Lore:Ulfsild the Evergreen

Archmage Ulfsild the Evergreen
Archmage Ulfsild the Evergreen
Race	Nord/Reachman	Gender	Female
Born		1st Era Druadach Mountains
Died		1st Era Eastmarch
Resided in		Eyevea The Reach The Pale Kyne's Aegis
Appears in		ESO

Archmage Ulfsild the Evergreen (also called Ulfie as a nickname by her ex-husband Shalidor) was a gifted witch, healer, and priestess of mixed Nord and Reachfolk heritage. Before she met Shalidor, she had already gardened a significant reputation, with her being obscured as three separate figures such as the Warrior-Witch of Kyne's Aegis, the Pale's priestess of Jhunal, and the Clever-Woman of the Druadach. She had a unique ability thought to have been gifted from Magnus which allowed her to see the flow of magicka on Nirn. This ability led her to the creatures she called Luminaries of Magic, immortal beings of pure magic she likened to beams of sunlight from Magnus himself. Collaborating with these entities, she developed the "metamagical theoryset" of Scribing, the precursor to the modern Spellcrafting system.

History

Ulfsild was born during the First Era, where she was active roughly a thousand years before the founding of the Mages Guild. Her father was a Briarheart and her mother was a Nord, however, she was saved from the nest of a Hagraven and was raised among the Clever Folk of Skyrim. From a young age, she learned she had the ability to see the ley lines of the world, which brought her prestige within her clan.

Though she did not know it at the time, Ulfsild had met the Indrik Luminary in her youth, who saved her from being trampled from a herd of mammoths that she had attempted to collect wool from. Her clan laughed at her thinking she had some fanciful dream, with all that was left to show was the Indrik's feather which she kept as an accessory on her hat as a keepsake. In her youth, Ulfsild's clan-mother would bake tarts from stunted wheat and berries as winter approached. One day, tasked with delivering these treats to an elder uphill, she encountered a small fox on the way. Thinking it hungry and lost, she offered it a tart, which it quickly devoured before darting off with the basket. Chasing after the fox through thick snow and tangled woods, Ulfsild stumbled upon a hollowed-out tree trunk where the fox had hidden with its pups and wary mother. After a tense moment, the mother fox relaxed, allowing Ulfsild to retreat slowly. She was eventually found by her clan-mother.

Ulfsild would later meet Shalidor, who wandered into her property through a portal he conjured and inadvertently ruined her alchemy garden. Initially angry and defensive to the strange mage's presence, Ulfsild's interest came about when Shalidor made it evident that he was several lifetimes older than she was when he mentioned the landscape of Hjaalmarch as it was before her time, a glacier and not marshlands. Shalidor spent the stormy winter at Ulfsild's home, where they grew fond of each other. They exchanged information on each other's methods of magic, and Shalidor observed her perform her duties as a witch, healer, and priestess wherever she was summoned, and occasionally served as an aid.

Before leaving Ulfsild, Shalidor offered her the secret to eternal life, however, this resulted in an argument. While Shalidor prolonged his life so his accomplishments were not constrained by time, Ulfsild instead saw the beauty in the passing of time, and saw it redundant that Shalidor didn't stop and enjoy the world due to his overuse of portals despite his immortality. It took several years for Ulfsild to realize what Shalidor meant to her and that she could no longer bear his absence, and so she learned portal so she could open a portal to Shalidor's mage sanctuary of Eyevea. Within Eyevea, she discovered a year's worth of writings such as unsent letters and confessions that were addressed to her. Additionally, she learned that Shalidor had gone to see her in Skyrim, traveling from boat and then from foot from High Rock, taking her advice to not take portals and instead enjoy the journey to his destination. Upon Shalidor's return, he found Ulfsild made herself at home at Eyevea. While in Skyrim, he had discovered that Ulfsild also had her own unsent letters confessing her love. Shalidor was truly in a state of bliss, his smile he shown that day Ulfsild would never forget.

