Books:Gathering Force: Arms and Armor of Tamriel Characters and Summary

This is the summary of and list of characters from Gathering Force: Arms and Armor of Tamriel.

Characters

In order first mentioned:

:Longinus Attius: Hall Steward of the Rimmen Fighters' Guild, and the Imperial Champion.
:Falandamil: The Altmeri champion.
:Zadabal-ra: The Khajiiti champion.
:Gosellaneth Sight-Unseen: The Bosmeri champion.
:Vignac Antieve of Evermore: The Breton champion.
:Gushagub gro-Shugdurbam: The Orcish champion.
:Namasur at-Hamisam: The Redguard champion.
:Sees-All-Colors: The Argonian champion.
:Belderi Llenim: The Dunmer champion.
:Skegglund Stormcloak: The Nord champion.
:Potitus Platorius: An Imperial explorer.
:Thanethen Rotheloth: An Ashlander emissary.
:Hradalion Orestillus: Longinus Attius' steward.
:Grutbug the Unhealthy: A goblin chief taken prisoner by the Fighters' Guild.
:Cagarach: A Reachman taken prisoner by the Fighters' Guild.

Summary

Longinus begins with an introduction: he has sworn vengeance on Molag Bal's Daedra, and has made it his mission to research the armor and weapons of Tamriel and pass along his knowledge. He invited champions of each race to a feast and they brought along samples of their races' battle equipment.

Each race's armor and weaponry are described, along with a picture of their champion.

:Altmer: The Altmeri champion, Falandamil, was difficult to convince to come to the feast, and when he was there he talked frequently about how much better the Altmer are in battle. He wielded an axe and wore heavy armor created by his family in his portrait. Altmeri armor and weapons are almost never made with common materials, but instead they prefer more exotic ores. Their handiwork is graceful and visually appealing, but still powerful. 

:Bosmer: The Bosmeri champion is named Gosellaneth Sight-Unseen, and she is described as being graceful and charming but having an odor of smoked fungus. She is depicted in her portrait as having just slain a Daedra. The Green Pact is explained: Bosmer are not allowed to harvest any plants. Instead, they make their arms and armor with leather, bone, insect resin, and stone - or buy a wooden weapon from another race.

:Khajiit: The Khajiiti champion, Zadabal-Ra, was the one who convinced Falandamil to come to the feast. Zadabal-Ra prefers light armor and daggers, but wore spectacular heavy armor for his portrait. Khajiit generally prefer light armor - cloth or leather, usually - and blades as weapons. Nearly everything of theirs is curved or has a crescent shape to honor the moons.

:Breton: The Breton champion, Vignac Antieve of Evermore, is depicted in his portrait as slaying a vampire. Breton armor tends to be comfortable, and their weapons are the sort of general weapon that one would picture when someone tells them to think of a sword. They are also very aesthetically designed, featuring carvings and gemstones.

:Orc: Gushagub gro-Shugdurbam, the Orc champion, wields a battleaxe named "Mauloch's Maw", and his recent slaying of a giant is what is shown in his picture. Orcish armor is the heaviest, and the weapons, too, are thick and functional, without much ornamentation.

:Redguard: The Redguard champion Namasur at-Hamishan, also called Namashur the Ash'abah, hunts undead. He often likes to wear light armor and robes, but he will also occasionally wear heavy armor, which he is shown with in his portrait. Many Redguards prefer lightweight, light-colored armor, but heavy armor is not looked down upon either. They like to add decoration to their weapons as well: gemstones and elaborate carvings. Most Redguards wield scimitars, and the other types of weapons are uncommon.

:Argonian: Sees-All-Colors, the Argonian champion, is noted as fighting fiercely against the Dark Anchors. She is depicted next to a Giant Snake in her picture. The Argonian style is relatively new, as until recent times they had simply purchased weapons and armor from vendors of other races. It tends to be heavyweight, made out of natural tools: skins of wamasu and crocodiles, mudcrab shells, leather, and so forth. Their weapons and armor are brightly colored, and have primitive designs that mimic the stepped pyramids of Black Marsh. 

:Dunmer: The Dunmeri champion, Belderi Llenim, is an Armory Sergeant from the Mournhold Guildhall and is fascinated by arms and armor. The lighter armor is made from glass, netch leather, and chitin, while heavier armor tends toward ebony. The Dunmer style features a lot of angles, and house symbols will often adorn the pieces.

:Nord: Skegglund Stormcloak, who shares his surname with Ulfric Stormcloak, is the Nord champion, and a veteran guard of Windhelm. He prefers fur and leather when hunting, but wore heavy armor for his portrait. Nord armor tends to be lined with leather and fur, and creatures such as mammoths and wolves are often harvested for this. Nord weapons are generally made of steel, and like Orc weapons, they are thick and heavy. Unlike Orc weapons, however, they tend to have designs: knotwork, or the cross of Ysgramor, for instance.

:Imperial: The author of the book, Longinus Attius, is the Imperial champion. He stands proudly over a beheaded wolflike creature in his picture. The Imperial Legion's regimented armor is made of either leather or steel. They are often designed with red, silver and gold. He describes each weapon type in great detail, proclaiming afterward, "Our Empire is most glorious."


He goes on to describe a few styles belonging to races and factions besides the main races:

:Fighters Guild: The ceremonial Fighters Guild armor and weapons are designed based on Imperial explorer Potitus Platorius' sketches of the Akaviri. The armor features a blue and brown design, and the weapons are gold-and-silver-colored with the same dark blue leather.

:Mages Guild: The heavy armor of the Mages Guild is golden-colored and features a flowing, "windswept" design said to be inspired by ancient Elves. The weapons are delicate-looking and made of glass.

:Ashlander: The sketch of Ashlander armor features Thanethen Rotheloth, an Ashlander emissary. The truce between Thanethen and the Dunmeri champion, Belderi Llenim, was uneasy, but it lasted. Ashlanders almost always wear light armor of guar leather or chitin, and heavier armor is usually only presented to a chief or elder. 

:Dwemer: The Dwemer armor in the sketches was worn by Longinus' steward, Hardalio Orestillus. Most blacksmiths try to copy the Dwemer styles, but the true methods of Dwemer metalworking have been lost with the race. Dwemer armor is almost completely free of imperfections, and the weapons are sturdy. 

:Goblin: The sketch for Goblin armor features a chief called Grutbug the Unhealthy. Much the armor and weapons that goblins own are actually stolen from other races, often from those that the goblins have murdered. They do forge their own weapons, but they are poorly made and easily broken.

:Reachman: The Reachman featured in the sketch for Reachman armor, Cagarach, was about to become a Briarheart when he was captured by Skegglund Stormcloak. Reachman armor is very lightweight, made of leather and bone. 

:Daedric: Longinus Attius has a personal hatred of Daedra and makes it clearly known in this section. Daedric armor is red and black, made of ebony. Both the armor and weapons are barbed. Only the eyes can be seen beyond the armor. He repeats this for emphasis: only the eyes.