The Elder Scrolls: Ambition (Working title!)

[Rex]

It is Fourth Era, 201, and the world of Tamriel is experiencing great upheaval. Civil War in the Third Empire, broken down to its last three Provinces - High Rock, Skyrim, and Cyrodiil herself - has taken all of the country's attention. The Nords of Skyrim demand independence, and the right to worship as they see fit. They follow Ulfric Stormcloak, who, claiming ancient Nord tradition, killed the previous High King of Skyrim and now claims the throne for himself. In many circles, rumors are circulated that Skyrim's rebellion is a ploy to weaken the Empire by the Thalmor, the government of the Aldmeri Dominion.

Spoiler

Despite the frightening powers Ulfric was claimed to possess, the Empire's army was lead competently by its Military Governor, General Tullius, and few believed that the Stormcloaks would succeed in their endeavor. Until one morning, when Tullius was found murdered, killed by an assassin's blade. Things quickly turned sour for the Empire, as the Stormcloaks gain the upper hand, eventually proclaiming Skyrim's independence, and crowning Ulfric High King. Skyrim's independence cuts Cyrodiil off from her last remaining Province, High Rock. It is clear to many, the Empire is coming to its end.

On the rise, however, is the Aldmeri Dominion. The Thalmor rose at the start of the Fourth Era, claiming to have saved Summerset from the Oblivion Crisis. With the Empire in shambles and unable to properly contest this claim, the High Elves fell in line behind the Thalmor. In 4E 22, Summerset Isle declared its independence from the Empire, it was not the first province to do so, but its departure was felt heavily.

A Thalmor backed coup in Valenwood would lead to a union between the provinces, and the recreation of the Aldmeri Dominion, the third time this union of Altmer and Bosmer would be proclaimed. Elsweyr, which broke from the Empire some time before, would be broken up into two client states, and inducted into the Dominion. The Dominion would unsuccessfully war for Hammerfell, and while they would not succeed, they received extremely generous peace terms, as well as forcing the Empire to renounce the Province.

Black Marsh was the first of the Imperial provinces to secede, though it was never fully under Imperial control to begin with. With the fall of the Ministry of Truth and subsequent eruption of Red Mountain devastating Morrowind in general and Vvardenfall in particular, Argonia, as Black Marsh came to be called, decided that now was the time to pay back years of slavery to the Dark Elves. The Argonians would take much of southern Morrowind before being halted by an army backed by House Redoran, controllers of Solstheim following the island's gifting to Morrowind by Skyrim following the eruption of Red Mountain.

Unable to deal with the scope of the tragedy, or properly respond to the Argonians aggression, the Empire was forced to let Morrowind go. Its Imperial ties cost House Hlaalu greatly, leading to its replacement on the Council of Great Houses by House Sadras. Following the Argonian sack of Mournhold, the capital of Morrowind was moved to Blacklight, a Redoran controlled city.

It is in this mess that our characters walk into the story. It is shortly before the final victory of the Stormcloaks for Skyrim, when our characters meet to take a quest together. When they return, they learn that Skyrim has declared itself free of Cyrodiil. None of our characters likes the idea of a Dominion lead Tamriel, but such a thing is becoming more and more possible by day. Thus, they breach the question to one another, what if we rebelled?

And rebel they do. The old Empire is on its way out, and a new government must be born to face the threat of the Aldmeri Dominion. This will not be an easy task, our characters will need to master both the battlefield and the diplomacy table. But should it be done, we may proclaim a new government! The Fourth Empire, or maybe even, the First Republic? Only time will tell.

---

So this is a plot I had been working on off forum, which had died before it really began. Talk of an Elder Scrolls RP on Chat has gotten me to revive the idea with the support of @Shocari. So far, we're mostly looking into support the idea might have. If you are interested, I have two starting locations for the Rebellion worked out. I'll detail them below.

High Rock: An Imperial Province, High Rock is cut off from Cyrodiil by land following Skyrim's declaration of Independence. The Orcs of Orsimer, currently located in the mountains between Hammerfell and Skyrim, could make a strong ally for our cause. However, they would likely want recognition as a province in return, territory that must be cut from somewhere, and the locals may not be so happy at our decision.