After Marrying Shalidor

"He wished to offer me eternal life so that we might spend it together. I wished to spend my single mortal life as his partner. You might ask yourself, whose wish was the greater show of the love we'd come to share?" —Ulfsild

A vision of Ulfsild during her marriage

With a husband that was lifetimes older than her, Ulfsild was eager to prove to herself that she was an impressive mage. Shalidor was supportive of their relationship, and never made her feel lesser.

During a day out with Shalidor, she encountered a natural Indrik and her fawn in Auridon, which led her to realize what she had saw in her youth. Her memory restored, she sought to learn more about the creatures and purchased an old story called the Fable of the Indrik from a scroll shop in Sunhold. With the ability to see the magical flow of the world, she noticed that certain ancient fables like the one of the Indrik had this same energy leaking out of them, which she followed and discovered the existence of entities of unknown origin she dubbed as Luminaries. These Luminaries would go on to collaborate with her in the creation of Scribing, whose art she hoped would allow others to see the magic she did through technique and focus. She also created the True-Sight Lens so those that did not have her gift can interpret the energies of the Luminaries. Seeking to further perfect her art of Scribing, Ulfsild eventually erected the Scholarium within the caves underneath Artaeum, and bound the domains of the Luminaries within it.

Ulfsild encountered the Gryphon Luminary while studying in the Scholarium. As she was reflecting on a childhood memory, a fox stole her faerite gem and darted through a wall, leading her to stumble into a snow drift. Saved by the Gryphon's protective instincts, Ulfsild came to understand that both the Fox and Gryphon were playful and nurturing creatures. She observed the fox playing with her faerite and later found herself waking up warmly sheltered under the gryphon's wings.

Later, after Ulfsild had already located the Wing of the Indrik and the Wing of the Gryphon, she'd also encounter the Netch. While studying in the great library of the Scholarium beneath Eyevea, Ulfsild felt something tugging at her skirt. Expecting The Fox, she turned around but found nothing. Nonetheless she suddenly felt lighter, as if whatever force had tugged her skirt simply wanted her to look up and was playing a game. The event repeated twice, but nothing showed itself. The next day Ulfsild found her books arranged in the shape of a giant squirrel. The tugging soon returned, but Ulfsild ignored it. The playful presence than lifted the book she held from her hands, prompting her to chase it. The chase brought Ulfsild to an abandoned room, within which she felt an air of power, less serious than either The Gryphon or The Indrik. The space was like the room of a child or the studio of an artist, full of creativity and joy. Upon entering, Ulfsild suddenly found herself in a seaside domain bathed in sunlight. Within she found a large glowing netch, bobbing joyfully in the breeze. Knowing the Luminary meant her no harm, Ulfsild approached the creature, which welcomed her as a friend.

At some point after 1E 2250, when Ulfsild had already located the Wing of the Indrik, she'd also encounter the Dragon. Ulfsild heard the Fable of Mizbi and the Dragon from a Moon-Singer while travelling with a band of nomads through Malabal Tor. She immediately knew there was more to the tale, and spent the night sleepless thinking on it. Wandering from the campsite, Ulfsild found a young Cathay Khajiit gazing up at the stars. Being asked why he was awake, the Khajiit responded with a question, wondering if "she" could see him, the one who raises her gaze twice a night from under the galloping hooves of the Steed constellation. Ulfsild surmised that the Khajiit was speaking of the Twilight Star, of Azura. The Khajiit than offered to trade a polished moonstone for the feather of the Luminary Indrik on Ulfsild's hat. Ulfsild refused, as she'd had the feather since she was a child and it was very dear to her, and she recounted the Fable of the Indrik instead. Behaving as if she'd won some sort of game they'd been playing, the Khajiit once more offered up the moonstone as a fair trade for the story he'd been told. When Ulfsild tried to hand the moonstone back, he refused to take it, claiming instead she could give it back in exchange for another story or riddle. Wishing to learn more of the fable of Mizbi, Ulfsild asked the Khajiit to tell it to her again, writing down notes in the process, as she knew the story was the key to finding The Dragon. Ulfsild annotated the text and used its clues to discover the gateway to the Dragon's realm. She obtained the keys from various locations, from the temple of Jode's Light, from the Do'Krin Monastery, from Khaj'Rawlith, and from Ja'zennji Siir to the west of Dune. Ultimately she found the door in a grove south of Willowgrove village, she broke the wards and entered the dragon's domain. When Ulfsild encountered The Dragon she asked her a question. What is the thing that in order to have, you must give it up. The answer was an impossible riddle, and that was what the dragon wanted if she was to lend her power. Ulfsild could not give the dragon an impossible riddle, but she could give her a paradox. If she scribed a grimoire that could also scribe out every other possible grimoire, would it eventually also create itself ? The two argued over the question for hours and, eventually, the dragon conceded. Ulfsild passed the trial, and formed a bond with the Dragon, who lent her power, thus changing Ulfsild's magic forever.

