#original female breton character

[a-morningstar-120]

The smell of fresh fruit carried on the breeze to her, along with the sound of a child’s laughter.

Emerald Mayflower had never been one for peace, and love. But now, as she strummed her harp, fingers stroking softly across the strings, she couldn’t help but think of peace.

As she played a melody of new life, old life, the memories of sadness and happiness, she thought of an Imperial she hadn’t seen in years. He had been peace, peace to her. The only person to calm her thirst for blood. She had been a fool for running, but Emerald Mayflower feared commitment. She’d rather have a good time, not fall in love. But she did, and she ran.

The cool winds picked up, tossing her hair in waves around her face. Maybe she would find him.

Her finger struck the last note, ending on remembering an old life, as clapping filled her ears. Emerald stumbled back, hand over her heart, head bowed and hair falling in her face. Someone took her arm, whispering for her to follow.

[tjbanni]

I was supposed to be making reaction sprites, but instead I made what Tryna would look like if she was born in High Rock.

[pyrettawychwiggin]

Songstress of Skyrim (Mhari Freysri's Character Sheet - 1)

Disclaimer: This fanfiction contains characters and references to Skyrim. The only character I own is the protagonist, Mhari Freysri. The world surrounding the subject of Skyrim (including its characters) are the property of Bethesda. This fanfiction contains a LOT of spoilers regarding Skyrim and it's DLCs; and is based off of my first playthrough of the game; so this is your warning. This character sheet was written at the point where 'Songstress of Skyrim' begins, and this character is subject to change and grow throughout her story.

Name: Mhari Freysri

Gender: Female

Pronouns: She/Her

Race: Breton; born and raised just north of Northpoint (High Rock)

Height: 5'7"

Weight: 150 lbs

Preferred Weapons: low-level magic (flame and ice spells), bow and arrow

Favourite Foods: Vegetable soup, potatoes and wine

(Mhari's image was created in Doll Divine's 'Huldrefolk Maker' game - you can make your own here!)

Physical Description

Mhari is a Breton female in her late teens with blue-green eyes and long auburn hair. She has very pale skin for a Breton due to her Nord ancestry on her mother's side. She bears modest curves but is not as toned as a typical warrior in Skyrim as she has not seen much combat outside of hunting for food and defending herself from smaller creatures such as mudcrabs and small frostbite spiders. She has a coin-sized birthmark in the rough shape of a bird in flight on the back of her right shoulder, which she is somewhat self-conscious of, and prefers to keep it hidden when possible. Her daily clothing consists of a blue and copper tavern dress, and a copper and moonstone circlet that she is almost never seen without. She is self-conscious of her forehead, thinking it to be too wide; and so she chooses to wear a circlet whenever possible. At the hip of of her skirt, she wears two strands of beads attached to a braided leather belt, that are varied in design from metal to wood to clay, and are mostly handcrafted by her, or were given to her throughout her young life. One bead in particular she carved in honour of her mother. She wears this at all times on the left side of her body.

General Description

Mhari was born in a small homestead on the outskirts of Northpoint in High Rock, and was raised by her father who was a hunter, farmer of crops, and journeyman blacksmith. Her mother died after falling ill only months after Mhari was born. She has two older sisters who are slowly learning to take over the work of their homestead as their father ages. She has a positive relationship with her family, and although her father was hesitant when she showed interest in travelling to Skyrim to become a bard, her sisters helped to convince him to allow her to pursue her dream.

Mhari is relatively reserved, naïve, and kind-hearted. It is her hope to receive training from the experts at the Bard's College in Solitude so that she may pursue her love of music and storytelling and spread it throughout Tamriel. She also takes a great interest in healing alchemy and healing magic, though she has almost no experience in either. She is not accustomed to battle outside of hunting game and defense against smaller creatures, but she has not fought anything larger than a small frostbite spider or a mudcrab. When she does fight, she has honed what skill she has to focus on long to mid-range attacks, preferring to keep as much distance between she and her enemy as possible. Unnecessary loss of life weighs on her, and she only seeks to kill when she feels all other options have been exhausted. In fact, she prefers to use her flame spells to apply massive heat to her blades so as to cauterize wounds meant to disable only, to avoid killing an enemy unnecessarily. As a result, her elemental magic is relatively weak, and more often used for cooking and alchemy than for combat.

She is a very skilled archer, but she prefers to hunt on her own and has no intention of using her skills for war-based combat. She is familiar with the use of the spear, sword and shield, but her physical strength is quite lacking and most warriors would easily be able to overpower her as she is.

[gaqalesqua]

Delving into Dwemer ruins, Lile and Narimian come across an intriguing find. 

Kinktober Day Four: Overstimulation | Bondage | Fucking Machine | Sensory Deprivation

[winterspellsfrozenkit]

Twisted Wonderland's Grim is a Grimalkin.

Okay TWST fandom, so today I was chatting away with another friend who plays TWST explaining that it's highly likely that Crowley summoned us due to the opening you get when you first start the game and she asked why he'd do that. And I said this without thinking:

Once I said that, it hit me: GRIM IS NOT NAMED FOR GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES, HE'S A GRIMALKIN.

Let me explain! (This is a long post, you've been forewarned. There is a TLDR at the bottom if you need it.)

So I like reading fairy tale books, retellings, etc., and I learned a long time ago during my high school hyperfixation on reading faery based YA readings about Grimalkins. What are Grimalkins?

Grimalkin (Also spelled Greymalkin) is an archaic term that was often used to describe cats; particularly haggard, female cats. Grimalkin, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, likely comes from compounding the words "Grey" and "Malkin". "Malkin" is a term with several meanings including: a low-class woman, a weakling, an untidy slovenly woman. It's also used to describe cats and hares.

Grimalkins were listed in Scottish legends as a faery cat that dwelt in the highlands, but during the 16th Century witch trials, cats became associated with the devil and witchcraft. Women on trial in Scotland were frequently accused of having a familiar, a ‘demon in disguise’, which was often a Grimalkin. One example of Grimalkins being tied to witchcraft and the devil at the time is William Shakespeare's play MacBeth, which shows the Three Witches who foretell Macbeth's future as having a cat familiar named Grimalkin. They're also in Louis Le Breton's Dictionnaire Infernal, which is a book on demonology.

So how does this relate to Grim?

Grim's design is heavily influenced by common media portrayals of the Devil with a pitchfork tail and fiery pointed ears that can look like horns at times.

One reason that fire is blue like Hades, Idia, and Ortho's hair is because thanks to the Pop Culture understanding of Christianity, people heard Hades and thought to equivocate him to Satan which is why he's the bad guy in the Disney movie, Hercules, when in the original myth, Hera is the one antagonizing Heracles.

Also, most of the fandom believes this creature in the pre Prologue scene when you first start the game, is Grim.

Just saying this looks a lot like different representations of devils and demons.

Note the human hands and clawed feet on this statue of Pazuzu.

And the incorporation of animal traits blended with humans

This is some concept art for Bald Mountain in Fantasia and I can see leathery wings like a dragon/bat, one has a snakey tail, and some have those human-like hands, but clawed feet.

As stated earlier, Grimalkins are tied heavily to devils and witchcraft and TWST tends to push this at us. For Halloween, while all the Dorms have different monsters such as mummies, ghost pirates, headless horsemen, but Ramshackle's Halloween outfit is this:

Not only that, but when we wake up, this is what Crowley says to us about Grim, when he finds us in the library after Grim cornered us, trying to get our robes:

Again, the most common familiar that people accused of witchcraft were said to have was a Grimalkin. A demon cat. This also ties into why we and Grim are put in Ramshackle Dorm.

Now, as some know, Ramshackle Dorm is based on the Haunted Mansion. But the Haunted Mansion had a specific haunt that was cut before the ride came out: The One-eyed Black Cat.

Now, if you don't know this cat, it's okay. He was cut before the ride came out. To sum up, X Atencio, the Imagineer who came up with the basic story ideas and the script for the rides of Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean, had many drafts of the Haunted Mansion's story. One of these cut drafts had a distinct villain character: The One-Eyed Black Cat.

Now, people might argue the Bride/Constance Hatchaway is the villain of the Haunted Mansion, but the One-Eyed Black Cat was different. In that draft, the Ghost Host would warn guests about the One-Eyed Black Cat and the One-Eyed Black Cat was specifically trying to attack/get the guests on the ride and detested mortals, especially happy ones. Guests would've seen signs of the cat throughout the ride as if he was stalking them (Think something akin to the little glimpses of Catnap as he stalks the player throughout Poppy Playtime Chapter 3). At the end of the ride, they would've faced the cat, who's face would turn into some form of human-esque skull like head.

Now the cat made it pretty far before he was cut, because we do have surviving sound outtakes of Paul Frees, the voice of the Ghost Host, saying "Except for that unnatural and dreadful one-eyed black cat" which implies he's not one of the 999 happy haunts, but something truly evil, like a demon.

Now, One-Eyed Black Cat's not mentioned in the Haunted Mansion ride, and there's an idea that his role was passed over to the Raven, another cut antagonistic character who would haunt the rider specifically, but was less unnatural than the cat, but the more likely reason is both the raven and the cat were cut due to the ride changing from story driven to an atmospheric ride. However, nowadays, you can find the One-Eyed Black Cat on the Composer's Crypt in Walt Disney World and as a statue in Disneyland's Haunted Mansion (Funnily enough, during the Haunted Mansion Holiday, the cat statue gets a black and white pinstripe bow...).

Now, this may be reaching, but Grim chasing the player throughout the school, trying to steal their robes because he wasn't allowed to attend NRC, feels like a reference to this possibly demonic cut cat character. Also, his smirk face does make one of his eyes look smaller than the other, kind of like the image on the Composer Crypt.

Anyways, back to Grimalkins. So besides being tied to the devil and witchcraft, Grimalkins were also known as Scottish faery cats. Why does this matter? May I draw your attention to these moments from Book 6 and Book 7?

(Warning minor spoilers)

Idia discussing what Grim is.

Idia and Ortho describing powerful magic cast on Grim.

And from Book 7 Chapter 106

Soi in Book 6, Idia notes Grim is some magical mix of direbeast and animal. In a lot of faery stories, faery animals like Grimalkins, Cat Sidhe, and Kelpies look very similar to normal animals, but they are distinctly a fae, which makes them much more dangerous to mess around with. Much like how Grim is not fully an animal, he's also part direbeast which, considering what has been mentioned in game about direbeasts, sounds like a distinctly magical species that is far more dangerous that regular animals.

Grim is also noted to fluctuate between full Phantom and absolutely no blot levels, but Idia does note a complex magical spell on him that later Papa Shroud mentions is very similar to Malleus's magical realm, which is a faerie spell... (Again, there's that faerie connection). Likewise, depending on the story context, Grimalkins can either be demonic familiars to witches (more akin to TWST Phantoms) or they can be faery creatures (more like TWST Direbeasts).

I've also noticed people point out some kind of connection between Malleus and Grim. There's a blog post by ventique18 does a really good job about pointing out the similarities between the two. Here's the link: https://www.tumblr.com/ventique18/721267245925400576/three-pronged-tail-bringing-back-the-grim-is?source=share

So perhaps one of the reasons for the tie between them is Grim is at least in part based on a Grimalkin, a faery cat, and Malleus is a dragon faery. With all these little things lining up, maybe Grim got his name in part from Grimm's Fairy Tales, but I really and truly do believe Grim is some form of Grimalkin and his name is more a reference to that, but whether he is based on the demonic familiar, faery, or BOTH, we shall see.

TLDR: I'm pretty sure Grim is HEAVILY based on a Scottish fae cat creature/demonic cat that act as a witch's familar called a Grimalkin because there's a lot of references that seem to point to that.

[memaidraws]

READ ON AO3

✦ Onmund x Original Breton Character ✦ Farkas x Female Nord Dragonborn

✦ Rated: M (for safety)

✦ Mentions of abuse, found family and magical academy shenanigans.

Despite the rising tension in Skyrim, the College of Winterhold still plays host to a series of magical adventures, more so with the arrival of its newest Nord apprentice, Onmund. But he soon learns that his call to the college wasn’t to answer his destiny, but that of the Dragonborn’s as well.

Fluff, fun and a little bit of angst. Canon can and will be bent. 

Welp, I was gone for a while, but I'm back now. Between depression, burnout and a life changing bit of news, I'm ready to start posting more regularly again, starting with this beast of a fanfic.