Solstheim: Quite frankly as far from Summerset Isle as we could possibly be, Solstheim allows us to grow without so readily attracting the attention of either major player, the Dominion or the Empire. Our characters would be able to play politics amongst the houses of Morrowind. In particular, House Hlaalu might be looking to retain lost prestige, and the loss of Solstheim would likely deal a heavy blow to Redoran. Morrowind is also located relatively close to the Imperial City itself, though the capture of Skyrim and/or Black Marsh would likely be preferable to going immediately after Cyrodiil from Morrowind.

Any other ideas or comments you guys have would be greatly appreciated! Just knowing who is all interested would be amazingly helpful. For now I'll say we're looking for around three people, though I'll be discussing this with Shocari, so if more than that have posted with interest don't let that stop you from also voicing yours!

 

[Brendan Savem]

Hi, I'm certainly interested in taking part. Though honestly, I'm a little sketchy on the original premise. Starting a second civil war in the Empire immediately after one when the Aldmeri Dominion were fuelling the fires of the first one because the infighting strengthened their cause? I'm not certain how this is going to aid anybody except the Aldmeri.

If we really wanted to strike a blow on the Elven Kingdom, one of their own territories would be a great place to start some infighting. Almost a century has passed since Elsweyr's previous Mane was assassinated, causing the entire providence to fracture in two, and then both states ended up under the Aldmeri boot. Surely, the return of the next Mane could once again reshape the region. And if Malborn has a good story of Bosmer dissidence against the Altmer, then Valenwood might have concerns with being part of such a consuming power. As always with Tamriel, there are plenty of locales to start weaving a worthy tale of heroes. I'm just throwing some additional options out there.

Edit: Hammerfell should get a worthy mention too. I thought they were still part of the empire at first, but it turned out that they rejected the treaty like half of Skyrim did, and then defeated their elven invaders solo. Not sure how we could fit this idea in, but it's certainly food for thought.

 

[Rex]

The original idea was actually that the Aldmeri would be something of a Final Boss for our story, something we wouldn't face until all of Tamriel was either ours or theirs. You do bring up good points though, and if people are more in agreement that your suggested Provinces make more sense than mine, we'll definitely go with one.

As for flaming another civil war in the Empire, it's only really a problem if we start the rebellion in High Rock. In the version of this RP I'd been working on off forum, the start was in Solstheim, which was out of either country's control. High Rock remains Imperial, but with Skyrim's departure from the Empire it's cut off except by sea. If a rebellion starts there, Cyrodiil would be hard pressed to respond.

You are right that a rebellion in High Rock would immediately aid the Aldmeri. In fact, in the early stages of the RP, they might back us. But we're not stopping with just High Rock or Morrowind, we're expanding to control the rest of Tamriel until we're the only power left, ruling the entire continent. Playing politics with the Aldmeri might be an interesting element in of itself. However, the reason our characters are rebelling in the first place is because they're in agreement that there is no helping the Empire anymore, and that in order to stop the Aldmeri a new power must be born..

Hammerfell is an interesting starting point as well. We're squished between Imperial High Rock and Cyrodiil, with freshly independent Skyrim bordering us. The sea is the only thing between us and the Thalmor on their home province of Summerset. Orsinium is directly on our border with Skyrim, which could allow for the same politic playing a High Rock start could bring, though much more immediately. The Redguard have stood against the Elves and won once before, though being so close the Aldmeri would take a much higher interest in our activities.

 

[FalChromiforme]

I'd be down with it. Honestly, it's been forever since I did much that was elder-scroll related (three months ago when our Xbox 360 broke T_T) and I'd like to get back into the game.

Solstheim would be an interesting starting point for the rebellion for just the point @Rex said, and personally, that might work better. Unless the Empire decides to check up on Solstheim, we'd be virtually unnoticed, and would be able to strike a political blow as well as starting a battle-giving us two birds with one stone. However, it would also take longer for us to work towards the capital, and we'd have to wait a little longer to strike so that we'd have enough forces to make it all the way there. If we're trying to get all of Tamriel, as Rex has said we are, then Politics would be a good advantage to have Because whether the major politicians back us or not, we have the ability to work our way up to the top.

 

[Shocari]

I'm definitely in favor of the Solstheim start at the moment, although I do like either High Rock or Hammerfell because I effing love orcs so much. I'm not really sold on Elsweyr or Valenwood sine they're so tightly and closely under the thumb of the Aldmeri Dominion. With that in mind, starting in Solstheim would seem to make things a bit easier on us in general, so it gets my vote.

