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In Search of the Skaal

  • Member
    May 26, 2020

    Led by Ysgramor, we had driven the Elven scourge from Skyrim, and were intent on cleansing Solstheim of their kind as well. Our warriors, armed with the finest axes and swords Nord craftsmen could forge, cut great swaths through the enemy ranks. The slopes of the Moesring ran red with Elf blood.

    The passage above is from Fall of the Snow Prince, describing a time before the Dragon War when the Snow Elves made their final stand against the forces of men at the foot of the Moesring Mountains on Solstheim. It paints a vivid picture of the Battle of Moesring and the desperate plight of the elves, while also providing some fascinating insights into the history of Solstheim.

    The book has a few pieces of verifiable data, such as the decision to entomb the body of the Snow Prince. We can find that tomb, Jolgeirr Barrow, in TES III's Bloodmoon expansion, and the lack of Stalhrim in the barrow also lends credence to the book which asserts that his "body would be preserved in the barrow for as long as the earth chose, but would not be offered the protection of our Stalhrim, which was reserved for Nord dead alone."

    I find the mention of Stalhrim interesting because it raises questions about the people of Solstheim. It appears as though the island was once more inhabited by men than it is in later eras, and gives us our starting point in our search for the Skaal who, by the time of 4E 201, are the only people with the knowledge to work and shape that ore.

    Where did the Skaal come from as a culture, and where did everyone else go? We know from Gratian Caerellius' journal that there was, at some point, another clan on Solstheim called the Bloodskal Clan, and the history of Thirsk Mead Hall suggests that predominant culture of the Skaal isn't always the only Nordic civilisation on the island. Yet, as of the Fourth Era, the Skaal are the only culturally advanced native people.

    The events of TES V's Dragonborn expansion sheds more light on the distant past and explores the presence of the Dragon Cult on Solstheim. The Guardian and the Traitor, a book from that dlc, provides us with an insight into the Skaal and life on Solstheim in the time of the Dragon Cult. The legend of the Guardian and the Traitor is somewhat verified in Dragonborn's main quest, as along the way we discover that Miraak, the traitor of the book, was taken into Hermaeus Mora's realm of Apocrypha. However, the legend that Solstheim was torn apart from the mainland of Skyrim is harder to credit. If it did indeed happen, then the conflict between the Guardian and the Traitor would have had to have occurred prior to the Battle of Moesring.
    If we take the myth as being true, then it tells us the Dragon Cult was already existent on Solstheim before the Fall of the Snow Prince. An intriguing possibility, albeit hard to verify one way or another, as it raises further questions about mannish settlement on Solstheim.

    Traditionally, it is thought that the spread of man across Tamriel started in Atmora and occurred in waves over a long period of time. These Nedic peoples adapted to their climates and eventually developed their own cultures and ethnic identities. According to this theory, the Nedes who would become the Nords represent the final wave of the Atmoran migration as detailed in the Songs of the Return following the Night of Tears at Saarthal, the event which sparked the war against the Snow Elves.

    However, this traditional account makes it harder to trace the spread of the Dragon Cult as, according to the book The Dragon War, it was Ysgramor and his people who brought the Dragon Cult with them from Atmora, This is problematic because it means the erection of temples and other edifices, along with the widespread acceptance of the cult, happened within a comparatively short space of time between Ysgramor's first landing upon Tamriel's shores and his later vengeful return.

    If we stay with the traditional view, it is more likely that one of the previous waves of Atmoran migrations before Ysgramor's time brought the Dragon Cult to Tamriel, making it a Nedic belief system.

    Another theory goes that all life started on The Starry Heart that is Tamriel, something supported by the modern Nordic myth, The Children of the Sky, which holds Kyne breathed life into man upon the Throat of the World. If we accept this as true, then man spread across the continent and eventually travelled the seas to other continents such as Atmora. If this is true, then it could well mean that the Dragon Cult is indigenous and predates the arrival of the proto-Nords from Atmora.

    Whatever the case may be, these mythic origin stories may provide clues to the genesis of the Skaal on Solstheim.

    The Skaal, according to The Guardian and the Traitor, are a "unique tribe of Nords whose culture evolved along an entirely divergent path than that of their brethren in Skyrim." This book and events of Dragonborn also hint to the Skaal being the heirs of the Guardian with its assertion that the "legend ends on a cautionary note that the people of Solstheim, the heirs of the Guardian, must remain wary, lest the dark influence of Herma-Mora, or even the Traitor himself, return someday."

    This presents a number of difficulties due to the need to trace when and how the Skaal moved away from the Dragon Cult towards their animism and faith in the All-Maker - or whether they diverged at all. It could be theorised that the end of the Dragon War on the mainland marked the decline of the Cult across the world as the dragons withdrew. Without the Cult's totemic religion to turn to, the Skaal adopted a spiritual world-view best described as animism "The Skaal are animistic, not monotheistic. Huge difference there" ~ MK.