The Birth of Scribing

A Scribing Altar

Ulfsild and the Luminaries collaborated during the creation of Scribing.

Before the doors to their wings were sealed, the Luminaries fed the altar their strength. With their strength fueling it, the altar could achieve incredible feats of magic, allowing it to "shape the very heart of magic itself" and translate its very essence into mortal hands with the Luminary as the intermediary, thereby changing, or rewriting, both the magic and the mortal, as the practicioner scrawled their soul upon the page.

The power of the Indrik infused every drop of ink, every sheet of parchment, every whorl and dot upon the pages of the texts used for the Scribing process. The Gryphon, sure in himself and direct in his actions, was associated with the development of Focus Scripts, arcane scripts which defined what effect the Scribed magic would have. During this time, Ulfsild and the Gryphon also came up with an idea to create animated constructs based on Ulfsild's own designs, that would serve as guardians of the Scholarium, though their vision was not realized at the time. The Netch worked with Ulfsild to create the Luminous Ink, the substrate of power into which the magic of the Scribing altar was vested, and served as the binding agent that drew magicka and intent together upon the page. The Dragon, keen of mind and eager to listen, was associated with the development of Signature elements, Scripts that could adapt to the magical and fighting styles of the person holding the parchment, named for all the ways in which Scribing could interact with the goals and magics of other disciplines that Ulfsild had discovered. A concept originally thought up by The Dragon herself, Signature Scripts were ultimately not fully completed in Ulfsild's time.

Loss of Eyevea

The Scholarium beneath Eyevea

The Crow, the Luminary to which Ulfsild was both creator and spiritual origin

At some point after 1E 2250, the Scholarium was lost along with Eyevea, which it was located under, transported to the Shivering Isles due to a bargain Shalidor made with the Daedric Prince Sheogorath in exchange for the Folium Discognitum.

Knowing that nothing she or the Luminaries could do would outpace the greed of a Daedric Prince, Ulfsild first froze the Luminary Gryphon in a tempest of ice, the magic of which she tied to a ward she left behind. This prevented the enraged Luminary from confronting Sheogorath, a being against whom even he was no match, while also preventing the Prince from discovering the Scholarium and Luminaries, which would've been disastrous.

Ulfsild than used what time she had to enact a final plan meant to assure that Scribing would not become lost to the world. She used part of her own soul in a ritual that combined her spirit and a copy of her mind from that moment in time, flashing them upon the great wellspring of arcane power she'd gathered in the Scholarium's Scribing Altar, to create a new Luminary of Magic through a ritual described as the ultimate act of Scribing. Thus the Luminary Crow was born. With her birth she chose the shape of her physical form, and her personal realm, the Wing of the Crow was also shaped and hewn into existence in the same manner. As the looming threat of the loss of Eyevea left little time to plan the ritual to Ulfsild's normally exacting standards, the process was not fully refined, causing the Crow to have a chaotic arcane presence. The ritual to create the Crow took an enormous toll upon Ulfsild's spirit, siphoning a considerable amount of her soul. However, though it took years, her spirit eventually recovered.

