On The Species of Tamriel, Volume XIV: The Sons of the Snow

Welcome back to the fourteenth part of 'On the Species of Tamriel'. This volume deals with the Nords of Skyrim. This breed of strong, fair-haired, pale-skinned Humans is often misunderstood by outsiders.
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The Nords of Skyrim are a hardy people, hailing from the frozen lands of Skyrim. Their history is a long one, often having fact and fiction intertwined. These proud men and women are a force to be reckoned with, and are some of the most renowned fighters in Tamriel.
The Nords appear at first sight like any Human, but on closer inspection have some traits unique to them. They are one of the tallest people of Tamriel, only surpassed by the Altmer. Along with this, they have white skin and fair hair, and it is not uncommon for them to posses blue or green eyes.
Nords posses an unusually strong build for Humans, and are capable of killing most other races with just their bare hands, even though the average Nord prefers using a weapon for this.
The Nords, while despising Magicka, are able to conjure a quick blast of cold in a situation of life and death. Along with this, they can also fair much better in the cold than other humans and other species, due to their frozen homeland.
While the Nords themselves believe they were created by Kyne, on top of the Throat in the World, modern theories state that The Nords originated from Wandering Ehlnofey who travelled to Atmora. There, they developed into the Atmorans. Eventually, after years of civil war, the ancestors of the Nords with the Atmoran king Ysgramor, fled Atmora, and settled in Skyrim, with a small group of Atmorans. While initial contact with the local Snow Elves was peaceful, this changed during the Night of Tears, when a raiding party of the Snow Elves plundered Saarthal, the first Human city in Skyrim and slaughtering the inhabitants. All the Atmorans were killed except Ysgramor and his two sons who survived, and went back to a now peaceful Atmora. There he garnished a force of roughly five hundred warriors, known as the 500 Companions, and set sail once again for Tamriel. After landing, the Atmorans set out to hunt down and kill every last known Snow Elf. While this contact with the Elves was brief, it left a cultural scar, and even to this day Nord mothers tell their children about the horrors of the Snow Elves, and their twisted offspring, the Falmer.
After the destruction of everything Snow Elven, Skyrim became more organised, eventually becoming a kingdom, with Ysgramor becoming the first High King of the now Nords, beginning the Ysgramor dynasty. According to local myth, all High Kings, even to this day, descent from Ysgramor.
Nordic culture is simple yet complex, and often misunderstood by outsiders. This is not because of isolation, as the Nords do not necessarily look down on other races (they do think that Skyrim is of the Nords, and that outsiders have no place in Nordic politics and conflicts), but it has some elements which appear strange to the mostly Imperial scholars. One of those elements is the Nord sense of honour and combat. Nords lack the opportunism which is common for Imperials and other races of Tamriel. For the Sons of the Snow, it is better to die for a worthless cause, than switch sides, as that would mean huge dishonour for the Nord in question, and his family. Another aspect of their code of honour is honourable combat. A Nord noble is allowed to challenge the High King, and when he defeats, or kills, him in honourable combat, to take his place as High King.
This system of honour is also what decides what happens to a Nord after death. When they die for a cause they believe in, and during valiant combat, their souls travel to Sovngarde, where they get the chance to feast at the Hall of Valour, among the many heroes of Nordic history, as well as with Shor himself.
Nordic religion is also unique to them. While in recent years, many Nords turned to worshipping the Nine Divines (especially Talos, who is still regarded as a Nordic hero), they have a history of at least two religions. The first one was the Dragon Cult. During the initial days on Tamriel, the dragons soon instituted themselves as leaders of the Nords, led by Alduin, the devourer of Nirn, the God of Time and the Nordic precursor to Akatosh. The dragons had their lieutenants, the Dragon Priests, do the day to day work for them, in turn blessing them with immortality. Eventually, the Nords were fed up with the role as slave for the dragons, and rebelled. This led to the dragon wars, which saw the banishment of Alduin to the future, and the hunting down of many dragons. The only thing which still reminds us of these days, is the use of the Voice, or Thu'um. Utilising Dragon Language, some Nords, after many years of training, are capable of commanding incredible power. The Dragonborn (or Dovakhiin), a human born with the blood and soul of dragon, is capable of using this almost instinctively, avoiding years of training, and being praised throughout Skyrim.