    That said, Skaal faith seems closer to holistic totemism in that while they revere individual spirits, each spirit is represented by a larger, over-arching spiritual totem which, in turn, represents an aspect of the All-Maker. We can see this in their reverence of the six sacred All-Maker Stones which represent each of the All-Maker's gifts and connection to the world and the Skaal's Oness with the land.

    However, a Skall legend called The Story of Aevar Stone-Singer makes mention of Falmer and may provide an alternative sequence of events. In the story, Aevar"travelled through the woods of the Isinfier for many hours until he heard the cries of a bear from over a hill. As he crested a hill, he saw the bear, a Falmer's arrow piercing its neck. He checked the woods for the Falmer (for that is what they were, though some say they are not), and finding none, approached the beast. He spoke soothing words and came upon it slowly, saying, "Good Beast, I mean you no harm. The All-Maker has sent me to ease your suffering." It's unclear whether these Falmer are degenerate descendants of the Snow Elves or actual Snow Elves themselves prior to becoming the Betrayed.

    Crucially, the legend has them above ground, though, which in itself is quite remarkable and can maybe help us trace the Skaal culture to as far back as before the Battle of Moesring, or at least prior to the Snow Elves' retreat beneath the earth and alliance with the Dwemer. This would indicate the Skaal were already in existence and practising their spiritual belief system prior to the Dragon War.

    Of those two theories, I prefer the latter by virtue of it being the most subversive as it would mean the Skaal way of life is among the oldest existing Nedic cultures.

    But who cares what I think, what do you think? Do you have thoughts or theories about the evolution of the Skaal and/or their spiritual faith?

  • Member
    May 28, 2020

    Very interesting. I've really never paid much attention to the Skaal outside of Dragonborn until now. First off, kudos for forming a timeline so we can easier determine how the Skaal were formed. So here are my thoughts on the formation of the Skaal based on the two theories

     

    1. Atmoran migration theory

    So if we go by this theory, we could assume that the Skaal were part of an earlier Atmoran colony before Ysgramor's group and that a Dragon Cult had already been established in Solstheim. But this is where a problem arises because I don't think the events of the Guardian and the Traitor happened before Moersing Pass because Miraak mentioned Hakon One-Eye tried to sought out his help to defeat the dragons. This would put the events of the Guardian and the Traitor somewhere during the Dragon War, which was well after Ysgramor's Return.

    However, I do like the idea that the Skaal were an off-shoot of the Solstheim Dragon Cult who lost faith in their religion and turned to animism after the fall of the Dragon Cult. Maybe they had a moment of epiphany similar to what Jurgen Windcaller experienced after the Nords' defeat at Red Mountain.

     

    2. Children of the Sky theory

    I'm leaning more into this theory because it doesn't seem to contradict with the timeline events. So in this case, the Skaal were descended from the Nords that came down from the Throat of the World and travelled north and eventually settling in Solstheim. Their animistic religion could be based on their belief that everything was created because the All-Maker breathed them to life.

    In this theory, the Dragon Cult in Solstheim was established by the Atmorans who were part of Ysgramor's fleet. After the Battle of Moersing Pass, they properly settled in Solstheim and most likely lived together with the Skaal. When the Guardian and the Traitor happened, the Skaal were there, acting as witnesses, recording the event and passing it on as stories. 

     

    Overall, both theories seem probable, though I personally prefer the Children of the Sky theory because it avoids the contradiction I've stated above. However the Children of the Sky theory itself seems like a very Nord-centric myth and doesn't really explain the creation of the other Tamrielic races unlike say the Anuad creation myth.

  • Member
    May 28, 2020

    A-Pocky-Hah! said:

    Very interesting. I've really never paid much attention to the Skaal outside of Dragonborn until now. First off, kudos for forming a timeline so we can easier determine how the Skaal were formed. So here are my thoughts on the formation of the Skaal based on the two theories

     

    1. Atmoran migration theory

    So if we go by this theory, we could assume that the Skaal were part of an earlier Atmoran colony before Ysgramor's group and that a Dragon Cult had already been established in Solstheim. But this is where a problem arises because I don't think the events of the Guardian and the Traitor happened before Moersing Pass because Miraak mentioned Hakon One-Eye tried to sought out his help to defeat the dragons. This would put the events of the Guardian and the Traitor somewhere during the Dragon War, which was well after Ysgramor's Return.

    However, I do like the idea that the Skaal were an off-shoot of the Solstheim Dragon Cult who lost faith in their religion and turned to animism after the fall of the Dragon Cult. Maybe they had a moment of epiphany similar to what Jurgen Windcaller experienced after the Nords' defeat at Red Mountain.

