thanks for tag @honeybeebunny111 @sulphuricgrin and @neloths-tea!! i really apreciatte being tagged, it brings me so much joy!! But I am too shy to tag myself :( Anyway ~
Name: Michelle Ludenberg
Age: 28
Occupation: a former thief, who went traveling
Background: Michelle was born in a noble family, but due to her mother being a Khajiit hybrid and a father a Nord man, she wasn’t really respected among other nobility. Even commoners often gave her a dirty looks, despite her mother, Ra-isha, working hard in the Temple of Kynareth.
Michelle was a child of a man, who left Ra-sha alone with a kid at the past. That lead to their poor relationship, that did not become better, when Ra-isha found another man, who loved Michelle as his own.
Because of this blind hatred, Michelle was growing alone, even if her adoptive father loved her more than anyone. Her mother was harsh with Michelle, and forced to learn healing magic, to help her at the temple. For years, everyone kept away themselves from Michelle, since other kids made fan of her appearance and the fact, that her real father left her. Ra-isha wasn’t cruel on purpose, but she couldn’t bring herself to love Michelle. All she saw was his face, since Michelle got unfortune to look alike like her ex.
As time passed, Michelle didn’t had friends or went from the Temple. Her mother forbade her from leaving the house for a long distance – all Michelle was forced to do is to learn medicine. When Michelle was 16, a family moved next to their family home. There was a girl that talked to Michelle first. Friendship blossomed, but the girl was already 19. It was alright when they were friends, but Lily groomed Michelle into thinking that they were a healthy lovers. Of course, they weren’t. This was a toxic relationship with a wrong power dynamic.
Once, at the age of 20, Michelle was in a fight with her mother. In that time she was stressed and well aware of how fucked up her life was. She wanted to see the world, see other people. But Ra-isha argued and mentioned, that their relationship with Lily wont work on a distance. That was the spark that motivated Michelle to leave Lily, even if this was a hard decision. Lily said that no one would ever love Michelle for being such a loser and if she runs away, she would die immediately. Michelle took it as a challenge and left Whiterun at the same night. Even if what Lily said was true, it was better to die free, than live in cage.
Somehow, she ended up in Riften. Lost, with no money, Michelle didn’t know what to do. She received a letter from her adoptive father to come back, but she wouldn’t listen. In that moment, standing at the market in Riften, looking at the food prices, that she couldn’t afford, the man approached her. Hу offered her to toss the ring into Brand-Shei’s pocket. At first, Michelle hesitated, but felt the urge to prove that she is not the good girl, as she was before. So, she agreed, and there started well-known to everyone the thieves guild quest.
Years passed, Bryn take her to their family with open arms. Michelle soon realized, that being a thief is way better than do as everyone told her. In fact, she developed strange morale: she was stealing only from the rich bastards, and never from the people, who worked hard for their good. The guys in the guilt teach her everything: how to fight, how to survive. The more she spent at the lowest levels of live, the bigger her hate for all this people in high raised. She was a noble herself, she knew how their fancy lives were going, but as she grew up – she despised them.
Her hatred combined with a strong sense of judgment. She sincerely believes, that all bandits, rapists and other scum don’t deserve a life. As she become stronger, as she found the power of Dragonborn, as she saved the word – a lot of authorities feared her.
Michelle found her new family – company of real good friends, thanks to a Brynjolf, who she saw as a father figure. She even started to date Sylvia, a woman who went to Riften to help a court mage with her business. But Michelle was extremely unlucky with her love life – woman feared to approach her, since they didn’t want to get involved into her dark business. Mischelle rejected every man, who confessed to her (and she was really sad that the only one, who confessed to her was man), and if they didn’t listen and tried again, Michelle simply beat them up, so eventually her reputation among criminals grew up. And Sylvia wasn’t a blessing – she was a disaster, who ruined Michelle’s life. She was an arrogant mage, who wanted to make Michelle her dog, but once Michelle got courage to refuse. That lead Sylvia to a rage, where she killed her dearest friend group, to teach her a lesson. Of course, Michelle killed Sylvia in return, but was left with notching.
All powerful and fearless Dragonborn find herself drinking all consciousness out. Michelle wanted to end it all, but the pride wouldn’t let her do that alone. Like that, she left the guild to travel. Notching would bring her happiness as she just wandered the world looking for death. She was fighting everyone on her way – but none could over power her. Her life continued to be empty only to the moment, when she accidently stumbled upon a cave – Dimhollow.
She met Serana there and thought that they would fight. But instead the vampire asked for help. Michelle, who felt some curiosity for a long time, agreed. There was nothing else she could gain from her life, but it turned out to be the best decision. Their bond became friendship, but time passed and they both fall for each other. Soon, Michelle realized that life is worth living, at least to honor her dead friends.
Notable relationship:
Serana: the person, who lead Michelle to the light. Serana wasn’t a savior, who dragged Michelle from below, but she was someone, who helped to understand, that Michelle should live for herself. As they were friends, Michelle started to find joy in life again, and not just in her new friend. After Michelle healed a little, she started to notice, that she crushes for Serana. She got really scared, since no one ever loved her for notching. Michelle knew, that Serana saw her as a good friend and not just as pawn, but she still was afraid, that Serana would do the same thing as her previous lovers. She was silent about her feelings, but Serana noticed it all long time ago. Once, there was a conversation after which they confessed to each other. They both were afraid to start relationship, but eventually they proved their love to each other and become each other safe space.