 

[Rex]

So I was talking with Brendan in chat and he brought up an interesting point. What to do with the Dovahkiin? Personally, I think it would be best if they didn't figure into the story at all, given that they're a Player Character and thus completely characterized by said player. I'm up to suggestions, of course, and I do have some of my own.

My ideas are, we leave them out of the Civil War. They concern themselves only with the main plot and either die to defeat Alduin, or survive and sail for parts unknown. They likely would have also stopped Miraak, but could have or could not have done anything reawnguard. Either way, they wouldn't be around anymore.

We seem to be in agreement for Solstheim, so the next thing to discuss is the political situation at the start of the RP. We could easily say that the Dovahkiin didn't concern themselves with Raven Rock, and thus the mines are drying up, and the colony is dying.Our characters could thus reopen the mines ourselves. We'd become heroes to the people, and we'd get in good in the books of House Redoran. We could easily then play politics with House Redoran as our backing Great House, rather than finding another backer.

Alternatively, there is another Great House with a presence on Solstheim. That is, House Telvanni, whom Master Neloth is associated with. As such, Tel Mithryn is technically Telvanni settlement. Though Neloth claims to be unaffiliated, the relationship between Raven Rock and Tel Mithryn seems to mostly consist of the two settlements ignoring one another. The Telvanni also apparently still hold territory in Vvardenfall, though it's unknown in what capacity this is.

However, the Telvanni aren't as strong as they once were. As the principle defenders of Slavery in Morrowind, they were the primary targets of the Argonians in Black Marsh's war against the province. All of their strongholds on the mainland have fallen, and with Vvardenfall mostly uninhabitable, they have no remaining centralized power bases. Knocking them off the Grand Council in place of a house with our backing might be of use to us.

The final remaining power of note on Solstheim is the Skaal, a group of Nords descended from the Nords that finally destroyed the Snow Elves as a society. Broken off from them is Thirsk, Nords who decided to live in the wild. Finally, Solstheim is home to the Rieklings, savage creatures of unknown origins. Though some contain a degree of intelligence, so bending them to our will is not out of the question.

Finally, we should also look abroad. The East Empire Company has been ousted from Vvardenfall and Solstheim both, and with Skyrim declaring independence, they stand to lose their place in Solitude as well. It is highly influential within the Empire, and made up of officials appointed by the Emperor himself. However, their closeness to the Emperor doesn't ensure their complete loyalty. They are a company, after all. Perhaps for a few... Donations, we could open up some of the ports we control to their ships. Of course, we would first have to prove ourselves to be a power capable of holding said ports to begin with.

Also, we should discuss where we make our first base of operations, the area we operate out of within Solstheim. In the original RP, the characters met doing a quest to clear Fort Frostmoth of Flame spiders, that moved in en masse following the destruction of the Ash Spawn that originally held the ruin. The cleared fort then became the cast's base on Solstheim and would have also been the center of operations for the majority of the invasion of Morrowind until enough of the mainland was secured to move there.

Final point, I swear, but it might also help for us to discuss in advance what sort of country we're forming. If we're forming a Fourth Empire, Brendan pointed out that it would be helpful if one or more of our characters had some sort of "right to rule." This wasn't actually something I considered in the original run of the RP, but we will need someone with can, with some authority, claim to be the new Emperor or Empress. While establishing right to rule through conquest is certainly possible, we will need some kind of army to first conquer territory.

Alternatively, we could go for a Popular revolt, and form a First Republic. Certainly, a country where the people at large have a say in government would be fairly new in Tamriel, where most provinces are run by an autocrat. We could appeal to the politicians by making it so each province would send representatives to a council, each province thus being equal in power, roughly. This would obviously more be something to work out as we go. What do you guys think? Also, if we do want to make an Empire, we'll need a volunteer to make their character into the claimant.

 

[Shocari]

I totally agree re: the Dragonborn. They should just be left to their own Alduin plot devices and not really matter after that. In regards to Raven Rock, I think that backing House Redoran would be a good choice, as associating our fledgling rebellion with a house that backed slavery in Telvanni wouldn't do much to get people to like us, and I don't think the Skaal have much interest in helping to form a new Empire or Republic.