I'm mostly editing for clarity and a few lines that bothered me here and there. Thanks for sticking with me, folks!

[depressedandasian]

Gale, Wyll, and Astarion would be easy to slot into an Elder Scrolls setting. Astarion would be the world's biggest supporter of the Thalmor.

The problem is, where would the female companions go?

Shadowheart would probably fit either Bosmer or Breton, although there is no true half-elf race. Not to mention that I think Gale fits the Breton category already.

I was originally thinking Argonian for Lae'zel, but Dragonborns seem to be their (Argonian) DND equivalent, and orcs are too brutish for Githyankis. Maybe a really green skinned Altmer? You could even argue Dunmer?

Now Karlach would be impossible to have as a player character. The closest we could get is a Dremora, and without mods, there is no way you can choose that as your pc race.

[fluffyjack5]

(CHARACTER BELONGS TO VIVZIEPOP)

(Zoophobia: Project Reborn)

I'm proudly can introduce for you Olivia Bonapars-Graceful ballet dance and one of the main Mackenzie's rivals.

Alternative Version:

(!!!DO NOT USE THIS AS A FACTS IN CANON!!!)

Some facts about her in my ZP headcanon:

-Olivia have a mixed French-Breton origin (Brittany is a region in France, which mainly populated by Bretons-Celtic ethnic group which related to Irish, Scottish and Welsh people).

-Her mother is the famous in Save Haven ballet dancer Catherine Gant while father was a magor banker with Breton origins Jean-Levy Bonapars.

-Olivia is one of main members of Daphna's friends team, usually she's not so friendly with one of the her's friend-Penelope. They both trying to influnce to Daphne by their own sides, But if Penelope represents more calm and serious attitude towards the world around, Olivia is more agressive and sometimes like to mock the weaker female students of ZPA, such as Mackenzie.

-She's openly Polysexual

[cassieuncaged]

Character Profile: Wren LaRue

TW: mentions of homicide, gun violence, death, verbal abuse, criminal violence, marijuana use, recreational drug use

template

GENERAL INFORMATION

Universe: To Live and Die in L.A.

Full Name: Wren Regine LaRue

Nicknames: Wrennie, Song Bird, Birdie

Age: 25

Date of Birth: 10/30/1960

Zodiac Sign: Scorpio

Gender: cis female

Pronouns: she/her

Sexuality: queer; is in the early stages of discovering this and is still learning a lot about herself.

Religion: raised in a Jewish (mother's side) and Christian (father's side) house hold; practiced and upheld both faiths growing up. Practices Buddhism as an adult.

Race/Ethnicity: white; French, German, and Hungarian ancestry

Country of Origin: United States of America

Hometown: Los Angeles, California

Current Place of Residence: Los Angeles, California

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

Skin: has fair skin. Tans lightly, mostly burns.

Height: 5'1

Weight: 120

Eye Color: emerald green, bright and catlike

Hair Color: chocolate brown

Hair Texture: thick with an oily texture

Hair Length: shoulder length

Body Type: isn't muscular or athletic, has a soft tummy and arms. Has toned legs and hips from pole dancing.

Body Shape: hourglass

Other Notable Features: is a 36C. Bra size isn't important but she's noticeably busty which is often the first thing men notice about her. This face makes her uncomfortable. Has a port wine stain birth mark on the top of her right foot

Clothing Style: classy yet risque. short skirts, mini dresses, silk dresses, dresses with side slits, sleeveless turtlenecks, black, plum, maroon, knee high boots, patent black pumps, ankle boots, thong sandals, velvet, leather, suede, crystal and silver jewelry, high-waisted shorts, dark denim, faded t-shirts, striped bikinis, lots of sequins and jewel tones when dancing. Wears a brassy locket her father got her when she was a child when she's not working or swindling. It was one of the last memories she has of him.

PERSONALITY

Positive Traits: passionate, witty, resourceful, confident, clever, tenacious, self-reliant, ambitious, focused

Negative Traits: dishonest, untrustworthy, selfish, unapproachable, immature, superficial, irrational

Hobbies: conning, sketching, dancing, writing poetry

HEALTH

Physical Health: is physically healthy with relatively no ailments other than the occasional cold.

Allergies: shellfish. Which is unfortunate as she loves seafood.

Mental Health: suffers PTSD from loosing her father when she was in adolescence as well as depression.

Phobias: hoplophobia (fear of firearms) Formed from her father being shot at his bank accounting job by a disgruntled client. Considering the line of work she's in as well as her personal life, she is often on edge. agoraphobia - severity varies

PROFESSIONAL LIFE

Education: graduated high school.

Professions: exotic dancer, grifter/swindler/con artist

ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS

Current Significant Others: Rick Masters, Bianca Torres

Past Significant Others: Billy Del Vecchio - young man she met at a bar when a mark of hers didn't show up. Wren was 21 at the time and stayed with Billy for 3 years. He eventually took her virginity before leaving her for a more established woman.

FAMILIAL RELATIONSHIPS

Mother: Vivienne Marie Hoffman

Father: Albert Andrew LaRue (deceased)

Siblings: Breton 'Brett' Henry LaRue, Thomas Dorian LaRue

Children: N/A

Other Notable Family Members: Great Aunt Vida. Vida was the most open minded family, which given her age was shocking. She practiced new age religion (using both pagan and wicca traditions), collected crystals, read tarot cards, and grew and kept a few small weed plants. She had a positive influence on Wren, who lived within walking distant. Died at 85 years old when Wren was 16; this was several years after Albert and Brett died.

PLATONIC RELATIONSHIPS

Friends: Shelly Valentino, Ruth Lanier

Enemies: Richard 'Dick' Chance

Pets: Bitsy the calico cat

BIOGRAPHY

Childhood:

Wren was born the youngest of three into a relatively happy family. She was closest with her father and was quickly spoiled by Albert and had decent relationships with her brothers, Brett and Tom. Early on, Wren discovered that she could manipulate people emotionally to get what she wanted.

Vivienne thought forced her daughter to perform in dance classes though the child found solace in ballet and tap dancing, in spite of her mother.

Adolescence:

Her childhood was rather lonely since she had difficulty keeping friends and cared little about going to school, though kept her grades up in hopes of going to school to pursue choreography for Broadway productions.

However, her father and brother were shot point blank during a hold up at the bank Albert worked at. Both were natural mediator's and attempted to talk down the shooter.

Tom went to college in Massachusetts and left Wren with their verbally abusive mother. During this time, she squirrelled away the inheritance to escape Vivienne as soon as she was of legal age.

Adulthood:

At 18, she got a job as a waitress at a themed diner where she met her closest friend and future roommate, Shelly. They got an apartment together and Wren burned through her inheritance for rent money while combating severe agoraphobia.

At 21, Wren got a job as a stripper at a truck stop off of Ventura. While ends were being met, the creeps that came in there inspired her to start swindling sleazy business men. She blackmailed unsuspecting marks of up to $1000 dollars and once was held at knife point because of it.

The first person she was intrigued by was Rick Masters, whom she met at one of Shelly's art shows. They began a sexual relationship as well as a polyamorous relationship with Rick's girlfriend, Bianca.

Wren became the target of FBI agent, Richard Chance, who had a personal vendetta against the counterfeiter. Remained faithful to Rick until his untimely death.

Late in Life:

Wren and Bianca split up amicably while the former moved to Boston to be reunited with her brother, Tom. She gave up crime and pursued smalltime choreography in local theater and lived in the city until she died.

Wren never married nor had children.

[covenawhite66]

Students learning courtly ideals in the bishops’ courts and monastery schools of the 11th and 12th centuries, where the sons of noblemen and future clerics and diplomats were given an education in manners as well as scripture. But it was also popular among peasants and the common folk.

Scholars in the mid-20th century hypothesized that many of the new art forms and attitudes that characterize the code of chivalry in medieval Europe must have been the result of the crusades, and might even have originated in Muslim lands.

But recent studies may disprove this. The idea of courtly love, the songs of the troubadours, and the more polished manners of the warrior class, all were attributed to contact with the Islamicate world.

Chivalry in Europe came to revolve around, and be significantly shaped by, the influence and patronage of women. Chivalric entertainments revolved as much around love as war, and featured women as powerful protagonists.

The ways in which the characters of chivalric romance are often revealed as Christ figures, and the representation of chivalrous behavior as an outgrowth of Christian morality and an alternative path to holiness. Chivalry preached compassion for the heroes of popular romance as a form of spiritual training, opening the heart to the knowledge of God’s mercy and the love of one’s fellow man.

There is also Breton folktales mixed in

[theogcinnamonroll]

Character Sheet for my latest Dragonborn

Lady Galateya Alysanne Masanne the Fourth

General Information

Name: Galateya Alysanne Masanne the Fourth

Alias: Teya Masanne

Nickname(s): Teya, Gala, Gal, Tee, Goldie, Golden Ears, Knife Ears, Blondie, Elfy, Wild One, Princess, Your Ladyship

Species: Altmer. While her father is a Breton, and as her mother is a descendant of Clan Direnni. Functionally, she has only one Altmer grandparent, being her mother’s mother. But as a child gets their race from their mother, Teya is an Altmer, just like her mother. However, in appearance, Teya looks surprisingly human, thanks to her extensive Breton blood, with only blonde hair, a faint golden tinge to her skin, and long pointed ears to distinguish her as an elf.

Gender: Female

Title: Lady of House Masanne, Young Lady of Northmoor, Heir to Massane Keep and the Duchy of Northmoor, Lady Galateya, the Elven Lady

Age: 28, although she looks to be somewhere between 18 and 20 thanks to her elven blood keeping her young and youthful

Birthdate: The seventeenth day of the ninth month, in the hundred and seventy third year of the Fourth Era (17 Hearthfire, 173 4E)

Birthsign: Those born in the month of Hearthfire are born under the sign of the Lady. Those born under this sign are said to be kindhearted and tolerant by nature, and Teya is no exception to this, being a sweet girl since the day that she was born, and all in all, a credit to her House and kin.

Birthplace: Massane Keep, The city of Northmoor, capital of the duchy of Northmoor in the Kingdom of Daggerfall

Culture: Although she’s physically an Altmer, Teya has no connection to Altmer to speak of. As a distant descendant of House Direnni, and a member of House Masanne, she and her family have been in High Rock for generations. So because of that, she was raised solely within the culture of High Rock. Specifically Daggerfall, where her family is from. Through her father, she has noble blood, being the heir to the duchy of Northmoor. And because of that, she was raised within the specific culture of Breton nobility, although she’s far more in touch with the common folk than most nobles, thanks to her mother’s common origins and insistence that Teya was raised with a connection to the world outside to keep her humble and make sure she has a good head on her shoulders.

Sexuality: Pansexual

Canon Replacement: The Last Dragonborn

Residence: After she graduated from the College of Winterhold, Teya found herself being drawn to the city of Markarth, as it was built out of an old Dwemer city. After living in the city for two years, renting a room from the Silverblood Inn for the duration, she managed to gain the rank of Thane. With the permissions of her new rank, she was allowed to purchase a house in Markarth, which she quickly did, buying a cozy home that’s now full to the brim with partially dismantled dwarven technology that she’s been tinkering with off and on in order to better understand how it works, and potentially how to rebuild and control it. However, Teya spends a lot of time away from home, leaving the house under the care of her Housecarl as she follows rumors of new dwemer ruins and tries to find new bits and bobs to fiddle and tweak with.

Occupation: Before it’s time for Teya to return to Northmoor in order to succeed her father, she’s chosen to travel Skyrim and study the dwemer, as is her passion in life. As a Scholar of the College of Winterhold, she occasionally returns to the College to teach classes about the Dwemer, although spends most of her time delving into dwarven ruins. In order to earn money to fund her expeditions, she often hires out her talents with a bow and healing magic to adventuring parties. Especially when they’re delving into dwemer ruins for one reason or another, as her dwemer knowledge makes her an especially useful companion to have when facing against automatons and other dwarven traps.

Appearance Information

Hair Color: Taking after her Altmer heritage, Teya’s hair is as bright and fine as spun gold. It almost perfectly matches the golden tones to her skin and makes her stand out. It isn’t just blonde, it’s a clear and brilliant gold that stands out in a crowd, and immediately marks her as an Altmer. Her hair is a wild mass of twisting curls, and it takes a great deal of work to try and tame it. It stretches down to her waist and is a blatant display of her femininity and vanity. While it would be smarter for her to keep her hair short in order to make it more tameable, she refuses to cut it. More than willing to put in the time that it requires because she just loves the way that her long golden curls make her feel.