Brynjolf: her father figure. The man, who picked her up and made her a strong woman. In fact, Bryn is not that warm father, but he was there was Michelle when she needed help, gave her a lot of advices, not only about thievery. She would be forever grateful to him for offering a job for her, even if Bryn would never referrer to Michelle as his daughter.
Ra-isha: after Michelle left home, she was not sad. It was like the weight dropped off her shoulders. But Ra-isha is not all bad and evil, she felt a lot of guilt. Not at first really, but the husband helped her to understand, that Michelle did notching wrong. After years, Ra-isha sincerely apologized, but Michelle couldn’t forgive her. Her mother understood that, but said that Michelle could always came her.
Strengths:
One-handed weapon.
Healing spells
Stealing
Prideful: her pride helped her to move forward and stay alive. She is prideful not in arrogant way, that made her knew her value.
Curiosity: since she was a child, she was interested in everything in the world. And in adult life, curiosity made her read books, that built her intellect.
Knows her limits: quite useful when she thinks of plan of future fights.
Weaknesses:
Crybaby: she always crying. With age, she started to be embarrassed of how quickly she is starting to tear up.
Her body: due to wrong genes, her body is working extremely wrong. Because she doesn’t have a fur, her skin is very sensitive. Also, because of that, Michelle is weak to cold and heat. She can’t use her Voice often, since it literally tears her apart.
Her love: she is very loving person, who suffered from it. She can’t sit still when someone threatens to her loved ones. Even worse when something happens to them. In fact, that was a reason why she couldn’t save herself alone, when everyone died.
Pain: her body is very sensitive. She feels everything more brightly, than average person.
No interest in:
Politicks
Being a Guild Headmaster: she refused to be one.
Having kids and typical family household.
No concept of:
That killing bad people is not always a right solution. (Basically, she thinks, that jails are too merciful)
Character:
Michelle is really loud and witty. She makes everyone laugh, sarcastic and full of jokes. She don’t really like deep conversations, since in the end she is always crying, so everyone thinks that she is not serious enough. Except the people, who got to taste her cruelty. With people, who she thinks is unworthy, she is cold and straightforward.
Distinguished marks:
Her body leaves a lot of scars, which she tries to remove, using her healing magic. Her spells are very good and leave almost no scars, but there are still small cuts, that left. The scar at her eyebrow was left on purpose, but she tells everyone that it would be too painful to remove (real reason: she thinks it looks cool)
She got a huge tattoo at her back, just to look good.
Trivia:
She is a lesbian, but she not representing masculinity. It offends Michelle very much, that other woman treats her “like a man”, while she just wants to be a woman too. She knows that it because of her appearance and bigger body, but can’t help it, since she need it keep that body type.
She got an eyebags, after receiving a nightmares every night, after her friends died.
She gets drunk very fast. That’s why she is not drinking, other ways it would be enough of one cup of wine to knock her out.
She bottoms hard
Here's her back, it really poses me off that I designed something, that hard to draw
And some other arts of her since I don't have her reference shit
Ehehe I will leave the second art here 👀 and sorry for any mistakes :(
i love him so much bruh you don’t even GET IT he’s such a diva and he slays n shit (literally, even?) i love the aporcrypha parts in skyrim so much too they’re sosososo fun
“Daevyn Sarethi, you are a bastard creature that feels shame but not guilt, lust but not desire. Creating chaos, yet demanding order. Pulling tears from enemy and lover, yet your own eyes are dry. Your bones are empty of soul, yet you crave in your belly. You, you, you, you, you, you, you, you — Your flesh, your pleasure, your mind, your throat; tools to be wielded by my many black hands. Your lies, your seed, your bones, your pain, I strike with them as my many-arms. Push through the flesh, rise from slaughter’s afterbirth, and set to right and ruin within my gentle web.”
Wow lucky yall, get art immediately as I finish it! :D
I was gonna draw more gore of my comfort character, but then I got overwhelmed with cuteness aggression. So here's Elyden being sickened with the gay disease. It's sad...
Born: 23rd of Sun’s Dusk, 3E390 under the Atronach sign
Occupation: Grandmaster of the Morag Tong, although currently inactive after disbanding the guild. She worked for decades at the Riften docks until the reestablished Morag Tong tried to execute a writ on her. Currently a drifter, but on the verge of going on a crusade. The pay is pretty shit, though. Head pats from Talos and Pelinal Whitestrake don’t cover your tavern tab lol.
Background:
Lys is old, so this is going to be long.
She was born as a boy (male, whatever) to a single mother in the Ascadian Isles. When Lys was six, her mother disappeared to Red Mountain as one of Dagoth Ur’s dreamers. Lys was taken to the High Fane in Vivec, where other orphaned children were raised within the Temple. Lys remained here until she was twelve, when her maternal grandfather Eno Hlaalu kidnapped her (adoptions weren’t really done in the Temple, since the kids were considered children of the Tribunal).
