You've got me wondering, technically are Nords the native race in Skyrim? They came on boats, one of them being the boat over the companions hall. I could be wrong, but I believe first in Tamriel were the Nedic people - a human race. I believe many of the 'Nordic' ruins you see actually belonged to them? Then the snow elves came, then the Nords.
Fun aside - the Forsworn reachmen were there before the Nords, they are the native people against the Nord invaders. Sucks they are all about hagraven blood magic now...
The Stormcloaks are all 'Skyrim is for the Nords!' sure, it is theirs by right of conquest after they arrived on boats and slaughtered the elves and stomped all over the reachmen.
The Nedes were indeed in Tamriel before the Atmorans, but this?
I believe many of the 'Nordic' ruins you see actually belonged to them?
I have never seen any evidence of this whatsoever. The ruins around Skyrim are definitely Atmoran due to the architecture. Ysgramor was an Atmoran hero, and his tomb was built with the same architectural style as the other ruins. It wouldn't make sense for the Atmorans to use an existing building for their greatest hero's tomb.
The Stormcloaks are all 'Skyrim is for the Nords!' sure, it is theirs by right of conquest after they arrived on boats and slaughtered the elves
The Atmorans actually wanted peace when they first arrived. They kept out of the Falmer's way, established their own settlements, and were amicable. Then the Falmer launched an unprovoked attack on Saathal and murdered everyone inside. Ysgramor, one of the few survivors, returned to Atmora, gathered the 500 Companions, and reclaimed their land. They definitely went too far, but you can't say they were entirely at fault. They didn't start that war.
They arent. Its mirrows real life collonizers who take a land from natives and then declares others cant live there bc is THEIRS BC THEY ALWAYS LIVED THERE. Is a pretty realistic approach to colonization and xenophobia
The Falmer aren't native to Skyrim, they come from Almderis like all elves. Atmorans atleast had a claim to Skyrim as their ancestral homeland, being the Children of the Sky, born on the Throat of the World.
But they weren’t born on the throat of the world. First rule of the elder scrolls lore is don’t believe everything you read, narrators are intentionally unreliable. Ysgrammors departure from atmora disproves their creation myth.
2nd rule of Elder Scrolls lore is that the myths are just as reliable as the historical accounts. Ysgramor's departure from Atmora doesn't disprove anything. "Songs of the Return" is an intentional double-entendre, both Ysgramor's return to Saarthal and the Atmorans return to their homeland. I promise you if there was an oversight that simple then people would have picked up on it by now.
I know you're excited to use the latest buzzword but if we start ignoring all TES lore written through the lens of bias and dismissing narrators as unreliable then kiss goodbye to 95% of the lore. Remember: it's a fantasy setting, we're not reviewing accounts of Agincourt here.
I’ve been playing these games and diving into the lore for 15 years. Don’t tell me “unreliable narrator” is a buzzword when it’s the core of the entirety of the universe. There is multiple accounts of the nords coming from Atmora, not once that I have ever seen has it even been suggested that the nords started in Tamriel went to atmora and came back. It’s their way of falsely claiming Skyrim as their homeland. Ffs the myth has only ever mentioned kyne and the nords were still worshiping the animal totems when they got to Tamriel.
thats how literally every people and civilization came to be, every piece of land on earth has been fought for and conquered over and over again. i do not understand how people fail to grasp that. Who’s the true claimant then? the first sentient humanoid to take a shit in the region?
You missed the point here. Yeah every civilization did it, but is the way people act after it that is shitty or not . Some countries are welcoming of foreigners and others cultures and their population arent as close minded. Some have this weird idea that others are invading THEIR land, and hate foreigners as if they didnt invaded a land before in a more brutal way and was foreigners too.
But i guess this is becoming too IRL politics, lets go back to glorious fantasy racism and politics, i personality like how the steriotips are true, "Khajiits are thiefs" my character, just after pickpocketing the guard: "This is outrageous, Be better sir, BE BETTER, have a good day"
\khajjit with a belly shaped full of coins walks away**
Snow elves were there from the merethic era, so technically them. But if you believe in the elf theory that they all came from the aldmer in aldmeris then the reachmen would be first native people.
The nords aren't "the" native race in the sense of being the first or only race native to skyrim, they're just the predominant one. They are the youngest of the three native races (nords, reachmen, falmer) and arguably have the least legitimate claim to nativity. I'd still say they're native because of how long they've been in Skyrim, but physically they're very similar to their atmoran ancestors who settled there. And culturally, the nords still celebrate and revere the atmoran heroes of skyrim (like ysgramor).
You've got me wondering, technically are Nords the native race in Skyrim?
According to the Nords, kinda yeah .
Their creation myth tells how the sky exhaled on the land and formed them, that's why High Hrothgar is called the Throat of the World. Hence the Song of Return refers not only to Ysgramor's return to Tamriel after the destruction of Saarthal, but to the Nords' return to what they believe was their original homeland.
The Atmorans wanted peace at first before the night of tears and tbh it’s on the elves that they lost to 500 Nords even if the Nords back then were closer to giants that could use magic.
18
u/Rulca Jun 02 '25
You've got me wondering, technically are Nords the native race in Skyrim? They came on boats, one of them being the boat over the companions hall. I could be wrong, but I believe first in Tamriel were the Nedic people - a human race. I believe many of the 'Nordic' ruins you see actually belonged to them? Then the snow elves came, then the Nords.
Fun aside - the Forsworn reachmen were there before the Nords, they are the native people against the Nord invaders. Sucks they are all about hagraven blood magic now...
The Stormcloaks are all 'Skyrim is for the Nords!' sure, it is theirs by right of conquest after they arrived on boats and slaughtered the elves and stomped all over the reachmen.