Skin Color: As an Altmer, Teya has distinct golden tones to her skin that mark her as not quite human. However, she still has strong Breton ancestry, which leaves her with skin that isn’t quite the same bright gold as most Altmer. Instead, it’s a warm and tanned human shade, with distinct golden tones that make her status as an Altmer plain to see. Her skin is smooth and well taken care of, the product of a lavish noble upbringing, and plenty of healing magic to prevent any scars from taking hold. The tops of her cheeks and her nose are decorated with a dainty sprinkling of freckles that only add to her youthful, delicate appearance.

Eyes: Her eyes are the most significant departure from a typical Altmer face. Her eyes are nothing but human, with no sign of her elven blood to be seen within them. They’re large and round, sitting prominently in her face, and the color is a shining, brilliant shade of blue. It stands out sharply against the golden tones of her skin and hair and works as a vivid reminder of her human blood.

Height: Although most Altmer are tall, standing head and shoulders above most other denizens of Tamriel, Teya is an exception to that, as she is in so many other things in her appearance. Instead, she takes more after the height of a Breton. But she’s short, even for a Breton. In her bare feet, she measures in at just barely five feet tall. But she often wears heeled shoes in order to boost her height to a more proper Breton height of five feet and three inches, convinced that the mere three inches make her seem more distinguished and make people take her more seriously.

Weight: To match her Breton height, Teya has the weight and build of a Breton. Small by stature, soft but paired with a surprising amount of toned muscle, she weighs just over a hundred and ten pounds.

Build: While most Altmer are tall and willowy, Teya doesn’t share that same build. Instead, as in so many other things, she takes after her Breton kin. She’s short, standing at just barely five feet tall, and anything but willowy. She possesses a naturally soft figure as courtesy of her Breton blood. But along with that softness, she’s also in very good shape. Her travels and combat training have left her well muscled, toned and slender between the curves. All in all, the build of a perfect Breton, rather than the Altmer that she is by nature. But she doesn’t particularly mind, as she grew up among Bretons, and has rarely interacted with other Altmer.

Demeanor: Teya’s demeanor itself is rather easy to recognize. By appearance, she tends to be rather unique and an easily recognizable sight. And she doesn’t mind that. She carries herself confidently, like someone who’s comfortable in their body. And she moves smoothly and gracefully, as if every step is a dance, even in the midst of battle.

Favored Scent: Courtesy of her noble upbringing, Teya is incredibly particular about the way that she smells. Almost obsessive about cleanliness and hygiene, she’s incredibly averse to smelling dirty. And while she enjoys smelling clean, that isn’t enough to suit her tastes. Instead, she also uses oils distilled from roses, mountain flowers, and lavender to give her a fresh, floral scent.

Identifying Features: Galateya is an immediately recognizable and identifiable young woman, just because of the contradictions of her appearance. While she is an Altmer, she has more Breton blood in her veins than elven, which is plainly reflected in her appearance. She has the coloring of an Altmer, with golden hair and skin, but the appearance of a Breton. With soft, delicate features, big eyes, and a small, soft build. She’s incredibly attractive, especially by Breton standards, with pale skin and long golden hair. Her skin is decorated with a delicate smattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks, and her eyes are round and blue, fully human in a way that’s virtually unheard of among the elves.

Usual Outfit: As befitting a High Rock noble and a thane of Skyrim, Teya has quite the wardrobe. Most of it finely made and lavish. All perfectly tailored for her to make the clothes look better on her, as well as making them more comfortable for her. On days where she’s simply lounging around her home, or tinkering with her dwemer possessions, she favors a loose tunic with tight breeches, sometimes paired with a pair of fine leather boots. Usually in pale pastels to go with the pale golden shade of her skin. For more formal occasions of course, she has a wide collection of fine gowns, all just as tailored to fit her, and the colors all picked to compliment her coloring. And when traveling across Skyrim, she chooses her clothes depending on the danger of her surroundings. Sometimes, she wears long tunics with tight breeches like her lounging clothes. And at other times, she wears a jerkin and pants made of leather, to provide protection from the elements and potential dangers. Although when danger is higher, she’ll wear one of her sets of armor, usually the one of dwemer metal to provide more physical protection.

Usual Hairstyle: Teya’s hairstyles are as diverse as her wardrobe. In more formal occasions, she often wears her hair down, or simply braids it out of her face to keep it neat and tidy. Although she’s also known to take the time to arrange complicated styles formed by dozens of small, winding braids, especially when wearing one of her more lavish gowns. However, in her usual day to day, she tends to settle for a pair of braids that stretch down her back, brushing against her tailbone when allowed down. But on days where she’s traveling, or planning to face any battle, she weaves the braids into a sort of crown around her head, pinning them in place with hair pins ornamented with little flowers or animals formed from precious metals. But for most days where she’s simply out and about, she settles for a simple, solitary braid that stretches down her back, keeping it out of the way and showing off just how long her golden curls are.

Voice: Sweet and bird-like, Teya’s voice is one that seems to be made for singing. And she’s been trained perfectly in how to use her voice in the most beautiful of songs. Even when she’s merely speaking, her voice is perfectly musical. And every word is carefully pronounced, thanks to years of careful vocal coaching as she grew up, making sure that not a word is out of place.

General Appearance: Galateya Alysanne Masanne is a beautiful young Altmer woman, although apart from her coloring, her appearance is fully Breton. At least apart from the long, pointed ears sticking out through her long golden curls. With delicate, beautiful features, she’s the product of the finest breeding in High Rock, and she looks it, plain as day. She has big blue eyes, and long golden curls that stretch down to her waist, perfectly complimenting her soft golden skin and the freckles dancing across her face. In form, she perfectly fits the Breton ideal, standing at just barely five feet tall. Her body is soft, complemented with toned muscles that have a deceptive amount of strength. And all in all, apart from her long ears, she looks every inch to be a beautiful young Breton maiden.

Miscellaneous Information

General Skills: Incredibly intelligent, Teya is a capable woman with quite a set of skills. She has a borderline eidetic memory, remembering everything she’s read or experienced, which is an incredible boon for her when delving into dwemer ruins. Incredibly good at research, she’s able to track down information with the slightest hints to go on, at least so long as she has access to a library. Courtesy of a proper noble upbringing, she can dance, sing, recite elven poetry, and make perfect, proper conversation at a fancy dining party, allowing her to blend into any high class crowd that she finds herself in. She also knows how to ride incredibly well, a product of both her upbringing, and riding horses everywhere that she goes in Skyrim. In order to make sure that she can survive on her own, she knows how to sew incredibly well, able to mend most rips and tears with leaving a minimal mark, as well as being able to cook incredibly tasty meals with the simplest of ingredients. Her time in Skyrim has given her high survival skills, able to hunt and scavenge for her food, travel long distances, and find or make shelter to keep her safe from the elements. Intelligent and clever, Teya just seems to have an inherent knack for technology, especially dwemer technology, which is her specialty. She also has an incredible knowledge of the inner workings of dwemer machinery, because she tends to take apart every bit of it that she comes across, at least whenever she can. Along with her knowledge of technology, primarily dwemer technology, she also knows quite a bit about how bodies work, as she’s been given a great deal of training as a healer so she can help people whenever they’re injured. While she’s best at healing with magic, she also knows how to tend to wounds with more mundane methods, such as with bandages, potions, herbs, and splints. Which has also included training with alchemy, although she isn’t as talented with alchemy as she is with some of her other skills. However, she’s still able to recognize most plants and their beneficial or negative effects, as well as figuring out how to mix them into potions. Although the vast majority of time, most of the potions she makes are cure disease potions, or healing potions.

Languages: Tamrielic, Bretic, High Elvish, a little bit of Aldmeris, Dwemeris (She isn’t completely fluent, just because it’s a dead language, but she’s always working to learn more of it, and works hard to translate texts that she finds in dwemer ruins), and a bit of Dovahzuul, which she picked up from a friend at the College of Winterhold who was obsessed with the dragons.

Pets: Although Teya doesn’t keep her at her side constantly, she fully adores her pet, a husky pup by the name of Irgod. She was a gift to Teya after she became the thane of Markarth, from the stablemaster in order to accrue good faith with her. She absolutely loves the pup, making sure that she’s always well protected and looked out for. And instead of bringing her with her and putting her in danger, she instead leaves Irgod at home in Markarth, under the care of her housecarl. Along with her pup, her most prized possession is a dwemer spider that she’s managed to get working again. She considers it to be the greatest feat she’s ever done, and brings it with her whenever she throws herself into potentially dangerous situations. And has named the spider Yrazgar, after a dwemer character in a book she read in her youth.

Mount(s): Teya has an eternally loyal steed that she purchased at the Markarth stables around five years ago after she began her travels on her own. An Atmoran horse with a bay dun pelt named Berse, she’s a rather compact mare, which perfectly matches Teya’s own small build. She rides Berse wherever she goes, and considers the horse to be one of her best friends. And is incredibly attached to her, endlessly protecting her against the dangers of Skyrim’s wilds.

Religion: Being raised among Bretons, Teya follows the Breton pantheon, rather than the Altmer pantheon as many assume about her. She can sometimes be bothered about the fact that people assume that about her, but most of the time, she just shrugs it off. While she’s incredibly devout, she specially worships the goddess Mara. She feels a special affiliation towards her because of her inherent talent for restoration magic, which leads to her visiting Riften often in order to visit the temple of Mara, and always wears an amulet of Mara, although she keeps it hidden under her clothes, so people don’t confuse it for an invitation for a marriage proposal. Which is a habit she’s learned after quite a bit of awkwardness in the past. However, in addition to worshiping the Divines, Teya also feels a certain affiliation towards the Daedric Prince Azura. For reasons that she can’t entirely name herself, she’s always been drawn to the Daedra, a pull that grew even stronger when she arrived in Skyrim and visited Azura’s shrine. Since her visit to the shrine, she’s been plagued by inconclusive visions of the future, showing her dragons and destruction. Which she interprets as a sign of Azura’s favor for her.

Combat Information

Weapon: Teya’s main weapon is a gorgeous dwarven bow that she found when delving into her first ruin in Skyrim. Paired with it, she has a near constant supply of dwarven arrows, thanks to her constant excursions into dwarven ruins. Combined with a custom made sword of dwarven steel that she commissioned from Eorlund Grey-Mane in exchange for bringing him both the materials and paying him the weight of the sword in gold. It’s a short, gorgeous blade, slender and wicked sharp. Made to both slash and stab in order to fit her versatile fighting style. And the least inclusion to her armory is a dwarven steel dagger that she keeps in either her boot or a sheathe in her belt, just in case that she could end up needing it.

Gear: A whetstone for sharpening her blades, spare bowstrings in case the one on her bow breaks, extra supplies for making arrows in case she runs out, a pouch for keeping alchemical ingredients and potions, several potions for healing and stamina, and improving her archery skills. A large pack with her bedroll, tent, cooking supplies, and fire starting materials, along with everything that could be needed to camp out on her own. A set of sewing supplies for mending her clothes and leather armor, as well as an amulet of Mara to improve her healing magic (Although she keeps it hidden under her clothes to keep people from proposing to her)

Armor: Teya has two sets of armor that she commonly uses, depending on what her aim for a job is. One set for stealth, and one set geared around protecting her from attacks. Both are light and provide plenty of protection, while still maintaining free range of motion for her usual fighting style.

Her first set of armor, one meant for protection rather than stealth, is a fine set made of polished dwarven metal plate over sleek leather. She has plates over her chest, thighs, legs, knees, and arms, with a shirt and pants of leather worn beneath to provide extra protection. And to give even more protection to her limbs, she wears a pair of boots over her pants that go up to the middle of her thigh, making sure that her joints have extra protection, as well as a pair of fingerless leather gloves that would fit under the plates on her arms. It’s also heavily enchanted with resist magicka enchantments, in order to make up for her inherent weaknesses towards magic. While the leather she wears under it is enchanted with resist fire and frost enchantments, the latter providing some protection against the cold of Skyrim. Although she usually wears a thick cloak lined with snowbear fur when in colder climates.