Lys and Eno resumed life in the Ascadian Isles, although in a different area than where Lys had originally lived with her mother. Eno dipped his toes into the Twin Lamps, and Lys remembers fondly the days when Sterdecan and/or Gentleman Jim Stacey would visit their shack.
Just like spending part of her youth in Vivec City set Lys up for a lifetime of Tribunal worship, witnessing these meetings turned her partial to the Twin Lamps and biased against the Camonna Tong. This in turn put her in line with the majority of the rest of House Hlaalu in supporting a pragmatic partnership with the Cyrodilic Empire. This didn’t amount to much action-wise for Lys as a young adult. She joined the Morag Tong (unaware of Eno’s prior association with them) and used this opportunity to start making her own way in the world.
Her focus shifted direction when she met Ilmeni Dren, her first serious romantic relationship. Ilmeni knew of Lys’ association with the Morag Tong, and ‘inspired’ Lys (didn’t take much, tbh) to use her talents to cut down Camonna Tong agents while she herself worked on undermining slavers.
At the same time, Lys climbed ranks in the Morag Tong. She eventually decided to challenge the current Grandmaster for the position. This would grant Lys the ability to prioritize writs paid for against the Camonna Tong, while giving her an inside view of who might pay for writs on Twin Lamps agents. Before Lys could do this, she needed to inform Eno of the possibility her challenge might be unsuccessful - there was a chance she might not be coming home. This is when Lys learned of Eno’s history as Grandmaster, as well as that Lys’ grandmother Nephiah had taught him some magic that might give her an edge over her opponent:
A method that Mephala worshippers use to magically extend their own lives is being designated as one of Mephala’s Favoured Children. If someone has sent her enough souls in worship, a ritual can be performed on Mephala’s Summoning Day that would allow the candidate to request such an honour. Due to Lys’ successful service in the Morag Tong, she was granted this. Mephala roots this magic in a single grey hair, like a thread. From this point on (in her late-30s at this point), Lys no longer aged.
Lys’ grandmother having taught Eno this magic invoked Lys’ curiosity about her, since Lys and Eno are the only family each of them have. Nephiah was, as Eno would describe her, a difficult woman. She had a lot of baggage as the bastard child of Barenziah and Tiber Septim (heavily asserted via propaganda that the attempted abortion by her father had been successful in order to protect her, even if Barenziah still couldn’t keep her). In short, Nephiah decided that motherhood wasn’t for her after Lys’ mother was born. She left Eno to raise Venziah alone, disappearing not much differently than how Venziah herself would later, although willfully rather than drawn away.
Lys challenged the Grandmaster and succeeded. This is around the time the Nerevarine defeated Dagoth Ur (3E428). Rumours that the Tribunal had been killed too at the Nerevarine’s behest made Lys sick, and she gripped her faith all the harder as the Temple went into decline. She began to feel in an awkward position as acting in such service to Mephala, like it was a betrayal that she couldn’t so easily balance with her love for the Tribunal.
In 4E433, the Oblivion Crisis began. News that the Septims were being killed off was cause for alarm for Lys, as the great-granddaughter of Tiber Septim. She became withdrawn and paranoid, holding it together for the most part until Ald’ruhn was destroyed by daedra. She decided Vvardenfell as a whole was no longer safe and uprooted both Eno and the Morag Tong headquarters to relocate to Narsis. Lys and Ilmeni officially ended their relationship when Ilmeni opted not to come along; they’d long lost the spark anyway, more focused on their work than each other. Lys’ personal issues didn’t help either.
The Oblivion Crisis ended with no harm ever coming to Lys, and the calendar ticked over into the fourth era. In 4E5, the Red Year happened, followed by House Hlaalu’s collapse. Lys crashed out again and this time, instead of uprooting the Morag Tong, she dissolved it completely. She and Eno moved to Blacklight, along the way which Lys prayed to Vivec for the means to hide from her past. Whichever god answered her prayer (whether Vivec, or maybe Mephala, as Eno will always put forth since Vivec is ofc rumoured to be dead) killed two birds with one stone by changing Lys’ sex. Despite the fact Lys wanted that (whether subconsciously having acknowledged she didn’t feel comfortable as a man, just didn’t feel comfortable in general, thought such power was reserved solely for the gods, etc), she crashed out again.
Although her gender dysphoria was alleviated, not much else changed about Lys after settling in Blacklight. Her other personal issues on top of returning to work as a mercenary meant she eventually wore out her welcome. She and Eno then packed up around 4E136 and moved to Riften. There, Lys took up work at the docks and Eno continued to enjoy his retirement until 4E201, when Morag Tong assassins broke into their home. Following an attack, Lys and Eno packed up their most valued possessions and fled intent to travel the Pale Pass into Cyrodiil. They get caught up in an attempted Stormcloak ambush, and the rest is history (or, in this case, the events of Grasping Glory lol).
Notable relationships:
Eno Hlaalu - Lys’ maternal grandfather. He ‘kidnapped’ her from the High Fane when she was twelve. Lys never really moved out as an adult, just blended their caretaker roles as grandfather and grandchild. Losing him as a casualty in a Thalmor ambush marks the start of Lys’ final intended careen toward that sticky end she’s been waiting her entire life for, in her quest for revenge.
