...

This post has been edited by PhonAntiPhon: Mar 8 2014, 06:51 PM

Meet Eilidh MacAuley, she's a Bosmer.
She's 173 years old and right now she feels every single one of those years and more.
Let me tell you what I know about her, although it's only really a brief sketch - (I'll fill in the gaps as I get to know her story):

She was born the youngest of six into a dirt-poor family grubbing an existence from the land in a tiny hamlet just east of Arenthia not far from the southern borders of Cyrodiil.
When she was six her father died of what we here would call TB and her mother was left to raise the children as best she could, but ultimately as these things do it all went wrong, and with her mother's downward spiral into Skooma-addled prostitution and crime culuminating in her being thrown into Arenthia's dungeons, the family was sundered and Eilidh then aged just 17 and with her family scattered, set off to seek her fortune.

Over the next few decades, as far as I can tell, she worked amongst other things as a maidservant and housekeeper, was a petty thief and ran with a gang of "enforcers" - (the details of which she has never told me). In time this led to a job as a weapons and drugs runner across the border into Elsweyr and from there, once the Great Clan Wars started in 4E 111, her 83rd summer, she became a mercenary and served with great distinction in, and commanding in one case, the militia armies of 2 of the Great Tribes of Valenwood.
Following the end of the conflict some 6 years later she stayed on as Commander of The House Militia and Personal Bodyguard of and to the ultimate victor of the aforementioned battles. In this position she enjoyed high status and the utmost respect, sharing not only the ear of her lord but also his bed - (behind the back of his wife and his "official" mistress) - everything unravelled however when she fell pregnant, much to his horror.

Unable to kill her he had her banished from his House and chased from his lands into the deep forests, where in the fullness of time she gave birth to a son; an event which she greeted with joy, something bright in the darkening fortunes of her life.

Word, however, had got out of the lord's dalliance and his wife and his mistress, having "dealt" with him, sent men after Eilidh.
They found her eventually some 4 months later, coming on her unawares in a cave by a rockpool at the head of a waterfall deep in the forest where she had made a home. surprised, woken from sleep and disoriented, she tried to flee with her son but in the confusion dropped him into the pool.
Horrified she threw herself in after him, unheeding of her attackers. Her desparate attempt at a rescue was all in vain however as both she and the child were swept over the rim of the pool and into the raging waters below.

I don't know a lot about what happened to her after that but I do know that it was for a long time the cause of a great darkness in her life, during which she wandered through both Elsweyr and Cyrodiil.
Sometime in 4E 160, when she would have been 132 she resurfaces in records held in Lleyawiin, having been arrested for turning tricks, public inebriation, and committing various acts of petty criminality.
Upon her release she headed north and crossed the border into Skyrim. There is some evidence to show that during her time in Cyrodiil and certainly during the period she spent in Skyrim she was engaged as a mercenary once again, although this time with a ruthlessness and lack of thought for her own safety far surpassing that of her former reputation.

++++

During the early stages of the struggles with the Stormcloaks - (4E 201) - the Imperial forces, namely the Fourth Legion under General Tullius, began a pogrom aimed at removing the percieved Elven "threat" from the province of Skyrim.
This was directed largely at the Bosmeri, under the excuse that they were both cannibalistic and the devourers of the children of innocent Nords. The accusations as such did not stick but the fragile trust built up between the incipient Elven population and the indiginous nords was severely damaged.
This was enough for Tullius and all the excuse he needed to send out men to round up every Bosmer he could find and inflict his own "Final Solution" upon them.
He employed Helgen as the hub for his activities and used it as a holding station for both elves and their sympathisers. Indeed, It was during a sweep of the area around the Helgen Camp by his troops that Eilidh MacAuley was discovered and brought into the base.

It was there also that, irrevocably, her life changed as a result of one bored and inebriated Imperial Trooper and the Very Bad Thing that he did.