Getting the East Empire Company behind us seems like a good move, because not only would allying ourselves with them provide us both with some important funding, but some traded favors could be useful as well, such as borrowing some of their ships to transport us around once that starts happening(although passenger ships are rather inconspicuous as well).

Fort Frostmoth seems like a decent enough place to set up base, so I'm in for that.

Both the Empire and Republic ideas seem pretty great. If we do go with Empire, I guess I could run our future leader if no one else really wants to. Going for a Republic seems like it might be easier to obtain supporters because everyone likes equality in that they don't want every other region having more power than them.

 

[Brendan Savem]

I'm alright with the stuff said above as well. Although I also think we need to have a 'call to action' of sorts. If we're going to be starting off as adventurers sent to clean up spiders, we need something to lead us from there to founding a rebellion. I suggested using the Aldmeri Expedition to Solsteim to study Stalhrim as a possible conflict point. It doesn't matter whether this is the same expedition encountered in Dragonborn, or a second one sent after the failure of the first. I've talked to Rex about this already in chat, and he seems on board with it. Any other thoughts?

 

[FalChromiforme]

(ALL HAIL THE EMPEROR GOAT) XD
Anyways, I 'm in on leaving the Dovahkiin out. They should be left to really do their own thing. I'd also be in for the empire or the republic, but am definitely not the one to lead if the Empire ends up happening. Also, bending the rieklings to our will would be an interesting undertaking-whether or not it would work is something else entirely. Nonetheless, I vouch for them, as we need every little piece of power we can muster.
Fort Frostmoth is the perfect place to set up base-I'm definitely in on that one.
I also agree on getting on Redoran's good side-we need allies. My question there is, could we keep good terms with House Redoran if we gave the Telvanni a boost in every which way? I fear that we can't really keep good terms with Redoran and Telvanni at the same time-or precariously at the most.
The EEC would be important to smuggle troops and supplies, yes, but funding (for me at least) wouldn't be important if our supplies already came in through the EEC itself. While we could use the money for certain necessary . . . donations, after the fact the EEC seems to be more for transport and provisions than anything else.

I suggested using the Aldmeri Expedition to Solsteim to study Stalhrim as a possible conflict point.

Would we use this as the spark or how we go public with our rebellion? It's a good starting point, but I'd like to know if we're already planning a rebellion or if this sparks us into being a rebellion. Either one would make an interesting story. We could make it so that there's been a dormant rebellion since Solstheim was given to the Dunmer, and they saw opportunity to activate it then and there, or that the Aldmeri expedition angered adventurers into gathering on Solstheim and gathering an army of their own. Just a little food for thought.

 

[Rex]

Our characters will likely be on Solstheim already, doing at least the Flame Spider quest, if not both that and clearing Raven Rock's mine. They may have already discussed the idea of a rebellion beforehand, but the Aldmeri disrespecting the sovereignty of Morrowind by sending what is essentially a military expedition into Solstheim could be the event that finally gets the people - and House Redoran - to listen to us.

As I mentioned in chat, the Thalmor going after the Skaal to get Stalhrim might also be a good way to get them on board for a rebellion that they might not otherwise care about. Even if they don't want to contribute to the war itself, we could possibly convince them to craft Stalhrim weapons for the effort. If not, we could always nationalize the ebony mine temporarily and use that to produce weapons.

Supplies and transport are good, but we will need money more than anything from the East Empire Company. We will be fielding a large military, and the soldiers will need paid. Moreover, we may need to grease the palms of a few politicians in order to get them to side with us. We will need to be cautious about how we use the EEC's assets. They likely won't want to be overtly associated with the rebellion, as it may hurt their status at home. Money is the easiest thing to explain, essentially, they're paying us for rights to the non-Imperial harbors we are allowing them to trade from. Other things will need to be negotiated for at a less frequent and more covert intervals.

As no one seems to have a preference for an Empire or a Republic, I suggest we try for a First Republic. Easier to get the people behind us, and as Sho said, equality is great politically because it means no province is better than the rest. Unless Sho already has a character with a claim worked out?

 

[Kerauno]

I guess I'm a little late to bat here, but I'm definitely all in for an Elder Scrolls RP. That being said, my Elder Scrolls knowledge is limited mostly to lore, history, and the province of Skyrim, so I'm not sure how useful or articulate I'd be in discussion.