While her second set of armor is one far more geared for stealth, usually when she delves into ruins on her own, making sure that she can’t be seen. It’s tight and form fitting, made of black dyed leather in order to make sure that she can dwell into the shadows. It’s enchanted with the same resist magicka, frost, and fire enchantments as her other set of armor, combined with muffle enchantments on her boots to make sure that she’s even quieter.

Training: As part of her noble upbringing, Teya was given the basics of combat training, primarily with magic, archery, and fencing, that would benefit a noblewoman. However, this training was barely more than the barest basics, so she doesn’t have a whole lot of combat training. But since starting to delve into Dwemer ruins, she’s picked up a lot of combat skills, largely as on the job training, or being taught by the adventurers she travels with on the occasion that she does go with a group. However, the vast majority of her combat skills are things that she’s picked up on the road, from watching other fighters.

Combat Skills: Necessary for delving into dwemer ruins, Teya has blossomed into an incredibly capable and dangerous fighter, which has kept her alive as she explores the depths of Skyrim and finds more things for her to study and take apart. Her combat skills primarily lie in using a bow, which means that most of the time, she keeps opponents at a range, sniping at them and doing everything she can to avoid and dodge their attacks. Her expertise lies in hiding in the shadows and taking long shots at her opponents, cutting them down before they even get close. However, she can also fire off arrows incredibly quickly, making it possible for her to use her bow even in close quarters combat. Although usually, she switches to her blade when in close quarters, which is a short, slender blade made out of dwarven steel, meant for both slashing and stabbing, providing her with a versatile fighting style. Along with her blade, she uses spells in battle, usually firing off bursts of flames or lightning at whoever gets too close for her liking before cutting them down with her blade. Thanks to her small size, she’s an incredibly hard to hit target, and emphasizes that by being agile and fast, with her primary defense relying around being too fast for her opponents to hit. She’s a smart and clever fighter, making it easier for her to keep ahead of her opponents, and is incredibly resourceful, using her surroundings against the opponents whenever possible, especially if she has time to prepare beforehand. She’s trained her stamina reserves heavily, making sure that she can keep dancing around her opponents for as long as possible, without having to stop and rest. Courtesy of her fencing training, she tends to be very flashy with a blade, putting on a show and making her as distracting as possible in order to keep the attention on her, instead of whoever she’s fighting alongside. Although she relies heavily on her weapons, she can also fend for herself when fighting in hand to hand combat, especially with the aid of the dagger that she usually keeps hidden in her boot or belt. Although she isn’t specifically trained in hand to hand combat, and most of it tends to just be scrappy moves that she’s picked up in the occasional bar fight.

Combat Weaknesses: For all her skills, Teya is still only twenty eight years old, and doesn’t have enough training or experience to hold a candle to someone with more experience and/or training than her, especially when it comes to elves who are older than her. Because of her Altmer biology, she’s especially sensitive to fire, frost, shock, and magicka, making her especially weak to magical attacks, which she tries to compensate for with enchanted armor. Although without her armor, the weakness still remains. Although her fighting style is very fast and acrobatic, her lenience on that also means that she hasn’t built up on her physical strength any more than necessary. Combine that with her lack of training with larger weapons, and she’s unable to use any large weapons, such as a greatsword, greataxe, or warhammer. As she’s mostly used to fighting against beasts and automatons in dwemer ruins, she isn’t especially experienced when it comes to fighting against other sentient beings in matters of life and death, which means that she doesn’t always fight as fiercely as she should when facing dangers like bandits or highwaymen. Although she’s a very scrappy fighter, she doesn’t have a lot of formal training, which can sometimes make her a hard person to fight alongside, especially in a larger battle. She tends to do her own thing, not paying much attention to the people around her, so can sometimes be more of a menace than she intends to be. Because of her fighting style, she uses light armor, which means that she doesn’t have a lot of physical protection. And combine that with her small size, and that means she can’t take a lot of hits in a fight before she goes down. While she can use magic in a fight, she isn’t super experienced with facing other mages, especially in life or death battle, as there aren’t a lot of mages in Skyrim to begin with, at least not in the areas where she’s ended up fighting. Because she doesn’t have a lot of focused training on hand to hand combat, she’s not the most dangerous fighter to speak of without her blade or bow, especially when she doesn’t have her dagger in hand either.

Magical Information

Level of Magic Ability: Teya has an incredible amount of innate magical power, thanks to her Altmer physiology, as well as her Breton heritage. As well as the fact that she just seems to be an innately gifted individual when it comes to using magic. In order to make sure that she can properly use those abilities, she’s been given personal instruction under the guidance of tutors, and later studying at the College of Winterhold. Combine that with some skills she’s picked up along the way while traveling through Skyrim, and you have an incredibly powerful, and very well trained mage with quite a future ahead of her. She’s at the level of an adept mage, with great things ahead of her, considering her long life ahead as an altmer.

Training in Magic: Teya has about eighteen years of accumulated training in magic. Once her magical abilities displayed themselves when she was around five years old, she began her tutelage under the guidance of a series of different tutors hired by her parents to teach her how to use magic. Once she was eighteen, she left home in order to study at the College of Winterhold, where she specialized in restoration magic. She graduated four years later, and left the College in order to study the ancient dwemer, delving into their ancient cities. But while being on the road, she’s learned quite a bit more about magic, picking up skills from other adventurers that she travels with, and sharing her own skills with them in order to spread the knowledge of magic, as well as make sure that she’s better adjusted for surviving in Skyrim, as well as the people around her.

Spell List: Healing, Healing Hands, Fast Healing, Necromantic Healing, Steadfast Ward, Sunfire, Close Wounds, Greater Ward, Fertilize, Flames, Frostbite, Elemental Flare, Sparks, Elemental Bolt, Fire Bolt, Freeze, Fire Rune, Ice Rune, Ice Spike, Ignite, Lightning Bolt, Chain Lightning, Fireball, Ice Storm, Elemental Burst, Conjure Familiar: Wolf, Conjure Undying Ghost, Conjure Flame Atronach, Flaming Familiars, Soul Trap, Minor Dispel, Detect Pulse, Major Dispel, Major Life Detection, Candlelight, Starlight, Clairvoyance, Courage

Level of Strength in Each School: Restoration (Adept), Destruction (Adept), Conjuration (Apprentice), Mysticism (Apprentice), Enchantment (Apprentice), Alteration (Novice), Illusion (Novice), Thaumaturgy (Novice)

Favored Schools: Her favored schools of magic are Restoration, and then Destruction. They’ve always been her focus growing up, which is why she’s stronger in those schools growing up, as well as her innate knack for restoration magic.

Personality Information

General Personality: Galateya Masanne is an incredibly intelligent, if rather eccentric elven woman. She has a naturally sweet and generous nature that leads to her being very well liked. Although she has a hard time really opening up to people, because of her upbringing in the backstabbing courts of High Rock. Despite being a noble, she doesn’t consider herself to be better than anyone else, especially not common folk. As her mother herself was a commoner before marrying her father, and most of the friends she had growing up were the children of servants working for her family. She’s clever and inventive, always able to find a clever solution to a problem lying in her path, even though many of her solutions are unorthodox, and aren’t always something that will succeed. Inventive by nature, she’s obsessed with the dwemer and the technologies they left behind, always happy to find more things that she could take apart and study in order to learn more about them. Or even make new inventions similar to what they made, but sidestepping the issues that come with making dwemer technology work again. She misses her home of Northmoor greatly, but she does feel at home in Skyrim. She’s made plenty of friends, and feels particularly welcomed. Even if she sometimes gets treated differently because she’s a foreigner, or especially an Altmer, no matter how much she takes after her Breton heritage. Kind and generous by nature, she’ll stop at nothing to help another person, especially if her help could get that person out of danger. Although at the same time, she can be out of touch at times, thanks to a rather isolated upbringing in her family’s keep, and later rarely leaving the College of Winterhold while she was studying there. But granted, she’s grown much more aware of the world around her since leaving the College and starting to travel Skyrim on her own.

Personality Weaknesses: While she has a lot to be confident about, Teya tends to be very self conscious about herself, especially her abilities and sometimes awkward social graces. She’s naturally awkward, and has trouble understanding social cues, and has to focus on social interactions in order to get those social cues and understand the meanings that those cues convey alongside the words being spoken. She’s also incredibly sensitive to being insulted, and gets her feelings hurt rather easily. And when her feelings are hurt, she usually just shuts down and completely stops the behavior that caused her to get her feelings hurt, even if that isn’t the most emotionally healthy reaction. It’s what caused her to completely abandon her inventions and studies when she was younger, and it took years before she was confident enough to return to her interest in technology. And she’s still incredibly sensitive to how her failures can be embarrassing for her family. At the same time, although she has a lot of social difficulties, she enjoys spending time with people and being out among people, rather than just shutting herself away. Which does mean that she gets incredibly lonely whenever she goes out on her own, especially delving into ancient Dwemer ruins on her own. And when she gets lonely, she tends to catastrophize, going down mental rabbit holes of things she’s said wrong in the past, times she’s accidentally hurt people’s feelings, or just anything that causes her any kind of anxiety looking back on it. Teya is simultaneously impulsive and slow to act, wanting to make sure that every action she makes is the right one. By nature, she tends to be incredibly impulsive, doing things without thinking them through clearly, And in order to compensate for that, she overthinks her actions whenever she manages to reign in the impulsivity. Which often means that she’s either slow to act, or acts too quickly and without thinking things through enough. While how passionate she is by nature is largely a boon, at the same time, it also comes with a downside. Whenever she hyperfixates on something, it’s the only thing that catches her attention. Which often leads to her neglecting her physical wellbeing in favor of whatever project has captured her attention. And because of that, her housecarl has become somewhat of a nursemaid at times, making sure that Teya isn’t putting her wellbeing at risk for her projects.

Personality Strengths: While her passion can at times be a weakness, it’s at the same time one of Teya’s greatest strengths. Whenever she puts her mind to something, she won’t give up until she either finds a solution or reaches a point where she just can’t keep working anymore. And that has served her incredibly well in the past, especially with making her dwemer spider function again and under her control. By nature, she’s incredibly sweet and kind, which helps a great deal whenever she’s trying to make friends, and often balances out for the fact that she doesn’t often open up about herself. And when someone has earned her friendship, they have her undying loyalty and friendship. When she considers you a friend, you will always be her friend, at least unless you turn out to be an absolutely horrible person that she can’t justify spending time with. And she will always give second, third, fourth, or any number of chances after she’s been personally crossed by a friend. In her mind, she’d rather trust the wrong person and get hurt by that, than not trust the right person, and have someone else hurt by that. And she wholeheartedly believes that all anyone needs is just a second chance to help them realize that they’re better than who they used to be, and use it as a foundation for personal growth. Intelligent and creative, she often uses her brains to help her get out of trouble, especially while using clever or unorthodox solutions to problems that she faces. She’s also incredibly encouraging, happy to give anyone support in something that interests them. Even if it’s something that they’re not very good at, she’s going to give them support and encourage them to keep going in order to improve their skills. It’s something that’s incredibly important to her, primarily because her parents supported her so much when she was younger, even when her inventions were causing rampant chaos throughout the keep.

Likes: Studying the dwemer, spending time out in the wilds of Skyrim, sending letters home to her family, reading, getting to tinker with dwemer machinery, finding new bits of technology as she delves into dwemer ruins, getting to dance, singing, and just spending time with and getting to know people. When she’s looking for a bit of more mindless fun, she tends to dabble in reading romance novels, and has a surprisingly large collection tucked away in her home in Markarth.

Dislikes: People bringing attention to her being an Altmer, being treated differently because of her nobility, having to pass up important dwemer finds because her party members can’t help her get to a certain point in a ruin, falmer, having to be cooped up all day and not being able to go outside.

Goals: To someday manage to turn a dwemer centurion into a kind of ridable weapon that she’s able to control and use to fight, to be able to study the dwemer for a lot longer before she has to go back to Northmoor in order to rule her family’s lands. And hopefully, to find a love and relationship right out of the fairy tales, just like her parents, no matter how unlikely and borderline impossible it is.

Affiliation Information

Faction: The College of Winterhold

Rank: Scholar (Currently studying dwemer machinery, and occasionally teaches classes about it to students at the College when there’s interest in it)

Experience: Teya first arrived at the College of Winterhold ten years ago when she was eighteen. She studied at the college for about four years before she graduated and went off to study on her own. However, she still occasionally makes a visit back to the College now and then to teach about the dwemer to the students currently studying at the College.

