Lorebook

The Nords face hard and simple lives: struggles against the desolate and frozen north, economic hardship, fierce clan and brother wars, and occasional plagues of supernatural malady. This has created a hardened people who value strength and steel and treat oaths like lifeblood. A Nord's word is sacred and breaking a sworn oath is nothing short of sacrilege. They speak plain and expect you to do the same; a man who speaks too well or too often is putting on a show, or hiding something. Words are not toys or playthings to the Nords; they live and breathe as the Thu'um does, and their skaldic traditions and death songs are how they maintain their deep oral histories and culture. This culture of hardiness, honor, and necessity, combined with the ability to remain content throughout a life of risk and uncertainty, makes the common Nord a unique and consistent folk amongst the provinces of the Empire.

They are a superstitious folk, generally unfriendly to magic and near hostile to the supernatural, and their history with these realms lives as folklore that puts fear in every young child. It's the hope of every young Nord that the outlawed chivalric order of vampire hunters, the Dawnguard, might still be out there protecting the innocent. Some of these boys may grow up to become an initiate of the Vigilants of Stendarr, a militant order and priesthood. Other rowdy young folk often find themselves fighting for the Companions, a fierce berserker warrior-band of mercenaries said to fight and feast like a pack of wolves. Eventually some may be honored enough to find themselves in service to a Jarl as a Thane, or may even become a famous adventurer in their own right.

Some young Nords may drift towards a priestly life of theology, academia, or public service; tending the Hall of the Dead with Arkay, carving out knowledge from Imperial libraries of old, or keeping a Talos shrine alive in defiance of the Thalmor. Most Nords believe in the Divines, but believe in the blood and spirits of their ancestors more than the many priesthoods. The Nordic stubborn pragmatism concludes that men may not make reliable narrators for the will and words of the Divines, and they would rather meet the Gods in Sovngarde themselves.

The Nords take pride in being the protectors and bearers of the Thu'um, which they consider not to be magicka but a natural force given to them by the gods, the actual language of dragons and Divines. Otherwise, magic is not a common skill amongst the people of Skyrim and is contained to a rather small portion of the population. The commoner may overhear an adventurer tell tall tales of a powerful spell, or hear a rumor that a Jarl has employed a Court Wizard, seen an enchanted weapon, or even have their maladies treated by a Nord hedge-witch, but beyond that most in Skyrim have greater concerns than the magical arts.

The College of Winterhold, previously a rich hub of Imperial patronage, is now a middling academy of knowledge and preliminary study of magicka. The average mage may spend a lifetime barely mastering one school of magic, and the pursuit is expensive in time, wealth, and well-being. Its skilled practitioners are few, and its masters even fewer. Most in Skyrim would find themselves attending the Bards College before a Mages Guild.

This does not mean the Nords are ignorant of the supernatural or the Divines, they have just managed to find a way to co-exist with the many ancient mysteries and monsters that also make their home in this strange province. A lot of supernatural and magical phenomenon that the Nords experience is just considered a part of daily life, a struggle like any other that may be approached or avoided in many different ways. An experienced Mage or Sorcerer may find a common Nord warrior a bigger struggle in battle than anticipated.

The High Kingship, Jarldoms, and lesser nobility on Aurbis are sacred and foundational to the people of Skyrim. Title is earned in these tried and tested institutions and failure to honor your duty is tantamount to treason. The High Kingship and current major Jarldoms would have been historically established by powerful and prestigious clans, with one leader of each achieving recognition as a Jarl from a grand Moot. Jarls hold one vote each on the Moot, a simple majority affirms a Jarl or elects a High King, and the Moot disperses until called next time by the majority of Jarls. All Jarls must vote or vote by established proxy and may not vote for themselves. The upcoming Moot will test the already delicate balance between the Stormcloaks and the Imperials.