It looks like things are pretty much wrapped up with the starting point, but I'd also like to voice my opinion for a First Republic, in case there's any debate. Like everyone else had said, equality! But if it comes down to needing someone with a claim, the ideas could be merged with the person with the claim at the head of the Republic (a la American Presidency but not as fucked), maybe with him/her also acting at the representative for their province? It's just an idea.

But anyway, if you guys aren't already filled up, I'd love to take part. IId like to think i could bring something to the table with what limited knowledge I do have.

 

[Brendan Savem]

Well when I mean a 'right to rule', it doesn't necessarily need to be someone, it could just be some event, or even an object, just something that gives others a reason to believe in our cause. Skyrim gives me the idea of the Jagged Crown, which previous high kings used to wear, and basically cements who wins (in game) in the war. So, in our case, we could find some sort of artefact on Solstheim, taken from the elves or in one of the many dungeons on the island. An ancient relic from a previous age that we could use to legitimise our claim. On the other hand though, the very idea of a republic might be enough reason to motivate a few businessmen, who make the rest of the revolution machine turn with coin. So thoughts on that?

 

[FalChromiforme]

On the other hand though, the very idea of a republic might be enough reason to motivate a few businessmen

Watch out that the businessmen don't get too much power. Remember, we're trying to go for a republic, NOT and oligarchy/aristocracy. Just something to be noted. The Houses wouldn't quite be happy with giving more power to the people, as they would lose money. On the other hand, we might gain majority by the people's support.

Our characters will likely be on Solstheim already, doing at least the Flame Spider quest, if not both that and clearing Raven Rock's mine. They may have already discussed the idea of a rebellion beforehand, but the Aldmeri disrespecting the sovereignty of Morrowind by sending what is essentially a military expedition into Solstheim could be the event that finally gets the people - and House Redoran - to listen to us.

I agree with this paragraph in general, although only one quest would be enough to start with. We could clear out Raven Rock later, maybe-as a tactical strategy. Or maybe I just think too much tactics and not enough politics/social effects.

 

[Rex]

Sorry for the long break guys, but I'm working on a post as we speak. Our final group tally will be @Shocari, @FalChromiforme, @Brendan Savem, @Kerauno, and myself, @Rex. Please get in contact with me on chat ASAP if you have any last questions or want to walk through the post with me and make sure everything works.

 

[Shocari]

Probably goes without saying that we should probably get character bios up at this time. I think the format from the previous RP was pretty good, so let's just copypasta that:

Name:
Gender:
Race:
Supernatural: Normal/Vampire/Werewolf
Hometown/Home Province:
Age:
Build:
Hair:
Eyes:
Clothing: Armor type, if any, as well as what kind. If there's any enchanted armor or accessories or whatnot, list that here, too.
Identifying Marks:
Personality:
Affiliations: Bard's College, Dark Brotherhood, etc
Civil War AffiliationIf you're even from Skyrim)
Preferred Weapon: One-/Two-handed, archery, magic, etc
Magic Abilities: Alteration/Restoration/Destruction/Conjuration/Illusion(try to keep it to no more than 2 unless you are a mage-y person)
Additional Spells known: Stuff like Healing or Soul Trap, individual spells. It's very likely that everyone knows at least one. Pick from whatever school of magic. If you are a mage, feel free to pick something that isn't from what school(s) you're trained in.
Other Abilities: Smithing/Pickpocketing/Lockpicking/Speechcraft/Alchemy/Enchanting/Stealth(no more than 2 or 3)
Religion: 8 Divines(so no Talos)/9 Divines/Daedra Worshipper(which one(s)?)/Any combination of the formers?/None
Past:

My character:

