Elder Scrolls Lore » Discussions


Aela The Huntress and Skjor. Pack members or more?

  • Member
    December 7, 2015

    There are a few videos on you tube stating as fact that both Aela and Skjor are in fact having a relationship. Personally I feel this is completely wrong and I have in fact argued and had a few debates with members on the site.

    I’m now taking the step of opening a discussion on whether Aela The Huntress is actually in a relationship with Skjor.

    Why do I feel that they are not having a relationship?

    • The one time when it is proposed that they are a couple, Aela whole heartedly denies it.
    • Both her and Skijor talk about the night’s hunt which I see as a case of just the two of them hunting as a pack and not as a matched pair.
    • Aela shows no remorse over Skjor’s death just anger that a werewolf has been killed yet she is remorseful over Kodlak’s death.
    • She don’t give Skjor any burial and yet Kodlak’s body is burned on a pyre. Skjor isn't mentioned again.

    Now I’m looking towards Kodlak’s diary where both Aela and Skjor are mentioned.

    I've spoken of my thoughts to the Circle, withholding the part about the stranger lest Skjor worry I will no longer seek his counsel, and I was not surprised to see them torn by it. Skjor and Aela are strong in the ways of the beast, and even seemed to suggest that the Hunting Grounds would be their choice of afterlife, if it were truly a choice.

    The only suggestion I get from this passage is the fact that both Aela and Skjor are strong with the beast. There is nothing here to say they are in a relationship what so ever.

    Apparently she and [player's name] are waging their own separate war against the Silver Hand, in retaliation for Skjor's death. Their hearts are noble, but the course of vengeance is running hot, and I fear the counterstroke that may come if they do not rein in their fury.

    Kodlak mentions both your and Aela’s vengeance and fury. If Aela were involved then surely there would be remorse or loss... Kodlak does mention his heart but not Aela’s.

    I'm amazed that Aela thinks she can keep a secret among this drunken rabble. Especially with the loss of Skjor (my heart aches), emotions are fraying, and the walls of discretion are the first to fall.

    Kodlak’s heart aches yet he don’t mention once about Aela’s loss over her lover. Why? Skjor isn’t her lover...

    My conclusion to Kodlak’s diary is there is no proof what so ever that Aela and Skjor are in a relationship due to one simple fact. They are not...

    Now let’s look at Aela’s speech in game.

    Njada: "I've heard some rumors... about you and Skjor."
    Aela: "And if you want to keep having ears, you'll pretend you didn't."
    Njada: "Is it not allowed?"
    Aela: "It's not exactly forbidden, but even so... it's not true. So that's that."

    Here we clearly see Aela stating that she and Skjor are NOT in a relationship. Aela the Huntress is saying this herself.

    Could it be that her only concern is the Whelps finding out they are werewolves?

    Too damn right it is...

    Aela: "You wanted to see me?"
    Kodlak: "I worry that you've been spending too many nights out."
    Aela: "Where I go is my business. If you have a concern about my honor, bring it before the Circle."
    Kodlak: "You forget yourself, young one."
    Aela: "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap. Just... these hunters. We're all on edge."
    Kodlak: "That's why it's best to not mistake foolhardiness for bravery."

    xxxxxxx

    Kodlak: "How goes the hunt?"
    Aela: "Skjor's heard rumors of a bear the size of a mammoth in Hammerfell. We're going to seek it out."
    Kodlak: "What glorious prey. Come back alive, and with stories to tell!"
    Aela: "Always."

    So Kodlak is aware that they go out hunting but he is utterly clueless that they are in a relationship? Let’s remember he does go to Skjor for council...

    My conclusion with Aela? She is not in a relationship with Skjor. She said it herself...

    Aela: "It's not exactly forbidden, but even so... it's not true. So that's that."

    Now let’s look at Skjor.

    Skjor: "Are you prepared for tonight's hunt?"
    Aela: "I've been thinking we need to be more... discreet."
    Skjor: "There's nothing wrong with what we're doing."
    Aela: "You know the old man doesn't like it. Let's just not be too obvious."

    If Skjor was discussing a secret liaison with Aela then why don’t he say that? They are discussing the hunt they are going on. Why? Because they are just werewolves and they go off hunting...  

    Now lets take a close look at the Totems.

    "Harbinger, I'd be honored if you joined me in my search. I had once heard Skjor and Kodlak talking about the Totems of Hircine. Simple-looking objects that could channel the powers of the werewolf in new directions. Once Kodlak began looking for his cure,. But I was going through his things and found a book I had never seen before. All about the Totems. I've been talking to my sources around the holds, and think I may have heard where one of them lives. Want to come along?" During the three treks to various dungeons to claim the totems, she will repeatedly say:

    “I'd wager Skjor didn't bring it up again...”

    If they were together then she would KNOW this... Not assume.

    "The spirit of Skjor is with us on this errand. I feel him."

    This is simply the fact that Aela can feel Skjors presence as the Totems are linked to Hircine and the Hunting Grounds. We already know that Skjor was close to his wolf spirit. How many of us felt Skjor was there as well?

    Here is my final argument despite having Aela say bluntly that they are not having a relationship.

