Elliana Thorne

• Cyrodiilic Empire

• Rebel cells of Hammerfell

• Barony of Hegathe

> "*Cultural explanations are just as real as scientific ones. They both share the same basis, which is observations of the cycles that occur on our world such as the changing of the seasons or life, death and rebirth. Our very lives depend on an understanding of these concepts. They guide us. Whatever names or stories we give them doesn't matter in the grand scene of things.*"
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> ―Elliana Thorne
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**Elliana Thorne** was a female Bosmer archeologist who, albeit having rights to the Barony of Hegathe, lived in exile with her family in the City of Markarth for many years. Thorne, a bona fide scholar fascinated by the mysteries of ancient cultures, such as the Dwemer and the Sword-Singers of the Alik'r Desert, got caught up in the events of the Covenant Wars as the Covenant led their focus to the creation of rebel cells in the Baronies of the Redguard land.

A dashing adventurer, unknowingly gifted in the magical arts, as proved by her training in the Way of the Sword, Thorne raided long-lost catacombs in Hammerfell, tangled with ancient curses, and overcame seemingly impossible odds with ease. Her courage and bravado knowing no bounds, she preferred to improvise her way out of most situations, relying partially on her wits, but mostly on her mystical Ansei She'hai, which she used to unleash devastating arcane blows.

While she mostly maintained herself unaligned to politics, honoring her father's choice to abandon the life of a Baron for things more important, she struggled with the choice of protecting the people of Hegathe when the time came. It was during that time that she met the Grandmaster of the Order of the Blades, Dalacard Rethwode, and his two apprentices, Alea Lasharel and a mysterious Blade Sentinel, along with their traveling companion, Thrynnirîl Ael'druin. While Thorne and Rethwode would often find themselves at odds with the method of approach in the resistance against the terrorist cells of the Covenant, they developed a close relationship, based on the concept of hope.

Thorne ended the civil war by convincing the Redguard Barons to embrace peace, but though she and Rethwode developed a strong relationship, they could not remain together for long, since the war urged the Blades elsewhere. Rethwode left Hegathe with Alea and his other apprentice, while Thorne shouldered the burden of rebuilding her society alone. She and her regime cultivated a new age of prosperity for Hegathe, with her efforts turning her into a figure of controversy. Some lauded her as the King Fahara'jad of times of old, while others criticized her nonviolent policies as too weak to stand the test of time.

Though she and Rethwode would remain in contact, meeting at times, but mostly through long letters, they would not be in familiar terms again until after the Invasion of Cyrodiil, in which she, due to the magical effects of the Elder Scroll of Time, completely lost memory of the events of the Covenant Wars. By chance of destiny, she would have her life saved by Rethwode in the Karthspire, nearby Sky Haven Temple, where he had taken residence with the restructured Order of the Blades. Together they saw an eclipse of the Twin Moons, and Rethwode, noticing the beauty of having the chance of meeting Thorne again without the horrors of war, chose not to disclose their past to the Bosmer.

## Biography

### **Early life**

##### **Childhood**

Elliana Thorne was a Bosmer female who was born to Lysander Thorne her father, and mother, Minna Thorne in the year 4E 161. Lysander Thorne retained nobility status on the Barony of Hegathe, a peaceful city, free from the strife that had broken out throughout the provinces after the flirtation of war during the Great War, but his relationship with Minna was kept a secret due to the desire of his own parents that he would marry someone from High Rock to retain the nobility of their family.

Around this time, Elliana's father, a dedicated scholar who specialized in researching the ancient Sword Singers—a nearly-forgotten group of spiritual believers who disappeared with little trace millenia before Elliana's birth during the Fourth Era—became extra involved in his work, which led to him neglecting his wife and child. Young Elliana—known affectionately as "boop" to her father—often observed her father's work, hearing him speak about an extinct order known as the Ansei, and their Ansei Wards and She'hai. However, Minna struggled in her relationship with Lysander due to his obsession with locating and his belief that he could bring back the Sword Singers, eventually provoking Minna Thorne to temporarily split with her husband, take Elliana, and move to a homestead on Markarth, a mountainous region in Skyrim.

After some time, Lysander appeared in Markarth unannounced, explaining to his wife and daughter that he had given up his claim to Hegathe's nobility just so he could be with them. Elliana was glad, but she also noticed that albeit having given up his nobility titles, he did not give up his research, and brought all the items and texts he had collected along the years with him. Nonetheless, Lysander Thorne acquired a large estate in Markarth after negotiating directly with the Imperial Legion, which, at the time, held posession over said lands. Minna Thorne, a hunter and trapper, would often leave with Elliana to the outskirts of Markarth to acquire pelts and other valuable goods they could sell.

One day, Elliana was grieved to know that, while her father's limited lifespan was soon to come to an end, her mother disappeared in a hunting excursion, never again to be found. Elliana eventually made her way back home and decided not to disclose the news to her father, whose memory was already failing. Lysander, however, expressed his desire to see his daughter continuing her work, if one day, Divines forbid, he started getting too old for that. A month after Elliana took care of his funeral procedures, choosing to bury her father at Hammerfell instead of Skyrim. She, however, chose to return to Markarth and continue to sell the items her mother would hunt for.

##### **Archeological Association of Na-Totambu**

Thorne began studying Tamrielic history and ancient civilizations in the hopes of pursuing the archaeological field as a career, and as a result of her passion and work, received a grant by the Empire to enroll at the Archeological Association of Na-Totambu on the Alik'r Desert. The young Thorne excelled in her classes under the tutelage of the association's magister. She would later specialize, almost achieving a doctorate in the field of Ancient Relics. In the course of five years, she graduated and returned to Markarth.