Name: Vralg gro-Dushnikh
Gender: Male
Race: Orsimer,
Supernatural: Normal
Hometown/Home Province: Dushnik Yal, Skyrim
Age: 25
Build: Heavily muscled, and fairly tall(albeit about average height for a male orc). Skin is a grayish-green, and he has those little horns protruding from just above his brow. Wears blood-red tattoos in a fearsome animalistic tribal design on his face.
Hair: Shaved
Eyes: Light blue
Clothing: Heavy Armor - Orcish, but styled to look like Nordic Carved., His armor has been enchanted to increase his own durability in battle and/or to weigh less while maintaining the same armor rating(so basically, health and stamina enchantments with the chestpiece having fortify heavy armor...or something like that).
Identifying Marks: Scars all over his body, as becoming an orc, with a few grisly claw marks on the left side of his face
Personality: Vralg is a very honest, straight-forward guy. Being a rather devout follower of the Code of Malacath, he has very little tolerance for thieves, and murderers. His sense of humor is rather nonexistant, and he doesn't really understand when people are making jokes(although he is slowly but surely learning and will try his best to understand). Vralg can tend to view many things as a challenge, and especially cannot pass up a chance to prove his strength.
Affiliations: None
Civil War Affiliation: Neither
Preferred Weapon: One- or two-handed weapons. Extremely proficient with both, but favors dual one-handed(specifically two maces). Twin ebony maces with Fortified One-handed enchantments(alternatively they're just really really well-crafted).
Magic Abilities: None
Additional Spells known: None
Other Abilities: Smithing, Enchanting
Religion: Code of Malacath
Past: Born and raised in the Orcish stronghold of Dushnik-Yal in Skyrim, Vralg was taught from the time he could walk how to fight and how to smith, eventually learning to make armor and weapons of an almost magical quality. Around the age of 20, he left the stronghold to explore the rest of Skyrim, hoping to learn new smithing techniques. Having spent most of his life in the Reach, he has had numerous skirmishes with the Forsworn both in his time in the stronghold as well as after he had left. His search for smithing techniques eventually led him to Solstheim after he learned of the Skaal and their ability to smith Stahlrim armor. While not yet a stahlrim smith, he has learned the local technique of their carved nordic armor. Of note is that Vralg had just set foot onto Solstheim when the Civil War erupted, so while he eventually learned of it, he did not participate.

 

[Rex]

Name: Reeh-Zeeus (Rizzo)
Gender: Male
Race: Argonian
Supernatural: Normal
Hometown/Home Province: Helstrom, Black Marsh
Age: 22
Build: A bit lean, but overall a fairly average looking Argonian with a medium length, rounded snout and dark green scales.
Hair: None
Eyes: Blue-gray
Clothing: Fur kilt, boots, and gauntlets, clearly homemade. There isn't anything special about them.
Identifying Marks: A line of three small horns on either side of his jaw, curved towards the back.
Personality: Easy going and streetwise, Reeh-Zeeus left Black Marsh largely on a whim, blowing from place to place without much consideration. He prides himself on being self-sufficient, and isn't too picky when it comes to doing various odd jobs. While he's easy enough to get along with, his general lack of seriousness can grate on others.
Affiliations: None
Civil War Affiliation: None
Preferred Weapon: Archery
Magic Abilities: Minor Restoration.
Additional Spells known: Flames
Other Abilities: Stealth, Pickpocketing
Religion: Hist, Sithis
Past: Rizzo lead a relatively average life deep within the swamps of Black Marsh. Located within the impenetrable center of Black Marsh, Helstrom has developed a culture all its own, without the interference of either man or mer. This lack of knowledge contributed to a sense of wanderlust within the young Argonian. Rizzo learned at a young age how to keep to the shadows, and occasionally take what he needed without paying, within Helstrom's 'wonderful, dangerous alleys.'

As soon as he was old enough to travel, Reeh-Zeeus, as he was still known at the time, started moving north. As he did, he learned more and more about the history of Black Marsh, and its conflicts with Cyrodiil, Elsweyr, and especially Morrowind. Suddenly things that seemed so distant were right before his eyes. As he left Stormhold for Morrowind, he followed the tradition of the Argonians before him, taking on an Cyrodiilic name based on his own 'Black Marsh name.' He has continued to travel north, until finally reaching Solstheim.

 

[FalChromiforme]