    Agreed, and good point about Harkon, Feldir and Gormlaith. Of the two theories, this one sort of makes the most logical sense. It just lacks a bit of complexity, you know? Like, this neat idea that at the time it was Dragon Cult or bust is pretty much hammered into our heads from TES V to the point in which we can look back at Mythic History and establish cause and effect model of human cultural evolution. I mean, first there was the Atmoran Totemic faith, then (or alongside) came the Dragon Cult, then the concept of Sovngarde entered the collective psyche which did something to possibly affect the status quo enough to lead to the Dragon War, right? Yet that feels to me like it falls a bit short of something. The word "cult" on its own should maybe clue us in that at the time there may have been any number of different faiths. I haven't explored Craglorn as much as I would like to yet, but it seems to me that at the height of Nedic civilization in that area, there was a very different religion in the form of star-worship going on, and I like to think that alongside the rise of the Cult there were other unique forms of religion that have just been lost to time. That said, the presence of dragons and their priesthood enforcing a dragon cult is hard to stand up to.

    One of the problems that arise when comparing Guardian and the Traitor with Fall of the Snow Prince is that both legends can be, to some extend, verified. I mean, we know about Stalhrim and the Snow Prince's burial which tells us there isn't much in that text to make it unreliable. Similarly, The Guardian and the Traitor seems to outline a sequence of events that hold up to scrutiny, making that source equally as reliable as far as legends and myth go. However, both texts mention the state of Solstheim, and only one of them can be right, I think. Fall of the Snow Prince specifically calls Solstheim an island: " The Battle of the Moesring was to be the final stand between Nord and Elf on our fair island."

    The Battle of Moesring must surely have happened prior to the Dragon War, as you point out, except that Guardian and the Traitor maintain Solstheim didn't become an island until after that conflict. It kind of forces us to conclude that the one event that is total bollocks is the ripping of Solstheim from the mainland in this titanic battle. Which is a bit of a shame, you know? The old school lore guy in me sort of wants to scream "it's too cool to ignore!" This idea that Miraak and his army of brainwashed dragons and undead legions stood against the Guardian, ever loyal to his dragon overlords, and their forces of priests and warriors and that great fight saw enough energy to actually sink an entire swathe of land and leave Solstheim an island is too cool.

    A-Pocky-Hah! said:

    2. Children of the Sky theory

    I'm leaning more into this theory because it doesn't seem to contradict with the timeline events. So in this case, the Skaal were descended from the Nords that came down from the Throat of the World and travelled north and eventually settling in Solstheim. Their animistic religion could be based on their belief that everything was created because the All-Maker breathed them to life.

    In this theory, the Dragon Cult in Solstheim was established by the Atmorans who were part of Ysgramor's fleet. After the Battle of Moersing Pass, they properly settled in Solstheim and most likely lived together with the Skaal. When the Guardian and the Traitor happened, the Skaal were there, acting as witnesses, recording the event and passing it on as stories. 

     

    Overall, both theories seem probable, though I personally prefer the Children of the Sky theory because it avoids the contradiction I've stated above. However the Children of the Sky theory itself seems like a very Nord-centric myth and doesn't really explain the creation of the other Tamrielic races unlike say the Anuad creation myth.

    I'm very biased but I prefer this theory, too. I was going to say that the whole idea of the Children of the Sky is likely allegory, but you've sort of beaten me to it by extrapolating that the Skaal see the event as the All-Maker breathing life into them. That's cool.  I like to think of that whole concept as being an allegorical account of the Anuad, how the Wandering Ehlnofey became man and spread to the far corners of Nirn, and that, whichever way we slice it, human life started on Tamriel.

    In terms of cultural evolution, it has that complexity the first theory lacks. I really like the idea of the Draqgon Cult living alongside other faiths, such as the Skaal's, and maybe the Skaal's mastery of Stalhrim is a key reason why this happened. Could it be that the process of entombing the honoured dead in Stalhrim started as a Skaal practice? I mean, if the Dragon Cult is all about the promise of eternal life and the Draugr rise each night to renew the lifeforce of their Priest so that they will one day rise again, that would be very hard to do if the draugr had to chip away at Stalhrim every night. Basically, the whole idea of entombing a corpse with Stalhrim appears to go goes against a key part of Dragon Cult burial practice, to me at least.

    That kinda paints a different picture of life at the time and adds complexity to the whole thing. What if the Dragon Cult came very late to Solstheim and that the people described in Fall of the Snow Prince were a mixed bag practising different faiths? It's strange that Stalhrim was never exported and brought back to mainland Skyrim after the Battle of Moesring. That's food for thought. Could it be that the people who supposedly chased the Snow Elves to Solstheim never left afterword? Or is the whole idea of this Ysgramor-led route of the Falmer a modern spin of what was something altogether different?

    Ahhh, we need ESO Solstheim so bad. And then just hope it does something subversive if it ever happens.