today in any place that both man and mer reside.
This was, until one fateful night, when the Snow Elves pillaged and slaughtered the Atmorian people. That night, an entire city burned; its people murdered without warning, without mercy. The Snow Elves, or Falmer, as they called themselves, had come to a decision. Apparently, the race of men were growing too quickly for their comfort. They did not wish to see men’s culture surpass their own. Feeling threatened, the Snow Elves turned to genocide, a sin for which they would one day pay greatly. According to legend, not every Atmoran was killed that night. Out of the ashes came one visionary, along with his two sons. They returned to Atmora together, and spread the news about what the honorless elves had done to them. Five hundred companions heard their stories, and joined the visionary, named Ysgramor, and joined him in an event that would lead to the birth of the Nordic race.
The Return. Settlement by settlement, city by city, Ysgramor and his five hundred companions drove the Snow Elves out of Skyrim. Driving the Snow Elves to near extinction, Ysgramor cleared the way for his people to return to Tamriel. The Elves had learned a most painful lesson: the race of men were here to stay.
At this time in the Nord’s early history, dragons roamed the sky over Skyrim, and the Nords worshipped them. Their frail, mortal voices were drowned out by the mighty Thu’um of the dragon. And so it was only natural for these children of Akatosh to rule over them. Dragon Priests possessed incredible power, both in their magical abilities, and in politics as religious leaders. They acted as intermediaries between the Nords and their serpent god-kings, building great underground temples to appease their dragon masters. Over time, the Dragon Priests of Tamriel became more tyrannical, and eventually, Skyrim rebelled, leading to the legendary Dragon War.
Man fought the great dragons, and died by the thousands. It was clear the Nords were fighting a battle they simply could not win. Yet, when all hope seemed to be lost, some dragons turned against their own kind and taught the Nords powerful magic, known as the Thu’um, that allowed them to turn the tide of war in their favor. After a long and bloody campaign, the rule of the dragons was ended, and those remaining fled to remote areas.
The Nords, now both free from elves and beast, claimed Skyrim by right of conquest, and so the Jarls placed the Jagged Crown atop the head of their first King of Skyrim: Lord Harald, descendant of the now Nordic legend, Ysgramor. Over a century later, the Nords of Skyrim were ready to be led to glory by King Harald’s ambitious son, Vrage the Gifted.
King Vrage believed that the destiny of his people was not only to rule over Skyrim, but beyond. His aggressive and bloody expansion is now known as the Skyrim Conquest. Within the span of fifty years, the descendants of Ysgramor ruled all of Northern Tamriel, including most of present day High Rock, and the whole of Morrowind. Lands had been conquered before in Tamriel’s history, but never like this. The elves had quickly learned how great the Nords had grown in such a short time, but by then, it was too late. Land the elves had fought over for a millennia now belonged to the upstart land of humans, who only centuries earlier had posed no real threat at all.
Needless to say, the young headstrong Nords struck fear into the hearts of every elf on Tamriel, so reluctantly the elves had to set aside their differences, and faced the Nords just as they had, united. Just as the elves were banding together in Morrowind, the last of the Ysgramor line was breathing his last breath, leaving the Nords with a mighty empire, lacking an emperor. Sadly, the Jarls of Skyrim were unable to reach a decision quick enough to decide which of them were worthy of leadership, and without an emperor, their empire soon fell to the elves.
Now confined to Skyrim, the Nords mostly kept to themselves until the first era, when Tamriel’s neighbors, the Akavir, landed on the icy shores of Skyrim, swords at the ready. With incredible discipline and combat precision, the likes of which the Nords had never seen, the mighty Akaviri Dragon Guard cut through Skyrim with ease. Thoroughly impressed by the Akaviri invaders, the whole of Skyrim pledged themselves to one man: Reman Cyrodiil, the first Dragonborn in recorded history.
The second empire of man had dawned. Centuries came and went, and the Nords of Skyrim carried on, loyally serving their Akaviri Empire, upholding their kingdom, and protecting their people. But even they could not stop the blade of a Morag Tong assassin. With their leaders assassinated, the Second Empire quickly crumbled. Now without an empire, the Nords were free to engage their neighbors in glorious battle once again. However, their expansion would soon be interrupted by the siege of Molag Bal.
