Nord Overview (Guide)

Introduction

It is said that the world was created when Shor made a great sacrifice of his very godhood. In revenge, his heart was ripped from his body and thrown to Nirn, forming Red Mountain around it. His wife Kyne then breathed on highest peak in Tamriel, the throat of the world and brought into existence the races of men. Many of them migrated north and in the land of distant green summers they became the Atmorans. Towering, hardy warriors, these animal totem worshiping stout-hearted men and women suffered decades of civil war and encroaching frost on their continent until at last a chieftain named Ysgramor convinced a group of them to sail south to the continent of Tamriel. On the northernmost shores under the shadow of the same mountain from which their ancestors first emerged, they settled. However the native snow elves, fearful of the spread of mankind, descended on their small settlement of Saarthal and massacred the innocent people there. Ysgramor and his two sons escaped and returned to Atmora to tell the story of the night of tears to their people, and then rallied 500 companions to their side to avenge them. When next they sailed their longboats to Tamriel it was not as mere settlers, but as fierce conquerors. They cut a bloody swath across the whole of the land that was touched by sky until not a single snow elf remained. Thus was the land of Skyrim tamed, and ruled by the descendants of Ysgramor's victorious warriors - the Nords.

Overview

Description (TES III)

The citizens of Skyrim are aggressive and fearless in war, industrious and enterprising in trade and exploration. Strong, stubborn, and hardy, Nords are famous for their resistance to cold, even magical frost. Violence is an accepted and comfortable aspect of Nord culture; Nords of all classes are skilled with a variety of weapon and armor styles, and they cheerfully face battle with an ecstatic ferocity that shocks and appalls their enemies.

OOC

Nords take most of their influence from a fantastical interpretation of our own world's Vikings. They utilize many Scandinavian words, customs, and aesthetics as well as emphasize similarities in their religion such as their Sovngarde being relatable to Valhalla. However, there are key distinctions between them such as the typically lawful good morality shared among most citizens and their adherence to a government. The Holds, though independent to an extent, still respect the mantle and authority of Skyrim's High King, and have likewise found themselves among the peoples of the Empire before. They also tend to be considerably superstitious and faithful to that which they deem to be divine intervention. That said, all nords are not the same and as a fiercely independent people many tend to diverge from the majority of the populous on various issues ranging from morality to religion and even living standards. They even have off-shoots such as the Roscreans, the Ternions, and the Skaal.