Thread: Skyrim in Chains (Collector x IrishRose)

Things in Skyrim had quickly spiraled out of control. In the decades since the victory of the Stormcloaks and the expelling of the Empire and the Thalmor, Nordic nationalism had skyrocketed. Things had become harder than they already were for the non-humans of Skyrim and even the non-Nords would occasionally face discrimination, though not nearly as much as the elves, argonians, orcs and khajiit. Tensions were on the rise, and even the Nordic nationalist movement could see that things would start to get ugly soon. Many solutions were discussed behind closed doors, raised voices filled the halls of the Jarls and even the Blue Palace in Solitude, but no one could come up with a satisfying answer. That is, until one man - Sigurd Thrice-Scarred - appeared in the court of Erikur the Fearless, Jarl of Markarth. Sigurd came bearing ancient scrolls, the contents of which few have seen for themselves, written in the ancient Nord tongue. Sigurd claimed to be a scholar of Nordic history and said that the scrolls described a time in Skyrim's distant past where the Nords were at their most glorious. He dubbed this era The Time of Kings and claimed that the Nords had been a gracious and magnanimous people, accepting of all races and at the pinnacle of their political and economic power, and that a return to these ancient practices would restore Skyrim to true greatness. There was just one catch during The Time of Kings, the rights of women were harshly restricted. Whether Erikur truly believed Sigurd's claims, or if he simply saw an opportunity for himself, the Jarl and Sigurd began a partnership that would alter the course of Skyrim's history forever. Of course, Sigurd and Erikur did not openly discuss the less savory aspects of The Time of Kings - especially given that Skyrim was ruled by a queen at the time, Eydis the Fair - but they discussed their ideas in secret with other Jarls and prominent merchants all across Skyrim for years, slowly gathering followers and gradually revealing the true nature of The Time of Kings to the men among them. By the time that it became apparent that Erikur had enough political clout to rival the queen, he'd become far too popular to stop without damning evidence evidence that was never found. Erikur began suggesting policy changes to the other Jarls, which eventually made their way to Solitude, that seemed innocuous enough at first revisions to trade laws, diplomatic policy and even expanding the influence of the Companions beyond Whiterun so that anyone would be able to seek their own glory in battle without having to travel far beyond their homeland. People grew happier and life slowly began to improve for everyone, but it was not enough for Sigurd and Erikur. The policies Erikur and his allies proposed slowly began to become more sinister more efficient methods of taxing men and women separately, different methods of punishment for crimes based on the gender of the criminal, and so on and so forth. Eydis had her suspicions that Erikur's intentions weren't purely altruistic, but on the surface - and without knowledge of the grander plan - these reforms seemed to improve the quality of life for everyone across Skyrim. By the time Erikur began pushing towards his endgame, he had far too much support for Queen Eydis to be able to stop him. Erikur's reforms were brutal women were forced to obey a strict curfew, could not own land or businesses, could be permanently enslaved if they broke a law, no matter how minor though this was merely grounds for enslavement not the only punishment women would face, and were required to become the legal ward of a male relative or some other man who would assume ownership of any property or business they once controlled. Even worse, women's earnings were severely reduced thanks to laws enforcing a female minimum wage and rape laws were repealed to the degree that only a man could pursue allegations against another man for damaging his property if a woman was taken by force. Of course, the women of Skyrim did not take these changes lying down, but Erikur was prepared for this backlash and quickly crushed the hasty rebellion. Before the month was out, the rebellion had ended and Queen Eydis had married Erikur, pledging to live her life as a good freewoman of Skyrim, leaving the governance in the hands of King Erikur. As for the men and women who rebelled, many of the men were put to death - though a few survived who were able to convince the officials that they had been mislead - and a good number of the women were enslaved, but not all of them. Each woman who participated in the rebellion was given a chance to repent, to claim that she had been mislead, and she would be allowed to live out the rest of her days as a freewoman. ----- Kiro let out a satisfied sigh as he stepped into Tasia's house. He'd obsessed over the Nord lass ever since he'd first laid eyes upon her. It was unusual for a khajiit to covet a human, but stranger things had happened. Of course, Kiro was nowhere near honorable enough to join the Companions as Tasia had, though they would bump into each other from time to time. Kiro had been friendly enough, if a bit forward, during their brief interactions usually when Tasia stopped to buy something from the khajiit caravan he guarded. While Tasia might have only known Kiro's name, the khajiit couldn't drive the Nord from his head. After she'd revealed where she lived in Windhelm to him, Kiro couldn't help but slip into the city and prowl around and even inside her home, utilizing every trick he knew to learn as much as he could about her. Despite having been in Tasia's home multiple times already, he masterfully pretended that it was his first time. Well, to say it was Tasia's home wasn't appropriate anymore technically, Kiro owned all of the property that had once belonged to her. It had been a stroke of fortune when Tasia had tumbled into Kiro's camp towards the end of the rebellion. The other khajiit had wanted to throw her out or leave her to die, but Kiro eventually convinced them to let him nurse her back to health. Over the course of several days, he tended to her wounds and fed her, as well as recommended time and again that she forsake the rebellion and let him look after her. Unbeknownst to the Nord, Kiro had been lacing her mead with a potion that made her more susceptible to his suggestions while he had been taking potions that made him more convincing. By the time she was fully healed, the khajiit had managed to talk her into leaving the fight and becoming his ward, making it seem like it had been her idea to accept his offer all along. After a few preparations to make sure his caravan could survive without him, Kiro set off with his new woman in tow to make her new life official. Kiro was shorter than the Nord, standing at 5'8, with silver-gray fur dotted with black spots and a few black stripes on his face. He had keen, gray-blue eyes and hair that ended just above his shoulders, which he tended to keep in decorative braids, which used gold rings to hold them together. He dressed in a simple tunic and trousers, his leather armor tucked away in a large sack slung over his shoulder, though he always had several poisoned knives hidden on his person at all times. His bow was also in his sack, along with a quiver of arrows and several potions and poisons he'd brewed in his downtime the caravan would likely be worse-off until they could find a new alchemist, but Kiro had no regrets in his decisions. He'd had a little difficulty getting the Windhelm authorities to accept his guardianship of Tasia, but with a little help from a few potions he'd quaffed before the meeting, the khajiit had managed to convince them to see things his way. Perhaps you could give Kiro a tour? he purred to Tasia. Kiro would like to know as much as possible about the property he has just inherited. Kiro will do what he can to make this an easy transition for you, but Kiro must also feel comfortable in his own home. Kiro hopes you'll do what you can to make him feel welcome?