Ulfric Stormcloak - Lys’ original point of concept for me was ‘I need to make a problematic girlie, STAT’. So, on top of her being racist and genocidal, she gets paired with Everyone’s Favourite Jarl lol. In all seriousness and on the story level, Ulfric is a stabilizing force in Lys’ life. They meet in Imperial prison at pivotal points in each of their lives (the perceived end), and remain tangled following their escape together. The universe agrees, as a mantling phenomenon (not sure what else to call it) happens when they meet: Lys catches the spirit of Pelinal Whitestrake, and Ulfric that of Morihaus. Skyrim itself is Alessia, in this metaphor; the enslaved queen who prayed to the gods for aid in her liberation, and this is how the gods answered.
Pelinal Whitestrake - Attaches himself to Lys, for he has his own bone to pick with the Thalmor. They’re elves, so obviously that’s a problem lol. They also desecrated the Priory of the Nine in the Western Weald during their invasion of Cyrodiil, which was the resting place of Pelinal’s spirit following his initial crusade. He couldn’t do anything at the time since the Ayleids had cut him into eighths (shouldn’t done ninths, to kill his spirit too, but oh well lol), but his lack of being chained to time landed him with Lys on the path of least resistance. The children of the Slavemasters will all die, by his determination. Lys has the drive, and Pelinal will couple with her to ensure she also has the means, through conjuring his relics and being blessed (or is it cursed?) by all Nine Divines.
Talos - Lys’ worship of him came later in life and not without resistance. Lys is the Last Dragonborn, but not in the typical way of Skyrim canon. She is Tiber Septim’s youngest living descendant. Since Lys is a Dunmer, Talos slots in nicely with the whole concept of ancestral worship.
Nephiah - Lys’ maternal grandmother, and Tiber Septim/Barenziah’s illegitimate child. Their relationship is notable in how lacking it is. Nephiah has been Mephala’s Champion for a very long time, and she circles Lys in Grasping Glory not unlike a spider building a web intent to catch one specific fly. Things Happen around Lys that she doesn’t recognize as Nephiah’s doing until the final trap is sprung. Nephiah herself is exactly as Eno describes her: difficult, with no maternal instinct to speak of. She shuts Lys down right away on any sort of familial relationship between them, and would never denigrate herself to be referred to as ‘Grandmother’. She is Nephiah to Lys. Nothing more, nothing less. She is a destabilizing force in Lys’ life, turning her insecurity issues up to 11.
Elenwen - In short, it’s her fault Eno is dead, since she was the one to orchestrate that Thalmor ambush. When Lys takes up Pelinal’s mantle and starts slaughtering Thalmor en masse, Elenwen is her final goal. Lys uses Elenwen as means to find out where Thalmor agents are all posted in Skyrim by sneaking in and out of her solar at the Embassy.
Strengths:
- Double Atronach sign. Not only was she born under the Atronach, she did pilgrimage to the stone in Skyrim after moving to Riften. Her magicka wells are impressively deep. Lys is also invisible to a Detect Life spell, for she’ll just absorb the magicka that touches her.
- Zealotry. Worshipping Mephala has made Lys very adept in the art of murder. As everyone knows, Vivec never did anything wrong LOL. Talos worship gives Lys an extra edge as she goes forth in her plans to eradicate the Thalmor. It also endears her to the Nords (particularly those sympathetic toward the Stormcloaks).
- Fierce loyalty. She’s reliable and can make fast friends under the right circumstances. With the right friends, she can become an even more powerful force against common enemies.
- Paranoia. Lys constantly looks over her shoulder, so she can sense trouble coming a mile away and will most often catch it.
Weaknesses:
- Double Atronach sign. She can’t regenerate her own magicka, which can leave her in trouble if she runs out. She’s also at the mercy of always having to pray to refill her magicka.
- Zealotry. Lys has no concept anymore of living for herself. She struggles after so much murder to see some people as more than just an obstacle or inconvenient blobs of flesh. At the same time, she knows consequences must be coming. This makes her extremely paranoid, which only exacerbates how dangerous she is.
- Fierce loyalty. She’s not immune to falling in with ‘the wrong crowd’. The Morag Tong (murderers), the Imperial Empire (colonizers), the Stormcloaks (racists), etc. She can excuse anything if the right person is doing wrong, so long as she likes them (although that is not to say she won’t call them on their bullshit, Ulfric).
- Paranoia. Lys struggles to form relationships and live a stable life. In the event she misses seeing something coming, her paranoia will only increase and lead to further trouble.
No interest in:
- Having children. Even if Lys wanted them, she knows she would be a terrible mother. The cycle ends with her.
- Living. She does it simply because she’s already alive, and because survival instinct is kind of a bitch.
- Being revered. She’ll happily take the powers of gods for herself, but god forbid (haha) she is perceived. She won’t even tell Ulfric she’s a blood relative of Talos (although that is more to do with the fact she doesn’t want that to influence his feelings toward her).