At the same time, Tullius' captains had discovered that Eilidh had been in the past a mercenary for hire; subsequently she was sentenced to death as a threat to the Empire. Dragged before the Captain of The guard, still weak from both her imprisonment and her recent violent ordeal, she was in no fit state to defend herself and had indeed resigned herself to execution when, incredibly, salvation arrived in the form of both a winged and fire-breathing creature and a bluff Stormcloak by the name of Ralof.
The former distracted her captors, and the latter outright rescued and guided her to safety.

++++

Whatever Ralof may have thought to gain from her in return for his aid was rendered void by the story Eilidh had to tell, hard-eyed and monotone, crouched just within the cave exit to provincial Skyrim; the sounds of destruction still clear and very much present above them.
taking pity upon her he directed her to a contact he had in the town of Falkreath who might, or might not, know of the Helgen-based Legion's movements.
Of course, with the dragon attack there could be no guarantees and given the fact that she had clearly seen her attacker hightail it from the compound as soon the dragon closed in - (his face would be forever ingrained upon her memory) - there was little chance of her finding the information she sought in the town, still it was a lead that was better than nothing.

Her son had been taken and those responaible would pay for sure but this imperial, he had delivered her the ultimate insult; a violation of both herself and the beliefs of her people; besides, that which is taken by force can never be owned and must be avenged.
He would pay. She would find him and he would pay; her Lord, his wife, and his mistress would then pay as well, for what they did - the loss of her son still weighed heavily upon her down through all the long years since that night at the cave and the events that took place there.

++++

She has nothing but time.

This post has been edited by PhonAntiPhon: Mar 9 2014, 10:10 AM

Name: Ravos (Click for image)

Race: Dunmer

Gender: Male

Age: 56 (late 20s - early 30s in human years)

Sign: Atronach

Home Country: Born and raised in Cyrodiil

Home: Honeyside in Riften, building Lakeview Manor

Spouse: Jenassa

Children: Yes, Lucia, by accident!!!!

Faction and Rank or Guilds(if none, tell us what they do for a living): Honorary member of College of Winterhold due to being Dragonborn (has not and will not do any quests for them), otherwise he's just an adventurer/ranger....

Faction Description: When Ravos needed an elder scroll to heal the time wound on the throat of the world and learn the shout 'dragonrend', developed by the ancient nords to combat Aldiun, he was advised to visit the College of Winterhold to see if they knew where an elder scroll may be found. Usually only members of the college are allowed within, but as the dragonborn Ravos was allowed access to the college and its resources.

As an adventurer Ravos travels across Skyrim delving into ancient ruins and fighting hordes of bandits. He accepts all sorts of jobs from the people of Skyrim, often doubling as a courier or mercenary. As a ranger he spends much time in the wilderness living off the land. He only harms nature when it is necessary for his survival or the safety of others. He mainly patrols the roads and the areas around settlements to make sure these areas are safe.

Class: Ranger

Class Description: Basically the same as the scout class from Oblivion, Rangers are talented marksmen and hunters, they are also adept with the sword and/or axe. They can use the powers of alchemy and restoration (healing spells only) to aid them in combat and also in survival. A ranger knows which plants he can eat when food is running low and which plants to avoid. Rangers are also relatively talented smiths; knowing how to maintain their weapons and armour when in the wilderness is a must. They prefer light armour, particularly furs and leather, as this is the most suited for their lifestyle. Rangers will utilise more protective light armours such as elven and glass if necessary. A ranger can travel both by foot and horseback, each having its advantages and disadvantages. They are excellent pathfinders and often travel through rugged terrain, which can be easier on foot. However they also spend a lot of time away from civilisation and having a horse allows them to carry more supplies and generally makes for a more comfortable journey. Ravos generally uses horses as they are an important part of his background. Rangers can pass through the wilderness almost unseen and ambush any ill-doers, however they do not have the same stealth abilities of a thief. (No sneaking indoors/in confined areas) Rangers are not bound by the law, they follow the principles of Kynareth and their own beliefs, however this usually is aligned with the law.

Alignment: Neutral Good

Dragonborn: Yes

Skills and talents: Marksmanship, dual-wielding swords, hunting, alchemy, horseback combat (particularly archery), survival in the wilderness.

