The Elder Scrolls: Chronicles

NORD

Nords, sometimes called the Northmen or the Children of the Sky, are a proud, hardy, stubborn, and passionate human people with a natural resistance and acclimation to the cold mountains of their homeland: the northern province of Skyrim. Known across Tamriel as brave, fierce, enduring warriors of brawn, they often fill the roles of soldiers, mercenaries, and guards across the continent, excelling in all manner of warfare and garnering a militant reputation that their neighbors are oft wary of. They originally hail from the far northern realm of Atmora, having sailed south to Tamriel in ancient days under the famed leadership of Ysgramor.

Like every race, they have their own unique naming convention.

Primary Stats

+1 Strength
+1 Endurance
+2 Resolve
+1 Intimidation
+10 Stamina
+3 Frost Resistance
+1 Physical Resistance
+3 Alcohol Tolerance

Subraces

Eastmarcher

Your character is of the Eastmarcher culture, known for their hardiness, pride, and distaste for foreigners.

+1 Blunt Resistance
-1 Frost Resistance

Westholder

Your character is of the Westholder culture, known for their welcoming nature and bardic traditions.

+1 Personality
+1 Speechcraft
-1 Strength
-1 Intimidation

Skaal

Your character is of the Skaal, from Solstheim. Cousins to the other Nords, considered more primitive by some. Known for their more 'stone-age' fashion, and their unique religion.

+1 Faith
-1 Intimidation

The tallest of all the Tamrielic human races, Nords are fair-skinned and mostly fair-haired, tones of blonde, red, auburn, chestnut, and earthy brown being the most common among their people. Styles of their hair have a wide variety, ranging from long and flowing, shoulder length tresses to shorter cuts. Braids are looked upon favorably and beards are by no means uncommon amongst the men. Their eyes usually range between blue, grey, hazel, brown, and the rare green. Broad shoulders and squared facial features are more prevalent than not, among both men and women.

Most Nords, like their homeland and their culture, take on a more rugged look, not caring about aesthetics as much as other races might. They dress to fit the climate in which they live, but much of their attire is usually practical, able to weather a storm―crafted from animal skins and cotton. In the colder climates, they frequently dress themselves in furs of various colors. Some Nords take a liking to warpaint and tattoos, either for personal reasons or for ancestral pride.

Culture

Strength and skill are respected most of all by the Nords, but it is tempered by superstition born from the old ways. The heavier the influence of the ancient Nordic traditions, the stronger the wariness and intolerance they hold for outsiders and those different from them. While magic used to be held in high regard with the reverence of Shor, it dwindled overtime, tainted by the poor experiences of the Nords with the Dragon Cult, the Falmer, and the recent madness of Queen Potema. Magic is distrusted, seen as dangerous in its power and volatility. In the same vein, there is a general resentment that all Nords feel for elves, ingrained in them from bygone days of Falmeri wars that have resulted in Nords of the current era blaming all of their unexplained misfortunes on the Falmer and their vile ways.

Tradition in the old holds of Skyrim leads young men to venture out into the icy wastes in the dead of winter to battle and defeat an Ice Wraith in order to claim citizenship. Nords also practice wergild, a traditional rite of retribution where, when a life is taken, a life must be accounted for in return, either through blood or material payment.

Nearly all Nords garner a love for music and mead and are known for their warm, hearty feasts. Farming is a difficult thing in Skyrim, and as such, meat and berries make up a majority of the Nord Cuisine: wild game, fish, large roasts, and rustic desserts.

Nordic architecture is as stubborn and enduring as their people, lasting hundreds of years, built partly underground to conserve heat. Stone is used for a base, wood for support, and straw for the roof.

Subcultures

The Nord people fall roughly into three different groups:

Eastmarchers: Nords of the old holds, known for their hardiness, pride, and distaste for foreigners.
Westholders: Influenced by Imperials and Bretons, these Nords are known for their welcoming nature and bardic traditions.
Skaal: Originating in Solstheim, the Skaal are cousins to other Nords, considered more primitive by some and known for their more archaic fashion and unique religion.

