#oc Elbryn

[a-lonely-dunedain]

my son crump he has every disease

[a-lonely-dunedain]

so, I'm really enjoying the Journal of the Dragonborn mod.

[a-lonely-dunedain]

home sweet home <3

[a-lonely-dunedain]

every magic school has the Cringefail Newbie and the Self-Proclaimed Prodigy that adopted him <3

so I finally managed a drawing of Elbryn I'm actually happy with! idk if I'll ever write a proper fic involving him but I do have many Thoughts™ about the lil guy so I'll just dump them here under the cut

so after his rather embarrassing magical mishap in Helgen (which he's pretty sure didn't summon the dragon? but he isn't ruling it out as a possibility) he basically swears off using spells entirely and opts for a war axe

somehow manages to not die despite his lack of skill, figures out he's the Dragonborn yadda-yadda, we've all played the quests.

actually counts the Seven-Thousand-Steps to High-Hrothgar like the nerd he is. It was significantly more than seven thousand and his legs hurt so badly.

after making it to High-Hrothgar the Greybeards basically told Elbryn that he would need to become stronger before he could battle dragons as equals and master his Thu'um. Unfortunately they didn't provide much guidance on exactly how he should go about that, only telling him "that path would be made clear" and leaving the rest up to him.

Decides to go back to Whiterun and join the Companions. He's very intimidated by them, but they're probably the best people he could hope to learn from if he wants to master his skills with a blade.

Notably he goes to great lengths to hide his status as the Dragonborn from basically everyone. He feels as though the people of Skyrim are disheartened enough with the return of the Dragons, and if they knew this "legendary dragon-slayer" was really just some scrawny Breton ex-mage it would only dishearten them further, so he feels like it's better to let everyone assume the Dragonborn is some strong and fearsome Nord warrior or something of that nature. At least until he feels as though he can live up to the title.

He also hides his past as a mage from them because he gets the sense that the Companions would like, instantly stop respecting him if they knew. He does feel very bad about keeping so many secrets from them though, seeing as they all talk a big game about how they "don't deal in secrets like thieves and mages do"

Anyway things with the Companions go surprisingly well! His fighting skills improve significantly and he actually starts to form an unlikely friendship with Farkas. a bit of an "opposites attract" type thing. Farkas sees that Elbryn has a lot of potential but lacks confidence, so he sorta decided to take him under his wing. (Vilkas is a bit less fond of Elbryn though. not that he really dislikes him or anything, but he catches on that he's hiding something and doesn't quite trust it)

anyway if you know how the Companions questline goes you know that they take you into the Underforge with the intention of turning you into a werewolf alarmingly fast. Elbryn was still willing to work with them upon learning they were werewolves, but becoming one himself? no no no no nope. He basically tells them "yeah uhh I'll need to think about it", goes to his room, packs his stuff and sneaks off that very same night without saying a word to anyone. In hindsight he feels bad about that. Kinda wishes he had left Farkas a note or something, but he was scared and in a hurry. Oh well, nothing to be done about it now...

now I know they weren't going to force him to become a werewolf or anything, but Elbryn didn't know that. I mean they said they weren't going to force him but they also said the Companions don't deal in secrets, yet here they are doing this under Kodlak's nose in the dead of night! he has no idea what to think or expect or who he could even talk to and these guys have teeth. so he just runs.

north specifically. Not for any particular reason, he just had to pick a direction and it happened to be north. Wanders around for a bit, unsure of were to go now that his only source of martial training fell through.

Eventually comes across Frostflow Lighthouse (REAL downer of a dungeon that one) Now the thing about Frostflow is that near the end you drop down a cliff, and the only way back out is through the final boss. the giant Chaurus Reaper. So he's cornered down there, alone, with a foe he is woefully unprepared to fight. (In game it kept two-shotting me lmao, but I decided to make a story thing out of it!)

So in desperation he decides to use his magic. Not a lot mind you, maybe just to heal himself or create a flash to stun it so he could get away, but whatever it was he intended to do with it hardly matters, because that's not what ended up happening.