Physical Appearance: Rugged. Ravos wears his ash black hair in a typical elven mane, he rarely shaves and will often have a small beard. His skin is the common bluey-grey tone of many dunmer. His face is dirty and scarred from a life spent in the wilderness. His nose is crooked, no doubt from being broken on several occasions.

Eyes: Crimson

Build: Standing at about 5'11 tall, Ravos is average weight (weight slider in the middle) but well built, particularly in the upper body. His arms and chest are particularly strong and muscular from years of using a bow and sword. He has quite broad shoulders and his whole body shows the signs of a life of hunting and adventuring. His body is definitely well built and toned but more like an athlete than a model or bodybuilder.

Weapons of preference: Uses a bow from a distance, in melee he'll dual-wield swords...

Clothing: Will often wear his fur and leather armour around town, otherwise any simple, lower class clothing.

Miscellaneous: Despite having little interest in magic or the scholarly arts, Ravos is an avid reader and book collector and has a fascination for the dwemer. He keeps at least one copy of each book he finds in his travels and is currently assembling a library in Lakeview manor. Has a deep hatred for all daedra.

Magic abilities or powers: Is a talented healer and alchemist. Although he is skilled in restoration he only uses spells that heal. Born under the Atronach, Ravos has an innate talent for magic but he is yet to explore it.

Mental Profile/Personality: Ravos is generally kind and caring. He does almost everything with good intentions and often looks out for others more than himself. He is, however, quite shy and can come off as aloof. He is not a sharp tongued rogue and often gives people a bad first impression. Once they get to know him though they will see that he is simply socially awkward. He also has no racial identity, he was raised by Imperials in a very imperial way but he knows he is a dunmer and his true parents were dunmer (explained below). He is strong-willed and determined and once he sets his mind on something he will do everything he can to get it done. He has a strong fighting spirit and will not stand for injustice. He makes friends as easily as he makes enemies, and he has a fair share of friends.


Biography/Life History: Ravos' mother Aranesi and his father Veldryn lived happily in Narsis before the eruption of the Red Mountain. They were young (for dunmer) and Veldryn had recently made his fortune from a life as a hunter and mercenary on Vvardenfell. He retired early and the two moved to Narsis where Aranesi ran a small alchemy shop. They lived like most normal post-nerevarine dunmer, worshipping the Reclamations and otherwise going about life as usual. When the Red Mountain erupted and the Argonians invaded they were amongst the last to flee, determined their talents could be put to use in the defence of their homeland. When they heard of the slaughter in Tear and other southern settlements they realised hope was lost and left Morrowind.

Surviving the ash, the Argonians and the treacherous journey through the Valus mountains, Veldryn contracted Bone Break Fever while fighting a bear in the woods of Eastern Cheydinhal county. Normally Anaresi would be able to cure the disease easily but she had already used up all her potions to help the other refugees and with limited knowledge of Cyrodiil's plants she couldn't heal him. Unable to go any further, the two were taken in by a family of Imperial horse breeders. With the help of the Imperials Anaresi nursed Veldryn back to health within a few months, however they decided not to follow their initial plan of setting up another shop in Cheydinhal and instead remained with the Imperials to repay their debt.

The years passed and Anaresi and Veldryn's lives almost returned to normal. They built their own dwelling within the small community of horse breeders and found their talents were more than useful for the villagers. Veldryn, with his extensive skill and experience in combat, was able to defend the village against any and all raiders and Anaresi became a renowned healer throughout the settlement and all the other villages around it. More refugees settled in the community and more people travelled to the village in need of a healer and soon the community truly began to thrive. The breeders were even able to purchase a few of the prestigious black horses and attracted more business. The black horses and sick travellers that came to the town were prime target for brigands though and despite the town's success Veldryn's role as its protector became even harder. He had taught a few of the villagers to fight but most of the men were labourers, not warriors.