No concept of:
- Self-worth. Lys would say she’s healed from her mother having disappeared (seriously, it happened over 250 years ago!) but it left a mark on Lys that festered in other ways. She struggles with suicidal ideation, which will often end in homicide instead. Lys dedicates herself to various gods, in search of purpose for her living.
Character:
Extreme tl;dr, another day, another crash out.
In battle:
Lys is well-versed in dagger/one-handed with shield fighting. She volleys between using conjuration for her weapons (and armour, such is the case with the Crusader’s Relics) and keeping a simple backup dagger on her person. She was Silenced once, and that was enough to smarten her up on putting all eggs into one basket lol. As a fighter, she’s relentless. Kill first, ask questions later. She quickly enters a state of flow. Doom Guy meets TES; rip and tear, until it is done.
Distinguishing marks:
- Single grey hair prominently visible at her temple. Most Dunmer will recognize it as the marking of one of Mephala’s Favoured Children.
- Has the appearance of mixed race offspring (less prominent mer features that feed into her self-image issues after being sneered at as a child).
Trivia (basically a quick summary of everything above):
- She’s trans.
- She used to be/kinda still is the Grandmaster of the Morag Tong.
- Is related to Eno Hlaalu, and Barenziah and Tiber Septim, which also means blood relations to Helseth, Karliah, etc. She calls lots of other characters cousins: Belyn in Windhelm, Falanu in Skingrad, Martin Septim.
- Is Dragonborn and can Shout, but Alduin is late to resurface in her story so this manifests differently/with more difficulty.
- She mantles Pelinal Whitestrake and expects to meet the same gruesome end he did. In her backwards logic, this means that she needs to commit even more atrocities so that she can be certain she earned it.
- She has no concept of sexuality, so I guess she would just be deemed bisexual (perhaps closer to demisexual). She fell in love with Ilmeni Dren when she was younger, and Ulfric Stormcloak when she was older. She likes what she likes, and she likes who she likes.
- I’m pretty certain that she would be diagnosed with a personality disorder if she was real. I hesitate to associate her with BPD because of how she acts out and I know folks with BPD get enough of a bad rep as it is, but I think if she had the kind of support those folks require Lys would have a shot at some peace in her life.
- She’ll eventually marry Ulfric and is a positive influence in how he rules Eastmarch in his later jarl years. Things will improve in Windhelm for the Dunmer and Argonians.
- She’ll nearly single-handedly drive the Thalmor out of Skyrim, which takes the heat out of the civil war. This leaves Ulfric more able to enter talks with Rikke (Military Governor of Skyrim following Tullius’ death) and Balgruuf (becomes High King following the moot after Torygg’s death).
Age: 23 (Skyrim main quest events/Seeking the Sun), 26-27 (The Perfect Storm)
Born: 6th Sun’s Dawn 4E 178
Occupation: Dragonborn, former student of the College of Winterhold, Thane of Whiterun, Balgruuf’s advisor on security, eventual High Queen of Skyrim
Background:
Elyse is half-Nord, half-Breton, with her mother being the estranged daughter of a Jarl and her father a disowned son of a minor High Rock noble family.
The first twelve years of her life were spent across High Rock, with her family moving from place to place and staying in inns more often than not whilst her mother took on work as a sword for hire and her father worked as a tutor. She would spend a lot of time with her father, as Ingja's jobs were often quite dangerous and not a place for a young child, and Edwyn would only take on tutoring jobs which allowed him to take her with him – as such, Elyse picked up a lot on reading, writing, and basic magic from him during her formative years even without the more formal educations which her parents received.
Because of the amount of time spent in inns, Elyse never really learned how to fend for herself in terms of cooking – the food would just always be ready (i.e. parents bought it), aside from the bare minimum of cooking basic things over an open flame which didn't need active tending to (e.g. fish on a stick on an open fire). However, her time around inns made her a) a bit uneasy in crowds because of how rowdy they could get and that was quite terrifying to a young child who was often with a father who wasn't physically inclined if things kicked off and him being very averse to getting tangled up in those sorts of situations, and b) made her somewhat musically inclined. She couldn't pick up an instrument, mind, but she could certainly hum the tunes she heard through her childhood.
Upon her grandfather’s death (on her mother’s side) when she was twelve and her mother ending up with an inheritance in spite of her estrangement, they then end up settling down in Chorrol, which is where she lived until her mother’s death and father’s disappearance (and supposed death) in her early 20s – this being the catalyst which made her decide to venture to Skyrim and get arrested at the border.
During her time there, she began to get a bit more training on survival from her parents as she would like to explore in and around the city, being taught what to look for in terms of ingredients to make sure that they weren't toxic if she wanted to taste them or gather them, very basic healing spells (that she could barely get a grasp of), how to use a sword/dagger and a bow, and how to summon a familiar (which ends up being the same conjured wolf as her father, that they call Spectre – he's essentially the family pet).
As she gets older, she starts trying to date, wanting to find herself a whirlwind romance akin to her parents. Instead, she gets disappointed time and time again. Men, women, man, mer, everyone – but she realises that her expectations are too high and that honestly? She's felt nothing with none of these people, even if things became intimate. So after many a night sobbing to her parents over things not working out (there was a point where her father was wanting to make his way to the Imperial City to yell at someone who tried to take her on a date in a rat-infested cabin on the city waterfront), she decides if it happens, it happens. But she won't really actively look for a relationship (though does long for one just like her parents have still).
