#reachfolk

[elderscrollsconceptart]

Reachfolk Symbol of Namira

Art asset for The Elder Scrolls: Online

*Artist Unknown* If anyone knows the artist comment below

[cursedbeasts]

U know what i'm playing cause i start drawing fanart of it. Skyrim feels like a reprieve from stuff. I start it up and my head stops buzzing.

Rowan, the Forsworn Briarheart, is the character I play the most. Lorkh's most tired warrior, receiving his hardest battles.

You can get a commission from me. I recently lowered the prices and simplified the lineup.

[moonshadovv]

I never realised I forgot to post this! This was a secret Santa piece for @stormbeyondreality of their oc Nathari

[hircines-hunter]

You’re my disaster, at least….

[tastesoftamriel]

The issue I see with the ESO Dark Heart of Skyrim depiction of Reachfolk is primarily the division between "ethnic/indigenous" stereotypes, e.g. living in "tribes" in the middle of buttfuck nowhere and being hostile to outsiders, and the "civilised" Reachfolk who are depicted as far smarter because they live within the relatively safe confines of Markarth with taverns and banking services and other city crap that are the benchmarks of modernity and Tamrielic civility.

There is no reason beyond blind ethnocentrism that this is a division that exists, either in real life or in fantasy (if we allow the latter to truly break the bonds of fiction into something *better*). So-called "primitive" peoples, be that the Azande or Trobrianders, have been subject to ridicule due to their indigenous knowledge, myths, and beliefs as unaligned with our post-enlightenment, postmodernist, scientific worldview. In the eyes of many writers, projecting what is deemed within their worldview to be "good" for their characters is really a detriment when it comes to original worldbuilding.

At the risk of sounding like yet another unhinged Marxist, my final comment concerns the structures of Reach society. The hierarchical structure of Reach clans is not something I'm super familiar with so I may come off as sounding like an idiot here, but bear with me. Why are Reachfolk, with supposedly primitive and unchangeable belief systems, upheld to the societal structures of mainstream Tamrielic groups? Why would they trade with gold, if they traded at all; and if they didn't, someone needs to do some research on the historical basis of global trade, which cough cough involves cooperation and amicable relations between disparate groups over huge distances and periods of time. Why are the Reachfolk exempt from this cycle of amicability? Is it more thrilling to write them as hostile savages, ready to attack anyone who supposedly threatens their way of life?

Yes, they would be thoroughly aware of the dangers of colonisation. But why have city Reachfolk been portrayed as sensible citizens of Tamriel while their brethren in the wilderness are presented as wild, IGNOBLE savages? Where is the justice in portraying indigenous peoples as they truly are and are capable of, rather than re-used Western tropes surrounding the division of self and savage Other?

Once again, this ties into the prominent Western tradition of Othering those who don't follow the tenets of a monotheistic, hegemonic, organised religion, or similarly prescribed worldview. By not including Aedra worship in Reachfolk culture, they are seen as savages and people who should be civilised and brought into the fold of the Divines. There is a pervasive undertone of violence linked to so-called "primitive" groups in TES, and this may just be to make convenient NPC bandits, but also perpetuates a stereotype that deeply harms real-life indigenous and culturally marginalised groups.

This is why careful worldbuilding is so so so important because we can project the world WE want, free from the socionormative biases that taint fantasy writing. Yes it's necessary to draw inspiration from real life, I do it all the time, but there's a point where you say "what if real life isn't that great of an idea to project here?"

I'd like to conclude by saying that I'd like to see this decolonisation of fantasy writing extended to other socially marginalised and misunderstood groups in TES, such as Bosmer, Argonians, giants, minotaurs, and the Bandaari (I could rant about them all day but I have other writing to attend to). We can do so much better not only with our ability to create some truly original fantasy worldbuilding, but also by showing others that by decolonising our own writing, we are becoming more sensitive to the worldview of others and incorporating that in an insightful and respectful manner.