Name: Cyretar Elsinal
Gender: Male
Race: Altmer
Supernatural: Werewolf
Hometown/Home Province: Shadowfen
Age: 228
Build: tall and lean, but with some muscle to him. Resembles something of a scarecrow
Hair: long over one eye, ponytail in the back. Supernova blonde. stubble, bu no full facial hair
Eyes: icy-blue/jade green
Clothing: glass hair tie and black trousers. Wears a long-sleeve jacket with no shirt beneath and the right sleeve pulled up to show his tattoos. Wears Deathbrand boots with black trousers tucked in.
Identifying Marks: two tattoos resembling slash marks up his right arm, and wolf fangs on his right hand.
Personality: Cynical, sardonic, and generally flippant. Not very fond of having to follow others, as it reminds him of his past. slightly vain, sets high self-standards. Believes in rules, but also in bending and/or breaking them if he thinks that it's the right thing to do. Lives by his own moral codes. Has fun causing trouble, but is also adept at being quiet. A very effective liar. A skilled acrobat and runner, as his purpose is to "strike fast and hit hard" and then leave.
Affiliations: Shadowscales and dark brotherhood
Civil War Affiliation: none
Preferred Weapon: Two-handed or one-handed glass weapons. Glass greatsword specifically, with Silent moons enchant.
Magic Abilities: Restoration/Illusion
Additional Spells known: Dragonhide, Ash Rune
Other Abilities: Pickpocketing/Speechcraft/Stealth
Religion: worships Sithis, but not too strictly
Past: Was caught up in the Dunmer slave trade as a young boy, and escaped as it passed through Shadowfen-which he now calls his homeland. Was found by a Shadowscale in the area and grew up as one, despite not being Argonian. After it was discovered he was born under the sign of the shadow, they Taught Cyretar the art of his caretakers-and then a few other tricks they never cared to learn. Hatred for the Aldmeri Dominion was planted in him at a young age, due to many of his freinds and "family" being killed by their attempts to take the Mnemic egg. At a very young age, he was forced to learn to take what he needed to. As his caretakers didn't usually provide more than a place to stay, he became very street-smart and spent much of his time finding his own way. He became very familiar with the area of Shadowfen, spending much time around the ruins and swamps. After a certain age, he cast off his former Altmer name and called himself Slim-Dar Caemus. He was lead by the dark brotherhood into a life of assassination-as were the people who raised him. From the age of eleven he was picked up as first a tagalong, then a team member, then a solo assassin in various missions-some of which he played a major role in. Slim-Dar became very skilled-and joined the dark brotherhood, as much out of choice as out of obligation as a shadowscale. On one such mission, he lost a bet (and a subsequent fight) against a werewolf-and thus became one himself. However, nothing could keep him from his line of work, and he finds a way to continue fighting even through his spasmic transformations into a wolf-although being in the right place can come in handy.

 

[Rex]

Talking with @FalChromiforme and @Shocari has reminded me of a certain minor character in Skyrim. Brand-Shei, original name Brandyl Telvanni, is the last surviving heir of the house of Telvanni. Restoring him to his rightful place could help us in our cause. And, being that Brand-Shei was raised by Argonians, he would likely attempt to lead Telvanni away from their slave driving past.

Also, we stumble upon the issue of the Mnemic Egg. This artifact is extremely important to Black Marsh, being the thing that both keeps Argonians connected with the Hist, and allows their eggs to hatch. Without it safely in Black Marsh, the Argonians risk extinction. It was stolen by the Aldmeri once before, in 2E 582, only to be returned by the Vestige. An attempt by the Thalmor to take it once again would be a great way to get the Argonians to start seeing things our way.

 

[FalChromiforme]

Good to know my backstory-building failures have at least had some good come out of them. XD

 

[Kerauno]