When she reaches adulthood, she decides to try and help support her parents – no less with this being the time that Ingja starts falling ill so the money which she would make through hunting (which was Ingja's job in Chorrol as it was much less dangerous than being a mercenary) began to fade away – and gets herself a role as a cleaner at the Count's palace. (She actually has a bit of a soft spot for Fianna and Gerda in Dragonsreach as a result, even though Gerda likes to remind her that it's Balgruuf in charge even if she's doing nothing but sitting down).
Then, when Ingja dies, Edwyn essentially shuts down. So Elyse has to work even harder for the two of them to get by. Eventually though, Edwyn says that he's got himself a job that will take him to Cheydinhal, which surprises her, but she wishes him luck as he promises that he will write to her. She gets letters for the first few weeks, and then… nothing. Complete silence. She has to start selling belongings to get by. There's no sign of Edwyn. She assumes that he died.
And eventually, she realises that unless she somehow ended up on a windfall of money, she was going to lose everything. This leads to her making a plan – in Ingja's final months, she had managed to get her into contact with her uncle in Winterhold (Korir). She didn't know much of her uncle, but knew that he wouldn't just be someone to ask for help from. But he was family, which was better than anything she knew of her father's side of the family. That, and she knew of the College being in Winterhold, that her father had been there and was on occasion in contact with the Arch Mage and even would ask if she ever considered going there instead of working as a cleaner. Meaning that attending the College of Winterhold becomes her plan. So she sells up everything but the clothes on her back (even her precious collection of earrings she had built up over time and was one of the last things of value she had kept hold of), a few books, and her mother's bow, and begins to travel north to the border with Skyrim, just to catch wind of the plan to close the border…
Notable Relationships:
Balgruuf – her beloved husband 💛 One of the first people she meets in Skyrim, and she leaves quite the impression on him (a big ball of anxiety with an injured arm, foregoing healing to meet with him to tell him of the danger his people were in, how could it not?). She finds him to be one of the most reasonable and thoughtful people she encounters during her early time in Skyrim and finds that when she follows his advice things typically work out in some way or another. (Emphasis on typically *looking at the attempt to reject Ulfric*). They become close over time, and eventually the lines start blurring... Are they friends, or something more? Of course, everyone around them realises it’s ‘something more’ before they even do. They would do anything to protect the other. And I mean anything. The people around them remark about how much they love each other, how happy that they make each other, but damn, they sometimes need to tone down the sappy. They make each other whole, both physically (in every sense of the word if you catch my drift 😆) and emotionally, after years of being broken.
Lydia – her housecarl, though it doesn’t take long once Elyse reluctantly asks for her support after 6 months of trying to figure out the whole Dragonborn thing at the College for the two of them to become firm friends, if not like sisters. Elyse can trust Lydia to give her the truth, even if it hurts her, and that sort of tough love is something that she needs to get something into her head if she has persuaded herself otherwise. Lydia’s responsibility to protect Elyse extends into cooking when they are out and about – and she will never allow Elyse to let the Troll Fat Incident™️ go.
Edwyn Verne – her father, and her role model. She spent the most time with him of her parents in her younger years, as whilst Ingja took on more dangerous jobs for money, she got to accompany Edwyn on his tutoring jobs so got to learn from him. She takes after him the most of her two parents, through their love and talent for conjuration spells, and also physically. His disappearance after Ingja’s death – the time where they needed each other most – hurt her to the point that it almost irreversibly pushed her into the mindset that she needed to go at it alone, that she had to manage things herself (and it took the likes of Balgruuf and Lydia years to pull her back to a point where she felt that she could ask for help). Edwyn’s eventual return comes at an incredibly turbulent time in her life, with her dealing with pregnancy and the stress of Balgruuf being declared High King, and it takes a lot for him to earn back her trust in spite of her love for him still being there.
Ingja Frosthand – her mother, who she most takes after in terms of sheer stubbornness, and her eyes. Ingja wasn’t able to spend much time with Elyse in her younger years due to taking on jobs where she didn’t want her young child to be put into danger, so would entrust her care to Edwyn during those times, though would always return from her jobs no matter how brutal they had been with a little sweet treat and a tale about the job for Elyse. After receiving a surprise inheritance from her father’s death, she lays down her sword when they move to Chorrol, and gets to spend much more time with Elyse. They bonded most over gardening (their prized plant was a strawberry bush), swordplay, archery, and reading tacky novels. Ingja’s death hits her hard, but Elyse takes some comfort in having her bow in her possession, and that when she went to Sovngarde to defeat Alduin, Ingja was there looking like her healthy self once more. They reunited, and took the World Eater down together. Ingja was absolutely gushing with pride at how much Elyse had grown and was taken aback that she was Dragonborn. And on the incredibly rare occasion (like she only uses it once or twice after learning it) Elyse would use the Call of Valor shout, you bet it’s Ingja who comes.