[bforblitz]

sanguine fumbles this man so hard

[yansurnummu]

Like Winter

Chapter 6, Friend of Ravens

(AO3)

Will you teach me magic? He asked, entranced while he watched energy and colours dance around the Matron’s long, clawed fingers. She gave him a raspy laugh. There is already magic innate to you, young one, she patted his hair, her hand feeling overly large atop his head. We need simply hone it, like a warrior hones a sword. But… Donobhan frowned, father says I’m going to be a warrior, but I don’t want to be. I’m not good at fighting.  Aorlan is… she glanced down at him, narrowing her eyes as she carefully talked about his father. A complicated man. He loves you, in his way. But he puts little value in those who truly keep this clan alive. I think you’re valuable, he pouted, looking up at her with watery eyes. I want to learn about magic, even if he thinks it’s a waste of time.

[corviride]

I think every TES creator that forgets that Reachmen exist or pretends that they don't should be stoned. This includes game designers. Todd, Emil. I'll be watching you.

[scuttling-void]

Sorry I can't stop drawing Nana lately (plus Namira, of course)

[archangelsunited]

Chapter 9: The Limits of My Language

“Look me in the eye when I talk to you.”

[full-frontal-fishstick]

There comes a time in every tumblr user's life cycle when it becomes a biological and psychological imperative to share the poorly-constructed, narrative-breaking, and often simply cringe-inducing original characters rolling around inside of their skulls 24/7, to the indifference, and/or disdain, of the wider community.

That time, for me, is now,

and the unfortunate victims? the tesblr fandom

(sorry for shit quality, i refuse to use ai. referenced from concept designs in HeroForge, modified to better fit my hcs)

This bad boy right here is my Reachman Dovahkiin, Ceileachán mag Eochagáin, or Ceile for short. Let me tell you a little about him:

Features: maroonish eyes and a tangled mass of ash-brown hair (both rather standard for reachmen); medium-light skin with soft features; a lanky, thin build that later grows to be more lean (still can't grow any bulk to save his life tho); hooked facial tattoos with center markings resembling an eye or a cross

Don't let his expression in the picture fool you, he's really a massive goof, a complete fuckin idiot who's only survived this long by the will of the gods and just a teeny-tiny bit of genuine craftiness

Born to a small clan at the very northeastern fringes of the Reach, in a small fishing village on the outskirts of the Drajkmyr Marsh (morthal) where the River Karth meets the Sea of Ghosts.

Received a basic education in magic from a wandering witch (and former crow-heart) by the name of Saoirse, who had started to take root in their village (i'll post about her later) She taught him, among other things, how to light small fires with magic, heal minor wounds, conjure his wolf familiar, and identify alchemical properties by taste. Ceile inherited his mask (see sticky note) from her.

Has an Edgy Backstory involving his village being burned down by mercenaries and being more-or-less sold into the Silver Blood's Slavery Corrective Labor Programme™

The child did not, in fact, yearn for the mines.

For years, Ceile would try his best to keep up morale among his fellow slaves workers by being his usual rambunctious self, often drawing the guards' ire so his "brothers and sisters" wouldn't have to bear it themselves. To this day he bears the whip-scars proudly on his back.

One day, one of the guards took an unexpected sick day, leaving a small, momentary lapse in their patrols. Ceile, seeing his only chance for freedom, takes it and runs outside for the first time in almost 6 years. (All the while constantly angsting over whether he's 'abandoning' his people or not)

Eyes burning, heart pounding, alarms blaring, a sharp pain in his back, an arrow hits a tree next to him, lungs heaving, another sharp pain, is that... blood?, running, running, running, slowing, falling, darkness (i suck at writing)

When he came to, he found himself in a small house, a nord farmstead. His body was covered in bandages, he was... in a bed? Turns out while he was passed out, an old farmer out on a stroll found him facedown in the woods riddled with arrows. He took him into his home with his sons to be treated. Ceile asks how he can repay them. The farmer, sensing the boy would rather die than leave him unpaid, tells him he'll be helping him and his sons on their farm for a few weeks once he's healed. Ceile accepts this.