    If Aela is with Skjor then why once the Kodlak is saved from the Hunting Grounds, you can marry Aela? If she is with Skjor then it leaves three options in the hunting grounds.

    1. She dumps you in the Hunting Grounds and stays with Skjor.

    2. She dumps Skjor in the Hunting grounds and stays with you.

    3. Both you and Skjor share her between you.

    Aela knows for a fact 100% that she will meet Skjor in the Hunting Grounds so why run off and marry a werewolf is she is in love with Skjor?

    Simply put, she wouldn’t. Aela would wait until she is reunited with him. She marries you (Or can marry you) because she isn’t in a relationship.

    The only conclusion I come to is the simple fact that Aela the Huntress is NOT in any relationship with Skjor and they just go hunting together. I firmly believe that if Farkas and Vilkas were just as close with their wolf spirits then they would go along as well. If Skjor didn’t die then you would be invited to join them on their hunts.

    This is what I believe to be fact. Aela and Skjor are not in a relationship what so ever, they were just pack members.

    What do you think?

    Do you honestly feel they were nothing more than pack members hunting?

    Or, do you still strongly feel that they were in fact in a secret relationship?

  • Member
    December 7, 2015

    Well, I feel there is a relationship there, but its moreso as comrades in arms, or perhaps like siblings in a weird sense. She possibly does bury him, we just never see it. As for a secret relationship, they're either hiding it very well, or are just in it to get laid. 

  • December 7, 2015
    Ah. I was wondering when someone would do this. There is a slight chance that Bethesda where going to make Skjor and Aela, more than pack memebers but never did due to reasons.
  • Member
    December 7, 2015

    I remember looking at both of their relationship stats on CK and both don't have any thing in common. it sounds like it was a goof that Bethesda had

  • Member
    December 7, 2015

    Honestly, I took most of it at face value. The secrecy and the fact that Aela won't cure herself were the things that made me think maybe there was something there. To my knowledge, she'll marry a non-werewolf. My thought was that she wanted to remain a werewolf so that she and Skjor could meet again in the Hunting Grounds and be together forever. It doesn't make a great deal of sense without knowing her deepest personal thoughts, and those never come up. There's just not enough time to program and record such deep characters in such a large game. Honestly, I don't feel strongly about it either way. It's just one of those things that always stood as a "maybe" to me. Maybe they are, maybe they aren't. And it perhaps that's the way it was meant to be.

  • Member
    December 7, 2015

    I don't think it was a goof as such. Everyone remember when Skyrim came out? We were not aware that they were werewolves. THAT was their big secret. CK does contain unused conversations yet even they don't contain anything to back up the theory of a 'relationship'.

  • Member
    December 7, 2015

    that is true, I also believe they are related.

  • Member
    December 7, 2015

    I admit I take this route in my story but lets remember that there is nothing to back this up. In actual fact there is a key part which goes against this.

    And all the women in my family, back to Hrotti Blackblade. I stayed with my father in the woods until I was old enough for my Trial. 

    Lore wise, not Skjor...

  • December 7, 2015

    You present your argument well. There is not much I can say to counter it without delving into human behavior, which is not an argument I think is appropriate to present in a lore discussion. Oh, and that Skjor and Aela are in the same wing and he has a double bed. But then so does Vignar and Kodlak and we don't think she's sleeping with any of them.  

    I personally think the dialogue can be interpreted either way based on how I've observed people, but that's just me. People hide behind denials all the time. It's human nature to deny something when it strikes a nerve. Also, lumping grown women and men together in one building is libel to cause situations cause I live in logic land. Heck, in gameplay, both Ria and Athis sleep in Aelberon's bed! LOL, and my guy's a celibate priest.

    Bethesda does not delve deep enough into either Skjor's or Aela's psyche for me to make a conclusion solely based on the dialogue presented above. It could be well a game mechanics issues why Skjor isn't buried. In my opinion, it's an oversight, as Kodlak clearly favored him to take over, which would imply that he likes the guy. You'd think that would warrant some respectful treatment upon death, right? 

    I don't actually have a strong feeling one way or another from a lore standpoint, as to me, it really doesn't effect anything with regard to the lore of the Companions. The Companions are not handled differently in game whether they are in a relationship or not, so it doesn't' matter. I use the implied dialogue in a very different way in Straag Rod and it gives a strong impression of a relationship. Part of fanfiction is fixing these little issues that don't make sense to you.  Some of the dialogue didn't. 

  • Member
    December 7, 2015

    Nice one Sotek, this is a very interesting discussion. Lore doesn't have to be all about gods, demons and metaphysics to be interesting. You have used sources, both from in-game dialogue and Kodlak's journal to arrive at a conclusion and then presented this for community consensus. That equals a great use of lore and I'm proud you have chosen Apocrypha in which to present it. Rest assured I can think of no reason why this does not belong here and I hope your approach inspires others.

    To add my two cents to your discussion, I feel that the subject hinted at by Njada is a misinterpretation of what was really going on between Aela and Skjor. The rumour going around was that there was something going on between them and that they were close, naturally she and the other whelp's mind turned to sex. The truth, of course, is far more interesting.

    Btw, you may want to tag this post with relevant links. "Lore: General Discussion" and "Lore: Nords" could do the trick for inclusion in the Directory.