Korir – her uncle (Ingja’s younger brother), and they do not like each other one iota, but will begrudgingly cooperate if a situation called for it. He thinks she’s just like Ingja and hates her for it, presumes that she’s trying to exploit their blood relationship for her gain (she is not), and wants to control her once he learns that she is the Dragonborn thanks to Maven following through with her blackmail threat against Elyse. She thinks he’s a self-serving asshole (he is to an extent, he just persuaded himself that it would be for Winterhold’s benefit) who is grasping for whatever power he can (he is), and feels sad that he chooses to antagonise the College instead of using it as the asset it could potentially be. A Situation happens during the Skyrim civil war which makes them both re-evaluate some of these perspectives of one another and their strong dislike gives way to the occasional bit of tolerance.
Balgruuf’s children – though they don’t get off on the best foot at first, Frothar, Dagny, and Nelkir very quickly endear themselves to her once she moves into Dragonsreach, and she loves her stepchildren dearly – and with their permission, she loves to call herself their mother. She admires Frothar's optimism and enthusiasm and just how much of a quick study he is, and she really enjoys her time spent tutoring and sparring with him to practice swordplay. Dagny feels that she is surrounded by nothing but boys and men, so having Elyse around allows her to let out some of the frustrations about it – and though Elyse isn't the biggest fan of some of the things Dagny wants to do, there are a few activities which they greatly enjoy, such as chatting and gossiping as they eat sweets, looking at Fralia's jewellery stall, and growing flowers (because Elyse persuaded her to give it a go 'because flowers you grow yourself are much more worth the effort and much prettier than flowers you can get at a shop'). Elyse and Nelkir are certainly more kindred spirits though, the two of them enjoying the quiet and Elyse likes listening to his insights and realising just how observant he is, and he eventually gets tutoring from her akin to Frothar, albeit in magic.
Aina – She is Elyse and Balgruuf's biological daughter, and though Aina takes after Balgruuf strongly, with the exception of her pointed Breton ears, they are almost a mirror of one another in terms of mannerism. However, Elyse is baffled at how much confidence Aina gets and can definitely see Balgruuf in her ability to use the right words to get other to agree with her and occasional temper. She ends up with many a fond memory of sitting reading to Aina in the evenings, helping to braid her hair and telling what Aina thinks are fantastical stories (but are actually real tales of her life).
Ulfric Stormcloak – Though initially, Elyse does not know how to think of him, and feels that their first impressions were absolutely dreadful (imagine getting arrested, knocked out, and waking up lying on your intolerant uncle's work colleague's shoulder-!!!!), it's after her defeat of Alduin that Elyse begins to realise… that she really doesn't like Ulfric. It starts with him assuming that she will join him because her mother is a Nord (yes, Ingja was a Nord and yes, Ingja stubbornly continued to worship Talos, but there was no way that Ingja would support her homeland being torn apart by her own kinsmen). Then it becomes incessant letters. Then it becomes a forceful marriage 'proposal' which almost ends fatally in the attempt to keep her in Windhelm when she turns him down in person. The fact that Ulfric tries (or at least, someone with close ties to Ulfric tries) to use her refusals and stubbornness as a manipulation tool against Balgruuf and Whiterun though? That makes her blood boil. Even when Balgruuf realises that it really is just Ulfric trying to get Whiterun on his side, it still angers her. But though that anger continues, there are few things Elyse hates more than Ulfric, and one of them is the continued war. And there may be a point where she tries to utilise that fact against him.
Other notable (albeit not to the extent of the others) relationships –
Hrongar (brother-in-law, the one pushing the most for Balyse to become a thing),
Irileth (Balgruuf’s housecarl, eventual sister-in-law, receives a life-changing injury in Elyse's defense and Elyse feels she owes her for that)
Proventus (Balgruuf’s steward, occasional bickering between them, co-conspirator in making Balgruuf rest by adjusting his schedules)
Farengar (nerd out together a lot)
Galmar (person she fears most in Skyrim, he wants her dead or at Ulfric’s beck and call)
General Tullius (he keeps trying to order her about like she is a soldier of his. She is not. She and Balgruuf have to remind him of that fact frequently.)
Tolfdir (her tutor and advisor at the College, like a second father to her, she has likely accidentally called him ‘dad’ at some point)
Arngeir (like a third father to her)
Paarthurnax (like a fourth father to her. She’s basically collecting father figures in Edwyn’s absence.)
Odahviing (loyal to and protective of her to a fault)
Mikael (she has a bad habit of burning things which she doesn't like. His books and ballads very much fall under that category. As such he is terrified of her.)
Strengths:
Conjuration magic
Alchemy
Swordplay
Tactical thinking
Embroidery and sewing
Her loyalty to her loved ones
Weaknesses:
Her difficulties in asking for help when needed
How helpless she feels without magicka
Cooking ability
Sweet tooth
Low alcohol tolerance
How she hates being backed into a corner or caught unawares, she needs plans and contingencies
Restoration magic
No interest in:
Serving daedric princes
Serving anyone, really
Being put into a position where she won't have her independence
Marrying Ulfric
No concept of:
Understanding that things which can be used in alchemy and things that can be used are not interchangeable (i.e. just because troll fat and butter can be seen as fats… they are most certainly not interchangeable.)