Reputation: Teya isn’t super well known among the students and former attendants of the College of Winterhold. But those who do know of her, are well aware of her expertise over the dwemer, especially because of her frequent classes at the College. However, apart from that, not a lot of people know much about her, beyond her sweet nature and kindness. Which she doesn’t particularly mind.

Faction: City of Markarth

Rank: Thane and resident

Experience: She’s been visiting Markarth for the past six years, ever since she graduated from the College of Winterhold, even living in the city for two years just after her graduation. After proving herself particularly valuable to the city, with both her knowledge of the dwemer, and the fact that she’s helped many citizens of the Reach in the past between all of her expeditions and just her sweet nature leading her to help most people that she comes across. Since becoming Thane, she’s bought a home in Markarth and keeps it as her residence, often visiting home to see her neighbors, housecarl, and her beloved pup.

Reputation: Being a Thane of the Reach, Teya is very well known throughout the Hold, especially by the guards and more prominent citizens of the hold. She’s known to be sweet by nature, and incredibly helpful to anyone who asks her for assistance, or even anyone that she notices to be having difficulties. Although being an elf and a friend of the hold’s jarl, she isn’t especially popular among the Forsworn and their sympathizers. Especially because she’s killed quite a few of them in the past.

Background Information

Family: Galateya is the only child of Duke Clinnis Masanne and his wife, Duchess Elenea Masanne. She has several aunts and uncles on both sides of her family, with dozens of cousins to speak of. However, all four of her grandparents were dead by the time that she was born, which has always left her with the feeling that she could be missing out on something. Although, she’s still incredibly close with her family, especially her mother, and sends letters home frequently, updating her parents on her travels, discoveries, and just how her life in Skyrim is going.

Friends: Teya is an incredibly friendly person, and has friends all over Skyrim and High Rock. However, at the same time, she has difficulties opening up to people, so the friendships are rarely anything more than just the most surface level relationships. Although that leaves her feeling rather lonely at times, she doesn’t really mind, and just enjoys having people to talk to and spend time with. Especially if some of those people have a strong sword arm and can join her in the depths of dwemer ruins. She’s made plenty of friends through the College of Winterhold, through family connections in the nobility of High Rock, as well as friends and acquaintances that she’s met through adventuring and sharing jobs in the past. And of course, other citizens of Markarth, where she’s rather well known, being a Thane and everything.

Love Interest: While Teya has dabbled in love in the past, she doesn’t currently have a partner, and that’s just fine with her. Although she’d love to find someone that she has a relationship with like her parents, she isn’t incredibly hopeful about it, and has largely resigned herself to the possibility that she’s going to end up being betrothed to another High Rock noble and have a political marriage for the benefit of their families. She just hopes that whoever she’s betrothed to will be compatible with her, and won’t try to treat her badly, as she’s seen so many of her peers end up in unhappy marriages, and doesn’t want that for herself. Especially not since her parents have a relationship that’s inspired many a song and tale coming out of Northmoor.

Biography

The Rise of House Masanne (To 170 4E)

The rise of House Masanne is a tale full of twists and turns, one that’s now commonly known among the folk of Daggerfall, and High Rock altogether. While now, they’re a House of great power and prominence, that’s not a position that they’ve always occupied. Their fortunes began back in the Second Era, with a woman by the name of Galateya Masanne, who would later be known as the first of her name. In the late second era, Galateya was the daughter of a powerful merchant, and was married off to the duke of Northmoor, a young man named Ferus.

Unfortunately, Ferus had always been a man of ill health, and the fortunes of his own house were in their wane. He was the only heir to his house, with no cousins or siblings to speak of, the only child of only children. So when he passed away nary three months after their marriage, the future of Northmoor was in doubt. Civil war threatened to break out in the tiny land, especially as a force of seafaring pirates had begun to harass their coast, demanding tribute. All were in fear, none able to settle on how to handle this menace. At least until young Galateya stepped forward. Dragging the lords and ladies beneath her banner, she offered parley with the pirates, pretending that she was going to offer them the tribute that they asked for.

But when they entered the city of Northmoor, foolishly believing that a young girl of ten and eight would hold no threat to them, the trap was sprung. With their leaders in the city, she barred the gates and ordered their heads to be placed on spikes above the city walls. In full view of the host of pirates waiting outside the walls for their leaders. Opening the gates, she rode out to meet with the pirates. And there, she offered them peace and mercy, so long as they swore their fealty to her. Entranced by the cleverness of the young lady, they bent the knee and swore fealty. And after such a feat, the nobles of Northmoor followed suit, all of them swearing to her and making her the new Duchess of Northmoor.

Or at least, that’s what the stories and the history books say, praising her legend and saying that young Galateya was an unrivaled politician. Granting her the epithet of the She-Wolf of Northmoor. A sigil that she would later take for her house. However… the reality is not so fair or fantastical a tale. In reality, the pirate invasion and the death of Ferus had all been planned, orchestrated by young Galateya and her father. The so-called pirates were nothing more than merchants and sailors in costume, and the illness that took Ferus was a cleverly hidden poison. And using blackmail, secrets, and threats, Galateya and her father took control of Northmoor for themselves and their house. Later, rewriting the tale so it was far prettier and would give a more benevolent tale for their descendants to use to continue their rule.

After taking the title of Duchess for her own, Galateya took a young noble to husband, a man named Celrbert, and with him, she had eight children. More than enough to pass on her dynasty and continue building the strength of their house. The daughters were married off to build marriage alliances with the newly noble House Masanne, while her sons were sent out to make their fortunes in the world. All but her heir, Wilore. Who would learn how to rule the duchy in his mother’s stead. Her sons made names for themselves as merchants, sailor princes, and powerful mages, drawing more honor and distinction to their fledgling house, and bringing whispers to their meteoric rise.

Over the next centuries, House Masanne kept a stable control over Northmoor, managing to lead their little duchy through the chaotic politics of High Rock. And over the generations, they’d made many political alliances all over High Rock, marrying their family members off over and over to the other lands of High Rock to maintain those political alliances and make sure that they stayed strong. After the Warp in the West, the Dragon Break that twisted the fate of the province of High Rock, House Masanne swore their fealty to the kingdom of Daggerfall and King Gothryd.

After that point, their fortunes had somewhat changed, but they decided to focus on building up their power and maintaining their loyalty to the throne, to make sure that they wouldn’t be considered disloyal and potentially considered treasonous. And soon, House Masanne had made their name as one of the most loyal houses of all of Daggerfall, forever sworn to the royal house and an undying ally of the kings and queens of their kingdom.

And this is the family in which Clinnis Masanne was born into. Over the generations, the Masannes had begun to embrace the story they had spread about the rise of their family and fully embraced it. They became incredibly benevolent lords, looking out for the wellbeing of their subjects and the nobles who helped rule their little duchy. They were known for their kindness and compassion, and the generosity they showed to all. Both their fellow nobles and the citizens of Northmoor. And Clinnis was no exception. A kind man by nature, he was especially popular for a member of his house, and made many friends among both nobility and common folk of High Rock.

When he reached the age of majority, eighteen, he left Northmoor to go to Daggerfall, spending time at the court of the king. At the court, he began to make connections with nobles he otherwise wouldn’t have been able to meet, and his parents even began to arrange plans for his eventual marriage. Selecting a young noblewoman from Camlorn to be his future bride, and going through the betrothal process with her parents.

A New Destiny (170-173 4E)

But it seemed as though the gods had other plans for Clinnis and his destiny. One day, while walking through the city of Daggerfall, Clinnis encountered a young Altmer woman. It was a habit for Clinnis to escape from the palace and frolic among the common folk, getting to know the people that he would one day rule. But everything seemed to change as he stared into her eyes. She was the most beautiful creature that he had ever seen. And he just had to learn more about her.

Quickly introducing himself, he said that his name was Crenesl, and claimed to be a commoner visiting from Northmoor. He said that he was lost, and needed a guide. She seemed to know her way around, so was there any way that she could possibly show him around the city and perhaps help him find somewhere good to eat his midday meal? She introduced herself as Elenea Camael, mentioning that she was a descendant of the Altmer of Clan Direnni who had once ruled over the land of High Rock. They spent the day together, with Elenea showing Clinnis all around her favorite spots in Daggerfall, and sharing with him the way that she saw her home city.

He found himself sneaking out more often than usual to visit Elenea, neglecting his duties in order to spend time with her. Falling deeper and deeper in love with her every day that he spent with her. Until it tore at his heart that he was lying to her. And unable to keep lying to her, he told her the truth. He told her that his name wasn’t Crenesl. His name was Clinnis. And he was the son of the Duke of Northmoor, and would someday have to be the duke after his father. Swearing his love to her, he said that there wasn’t anything he wanted more than to get to spend his life with her. That he would forsake his inheritance if he had to, so long as she loved him and wanted to be with him too.

Overwhelmed by the revelation, Elenea didn’t know what to think. The young poet had started to fall in love with the Breton, but she couldn’t understand why he had lied to her for so long. Why he’d pretended to be someone else. But as Clinnis reluctantly gave her the space that she needed, she realized that she loved him too. Duke or not. Which she confessed to him the next time that they encountered each other. Overjoyed, Clinnis immediately arranged to present her to his father. Determined that she was the woman that he would marry. No matter what.

Their wedding was lavish, as befitting a future duke of Northmoor, and the future duke and his common wife immediately won the hearts of the common folk. And the tale of their love bewitched the poets and artists, entranced by the tale of a young lord who was willing to turn his back on his inheritance for the woman that he loved. Like a story right out of the tales, their popularity was unrivaled.

The two of them honeymooned in Cyrodiil, before returning to High Rock and making the move to Northmoor. Unfortunately, Dandal passed away shortly after their travel to Northmoor, leaving Clinnis as the new duke of Northmoor, and Elenea as the new duchess, a position that she wasn’t exactly ready for. But she didn’t exactly have much of a choice otherwise. Soon after taking their new position, it was announced that Elenea was already pregnant with the future heir to Northmoor, which was widely rejoiced among the folk of Northmoor. After all, Masanne was a beloved house, and the good will of the house meant that the good will of their duchy would continue. And that a war over succession would be avoided, at least for a little while.

The New Heir (173-176 4E)

The child was born on the seventeenth day of Hearthfire, the day of Northmoor’s traditional harvest festival to celebrate the ending of spring and the beginning of autumn and the harvest season. Clinnis and Elenea had been out in the city when her labor suddenly began, around a month before her due date was supposed to be. She was quickly rushed to a Temple of Mara where she could be tended to by the healers, as there wasn’t enough time for her to go back to Masanne Keep.

Thankfully, the labor was a quick one, and both mother and child were healthy after the ordeal. And the two of them now had a beautiful young Altmer daughter that they named Galateya. Considering her birthright, and the fact that Elenea’s water had broken beside a memorial devoted to the long dead duchess, they decided that naming her after the woman who had brought their family to prominence would only be fitting. And a month after her birth, she was announced to all of Tamriel as Lady Galateya Alysanne Masanne the Fourth, daughter of Duke Clinnis and Duchess Elenea Masanne of Northmoor.

Her birth did cause some controversy, as she was born right in the middle of the Great War between the Empire and the Aldmeri Dominion, with more conservative organizations in High Rock arguing that as she was an Altmer, how could they trust her to eventually consider her human subjects to be more important than her elven kin? Although most voices were quelled when it was pointed out that neither Elenea nor her parents had ever even set foot in the Summerset Isles, and that young Galateya was more Breton than Altmer by blood, with three Breton grandparents and only one Altmer grandparent. Although of course, no amount of logic would forever quell these whispers, and they would always follow her for the rest of her life, especially as she drew closer to becoming duchess.

Clinnis and Elenea worked to protect their young daughter from these rampant rumors, carefully keeping her safe and isolated from anything that could pose a threat to their little daughter. Especially as their relationship began to cause more controversy as the war raged on. But finally, the war came to an end. And with it, the controversy began to ebb away as well, giving them some breathing room in raising their daughter. While there were pressures to raise and rear their daughter in a proper way befitting a noblewoman, giving her to a wetnurse and then a governess, Elenea vehemently refused. Teya was her daughter, and she would not entrust her care to anyone else. She nursed her at her own chest, kept her with her at every moment, and never allowed her out of her sight.