Sometime in early 4e 145 Anaresi fell pregnant, the baby's name was to be Ravos. Around this time the town was experiencing particularly severe raids from a nearby band of brigands. Unbeknownst to them, Molag Bal's champion had set up his residence near the village. Ravos was born on the 26th of Sun's Dusk, 4e 145, Anaresi died during childbirth. Not long after Ravos had been born, an ageing Veldryn led a party of townsfolk out to fight the brigands. The party disappeared for 6 months and in that time the raids stopped. Finally a lone member of Veldryn's party returned and told the townsfolk what happened. Veldryn had defeated the brigands with the aid of Boethiah but had then been double crossed by the daedra and slaughtered himself. This has given Ravos a deep hatred and mistrust for all daedra.

Ravos was put in the care of Pallia, an Imperial woman and Anaresi's greatest friend, and her family. With the loss of Veldryn and Anaresi nearly all the dunmer left the town. Pallia tried her best to raise Ravos as a dunmer, but knew little of their customs except what Anaresi had taught her. Ravos showed many of the talents of his parents. He quickly learnt to hunt and even fight, he also had a natural ability for alchemy and healing and took on much of his parents' work. As he grew up Ravos learnt many of the skills that would come to benefit him later in life. He also showed great magical prowess, however this was not fostered by his Imperial parents who had little knowledge the arcane. Pallia taught Ravos to read and write, as she had been taught by Anaresi and Iniel, her husband, taught him about horses and the villager's work.

Ravos grew up with the Imperials, but soon he stopped ageing, as all mer do. When he was 30, and still a young mer, Pallia died. Ravos left the village not long after, unable to watch humans come and go as his parents did; he had loved Pallia almost as his own mother. He found work as a smalltime mercenary and hunter in Cheydinhal, but he could never cope with the seeing those around him die. By 4e 180 Ravos had lived through the Great War and seen everything that was wrong with life in Tamriel. He became increasingly negative about his life and even contemplated suicide. Around this time he met a wandering priest of Kynareth; a ranger. Ravos left his established life as a mercenary in Cheydinhal behind and took to Cyrodiil's wilderness, using his talents to help others.

The years passed and in 4e 194 Ravos entered the Emperor's games archery tournament. He had neglected the games for years despite being encouraged by countless people, however he was in the Imperial City at the time of the games and gave it a go. He finished 4th overall despite having no formal training and only a low quality hunting bow. At the games he attracted the attention of a band of mercenaries that valued the same skills as the rangers. He was initially reluctant to leave his solitary life behind but the mercenaries offered him companionship, quality weapons and supplies and most importantly, the adventure he lived for.

Ravos spent 6 years with the mercenaries and learnt much. He became one of the group's leaders and travelled across Cyrodiil, High Rock, Skyrim and even Hammerfell with them. In 4e 201 the group split up on the border of Cyrodiil and Skyrim after an unsuccessful job. Ravos headed north back into Skyrim, with a desire for even more adventure. He spent about 6 months based in Darkwater Crossing as a hunter in Eastmarch's volcanic tundra. He had travelled more and met many people and now desired to learn more of his race, the dunmer. Eastmarch was possibly the best place to do this without venturing into Morrowind. One day while he was hunting near Darkwater Crossing he was caught in an Imperial ambush and taken to Helgen with the Stormcloak prisoners and well... you know the rest.

Ravos soon after discovered he's the dragonborn and since then has slowly begun the quest to defeat Alduin. He continues to live as a ranger and mastering the voice and living in Skyrim has helped him to grow closer to Kyne. He has learnt much of his identity as a dunmer and the problems that face his people. In less than a year in Skyrim he has changed and learnt nearly as much as he has in the rest of his life. He has yet to truly defeat Alduin and once he has done that he still has to investigate these rumours of a 'true dragonborn' and the vampire menace.



This post has been edited by Vital: Apr 27 2014, 01:26 PM

Very good, Vital, I enjoyed reading about Ravos, especially his detailed backstory. He's been through a lot but it seems that there's even more ahead of him.

Thanks

Yes he's definitely been through a lot. Glad you liked the backstory. I knew most of Ravos' past but had never put it together fully. It turned out much longer than I thought

Giedrius - nice to see you back! A hard-drinking Argoinian adventurer!