[cursedbeasts]

A floaty werewolf I found in my Medibang WIPs. Might have been there since like 2020. Might have been my Skyrim werewolf OC lmao.

Commissions are open!

[moonshadovv]

presenting unto Skyrim fans for their consideration: transfemme Miraak? Because we love a gatekeeping girlboss dragon priest.

I've also made her mixed snow elven and reachfolk-- with draconic influence from her millennium stewing in apocrypha and having nothing better to do than absorb draconic knowledge, and that eventually comes to change her physically.

[hircines-hunter]

Shadow of the Druadach Chapter 1

Tiernan pulled his hood tighter around his face. He readjusted the fox scarf around his face, trying to create a warmer environment for his face. The warmth lasted mere moments before quickly freezing again. He cursed and groaned. How much longer would he need to climb up this Divine forsaken mountain? He briefly wondered why he even bothered going to Winterhold, but he sighed. He knew the answer. Paarthurnax had asked him. If anyone else had done so, even his own clan, he would’ve said no.

He looked up the road. He saw the top of a large castle. A fortress. He watched a magical light bounce from various points inside the massive fortress. At least, he could now see his destination instead of snow. He picked up the pace, so he could get indoors faster. So he could warm up.

[madam-whim]

Aela headcanon: Her father was from the Reach.

I mean, I love the “Aela is Arnbjorn’s daughter” hc as much as the next person, but hear me out. I went looking for names for some of my Reachfolk OCs, and I ended up going through some lists of breton names as well (and by this I mean names from actual irl Breizh, not TES breton), and guess which name I found on most of those lists? Aela.

So now I’m assuming that one of her parents was from the Reach, and since Aela tracks her matrilineal heritage back to a lady named Hrotti Blackblade, which sounds like a Nord name to me, it likely wasn’t her mother.

We know nothing about her father, however, except that Aela lived with him in the woods until she was old enough to join the Companions, and that he taught her how to hunt. So in my humble opinion it’s perfectly possible that her father was from the Reach and that he was the one who named her, which is how she ended up with a name that is far more fitting for a Reachfolk character than it is for a Nord.

It also ties in nicely with Aela being a follower of Hircine - she may simply have adopted her father’s religion. 

[ms-katonic-of-tamriel]

Chapters: 6/? Fandom: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Madanach/Ulfric Stormcloak, Keirine/Miraak Characters: Cicero (Elder Scrolls), Ulfric Stormcloak, Madanach (Elder Scrolls), Kodlak Whitemane, Farkas, Vilkas (Elder Scrolls), Original Altmer Character(s), Original Imperial Character(s) (Elder Scrolls), Galmar Stone-Fist, Original Non-Dovahkiin | Dragonborn Character(s) (Elder Scrolls), Original Nord Character(s) (Elder Scrolls), Original Reachfolk Character(s) (Elder Scrolls), Miraak (Elder Scrolls) Additional Tags: Found Family, Long Lost/Secret Relatives, Technically a Dragon Age Crossover, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence Series: Part 2 of Unfated Summary:

In an alternate universe where the Markarth Incident took a different turn and the Stormcloaks sided with the Forsworn after their king offered a Talos-worship sanctuary, the Empire is facing civil war in Skyrim right on the heels of the Great War and risking losing the entire North. When the rebels manage to frame a staunch Imperial loyalist for Talos-worship, Titus Mede is left with no choice but to bring an agent out of forced retirement. An agent who lost his very soul to a foreign power's brutal religious establishment... and who has intimate connections to an orphaned boy at the heart of the Reach Court. As young Cicero Di Rosso starts finding a new family, the old comes back to haunt him and could destroy everything he's managed to put together.

Second Half of Sky Haven Temple!  The Ciceros find trouble.  Uncle Cicero is not helping himself in the trust stakes.  Madanach is left sorting out the mess.  And Keirine has definitely bitten off more than she can chew and should probably cry off dealing with Dragonborns.