But Teya grew fast. Before they knew it, she had been weaned, she was eating solid foods, and it was time for her to move into her own chambers. And reluctantly, Elenea allowed it. So long as the chambers were adjoining theirs, she still joined them for every meal, and the most important decisions and care would fall to her, while her day to day would be tended to by a governess, one personally picked and vetted by Elenea herself to make sure that she would fit her standards. A Breton who had served the Masannes her entire life by the name of Meliene. Her mother had been Clinnis’s nursemaid, and she herself had grown up alongside the young duke. He trusted her with his life, and the wellbeing of his daughter. And once she had proven herself to Elenea, she shared that trust in her. And she ended up being the best friend of the couple, spending quite a bit of time with them, even after Teya had gone to bed, or would later be in her classes.

A Simple Life (176-187 4E)

Now three years old, Galateya was under the care of Meliene in the day to day, rather than her mother and father. Although of course, she still spent plenty of time with both of her parents, having every meal with them, and often getting to visit them during the day. But they couldn’t still spend the same amount of time taking care of her, as they had important duties to take care of. But that didn’t mean they loved their daughter any less, of course. She was still the light of their lives, and they lavished all of the attention and love that they possibly could on her. But they were the duke and duchess of Northmoor, and they had other things to take their attention.

As she’d been used to having her parents take care of her for the majority of her life thus far, it was a bit of a struggle for Teya to adjust to now being in Meliene’s care. She’d race away to try and get to her parents, even when they were busy. Although of course, being three years old, she was usually caught almost immediately, before she could make it to her parents. But that didn’t mean her escapes became any less frequent. At least for the time being. Hoping that it would possibly start to distract her from missing her parents so much, Elenea arranged for Teya to start playing with the children of the family’s servants, in order to make sure she could make friends and have something else to do.

Her plan worked almost immediately, and Teya was quickly distracted away from trying to harass her parents. Instead, she began to make friends with the other children in the keep. And that’s how she started to grow up, spending her days playing with her friends, usually under the watchful eye of Meliene, or even her parents when they had a day where there wasn’t much to do. Teya spending so much time with the children of the castle’s servants was part of Elenea’s own plan, to make sure that her daughter didn’t think that she was better than them, just because she was born a noble. Clinnis was happy to encourage that, as he didn’t want their daughter to grow up to think that she was better than anyone else.

The years continued to pass quickly, until she was around five years old. At that point, Clinnis and Elenea decided that it was time for her to start her studies. So they arranged to hire a team of tutors to teach her everything that a young noblewoman could need to know. Around the same time, her magical abilities began to manifest, so they rushed to hire a magical tutor as well, to make sure that she knew how to control and use her abilities safely. Although her lessons at first focused on the most basic aspects of magical instruction, it was clear almost immediately that Teya had an innate talent for restoration magic. Particularly healing.

As befitting a proper young noblewoman, Teya began to learn dancing, singing, how to recite ancient elven poetry, history, politics, arithmetic, magic, and how to ride a horse. As well as the basics of how to run and operate a keep or her future lands, to make sure that she’d be the best duchess possible. But of course, her parents made sure that while she had quite the workload from her studies, she’d still have time to herself, able to play with her friends and just being able to enjoy the time she’d have of being a kid. And as she got older, she devoted herself to her lessons, devouring everything that she was taught and throwing herself into them with a singular passion. Eager to be the best ruler that she ever could, and to learn all that she could about the world around her.

But at the same time, she was beginning to develop a singular streak of mischief. One that would lead to her exploring her family’s ancestral home with her friends, learning every hidden passage, every nook and cranny of the expansive keep like the back of her hand. She was especially fascinated by the mechanisms that hid some of the more secret passages, eager to find out how they worked. If it was just magic, or if there was something else that could make a bookcase flip around to expose or hide a staircase. Much to the horror of her parents and many of the castle’s inhabitants, that fascination led to her often taking these mechanisms apart, leaving the hidden ways inoperable until someone could come to fix them. It seemed that Teya had a mind for how things worked, wanting to find out how things fit together to make something more impressive than they could ever be on their own. In order to try and distract Teya from tearing the castle apart, Clinnis began to arrange to be sent wonderful creations from all across Tamriel for her to be distracted with. Little bits and bobs that she could take apart and put back together to find out how they worked, and discover the insides of these little creations.

The years passed and Teya continued to grow up, blossoming into a singularly intelligent young lady, with the biggest collection of gadgets in all of High Rock. Or at least, publicly acknowledged collections. She was fascinated by every new piece that she was given, eagerly taking them all apart before putting them back together. And before long, she began to put her mind to creating her own creations. Much to the expanded horror of her parents. While her habit of taking things apart had ravaged the keep, her creations had a tendency to end up with Teya injured in one way or another. But thankfully, never more than that could be tended to by the healers at the Temple of Mara, or even Teya’s own magical abilities.

There was the time a ten year old Teya flung herself from the window of her tower in order to test a flying machine that she had made. Only to fall like a stone in water. Thankfully though, she escaped with merely a broken leg, an injured pride, and a seemingly endless lecture. And only a month later, she nearly burned down the same tower while working on a project that was supposed to provide her room with heating that didn’t require a fireplace, or any enchantments. Which resulted in an even longer lecture. But of course, these lectures only fell on deaf ears. Teya had found a passion and love in creating her gadgets. And even though she was usually only causing chaos with her creations, she genuinely wanted to make these things in order to make life better for other people.

As Teya got older, she’d started to garner her own reputation within High Rock. For more than just being the daughter of the duke of Northmoor, and the future duchess. Rumors of her chaotic creations and the destruction they left in their wake had begun to spread. And she was quickly regarded as an intelligent, albeit eccentric young child. Truly one who had taken after the more… scholarly aspects of her Direnni heritage. Although some began to question if such a child could truly be trusted to rule the duchy of Northmoor in the future. Especially if her father died before she learned restraint. But Teya was oblivious to the rumors, at least for a while.

In her twelfth summer, Teya and her family traveled to Daggerfall for a celebration of the king’s fiftieth nameday. She was excited for the celebration, as she’d prepared her own gift for the king. It was a product of both her magical abilities and technical skill and she’d toiled over it for months, eagerly awaiting when she could present the gift to their liege lord. She’d even gotten help from one of the smiths at Masanne Keep, a man who specialized in the hidden mechanisms of the castle’s secret passages. And had even been hired on in order to fix what she had broken when she was younger.

Finally, they reached the capital city of Daggerfall, and were brought before the king to offer up their gifts. Her father and mother offered him a beautiful robe made of royal blue silk, lined with the fur of a snowbear. And enchanted to bring health and protection to whoever wore it. And it was then that Teya displayed her own gift to the king. It was a model of the ship he had sailed on as a young prince, one that could actually sail when placed in water. At least, so long as it was wound up using a key that one could wear on a chain around their neck. The king was surprised by the gift and the inventiveness of the young girl who had created it. So he smiled, and said that the rumors had indeed been wrong. Galateya Masanne was a genius who had great things ahead of her. This confused the young girl, as she hadn’t known there were any rumors about her. So she asked her parents about them that night. Her parents pretended as though the king was just being kind, and that there was no way there were any rumors about her. But Teya could tell when her parents were lying. And it hurt her to think that they felt as though they had to lie about the rumors. And it only seemed to confirm to her that the rumors had to be terrible indeed if her parents didn’t wish to speak of them.

Thinking that her love of creating things had brought dishonor to her family, when they returned to Northmoor, Teya set aside all of her tools, vowing to never create anything again. Not if she was only an embarrassment. And her vow lasted for almost two years, with Teya never tinkering with another gadget that she found, or even trying to fiddle with the mechanisms of the hidden passages as she still so often did. Her parents tried to encourage her back to her creations, but nothing they tried could help to ease their daughter’s pain. So all they could do was watch as she turned her back on what she had loved to do for so long.

Discovering the Dwemer (187-191 4E)

Concerned by his daughter’s change, Clinnis had tried everything to bring back Teya’s confidence. Brought her books on famous inventors, had his connections scour High Rock for inventions that could bring back that spark of creation. But none of it worked and he was forced to watch for two years as his daughter was a shell of herself. Of course, she still applied herself to her studies, and she was growing into a talented young mage, and an intelligent young woman. A leader who he was proud to have succeed him someday. But it was as if the spark in her was gone. She seemed a shell of herself without the creations she once had to pour her imagination into. And he was beginning to lose hope. At least until an idea suddenly occurred to him shortly before her fourteenth birthday.

His daughter had been fascinated by inventions and technology. And who were the greatest inventors that Tamriel had ever known? The Dwemer. Surely their creations would be enough to recapture the spark that had long since left his daughter. Reaching out to some connections he had in Skyrim and Morrowind, he arranged for some particularly valuable bits of dwemer automation to be delivered to Northmoor just in time for her birthday.

At the feast celebrating her birthday, she was presented with a defunct Dwemer sphere. Long dismantled, it was still mostly intact, able for her to take it apart and study it. Teya was taken aback by the gift, not expecting such a thing. But she began to fiddle with it after, mostly out of obligation because her father had so clearly spent a lot of money on it in order to get it for her. But as she worked on the sphere, taking it apart and studying every part, she steadily found herself returning to where she had been, revitalizing her love and obsession with technology. And giving her a new particular obsession. Dwemer technology. Of course, she had heard of the Dwemer before, it would have been impossible for her not to. Especially not with her particular interests. But she’d never devoted any sort of specific study to them before. But with this sphere in her possession, she found a budding obsession in the long gone race and the creations that they had left behind. Which would be a particularly expensive hobby in High Rock, as they were far from the nearest Dwemer ruins.

But the Masanne family had quite the fortune that they had amassed over the years, and their mercantile connections and relations kept that fortune growing, so there was plenty of money for the family to spend on this interest of hers. And Clinnis was happy to spend it, just overjoyed that his daughter had recovered her spark, and she seemed to be just as she had been before she became convinced that her inventions were bringing disgrace to her family.

She threw herself headfirst back in her inventions, this time studying the dwemer and incorporating their creations into her designs. Until eventually, she had slowed making inventions mostly, with the majority of her focus being on understanding how the dwemer’s creations worked, and how to possibly make them work again. Or create a different way for them to be used again. Using her family’s fortunes, she collected every bit of dwemer technology that she could get her hands on and began obsessing over how to make them work. Of course, she still had to continue her classes to prepare her for her destiny of ruling Northmoor, but she spent nearly every waking moment focused on the dwemer and their technology. They captured her imagination and her attention, and she couldn’t find anything that could distract her. Or at least, at first.

But Teya was growing older. And as she grew closer to womanhood, she found herself starting to be distracted away from her studies and extracurricular pursuits. As she’d started to notice people her own age, both girls and boys, and her mind began to linger on thoughts of romance and marriage, as did so many people her age. At first, she viewed it as a distraction that she shouldn’t give much of her attention to, she found herself growing more and more distracted. Finding her mind hard to rest on what was considered more conventionally important.

And she began to dabble in romance. Small, girlish things that never went too far. The extent of it was secret love letters, or kisses snuck behind columns or in the stables. But none of it was ever more than short flings, drawn about by her heart. For Teya knew that she’d end up being married off someday, and she had to keep her virtue intact for that. Although she longed to have a love like that of her parents, she knew that the odds of that were basically nonexistent. Unlike her father, she didn’t have any siblings who could be married off for politically advantageous marriages instead of her. So she was careful not to let her heart get away from her, not letting herself get too close to anyone who caught her eye. And she was careful to make sure none of it could ever be used to sully her reputation or make her seem anything other than the perfect noble, and a woman who could someday be a proper wife.

But after about a year of these small dabblings, she began to grow bored of them, and her attention quickly returned back to her studies. After all, what the dwemer had left behind had lasted for eras. And no childhood romance ever lasted for long. At least not in the courts of High Rock. By the time she was sixteen, she was content to leave the future matters of her love life to her parents, for them to find a proper marriage for her, while she focused on her studies. After all, in her mind, she had more important things to focus on, and if she got involved in her eventual marriage, how would her parents know that she had chosen the right match, rather than just what her heart led her towards?