During the siege of Tamriel by Molag Bal, Skyrim entered one of the most unlikely alliances Tamriel had ever seen: The Ebonheart Pact, which consisted of the Nords of Skyrim, the Dark Elves of Morrowind, and the Argonians of Black Marsh. In an effort of self-preservation, the Nords formed the boisterous front line of the Ebonheart Pact, lending their skill as fierce warriors and expert weaponsmiths.
Once the fires of Molag Bal were put out, the Nords fell back into their own traditions, and began their aggressive expansion once again. What they were not counting on was Tiber Septim, and his newly formed Imperial Legions, who sought to usher in the Third Era with an empire of their own. After a few honorable confrontations with Tiber Septim’s Imperials, the Nords knew an empire when they saw one. While most of Tamriel was dragged into the Empire, the Nords chose to join their fellow man willingly. After all, the human Imperials shared many of their qualities, having been “cut from the same cloth.” Many Nords soon dawned the Imperial uniform, gladly serving under their new emperor.
Tiber Septim may have take an Imperial name, but the Nords knew him as Talos, son of Atmora. Talos was Dragonborn, the likes of which the Nords have seen before. Dragons and those holding the power of dragons were seemingly destined to rule. And it seems, as if Dragons would seek to prove this theory once again.
During the Oblivion Crisis, the Daedra of Mehrunes Dagon overwhelmed the almost the entire province of Skyrim, capturing cities, and murdering their people. Not much else is recorded in history about this time period for the Nords.
There was a time, though, where one of the Nord’s worst enemies, the dragons, came back into the world. This was the Dragon Crisis. It all began back toward the end of the legendary Dragon War. Atop the Throat of the World, three Nordic heroes, Gormlaith Golden-Hilt, Hakon One-Eye and Felldir the Old used one of the Elder Scrolls to cast Alduin ahead in time. At the moment, the three heroes thought that they were forever ridding Tamriel of Alduin’s presence, but they used the Elder Scroll to send him ahead in time. When he re-appeared, the Oblivion Crisis was long over, and the Nords were less than peacefully living in Skyrim. Alduin then traveled across Skyrim, raising the once-dead dragons back from the dead to fly again. These dragons would attack small towns and travelers. Fortunately, the Dragonborn of the Fourth Era emerged. This Dragonborn, with the help of the Greybeards and the Blades, put an end to the Dragon Crisis, vanquishing Alduin once and for all.
After the Dragon Crisis, the Nords did their best to return to their old traditions. Since the death of the Last Dragonborn, the High King positions have moved around generations. The most recent three were High King (No RP name known, DuckC) , High King (No RP name known, akilly111), and High King Jollrun Vandrok (Deathhashisways).
High King (DuskC) was an ambitious High King. Under his rule, Skyrim went into two wars. The first war was the war with Black Marsh. The cause of the war has been forgotten by history, but the outcome was in Skyrim’s favor. It was one of the shortest wars in Skyrim’s history, with only two official battles; Skyrim winning both. Both Kingdoms realized that fighting over such a long distance was futile, and the ended the conflict on the terms of counting the war as a win in Skyrim’s favor. The next war was the war with the Aldmeri Dominion. Midway through the war, High King (DuskC) fell ill and died. Luckily, the moot had learned from it’s mistakes and selected a new High King almost immediately.
High King (akilly111) was considered one of the worst High Kings Skyrim has ever experienced. He did not have to prepare to lead; he was thrust into the reigns of the war with the Aldmeri Dominion. With the Dominion growing ever stronger, King (akilly111) did the worst possible thing for Skyrim; nothing. He had no plans to mobilize soldiers or fortify keeps. He sat and enjoyed the time he had in his new position. The Aldmeri Dominion took complete advantage of this can conquered much of Skyrim’s land. It was not until a Jarl named Jollrun Vandrok overthrew King (akilly111) with the support of his fellow Jarls and claimed the High King seat.
This now brings us to the present date of 4E 402. The current rule of High King Jollrun Vandrok has been a calm and stagnant one. Currently, King Jollrun trains Skyrim’s soldiers. Skyrim currently waits, and is counting on High King Vandrok to return Skyrim to it’s once great stature, and to reclaim the land lost over the centuries.
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CREDIT TO SHODDYCAST
AND ROBLOX USER DEATHHASHISWAYS
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-MutinyNG
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