Name: Sinna Herslin
Gender: Female
Race: Imperial
Supernatural: Normal
Hometown/Home Province: Solitude, Skyrim
Age: 21
Build: Tall, slight, and lean. Underneath her clothes, she is toned, but not overly muscular. For a woman, she's not very curvy, but still very womanly.
Hair: Dark blonde, reaches to just past her shoulders. She usually lets it hang loose, but she ties it into a tight bun when she needs to get down to business.
Eyes: Brown, like copper in the earth.
Clothing: For the most part, she wears fine clothes when she's socializing or sleuthing. She will sometimes wear leather armor underneath. Her fine clothes are altered so that they are a little baggier to compensate for the armor, and the stitches are less tight in case she needs to remove it quickly. She has no helmet, but she owns a circlet that fortifies illusion.
Identifying Marks: Usually her hair, as it's not a common color for Imperials.
Personality: Sinna is a person who knows how to work a room. She's smart and good at thinking on her feet, and very persuasive. She knows more about court politics and internal affairs than 'the word on the street,' but that doesn't mean she can't go out and get that word. She seems open about herself and loves to talk, but she only lets people see what they need to see. She is actually rather sneaky and manipulative, but usually on another person's behalf. She wouldn't manipulate or lie to someone that she had no business lying to. Her greatest flaw is her vanity, though not in regards to her appearance. She's very protective of her identity and reputation, and does her best to keep her personal, social, and political lives separate. She is also slightly prejudiced, due to her highborn upbringing, but she works past it.
Affiliations: Imperial Legion (loosely), East Empire TC
Civil War Affiliation: Previously Imperial
Preferred Weapon: One handed. She prefers to use her Illusion and Alteration spells to avoid conflict, but when that fails she has a Dwarven dagger that she regularly poisons. Still, she prefers to avoid combat.
Magic Abilities: Illusion/Alteration
Additional Spells known: Healing, Sparks
Other Abilities: Speechcraft/Sneak/Alchemy (for poisons)
Religion: 8 Divines, particularly Dibella and Julianos. She doesn't worship Talos, but she has learned not to be prejudiced towards it.
Past: Sinna grew up in the court life of Solitude, as her father worked for the East Empire Trading Company, and her mother worked in the Blue Palace. She received magical training from the court wizard, and then continued on her own. Her father taught her a little about trading, but her mother took her to as many court functions as she could, and she learned the right social graces, and made valuable contacts that would help her later in life. Sinna also became something of a spy for her mother's court machinations, and she carried those skills into her later life. She blindly supported the Imperial Legion due to her race, but as she got older she learned more and more about the Legion's affairs in the other province, and her support dwindled. At eighteen, she left home and traveled the province, writing her travels down and learning more about life in the other holds and provinces. She's all but renounced her loyalty to Cyrodiil and the Legion, but she maintains it to stay in favorable light with nobility.

 

[Brendan Savem]

Took me ages to come up with a suitable character. But looking at other characters gave me an idea for mine.

Name: Vanstrom Bourmire
Gender: Male
Race: Dunmer
Supernatural: Normal
Hometown/Home Province: Kragenmoor, Morrowind
Age: 47
Build: Tall and slim.
Hair: Black. Long parted hair that hangs just below his chin line. It's usually clean, but can scruff up if he doesn't groom every once in a while. His face is clean shaven.
Eyes: Deep Red, Narrow eyes.
Clothing: Soft Leather Robes that cover all but his forearms. Also comes with a fixed cowl that he can use to cover his head.
Identifying Marks: His eyes are unusually jittery, they often dart around rapidly as he studies the environment.
Personality: A scholar at heart, and a mage by nature. He's always eager to learn about the world, especially if it can help his magical arts. This makes him more tolerant of outsiders than his brethren, but it doesn't stop him from having a sarcastic and arrogant attitude at times, especially around strangers.
Affiliations: House Sadras. His parents are nobles of the house. He has little political ambition to try and raise his standing in his house.
Civil War Affiliation: Neither
Preferred Weapon: Magic Staff of Lighting. A tool he made recently since arriving in Solstheim. It is the conduit through which he channels his destructive shock magic.
Magic Abilities: A talented mage, learning what he can from several schools. Alteration is his best though, while Conjuration is his weakest.
Additional Spells known: Telekinesis, Wards, Firebolt, Mini Fireworks just to name a few favourites.
Other Abilities: Enchanting, Speechcraft, and Alchemy.
Religion: Azura (Casually)
Past: Vanstroms parents were nobles in House Sadras. And at the peak of their welfare, they did not hold back in developing their family. So Vanstrom had a pampered upbringing as the second eldest of six. He grew up enamoured by the family's personal mage, and this mage became the first in a long line of teachers Vanstrom sought in his path to mastering magical arts. He was the first sibling to leave the comfort of his home to master his craft. Without a formal institution of magic in Morrowind, Vanstrom learned by forming short-term apprenticeships under other Dunmer wizards, mostly those affiliated to House Telvanni. His interactions have ranged from pleasant to sour, his worse one tried to kill him after he 'got too smart', Vanstrom responded by returning the favour; it was the first time Vanstrom had killed a man.

His most recent teacher is Neloth, who founded the settlement of Tel Mithryn on the island of Solstheim. It was the furthest away from home Vanstrom had been so far, and Neloth was not the most amicable of wizards. He still found knowledge in watching Neloth work, and was happy learning, from Neloth and the island itself, for the three months he had been on Solstheim so far.