Lore:Skaal

The   are an offshoot tribe of  s living in a   in northeastern Solstheim. They are known as a trusting and hospitable people, welcoming strangers into their village without any suspicion. Their village is located to the east of the  , along the   just north of  . The Skaal are descended from the Nords who served the   on Solstheim, and built tombs to honor the  s who ruled over them.  They get all that they need from the land around them and do not often accept coin in trade from travelers. 

Though they are Nords by race, the Skaal embrace their own culture and religion, based around worship of the All-Maker.  They worship the island's wolves and bears, and are known to perform ritual sacrifice by feeding those sentenced to death to the ceremonial Caenlorn Wolves.  They believe when something dies, be it an animal or a person, the spirit of the deceased is returned to the All-Maker, who then reforms it into a new being and returns it to the mortal plane, to live out a new life, in a new body. As such, the Skaal do not view death the same way as other Nords. All life is sacred to the Skaal, and they try to live in harmony with nature, impacting their environment as little as possible. They hunt deer, bear, and horker, only to the extent necessary for survival, never for enjoyment or practice, and gather their firewood from dead trees that have already fallen.  The antithesis of the All-Maker is a being known as  . The Adversary has many aspects, each one of them designed to test the Skaal, to push them so that they do not become lazy and weak. One aspect of the Adversary is  , likely the Skaal's version of  , the World-Eater. Legend says that Thartaag will return at the End of Seasons, and bring an end to all of creation. 

The Skaal also recongnize Hircine as an enemy. He is a demon god whose coming is predicted by the Bloodmoon Prophecy, which foretells when he will host the Hunter's Game on Nirn. During this, he walks the lands with his Hounds and chooses which men shall become hares in his hunt.  His children, the Lycanthropes, are viewed as twisted mockeries of the All-Maker's noble creatures.  They believe that Man was not meant to live a dual life as both rational being and animal. 

The Skaal consider Stalhrim to be holy, and at one point shunned its usage.    They also believe the art of forging Stalhrim into weapons and armor is sacred, and certain members of the Skaal were charged as keepers of this ancient tradition.  As such, knowledge of stalhrim smithing is very rare and typically known only to the Skaal. However, local Nords and the warriors of Thirsk have also been known to possess such knowledge.   The Mace of Aevar Stone-Singer, a prized Skaal artifact, is made from stalhrim. 

In the mid- , Skaal "Frostcaster" shamans made extensive use of Stalhrim by decoratively incorporating the material into their arms and armor. These Frostcasters specialised in Frost Magic in veneration of the  . King   of   was known to have a display of Frostcaster clothing, which was recorded by the famed Imperial Ethnographer Doctor   on a visit to his Embassy.  The shamans of the Skaal tribe domesticated the Snow Leopard Sabres as mounts, seeking to keep them exclusive. 

Early in the   of the Third Era, a group of Skaal left the village, hoping to return more to their roots. These Skaal were led by Hrothmund the Red, and founded  , a settlement on the southern shore of Lake Fjalding  (though some local Nords believe the history of the hall dates back to the late Second Era ). There, they lived like the Nords of old, hunting and fighting without restraint, with the mightiest warrior rising to leadership.   

Skaal Legends
According to legend, long ago the world was ruled by  , who enslaved the race of man and forced them to build fantastic temples in their honor. Directing the slaves in their name were the Dragon Priests, a group of men who worshipped the dragons and were given power in exchange for their devotion. These priests were powerful mages, and had the gift of the  . One of these dragon priests, known only as the  , was seduced by  , the Skaal's name for the Daedric Prince Hermaeus Mora. His plot to overthrow the dragons was discovered by another dragon priest, known as the  . The Guardian confronted the Traitor, and the two fought a terrible battle. So great was their power, Solstheim was sundered from Skyrim. The Guardian proved to be the more powerful, and bested the Traitor. Just as the Guardian was about to land the final blow, Herma-Mora snatched the Traitor away, rescuing him from certain death. As a reward for his loyalty, the Guardian was given Solstheim to rule, where his reign is remembered as peaceful and prosperous, and he is remembered as a wise and just ruler. 

In another tale, originating from when the Skaal were a new people, the land was at peace. The sun was warm, and the groups bountiful, and all the Skaal gave thanks to the All-Maker. Over time, however, the Skaal gave less and less thanks, becoming complacent and lazy. They forgot that  , the antithesis of the All-Maker, is always watching, waiting for a chance to torment the All-Maker and his preferred people. Unlike the All-Maker, the Adversary has many aspects, each one with a specific name and gender. At this time, he was known as  . The Greedy Man lived among the Skaal for some time, until one day the powers of the Skaal suddenly disappeared. The warriors became weak, the shaman could no longer call to the beasts of the forest for aid. The elders of the Skaal thought that the All-Maker had abandoned them, and this is when the Greedy Man spoke. He told them that because of their disregard for the gifts of the All-Maker, he had taken them away. He told them that until one among them could retrieve the gifts of the All-Maker, all of the Skaal would live in misery, and then he disappeared. The Skaal spoke well into the night, and then into the next day, and continued to talk until many days passed. They knew that someone must go, but none of them wanted to bear the responsibility. It was then that a young man named   spoke, and volunteered to go. He traveled into the forest, to each of the All-Maker Stones, meditating at each of them, and learned from the All-Maker how he might retrieve the gifts from the Greedy Man. He traveled across Solstheim, and retrieved all of the gifts from the Greedy Man. He meditated again, and the All-Maker spoke to him, telling them that he was pleased, and that the Greedy Man would not bother the Skaal again for many years to come. With that, Aevar returned to the Skaal, and lived according to the true ways of the Skaal. 

The Skaal believe a mummified wolf paw capped at the ankle with silver can ward away werewolves. 

Leaders of the Skaal
Tharsten Heart-Fang, leader of the Skaal, circa  
Skaf the Giant, leader of the Skaal before Fanari
Fanari Strong-Voice, leader of the Skaal circa  

Gallery
 

See Also
For game-specific information, see the Bloodmoon article about the Skaal people, and the Bloodmoon and Dragonborn articles about the village.

References