See, as it turns out, when you're naturally gifted with high amounts of magic, trying to suppress it for long periods of time like what Elbryn did basically turns you into a magic bomb. So the moment he tried to tap into his magika reserves, it was like a dam burst open. Everything in the cavern was engulfed in a storm of pure untamed magical energy, swirling and burning and tearing until nothing was left of the Chaurus but some strips of charred flesh and chitin

Elbryn immediately passes out, wakes up an indeterminate amount of time later dazed and utterly horrified at the carnage he left behind. I mean sure, it worked out in his favor this time, he was surrounded by foes and going scorched earth was really the only option, but if someone else had been with him? if something like that were to happen when he was with a friend or trying to protect or rescue someone... He looks back at the charred bits of Chaurus strewn about.

yeah, just suppressing his magic ain't gonna cut it, he needs to learn how to control it or else. There's a college in Winterhold right? that's where he has to go then. So he sets out east over the ice fields and hopes he can make it there before getting hopelessly lost and dying.

(ok I had a lot more to say but this was getting LONG I'll have to make another post later lol. sorry, Elbryn decided he wanted to have a story so I guess there's a story now)

[a-lonely-dunedain]

New year new Skyrim save file I just created the most sopping wet cringefail mage who’s scared of magic

[a-lonely-dunedain]

most NPCs in Skyrim either say "By the Nine" or "By the Eight" depending on how much they like to kiss the Thalmor's ass, but Elbryn has taken to just saying "by the Divines" because he knows it's the only option that won't piss someone off

[a-lonely-dunedain]

Elbryn: I suck so bad at this I’m gonna fail my classes and die

Brelyna: Elbryn you’re fine we don’t even have grades, it doesn’t work like that here

J’zargo: and yet he is still somehow failing his classes, it is most impressive

Onmund, spritzing J’zargo with water: no, bad.

[a-lonely-dunedain]

I love my silly pathetic cringefail mage so much you have no idea YOU HAVE NO IDEA

[a-lonely-dunedain]

I'm going to get Elbryn a unicorn bc he deserves it

[a-lonely-dunedain]

Jarl Korir: *hates mages, hate magic, hates the college, stubs his toe and blames a wizard for it* also Jarl Korir, speaking to the new Arch-Mage: yeah you can totally be a Thane if ya want, here's a cool new sword. you're my bestie now. *turning back to his wife* Now where was I... oh yeah, I can't believe we still have a wizard staying in the local inn! it's outrageous!

[a-lonely-dunedain]

"just read the book" he says "what's the worst that could happen" he says, J'zargo we are in Apocrypha now

[a-lonely-dunedain]

Elbryn found a pet rabbit named Thistle and RED ALERT SHE'S THE CUTEST GOSH DANG THING IN THE ENTIRE WORLD

SHE LOAFS. I CAN'T. I'M GONNA DIE OF CUTENESS.

[a-lonely-dunedain]

my goofy little in-universe explanation for why no one seems to care that Elbryn rides a unicorn is that he keeps it hidden with illusion magic and to everyone else it just looks like a normal, albeit unusually pretty and fast horse.

No NPCs ever comment on you just. riding into town on a freaking unicorn. so clearly they must just Not See It. I mean I know it's just creation club nonsense but I'm actually attached to the idea that Elbryn just canonically has a unicorn and I'm trying SO hard to make it make sense. I'm torn on whether he should name her something cute like Princess or Dewdrop, or something needlessly violent like Killer or The Annihilator. Snowflake the Impaler.

[a-lonely-dunedain]

well, one if us is going to have to change.

[a-lonely-dunedain]

me: *casually writing in Elbryn's journal about killing some Thalmor on the road*

Elbryn: hey wanna know about my Thalmor related trauma I just decided I had this whole time?

me: I swear if it's a dead brother AGAIN-

Elbryn: .........

me: ...............

Elbryn: ...........it's a sister, actually

me: RIGHT BECAUSE THAT MAKES IT SO MUCH BETTER

[a-lonely-dunedain]

ALSO when Elbryn inevitably joins the collage of Winterhold (bc I always do in my playthroughs) he's going to be besties with J'zargo <3 I just feel like they would have a fun dynamic. Mage who's so scared of magic he can hardly use it meets mage who is so so overconfident about magic that he almost blows both of them up on multiple occasions. they're gonna be so silly together