The years continued to pass, and Teya was blossoming into a beautiful young woman in the flower of youth. Although she was unquestionably an altmer, she still resembled her breton blood more visibly than that of the elves. She had long, beautifully golden hair, long pointed ears, and her skin bore a distinct golden tinge that immediately marked her as Altmer. Although her features, build, and size, were fully Breton. Which served to ease the worries that she would sympathize with the potential enemies in the Aldmeri Dominion, rather than the Breton folk that she was destined to rule someday. She was incredibly intelligent, well aware of her magical talents, and an expert in each of the skills that any noblewoman would need in the courts of Tamriel. She could dance as well as anyone, sing like the most musical of birds, recite elven poetry as if she had written it herself, and was well aware of how to properly arrange seating at a banquet to avoid any political rivals sitting together, or any interactions that could cause drama.

Studying at the College (191-195 4E)

When she was eighteen, Teya decided that her studies would draw her away from home and her personal lessons with her tutors. After all, she had such power with her magic, and she wanted to learn about how to use it, and there were few magical academies left in Tamriel. The closest being the College of Winterhold in Skyrim. Which was of course her first choice, as studying in Skyrim would give her unrivaled access to the ruins left behind by the Dwemer. Her parents were uneasy about such a decision at first, trying to convince her away from it, but she was insistent. This was what she wanted to do, and if they didn’t allow her to do it, she’d run away and do it herself. After all, she was a full woman of eighteen now. She was no longer a child and could make her own decisions. So reluctantly, Clinnis and Elenea gave their daughter their blessing to go and study. Away from where they could protect her, far out of any reach that either of them had.

She sent an application to the College of Winterhold, and gathered her most important possessions and everything she’d need for her travels before boarding a ship bound for Solitude. Considering the diminished state of Winterhold, despite being a port city, ships to that city were rare, making it necessary for her to sail to Solitude and travel by land to Winterhold. So after arriving in Solitude, she boarded a wagon which brought her and her possessions to Winterhold, the rundown city where she would study to increase her magical talents. There was some surprise that Teya had chosen Skyrim for her studies, as Morrowind had more knowledge of the dwemer than the Nords. But in her mind, Skyrim would be her first step, and she doubted her parents would give their blessing for her to study in Morrowind. And if the fates were kind, she’d have time later on to study in Morrowind before her father would die and she’d have to be the duchess.

By the time she reached the College of Winterhold, she received the letter that she had been accepted into the student body, which she was incredibly thankful for. Although she had been sure that she would be accepted, she was relieved that she wouldn’t have traveled all the way to Winterhold, only to find out she wasn’t accepted and would have to go all the way back home in embarrassment. When she arrived at the College, they had just recently gained a new Arch-mage, although he had already gone into seclusion to work on some kind of spell work that he considered to be particularly important to him. Which meant that things at the institution were a bit awkward, and were trying to adjust to a new kind of normal.

Teya was quickly accepted into the ranks of the mages specializing in restoration magic at the college. Although at the same time, she focused a great deal on studying destruction magic, in order to make sure that she could defend herself in the future. Especially because she planned on delving into dwemer ruins in order to find more pieces of dwemer technology to study and investigate. Shortly after arriving at the college, it became pretty common knowledge that Teya was interested in the dwemer and had quite a bit of talent when it came to their lost technologies. That led to her being taken under the wing of Arniel Gane, a senior mage at the College who studied odd magic, including the technology used by the dwemer.

Under Arniel’s tutelage, she managed to get her hands on a dismantled dwemer spider towards the end of her time studying at the College and as her graduation was drawing close. With permission from the senior mages, she decided to make the project into her dissertation, and would ultimately decide whether or not she could graduate at that point. With the help of Arniel, and the product of over a year of nearly endless work on the machine, she finally succeeded in her project. And in her possession, she now had a functioning Dwemer spider that obeyed each of her commands. Given quite a bit of a reputation for her unlikely success, Teya was officially declared a full mage of the College and that she’d graduated. Although she would be more than welcome to continue studying at the College if that’s what she wished.

Clinnis and Elenea assumed that since she’d now graduated from the College of Winterhold, she’d be returning home to continue preparing for the day that she’d take over for her father. Instead, she informed them through a letter that she was going to stay in Skyrim for the foreseeable future in order to continue her studies, which would involve her delving into the ruins of the cities left behind by the dwemer, no matter how dangerous it would be. Her parents tried to talk her out of such a decision, but Teya didn’t listen to them. This is what she had set her mind to, and this is what she was going to do, whether they liked it or not. Their choices were to accept her decision and respect it, or to try and drag her back home and ultimately fail in doing so.

Following the Dwemer (195-201 4E)

Clinnis and Elenea’s immediate response to Teya’s letter was to send several members of their household who Teya had grown up with in order to try and convince her to come back home and not put herself into such danger. But all their attempts fell on deaf ears, and if anything, just convinced Teya even further that she should do this. After all, she didn’t have a lot of time left to do what she wanted. Her father was a Breton, and he was getting older. And Teya only had a few more decades left at most to be able to study what she wished before she had to go home. It was this that ultimately made her parents realize that they couldn’t convince her to return home. So reluctantly, they gave her their blessing to continue in her studies. However, if she was seriously injured in any of the ruins, she would have to return home immediately in order to prepare for her future of ruling Northmoor. She didn’t appreciate that they were trying to place such restrictions on her, but Teya did agree to that condition. Although she wasn’t willing to follow it, and decided to use a very loose definition of what was considered “seriously injured” enough to invoke the deal.

Over the course of the next several years, Teya began to delve into ruin after ruin, investigating everything that she came across. And on many of those expeditions, she’d team up with other adventurers, to make sure that they could keep each other alive in the dangerous cities left behind by the dwemer. Although whenever she needed money to continue following on these expeditions, she’d sell many of her finds that she didn’t need, or would go out on other expeditions to other kinds of ruins, or wipe out a particular threat to a hold for some extra septims.

A great deal of her time ended up being spent in Markarth and the Reach, just because of how many dwemer ruins were maintained in the hold. She began to make quite the name for herself in the Reach. And after one particularly dangerous job where she helped defend a small village from a Forsworn attack, she was declared as a Thane of the Reach, and given permission to buy property in the city. Teya had managed to save up quite a fortune over her travels, starting to sell more and more dwemer artifacts. And using that money, she managed to purchase a house where she and her housecarl could live. Before long, her house was absolutely stuffed to bursting with dwemer bits and bobs.

Her housecarl would often sell off the pieces when she was done with them, which left even more gold in their coffers, although they still had more dwemer pieces and metal than Teya could ever know what to do with. And as the years passed, she just continued packing the house full, while her housecarl would have to sell off the less needed pieces and try to keep everything at least somewhat tidy.

Her most recent travels have led her to Helgen, where she’s resting between expeditions in order to narrow down rumors for a new place to explore, as well as gather up a group to help her with her next expedition.

[ao3feed-ineffablehusbandz]

Remember Where You Are

Remember Where You Are

by WTF Playstation Games 2023 (PSGames)

Согласно старой легенде лесных эльфов, Лесовик сбивает с пути невнимательных и неосторожных, но всегда одаривает тех, кто знает свой путь.

Words: 4992, Chapters: 1/1, Language: Русский

Series: Part 2 of Вересковое сердце не бьется

Fandoms: Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett, Elder Scrolls, Elder Scrolls Online

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: Aziraphale (Good Omens), Crowley (Good Omens), Original Female Breton Character(s) (Elder Scrolls), Original Female Khajiit Character(s) (Elder Scrolls)

Relationships: Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens)

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, Crossover, Fantasy, Magic, Hurt/Comfort, True Love, Aziraphale Loves Crowley (Good Omens), Crowley Loves Aziraphale (Good Omens), Established Relationship, Hopeful Ending, Alternate Universe - Skyrim Fusion, Inspired by Fanfiction

From https://ift.tt/fQYb2Ax https://archiveofourown.org/works/44581960

[pyrettawychwiggin]

Master List - Writing

I've been writing fanfictions and original work for.... a while. So I thought it was time to make a proper list with links for it all. I've put up a general glossary below, but all the links and details are below the cut. Enjoy! ♡

Disclaimer: all NSFW/18+ content is linked below, but they are only available to read for members on our Ko-Fi/Patreon pages, mainly for age restriction purposes.

Mini Glossary (Fanfictions)

• The Arcana

• Destiny/Destiny 2

• Fallout

• Jujutsu Kaisen

• Skyrim (The Elder Scrolls)

Mini Glossary (Original Work)

• The Rantings of a Chairside Tooth Fairy

If you want to support us further, consider becoming a supporter on our Ko-Fi or Patreon pages, and be sure to check out our Linktree for a full list of everything PSH.

Links to all of my work is below the cut.

The Arcana

• You can find my playable games on the Dorian.live app ♡ This includes games like 'In Medias Res' and 'The Fool's Journey.'

• Character Sheets - Anya Strekoza - some character sheets for my MC done in the style of the original character sheets from The Arcana. No content warnings.

• Anya's Backstory, Notes - Spoiler Alert for the the main storyline of The Arcana.

• April Asks - a list of 20 questions about my MC - Anya Strekoza. No content warnings.

Destiny/Destiny 2

• 'Come With Me' - Crow x Guardian (Vera, the Female Void Hunter) - SFW, fluff, semi-platonic. Oneshot.

• 'No Harm Done' - Crow x Guardian (Vera, the Female Void Hunter) - SFW, fluff, semi-platonic. Oneshot.

• NSFW Alphabet - Crow (Gender-Neutral Guardian) - NSFW, 18+, exclusive on Ko-Fi/Patreon only.

• SFW Romantic Alphabet - Crow (Gender-Neutral Guardian) - SFW, fluffy.

Fallout

• 'The Iron Angel: The Tale of Maria Röentgen' (Fallout 3) - follows a female Lone Wanderer on her journey beyond her tiny world in Vault 101. Saga.

Jujutsu Kaisen

• 'Wishful Thinking' - a mini-series following Himawari Sasaki, a sorcerer-turned-civilian, during the tail-end of the events of the Shibuya Incident. Not recommended if you haven't at least watched season 2 due to spoilers. (Nanami Kento x OC/Himawari Sasaki, SFW, slow burn, fluff)

• 'Nanami Kento Relationship Headcanons' - a post just talking about how a relationship with Nanami would evolve. (Nanami Kento x You, SFW, Fluffy, Point-Form)

• SFW Alphabet (Nanami Kento) - (Gender-Neutral) - SFW, fluffy, mild suggestive themes.

• Random Nanami Kento Headcanons (Post-Shibuya-Incident) - (Gender-Neutral) - SFW, fluffy, mentions of trauma and injury, the teeny-tiniest hint of angst but only if you squint.

• JJK Characters Surprise You By Singing/Playing An Instrument - a multiple-part series with Spotify Links! Each entry has one or two short stories as well.

- Part 1 - Gojo, Megumi, Nanami, Suguru, Choso - Part 2 - Coming Soon...

Skyrim (The Elder Scrolls)

• 'Songstress of Skyrim' - follow the story of a Breton woman named Mhari Freysri as she navigates the dangerous and wonderful land of Skyrim. This story follows her from her arrival in Solitude and through basically every quest I could find (mostly SFW with some fade-to-black moments; NSFW content will be available to read on Patreon/Ko-Fi)

Rantings of a Chairside Tooth Fairy

• This story starts with a rough re-telling of my decision to become a dental assistant, then leads into a series of blog posts talking/ranting about the job, the industry, the people, etc (SFW, non-fiction, starts out story-style for the prologue, the rest is written is more of a blog-like format)

[gaqalesqua]

Lile makes a social call.

[wishesofeternity]

Like I mentioned before: my post was in context of the TV show, which is completely different from the book with massively diverging plotlines and characterization. If you’re not familiar with the TV show (if you haven’t watched it, I wouldn’t recommend it because I personally think it sucks lol), I don’t think you’ll be able to properly understand the context behind what I’m trying to say.

But anyway, the point I was trying to make was that Alicent supported her son’s claim to the throne and was viewed negatively by the narrative and the vast majority of the fandom for doing so. Her motivations (in the book, they’re ambition and security; in the show, they flip-flop between whatever the showrunners want them to be) are ideally quite understandable, yet she is criticized for them for the sole purpose of making the other protagonist, Rhaenyra, look better. Imo, it speaks of the showrunners’ inability to understand that unfortunately, in the patriarchal world they have constructed, sometimes this was women’s only route to power or safety (whether they succeeded or failed to achieve it is another matter altogether). I’m not talking about what happened to Alicent afterwards and how that connects to the world she lives in, I’m talking about the choice she made to support her son in the beginning.