It's good to be back, brother.
You know what I need...
Found some drink in the Ratway
It's never too cold for a drink
It's funny because I'm not going to bring the Jagged crown to Ulfric.
On my way, to betray the stormcloaks and join the Imperial Legion
About my character. I'm an argonian in skyrim. The name's Suir-Deig. I'm wild argonian, who doesn't know sh... about hist past, and the only thing I need is a good drink.
I drink everywhere when I get a chance. I'm very helpful towards everyone, and helping every npc if he needs it. I never refuse a reward tho.
I play my character with slower timescale, more realistic. I have turned off fast travel. And I'm using eating and drinking, sleeping mod. I don't mod my game so much, so it's enough.

This post has been edited by Giedrius911G: Jun 21 2014, 08:02 PM

You alcoholic Argonian adventurer sounds fun Giedrius!

I just did a google image search on arming swords, and Le Chevalier D'Eon from this very topic came up on the first page!

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Dec 23 2014, 01:40 AM

How neat! You go, D'Eon!

Name: Nassqa

Status: Active

Race: Akaviri

Gender: Male

Age: 33

Sign: Lady / Capricorn

Home: None, as of yet.

Spouse: none

Home Country: continent of Akavir

Faction and Rank or Guilds(if none, tell us what they do for a living): None officially. Unofficially he is a miner.

Faction Description: Nassqa mines ores, sells some of them in villages.

Class: Monk

Class Description: Nassqa lives by his wits and his spiritual beliefs. He may be religious, I'm not sure, but he's definitely spiritual. I also chose "Monk" for his class via Skyrim Character Overhaul, so he has some of the Oblivion Monk skills: Sneak, Lockpicking, Marksman, Alteration, Block, and (I think) Restoration and Blunt.

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral.

Dragonborn? Nassqa is not the Dragonborn.

Skills and talents: Sneak, Mining, Restoration, Blade, Horsemanship, Swimming, Running

Physical Appearance: Here is Nassqa, man from Akavir.

Eyes: Black

Build: Lithe and slender.

Weapons of preference: Currently he dual-wields daggars and has a bow. I want to look for some more exotic weapons via mods in the future. Nunchcks? Throwing stars? Naginata? We shall see.

Clothing: Ordinary lower-class clothing with some armor pieces thrown in here and there. He's mostly light armor, though.

Miscellaneous: A friend of mine from High School created a character long ago called Nasqa. I added an extra 'S' to his name. Nasqa was part of our long-lasting table-top gaming campaign, and the lead figure of him showed a guy wielding nunchucks, so we figured he is probably Oriental. Asian. Nasqa was good with healing, sneaking, and was very alert. He had several skills like Alertness and Acute Hearing, and the phrase we used to say was "Nasqa never sleeps," because it was nearly impossible for an enemy to ambush him.

I decided to create a Skyrim version of Nasqa as my first PC character. Some people say that the Akaviri race is closest to Asian, and some others disagree with this. Whatever. UESP's lore page on Akavir says all the men on the continent of Akavir got 'eaten' by some sort of vampiric serpent. Whatever. I've always wanted to create an Asian character in Oblivion and Skyrim, but the FaceGen background just isn't there in the vanilla game. So I found a mod called Akaviri Japanese Race, and voila. Finally got what I wanted.

Nassqa has arrived to Skyrim from the continent of Akavir. He is primarily interested in mining ores, selling them, and living off the land in this way. He may wind up getting into smithing too, who knows? I don't really see him doing any quests though. We shall see.

This post has been edited by Renee Gade IV: Dec 27 2014, 04:05 AM

Welcome to Nassqa! Have fun, Renee.

Welcome Nas! He needs a pair of Beretta 9mm pistols, like Chow Yun Fat. And don't forget to leave an extra pair in the flower pots...

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Dec 27 2014, 04:01 AM

Thanks Acadian. I'm grinning like a fiend as I've been gaming with him.


I was thinking laser beams and some frickin' land-sharks

Seriously though, since Nas is an Akaviri, I found I liked these Akaviri-flavored mods:

Insanity's Dragon Katana

Samurai Blades Armor

I used them for my character Jingu Kogo, who was my attempt at an Asian character.