Before Sheogorath pulled the island out of Nirn, Ulfsild in an effort to preserve her life's work recorded the secrets on how to scribe within the library of the Scholarium. In the event that the Scholarium were to be recovered, she left whoever would don the role as her successor, and emphasized they seek out the Luminaries that would continue guarding the place.

With the doors closed, the altar became dormant. Without that beating heart, the mastery of Scribing was believed to stagnate. The Scholarium itself was not discovered, however, for it had been warded against mages, Princes, and powers, long ago, and those defenses held strong even in the Shivering Isles. The Crow did not have much time to speak with Ulfsild, her other self, before the doors were sealed.

Ulfsild left numerous messages for potential future inheritors of the lost art of Scribing, and creating Echoes. They were magical projections of herself with messages for future spell creators within the Scholarium and Sunnamere. These instructional illusions, scattered throughout the library, were meant to guide the inheritor through the process of contacting the Luminaries. Among the known visages of her were the Flickering Image, and Ulfsild's Echoes of Introduction, the Lens, Regret, the Dragon, Loyalty, Mystery, Charity, the Final Trial, and of the Netch.

Despite losing the place she invested so much time with, she stayed with Shalidor for a time. However, Shalidor regretted his decision to trade the island and he became obsessed with recovering Eyevea from Sheogorath. This occupied him so much as to cost him the love of his wife. During her pleading for him to snap him back to reality, Shalidor did not even realize she was talking to him, and he did not answer when she said that she was leaving him.

Legacy

"Create magic the likes of which the world has never seen before. Style your expressions of magic in exaltation or defiance of them." —Ulfsild

Ulfsild's house in Eastmarch

The Indrik Luminary theorized that Ulfsild came to regret not relying on other mortals in her endeavor of Scribing, while others thought she did not like to dwell on the past. After her time with the Luminaries, Ulfsild became known as a teacher and a healer in the Reach, and a respected hedge mage in all of Skyrim. She found a new purpose in life when things got better for her, and so she took on students, and she took on new life partners. She died of old age in her home in Eastmarch, where her last days she spent writing.

In 2E 582, either before or after Eyevea was returned to Tamriel by Shalidor and the Mages Guild, the Scholarium was rediscovered by a group of knights from the Order of the Lamp. During their arrival, complications arose, necessitating the sealing of the doors to prevent a catastrophe, as the once dormant altar became unstable, threatening the lives of everyone present. The disaster was prevented due to the intervention of the Vestige, who replaced the unstable focusing crystal. This potentially also prevented the discovery of the Scholarium by Sheogorath, an event which would've been catastrophic.

After the magic was calmed, the Scholarium's caretaker, the Luminary Crow, directed the Vestige to seek out the other Luminaries and gain their support in order to return their strength to the altar. An act equated to inheriting Ulfsild's legacy and leaving a mark on spellcraft itself.

The Inheritor of the Scholarium retraced Ulfsild's footsteps, guided by her echoes and the True Sight Lens she'd left behind to allow them to see magicka as she could, discovering the fable and keys, breaking the wards, and entering the Wings of the Indrik, the Dragon, the Gryphon, and the Netch, to reconnect the Scholarium with them. The Luminaries gave the Inheritor a series of challenges to complete in order to prove themselves as Ulfsild's Inheritor. After their tasks were completed, the Luminaries agreed to lend their power.