Yes, Joanna was a powerful leader in her husband’s absence; yes, she was wrongly imprisoned by Edward II. The two are not mutually exclusive; they don’t cancel each other out; and, once again, the latter is really not relevant to my post. Joanna’s husband aimed for the title and she supported him and fought for him & her son (and herself); that’s the main reason I gave her example. “(Joanna’s) attempt to secure her status was abruptly torpedoed” yes, and? She still made the attempt; that’s what counts, and that’s what I’m discussing wrt Alicent (that is: the attempt, not the result). Countless other women across history have done the same, regardless of whether they succeeded or failed. The show and the fandom criticizes Alicent for even wanting to take that route.

I'm putting the rest under the cut!

  Hypothetically (as unrealistic as this is) imagine if historians randomly decided to criticize Joanna of Flanders for supporting her husband & son over Jeanne de Penthievre, or claimed that the only reason she supported them was because of her internalized misogyny. That would be a pretty stupid (not to mention unfair) assessment of her, right? It would completely misunderstand the world Joanna lived in or the situation she was in. That’s exactly what Alicent did wrt her son and her family, and that’s exactly what the show and the fandom is criticizing her for. And that’s what I’m criticizing them for – the inability to understand that their female characters surviving and/or navigating through their systematically misogynistic world the best they can is not something that should be mocked or villainized by itself. My original post was simply me ranting about the bizarre way they decided to frame Alicent (via the quote I began the post with).

(I'm aware that the War of Breton Succession is not a "shining example of 'girl power" or whatever'. I'm not sure where you seem to have gotten the idea that I think it was lol. Your point is exactly what I spoke of when I criticized how the vast majority of the HotD fandom views the conflict wrt Rhaenyra and Alicent).

Like. That’s literally it, lol. I was criticizing one quote and the frustrating way they framed a fictional character. It has very little to do with Joanna of Flanders’s life; Joanna was just one example about a historical woman who fought for her son, regardless of whether she succeeded or failed. That's the reason I mentioned her. (tho admittedly, I’m not sure if she actually wore armor and led troops; I know it was how Froissart seems to have described her, but idk if it’s true or not).

Tho with regards to Jeanne de Penthievre (historically speaking and unrelated to the show or my original post):

Jeanne certainly lost her title and ended up in debt, but she doesn’t seem to have ended her life defeated or miserable? I read her biography (“Princely Power in Late Medieval France: Jeanne de Penthievre and the War of Breton Succession” by Erika Graham-Goering) a few weeks ago – it’s a fantastic book that talks about the various “phases” of her life, including her life after the war. As it says: “After the settlement, Jeanne’s career was far from over, even if it underwent a radical change.” She seems to have gone into a “self-imposed exile” to Paris, possibly because she mistrusted her cousin Jean IV, though she does seem to have returned to Brittany occasionally, and she ruled Penthievre itself through proxies. She also attempted to canonize her late husband. “These moves reflected her fierce efforts to retain her prerogatives rather than marking any sort of withdrawal from politics, as the Montfortist narrative would have it. After all, her remaining possessions and high connections still placed her among the first ranks of the aristocracy. She seems even to have initially left open the possibility of remarriage, though this was to have no sequel. The last two decades of her life were spent dealing with the fallout from the Treaty of Guérande and the war more generally, albeit with varying degrees of success.” In fact, “in December 1378 Jeanne presented her claims against Charles V’s bid for direct control after Jean IV’s exile”, including an argument “which d’Argentré deemed ‘tresnotable’: that the nature of Brittany did not allow it to be confiscated, since it had never been part of France in the first place.” Her bid failed, she and Jean IV were both stripped off their titles, but Brittany put up a fierce resistance to Charles V’s attempted takeover, and ultimately, Jeanne seems to have decided to support Jean IV: “Better an heirless duke with whom she had a treaty, than a king who had rejected her right to be called duchess. Jean IV did not actually return to reclaim his duchy until August 1379, at which point Jeanne was apparently amenable to her cousin’s presence. The Chronicon Briocense had her at his reception at Dinan, where she set an example for the rest of the lords and, with Jean, received their praise. Whatever conviviality there may or may not have been, this committed Jeanne fully to relying on the eventual applicability of the ‘escape clause’ in the Treaty of Guérande.” Following this: “unlike the first treaty, the second did not drive Jeanne to another self-imposed exile from Brittany. In fact, she took up residence in La Roche-Derrien and, as far as our records show, mostly stayed there for the next three years (until her death).” Ultimately, Jeanne seems to have had a pretty difficult and unfair life, and she constantly had to walk the political tightrope – but I don’t think it’s fair to dismiss it as “she lost and ended up in debt”.

  Also, from what I understand as per this book, she was not called “Joan the Lame” during her life. It seems to be a common (mis)assumption, but it was not a contemporary or even immediately post-contemporary title for her. The epithet “la Boîteuse’ was actually introduced more than 100 years after her death in the 16th century by Bouchart “as a conventional trope used (especially long after the fact) to slander elite women”. According to Graham-Goering, it was a “clear fabrication”. I haven’t researched more into it, so don’t take my word for this, but I figured I should mention it.

Anyway, I hope this clears it up!

“You toil still in service to men. Your father, your husband, your son. You desire not to be free, but to make a window in the wall of your prison. Have you never imagined yourself on the Iron Throne?”

A couple of things:

1)  Alicent is a queen consort and is a Hightower by birth, so no, she cannot imagine herself on the Iron Throne, because Targaryen succession does not work like that. This is basic knowledge that 5-year-olds would presumably be expected to know, and I am astounded and embarrassed that Rhaenys, with her age and experience, lacks this fundamental bit of common sense.

2) Alicent has been the functional regent of Westeros for the past six years. In the previous episode, we see her actively governing the realm and overseeing all royal matters (while Rhaenyra sits on her ass with her loser husband in Dragonstone). We also literally hear Vaemond tell Rhaenys “It’s not a king who sits the Iron Throne these days, good sister. It’s the queen”, so I can assure you, Rhaenys, that Alicent has physically sat on the Iron Throne just fine. She lacks authority, obviously, as she is the consort and not the king, but she certainly did not and does not lack power, to say nothing about influence. This ridiculous show, however, does not seem to be able to differentiate these terms.

3) Does this show not understand that Alicent installing her son as King is not just beneficial to him (which the show acknowledges) but also directly beneficial to her? This is a patriarchal and patrimony-inclined world; Alicent’s son being King would not only mean immense prestige for her family; it would also mean the ultimate peak of power and influence for her (which we see her unapologetically wield in the books). In Westeros, we see Visenya Targaryen supporting her brother and her son’s kingship rather than angling for the throne in her own right, and wielding absolute power and authority in their reigns. Historically, Empress Matilda (the female claimant to the throne in the Anarchy, the war this story is based off) relinquished her claim in favor of her son, Henry II, presumably because she recognized he stood a better chance at gaining the throne (which he did) and continuing her legacy. Joanna of Flanders, who literally wore armor and led troops into battle, did it to support the cause of her husband in direct opposition to the claim of his niece. Yet according to this show’s logic, every single woman who has fought for their fathers and brothers and husbands and sons subscribes to internalized misogyny rather than, idk, supporting their families and gaining power, security and status in the process. Not to mention, Alicent relinquishing her children’s claim and stepping aside would not only be utterly humiliating and degrading for her from a political and personal standpoint, but also legitimately life-threatening for her children and her family. More competent writers would understand that she did not have much of a choice.

4) “You desire not to be free but make a window in the wall of your prison” is the MOST SICKENING PIECE OF VICTIM-BLAMING BULLSHIT I have ever heard in a long, long time. Alicent was a teenager when she had to marry the much-older King (her best friend’s own father) because of his desire for her. He repeatedly raped her and forced at least four pregnancies on her that she did not want. She was utterly isolated at court after her marriage, lacking comfort and friends (including Rhaenyra, who abandoned Alicent for three years after learning that she was being made to marry her father and, based on the comments she made, did not even stop to consider the awfulness of Alicent’s predicament). She had to endure the humiliation of her father being fired and made to leave court, leaving her even more alone than she previously was. She had to endure her husband constantly favoring his firstborn and his grandchildren by his firstborn rather than Alicent’s children who were a direct result of her rape by him. Her son was maimed and bleeding and her husband chose to defend his firstborn’s moronic decisions rather than bring him justice.  She is not a Targaryen, she does not and cannot ride a dragon. WHAT WAS ALICENT SUPPOSED TO EXCEPT TRY AND SURVIVE? HOW ON EARTH IS SHE BEING JUDGED FOR IT?

(And this ridiculously condescending comment is coming from Rhaenys of all people, lmao. A dragon-riding Targaryen who was an actual claimant to the Iron Throne, unlike Alicent. So, what was stopping HER from seizing power, pray tell? After all, she even has the Velaryon forces to back her claim. Instead, in her own words, she made peace with her sidelining. She constantly disagreed with her husband’s ambition regarding her claim and her family’s power. She volunteered her 12-year-old daughter as a child bride for her own aging cousin. The hypocrisy and double standards here is pathetic, and the lack of self-awareness on the part of the show is even worse)

Alicent was legitimately terrified for her children and her family’s lives, and she was entirely justified in doing so: if Rhaenyra ascended the throne, Alicent’s children would inevitably become threats to her whether or not they directly opposed her. This is unavoidable. Look up any historical usurpation, and that’s the inescapable result - and that’s not even going into the fact that Rhaenyra and Daemon are people who are reckless, cruel and indifferent to violence, and would not hesitate to kill any opposition to their reign. The show’s so-called claim that Alicent is upholding the patriarchy falls apart when you consider the fact that this is the only solution that guarantees the security of her children and herself. How is Alicent’s perfectly understandable motivation written as internalized misogyny? 

And moreover, from a writing perspective … why give her this arc at all? Fire & Blood was badly written, but it doesn’t change the fact that they looked at an ambitious woman who wanted to enhance her power and improve her family’s standing, who directly defied her husband’s wishes in terms of succession in favor of her own, and rewrote this choice into one borne from internalized misogyny. They wrote her as a child bride, a rape victim, an abuse victim and a teen mother and then used this backstory to say that she was conditioned to become the so-called agent of patriarchy (which they do not support with believable evidence) who opposes their so-called feminist protagonist (whose primary enabler is Alicent’s rapist and abuser, btw, not that his abuse is acknowledged nearly enough by the narrative considering how heavily he was romanticized in the last few episodes) It’s a heinous, disrespectful, absolutely terrible writing choice, and I cannot emphasize this nearly enough.

(Oh, and speaking of Rhaenyra, let’s talk about how her queenship solidifies Viserys’s claim over Rhaenys’s. Let’s talk about if she truly cared about women inheriting the Iron Throne - as opposed to just herself - she would have considered this. Let’s talk about how she disregarded the claims of Baela and Rhaena in favour of her son when it came to Driftmark. Rhaenyra is not challenging the patriarchy, her ascension to the Iron Throne will not change anything for anyone except for herself, do not make me laugh by claiming otherwise)

ON TOP OF THIS, the show can’t even decide on a consistent motivation or characterization for Alicent. They repeatedly show us her visceral and justified fear for her children’s lives, which is somehow forgotten in episode eight in favor of her saying that Rhaenyra will be a good queen. Her desire to see her son crowned and thus ensure her children’s safety is disregarded in favor of her actually wanting to fulfil Viserys’s half-baked wishes on his deathbed. They have her say that everyone knows Aegon will be king, and then act surprised when the Green council plots to install him as King. They do not care about Alicent’s personhood and individual character; what they care about is her position as a foil and antagonist to Rhaenyra.

In conclusion: this show sucks. It shows absolutely no understanding regarding the politics of its own world and our medieval history and is a parody and a travesty of respectful storytelling. It has inconsistent and baffling character motivations and downright misogynistic writing, and this is not acknowledged nearly enough by the fandom.

[monabee-draws]

'Did you hear that?'

'Hear what?'

Some spooky times in the mines for TESoctober. Recently picked up this nerd and I miss being able to steal things and pickpocket everyday. Worth it for his silly personality though. I'm very much endeared. Ft my Breton templar, Vellione.