The nobility in Skyrim are a highly respected and acclaimed class often based in a feudal clan structure. Most come from renowned clans but many have established themselves through deed and ambition, making themselves indispensable to the high lords of powerful clans and houses. The lower nobility must fight a constant struggle to hold onto their wealth and influence. Jarls are often the head of powerful Nord clans and maintain power through Hersir, noble Lords with large holdings which are elevated to title and given legal rights amongst the holding.

Thanes are free men who have officially been accepted by and into the service of a Jarl and also reserve legal rights. A Thane's oath is for life, and therefore it is not fashionable for a Jarl to have more than a small group of active Thanes. Thanedom is a chivalric title respected and feared across Skyrim and these men are the strong pillars of duty and justice.

Housecarls are the warrior class of Nord culture and Hersir and Thanes are expected to employ them as sworn swords. To dedicate yourself to warfare means making war your profession and therefore patronage is extremely important. Housecarls sacrifice their other potential skill sets to be a honed weapon and leader in battle, so they will struggle to make their own way in Skyrim. A truly skilled soldier and captain will be recognized and will always have the opportunity to serve as an honored Housecarl.

Skyrim is a sovereign province of the Third Empire of Tamriel, ruled in name by Emperor Titus Mede II from the Imperial City and administered locally by the Imperial Legion from Castle Dour in Solitude, but the power lies with the noble Imperial Houses that have established themselves in Skyrim and also operate the East Empire Company. These Houses carry the real orders and intentions from the Elder Council in the Imperial City. Imperial law applies throughout the province. Imperial currency, the gold septim, is the medium of exchange. Imperial confirmation is required for major political appointments. The Imperial cult is the established religion, with the Talos exception under the Concordat. Talos worship is outlawed throughout the Empire and Thalmor Justiciars are beginning to enforce the Talos prohibition with Imperial legal cover.

The Empire stands intact but reduced. The Great War ended in 4E 175 with the White-Gold Concordat, and 25 years later the Concordat's terms still bleed the treasury and humiliate the institutions. Hammerfell seceded; the Empire could not stop it. Morrowind, devastated by the Red Year, is no longer a functional province. The Aldmeri Dominion watches from the south. In Skyrim the Empire may hold sovereignty but operates at a fraction of its full strength. The Legion commands perhaps a dozen active cohorts of soldiers across Castle Dour and scattered forts. Thalmor Justiciars patrol the roads enforcing the Talos prohibition. The Penitus Oculatus operates clandestinely. The Empire would win a maximum-effort war against the Stormcloak rebellion, but it cannot afford the cost while the Aldmeri Dominion waits at Cyrodiil's southern border for the second Great War.

The Thalmor of the Aldmeri Dominion operate in Skyrim, continuing steadily towards their primordial goals: complete supremacy and purification of the province of Tamriel, a return to their pre-eminence amongst men and Divines. Hammerfell successfully resisted their rule after the province was ceded by the Empire; their wars and invasions are currently thwarted with all sides claiming victory. The Thalmor return to their tried-and-true methodologies of sorcery and intrigue. Thalmor patrols travel the roads of Skyrim, conduct searches, make arrests, and conduct interrogations at Northwatch Keep and the Thalmor Embassy outside Solitude. Their presence is a humiliation of the authority of the Empire, of the resolve of the Nordic clans, and serves to create a powerful recruiting tool for the Stormcloak rebellion.

Ulfric Stormcloak is the symbolic face of the rebellion and currently rots in Imperial custody, captured in a skirmish that the Imperials have publicly claimed and privately regretted. The civil war that was on the horizon is now in stasis; Stormcloak forces operate in the eastern holds without their leader, the Empire prepares for a public execution of a rebel claimant, and the Moot has not been called despite Torygg's death. The Imperials have weak claims over rulership of Skyrim via the remnants of Torygg's house who sit on Solitude's throne only as regents. While the elites play power politics, the situation bubbles and cooks everyone caught in its cauldron. The average citizen of Skyrim is indirectly suffering the most from every swing of a sword or stroke of a pen in the early stages of what could be another, or maybe even the last civil war amongst the provinces of the Third Empire.