Aut'arioth, the Inheritor's Bane

The Luminaries of Magic

With their trials completed, the Luminaries granted their Sigils to the Inheritor. Placed at the altar, the Sigils restored the connection between the realms of the Luminaries and the Scholarium, and their strength flowed into the altar once more. With their strength fueling it, the altar could once more achieve incredible feats of magic, allowing it to "shape the very heart of magic itself" and translate its very essence into mortal hands with the Luminary as the intermediary, thereby changing, or rewriting, both the magic and the mortal, as the practicioner scrawled their soul upon the page. This reconnection led to the great power of the Luminaries causing new Ley Line activity across Tamriel, thus making Affix Scripts, Signature Scripts and Luminous Ink appear across the land

With the support of the other Luminaries now assured, the Crow revealed the truth. She was the final Luminary, created by Ulfsild herself, and the last who could lend her power to the Scribing Altar. The chaotic magic that had originally led to the rediscovery of the Scholarium was a result of the Crow's own presence, as Ulfsild's ritual had never been fully refined due to the urgency of the situation not allowing enough time for it.

In the Wing of the Crow the Vestige underwent the final trial to be declared the inheritor of Ulfsild's legacy. Within the Luminary Crow's replica of Labyrinthian. the Inheritor bested the Chimera Aut'arioth, which the Crow had summoned to serve as the final challenge. The Dragon and the other Luminaries than appeared, and acknowledged the Vestige as the inheritor of Ulfsild's legacy. With the final test completed, the Crow guided the Inheritor to retrieve her own Sigil, which Ulfsild had taken with her when she departed, so it too could be added to the Scribing Altar, amplifying its power further. Knowing the Inheritor had other adventures calling to them, the Crow chose Order of the Lamp Votary Nahlia to act as the Scholarium's new caretaker. Thus Scribing returned to Tamriel.

Vanus Galerion was particularly enthusiastic of the possibilities it would open up, with early ideas being altars being installed in every guild hall, or that Scribing will perhaps one day be taught in the wilds. The legacy of Ulfsild's lived on, with Scribing eventually evolving into the modern Spellcrafting systems.

Despite seemingly being lost from wider history for a while, effigies carved from wood were made to revere a Skyrim hedge witch. Some of them survived to 2E 582, and were found across Tamriel. She was popular for her teachings and power in the First Era.

Notes

• 1.

  Ulfsild's father was a Briarheart, making her born after Red Eagle, who is said to have been the first person turned into one. The date of Red Eagle's rebellion, during which he became a Briarheart is approximately 1E 1030. Nahlia's research states that she was active roughly 1000 years before the founding of the Mages Guild in 2E 230, putting her around 1E 2150. Additionally, Ulfsild claimed Shalidor was not a millenium older than her. As Shalidor is said to predate Winterhold, which has existed since at least 1E 68, he would have been over 2090 years old during his time with Ulfsild, meaning she was over 1090 years old to not be a millennium younger than him.

• The clothing called Evergreen existed as of 2E 582 and was associated with the New Life Festival, a celebration once related to Magnus.

See Also

• For game-specific information, see the Elder Scrolls Online article.

Books

• Our Story by Ulfsild — An account of the life of the Nord-Reachfolk Archmage and her husband
• How to Scribe
• Ulfsild's Log: The Dragon by Ulfsild — Ulfsild's account of meeting the Luminary Dragon
• Ulfsild's Log: The Gryphon and the Fox by Ulfsild — Ulfsild's account of meeting the Luminary Gryphon
• Ulfsild's Log: The Indrik by Ulfsild — Ulfsild's account of meeting the Luminary Indrik
• Ulfsild's Log: The Netch by Ulfsild — Ulfsild's account of meeting the Luminary Netch
• Ulfsild's Log: Your Discovery, My Farewell by Ulfsild — A greeting from the past for someone in the future
• Ulfsild's Note by Ulfsild — A fragment of a bitter farewell
• Ulfsild's Notes: The Impossible Riddle by Ulfsild — Assistance from the past for an impossible riddle
• Ulfsild's Notes: The Origin of Luminaries by Ulfsild — Speculation on the origin of the Luminaries

References

Note: The following references are considered to be unofficial sources. They are included to round off this article and may not be authoritative or conclusive.