Cultural Equivalence & Influences

Nords are heavily influenced by the Norsemen of Scandinavia and northern Germany, who were prevalent in the Early Middle Ages. Their aesthetic matches closely to the Vikings, though they are not as seafaring. The Skaal are very similar to the Sami people of Finland, especially in the context of being somewhat removed from the greater Norse culture. Dovahzuul, the language of dragons, is inspired by ancient cuneiform and Old English.

Nearly 400 years ago, the Nords stood against Tiber Septim in their seizing of Sancre Tor. After Tiber Septim reclaimed it in 2E 852, however, the Nords were absorbed relatively peacefully into the Empire. Many Nords have supported their families through employment with the Imperial Legion since.

The most recent notable event of the Nords is their participation in the War of the Red Diamond roughly 270 years ago. Skyrim supported Queen Potema against the greater Empire, fighting for seventeen years in a gruesome civil war that unraveled the madness of the Wolf Queen, who turned Solitude into a "land of death" with her unbridled use of Necromancy and daedric summoning, allegedly even turning generals and servants into the undead. It is whispered that the sickness of her mind was so potent that it was responsible for the infamous madness of her successor in Solitude: Pelagius the Mad.

Queen Potema was defeated and slain, and in the wake of her fall, an underground movement in Skyrim, called the Hörme, rose. It is their belief that the Wolf Queen and her deposed son, Uriel III, were the last of Tiber Septim's true blood. In her name, they continue to lead raids against Imperial interests in Skyrim.

A cold and mountainous region known as the Old Kingdom, Mereth, or the Fatherland, Skyrim is the northernmost province of Tamriel dotted with ruins and the scars of past wars. It is ruled by the High King, who is chosen through the Moot, a convention of the regional rulers of the realm―the Jarls. A jarl presides over each hold of Skyrim:

"A Nord is judged not by the manner in which he lived, but the manner in which he died."

To die honorably and valiantly is to secure one's afterlife in Sovngarde, the Hall of Valor―a place of unending bliss and camaraderie, frozen in time. It is this belief that give the Nord people hope to commit acts of bravery and to endure their harsh lands and their harsh lives, for there is a grim truth for all pious Nords: Alduin, the World-Eater, will eventually devour the world. All other souls who pass peacefully will travel to Aetherius instead of Sovngarde.

In ancient days, when Ysgramor brought the Five Hundred Companions back to Skyrim, they brought with them the worship of animal gods. These aspects eventually evolved into the gods of the Nordic Pantheon, which has been adopted by the majority of Nords of the current era. The exception to this are the Skaal of Solstheim, who carry on the old tradition of animal worship and the veneration of all nature. To them, life and the world itself is seen as the gift of a benevolent, unknowable creator called the All-Maker.

The Nordic Pantheon consists of...

Kyne, The Hawk, goddess of the storm, widow of Shor, and head of the pantheon. She gave men the storm voice, the Thu'um, by breathing life into them at The Throat of the World. It is for this reason that the Dragonborn are revered by the Nords, weaving great stories and worship to Talos, the ascended Tiber Septim, and Wulfharth.
Mara, the She-Wolf, mother goddess and handmaiden of Kyne.
Jhunal, the Owl, god of runes and hermetic orders.
Shor, the Fox, the dead god and ruler of Sovngarde.
Stuhn, the Whale, god of ransom, fraternity, and justice.
Dibella, the Moth, goddess of beauty and artistry.
Tsun, the Bear, god of trials against adversity. He died defending Shor and became the guardian of the bridge to the Hall of Valor.
Orkey, the Snake, the god of mortality. He, alongside Herma-Mora and Mauloch, are named the Testing Gods―feared and warded against by Nords instead of worshiped.
Alduin, the Dragon, god of twilight and eater of worlds that will inevitably cause the next cycle.

The ancient Nords honored their dead by building great barrows with subterranean crypts, though in contemporary times, Nords native to Skyrim fill an urn or coffin in one of the local Halls of the Dead. They continue to honor their ancestors by placing offerings in or at their graves.