Illusion magic. It was essentially taboo in her family during her upbringing, so whilst she got to dabble in all other schools of magic, she didn't with illusion – with one exception. She learned the invisibility spell, but uses the logic of 'it alters your physical form to not be visible, therefore it is an alteration spell'.
Self-preservation when her nearest and dearest are hurt
Character:
Smart, sharp, but stubborn, and though capable of putting on a strong face and is more than willing to fight to show her independence, behind those walls she is very soft and feels vulnerable and exposed – and honestly just wants someone to be there for her. To keep her propped upright when her supports and strength is fading away. (And Balgruuf is that for her).
In battle:
She wields her dual conjured swords, dropping to just one if she needs to cast further spells. Wears partially hand-crafted steel plate armour (it's a collective effort between her, Alvor, and Adrianne) with flowers that she personally carved into the steel of her gauntlets and boots. If she does not have Lydia by her side, she conjures Spectre to support her. If absolutely necessary, she falls back on using her dagger (given to her by Ralof when escaping Helgen), or her bound bow or her mother's bow.
Distinguishing marks:
She doesn't really have any distinguishing marks aside from a few scars on her back – places that couldn't be as easily reached to heal. The closest thing she really has to a distinguishing mark is more of a distinguishing accessory, which is her golden, petal-shaped earrings which Balgruuf gets her for her birthday.
Trivia:
If Elyse had a septim for every time she lived in a city which has a big famous tree in it, she would have two septims – not a lot, but weird that it happened twice (Chorrol with its Great Oak, Whiterun with the Gildergreen).
Though unintentional, she does have a draw towards the colour yellow. Meg's hardly concealed bias towards the colour more like.
In her version of Skyrim, my OC Thorne does the Thieves Guild quests and actually fails the Honningbrew quests. Elyse accidentally stumbles on Honningbrew in the midst of its skeever trouble, and helps to solve the problem, get Mallus arrested, and becomes an investor in the meadery (much to Maven's chagrin). Sabjorn actually makes a lavender-infused reserve which is dedicated to her as thanks for saving his business and helping to keep it afloat, and it becomes one of her favourite drinks.
Speaking of lavender, it is one of her favourite flowers. She finds the scent comforting and the colour beautiful, and grows a lot of it as it has uses in alchemy (and has a fortify conjuration effect, which is a plus to her), and she uses it to make perfumes and soap.
Tea is her favourite drink, and though she isn't allowed to cook (and is in fact banned from the Dragonsreach kitchens following the disaster that was her attempt to bake a cake for Balgruuf with his children), she is allowed to make tea and is very good at it. It's almost like another branch of alchemy, hence why she takes to it.
She hates reading non-fiction, and adores a good mythological piece or sappy romance. The only exception she will make to the non-fiction is if Balgruuf reads it aloud to her.
Often, she wears clothing with exposed shoulders. She has a few exceptions to this. And sometimes she borrows Balgruuf's fur mantles if her shoulders get cold.
Speaking of the cold, she's fine with it, but isn't quite as tolerant as someone who only has partial Nordic blood, and having grown up in the relative warmth of High Rock and Cyrodiil (she doesn't realise that had Ingja not been a Nord, she'd have been much colder than she's complaining about). She just gets a bit dramatic over how she feels. But she does have a worse tolerance after her freezing cold plunge into the Windhelm docks.
And now speaking of that plunge, she refuses to enter most bodies of water after that as a result. The only way she is entering any of them is if she is holding onto someone, and no more than her feet enters the water.
Honey is her favourite sweet thing, and honey and lemon boiled sweets her favourite treat. Sweetrolls are a close second, followed by strawberries.
Though she is Dragonborn, she prefers not to use her thu'um. Calling for Odahviing is possibly her most used shout.
She has done the Dragonborn/Solstheim stuff, but it's so close to canon what happens, it's not really remarkable. Only difference is that she encounters a few residents of Apocrypha, one of which being her ancestor, Avelynne, who gave a few little pointers about how to navigate the area. (What I mentioned before about how Edwyn's family is a minor noble family in High Rock? Ave is why, she's the Vestige, therefore close friends with High King Emeric, and the Verne family received a little nudge up in society as a result).
Elyse has a few AUs - one where she didn't escape Windhelm and is forced to marry Ulfric, one where her parents never leave Winterhold so Ingja becomes Jarl and eventually Elyse does (meaning that there is a very bitter Korir who will do anything for the power he thinks was stolen from him... Even arranging for his niece and brother-in-law to be overthrown+left to rot in The Chill or killed respectively... And also an AU where she's not Dragonborn and instead becomes a teacher, eventually setting up a school in Whiterun after adopting Lucia and steadily ending up the tutor for Whiterun's children.
And some drawings I've done of her (and Balgruuf):
Thank you for the tags to do this, @cresu and @sulphuricgrin 🥰
When your court mage father explains the potion you’ve been helping him craft for the last four months will make one member of the royal family’s hair three percent shinier.
Celeoniss was radicalized against Alinor’s monarchy by watching his father break his back doing stupid shit to make the royal family happy.
Celeoniss’s father was just happy to have a job he could take his child (pint-size apprentice) to every day.