WHOA WHOA WAHO thank you thank you thank you!!!

Welcome, Nassqua! Good to finally read about you after listening about you for so long.

Old-school!

Chaotic Neutral characters are fun to play, I'm looking forward to his adventurezzz.

Name: Claire Voyance the Cleric from Chorrol

Status: Active

Race: Imperial

Gender: Female

Age: 23-ish (when I restarted her game in 2021)

Sign: Ritual / Capricorn

Home: Breezehome, in Whiterun

Spouse: none.

Home Country: Cyrodiil

Faction and Rank or Guilds(if none, tell us what they do for a living): Companions, though she's just a member. Also, Civil War on the Imperials' side.

Faction Description: Claire is a cleric, and in table-gaming terms, she is not a primary fighting character. Therefore, she would be the type who travels with somebody else who is better at combat than she is. This is why she joined Companions. It's an easy way to get somebody to travel with her. Long story short: she's not going to really become a full Companion, attain the rank of Harbinger, and so on.

She is a 'nurse' on the Imperials' side of the Civil War. Oftentimes, she is not on the very front ranks of combat.

Class: Cleric

Class Description: Clerics in the tablegames were usually secondary characters who healed up the rest of the party, kept them going. They could also revive the dead, if they were of a high-enough level.

Alignment: Neutral Good with Lawful tendencies.

Dragonborn? ... Claire is not the Dragonborn.

Skills and talents: Majors = One-handed (Axe/Mace 2), Block (1), Restoration, Alteration, Speech, Light Armor.
Minors = Cooking (1), Courtly Graces (1), Horsemanship (2), Smithing (2), Warrior (2)

Spells: Clairvoyance (0), Healing (self, and others 0), Light (1), Shield (1), Turn Undead (0)

Physical Appearance: Okay, sure. And here she is all suited up.

Eyes: Imperial Blue

Build: Firm, muscular, and slender

Weapons of preference: Maces and axes. For some reason clerics often go for Blunt weapons.

Clothing: Only when not on adventures / quests. She has no particular preference for lower or upper-class duds.

Miscellaneous: Nassqa is primarily a passive guy, and I need to get my dumbed-down Skyrim action fix! Just kidding. Claire Voyance the first (on Xbox) was created so I could get used to Skyrim back in 2012. She was non DiD, and so the new Claire will also be non dead-is-dead.

She has clairvoyant abilities, which means she has the ability to see future events. Claire's abilities will give her extra-sensory perception which most of my other characters do not have.

I restarted her game in January 2021, and since Sir Vyvoor (Stormcloaks) managed to defeat the Imperials first, I used the console to SetStage Claire's game with Skyrim's official "fail" stage. Because of this, The Civil War is over in Claire's game, with an official failure status, as far as the game is concerned.


Backstory & Main Story: Claire moved to Cyrodiil mainly to assist the Imperials against the Stormcloaks as a sort of 'nurse'. She did the entire Civil War, up to the final fight for Windhelm. Since the Imperials failed to defeat the Stormcloaks in my gameworld, Claire is now looking for other things to do. I am thinking she'll do random side quests and also join the Vigilants of Stendarr.



This post has been edited by Renee: Feb 8 2021, 02:18 PM

Welcome to Claire! Loved the alliteration in her intro paragraph of Claire the Cleric from Chorrol.

The idea of her as a support character is exactly how you get around the main quest. Get her a Dragonborn companion and have the two of them do the main quest - pretending that her 'follower' is the DB and Claire is just the sidekick. That is exactly what Buffy did in OB with Sir Mazoga and I'm sure that your fertile imagination can ensure it is not a bridge too far. If Buffy ever does the Sky MQ, she'll go the same route. Buffy's more of a Gabrielle than a Xena, so that is why your thinking regarding Claire rings familiar for me.

I think good candidates for the Dragonborn could be Mjoll (my fave), Farkas/Vilkas, Lydia or Erik the Hoe Pusher. Anyone who can lift heavy stuff and hit hard.

Good luck and keep us posted.