From then on forward, the Nords held their own pantheon, comprised of Aedra, and, as the two of the only known races to do so, active veneration of Shor, their aspect of Lorkhan.
This changed when Skyrim swore fealty to the Empire, and the Nords slowly adopted the Cyrodiilic pantheon of the Nine Divines, Talos being the most important for them, as he resembles the importance of war and combat for the Nords. Even though they have fully adopted the Nine Divines, Shor is still held in high regard in Nordic Culture.
The Nords adapt easily to the Tamrielic culture, as they are a huge contributor to it (it can be said that the Tamrielic culture is a mix of Cyro-Nordic and some Elven elements). This, along with their innate affinity for sailing, make them one of the most common found races on Tamriel. Along with this, they also have a long history in the Imperial Legion, being expert shock troops.
While having no real problems with other races, Nords can be fiercefully protective of their land and culture, and can hold grutches for a very long time. Indeed, their many skirmishes with the Dunmer of Morrowind have made the Dark Elves shunned throughout Skyrim, which explains the Gray Quarters of Windhelm, and the hardships the fleeing Dunmer experienced after the Red Year.
The Reachmen experience the same disdain. The Reachmen, while native to Skyrim, are being looked down on by the Nords, due to the Eralong conflicts the two groups experienced.
Nords have also made their home outside of Skyrim, and have developed an entirely different culture on Solstheim, to the north of Morrowind. On this island, the Skaal can be found. These Nords have developed an entirely different, and somewhat primitive, culture and religion. The Skaal live in a small village on a small island, not used to outsiders. As a result, they are very xenophobic, and only allow a outsider to join them when he performed a incredible feat in favour of the Skaal, giving him the honorary title of Blodskaal.
The Skaal religion is simpler than that of the other species of Tamriel, as they only venerate the All-Maker, a being unknown to other pantheons, and it is still uncertain who it might resemble. This spirit is responsible for creating everything, and watches out over the Skaal of Solstheim.
Nordic history is a long one, with the earliest sources attributed to Ysgramor himself, as he is credited with developing the first form of Human writing.
In the early years of the First Era, the Nords expanded violently, eventually creating an Empire that stretched from High Rock to Morrowind. This Empire ended when King Borgas was killed, which caused a civil war tearing the Empire apart. During the Civil war, the Nordic armies were defeated by the Dwemer and Chimer alliance in Morrowind. This led the Nord general at the time, Jurgen Windcaller, to rethink his ways, developing the philosophical school of 'the Way of the Voice', which focuses on quiet and peaceful study of the Thu'um, to venerate Kyne, and starting the monk order of the Greybeards.
Skyrim remained relatively the same until the end of the Second Era, when the Third Empire started expanding. Originally united with High Rock to combat the Cyrods, Skyrim soon turned sides when they saw that the Cyrodiilic general Talos was Dragonborn.
While remaining in the Empire, this did not mean the Nords stopped their ways of war. During any moment of instability, the Nords saw their chance to take land, and expand their territory.
After the partial collapse of the Empire, Skyrim remained part of the Empire. While still in conflict with the Dunmer of Morrowind, they gave up on their claim of Solstheim, to make it possible for the Dunmer to settle it after the Red Year, which saw most of Morrowind destroyed.
While they were peaceful under the remains of the Empire, this changed after the White-Gold Concordat. The Nords, actively venerating Talos, were told that they were no longer aloud to do so. This, along with the pro-secession usurper Ulfric Stormcloak, caused a civil war, with many families being split between the Empire and Skyrim, as most legionnaires were Nord.
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The Nords are truly an interesting subject of study, and they make a worthy subject of the last volume to deal with the extant races of Tamriel. The next few (and last) volumes of 'On the Species of Tamriel' will deal with the now extinct species.
DISCLAIMER: Neither the author nor the publisher in any way condone any racist or supremacist stance towards the above mentioned race. This work should be regarded as a summary of common traits found in said race. Eventhough these traits might be common, they in no way are valid for all individuals of the race, and should not be regarded as such.
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