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* PetTheDog: Stealing the statue of Dibella for him makes him a little bit nicer to you. Incidentally, this also makes him [[KickTheSonOfABitch a prime candidate for feeding the Ebony Blade]], especially since completing "No One Escapes Cidhna Mine" also erases your bounty in the Reach.
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* PetTheDog: Stealing the statue of Dibella for him makes him a little bit nicer to you. Incidentally, this also makes him [[KickTheSonOfABitch a prime candidate for feeding the Ebony Blade]], Blade, especially since completing "No One Escapes Cidhna Mine" also erases your bounty in the Reach.
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* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler:A possible outcome of the Forsworn questline. The player can kill Madanach, after which Thonar will thank and pardon you, but still continue with his corrupt activities.]] Still, not a complete Houdini with the KickTheSonOfABitch aspect taken into account. That being said, [[spoiler:he immediately loses his essential status at the end of the mission and he greets you in a place with no guards. You can immediately go into sneak mode and kill him with a handful of arrows before the guards notice.]]
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* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler:A possible outcome of the Forsworn questline. The player can kill Madanach, after which Thonar will thank and pardon you, but still continue with his corrupt activities.]] Still, not a complete Houdini with the KickTheSonOfABitch aspect taken into account. That being said, [[spoiler:he immediately loses his essential status at the end of the mission and he greets you in a place with no guards. You can immediately go into sneak mode and kill him with a handful of arrows before the guards notice.]]
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* GameplayAndStorySegregation: [[spoiler:He appears as a regular Draugr boss in-game - complete with [[MakeMeWannaShout dragon Shouts]] - despite his backstory having nothing to do with the Dragon Cult. At high levels, he may even spawn as a Dragon Priest, which is even worse]].
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* GameplayAndStorySegregation: [[spoiler:He appears as a regular Draugr boss in-game - complete with [[MakeMeWannaShout dragon Shouts]] Shouts - despite his backstory having nothing to do with the Dragon Cult. At high levels, he may even spawn as a Dragon Priest, which is even worse]].
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* HeroAntagonist: Appears to be a decent guy, but will be hostile to you if he catches you in Calcelmo's lab.
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* TheyLookJustLikeAnyoneElse: despite being cannibals, it would be hard to tell without seeing it in action. Members include [[spoiler:Banning, a male Breton dog breeder outside the local stables; Lisbet, a female Nord food vendor; and Hogni Red-Arm, a male Nord food merchant]], all found around Markarth.
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* TheyLookJustLikeAnyoneElse: despite being cannibals, it would be hard to tell without seeing it in action.TheyLookJustLikeEveryoneElse: A group of externally-civilized murderers. Members include [[spoiler:Banning, a male Breton dog breeder outside the local stables; Lisbet, a female Nord food vendor; and Hogni Red-Arm, a male Nord food merchant]], all found around Markarth.
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* AttackAttackRetreatRetreat: It's not uncommon to see Forsworn running at you yelling battle cries only to immediately turn tail and run when you loose an atronach or a zombie on them.
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* AttackAttackRetreatRetreat: It's not uncommon to see Forsworn running at you yelling battle cries cries, only to immediately turn tail and run when you loose an atronach or a zombie on them.
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* DudeWheresMyRespect: Even if [[spoiler:you help him escape]], Forsworn will still attack you, with a few exceptions. Could be a bit of RealityIsUnrealistic; Forsworn are under orders to attack everyone on the roads on sight. Even if Madanach were to make an exception for you, he likely wouldn't have a way to communicate it quickly to his scattered people or provide them with an effective means of determining your identity. The one camp where they don't attack you after his release is the one where he is personally staying.
to:
* DudeWheresMyRespect: Even if [[spoiler:you help him escape]], Forsworn will still attack you, with a few exceptions. Could be a bit of RealityIsUnrealistic; Forsworn are under orders to attack everyone on the roads on sight. Even if Madanach were to make an exception for you, he likely wouldn't have a way to communicate it quickly to his scattered people or provide them with an effective means of determining your identity.identity' Madanach tells the Dragonborn to amscray from the Reach before he and his Forsworn attack specifically to avoid this. The one camp where they don't attack you after his release is the one where he is personally staying.
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* RebelLeader: For the Forsworn.
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* RebelLeader: For the Forsworn. While he's imprisoned in Cidhna Mine and ostensibly under the thumb of the Silver-Bloods, should the Dragonborn free him, Madanach will stage a break-out from prison, kill Thonar and announce he's about to whip up a major Forsworn rebellion against the Nords.
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its less than one thousand years since tiber septim
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* GoIntoTheLight: After thousands of years of waiting, receiving Hjalti's sword finally releases his soul to do this.
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* GoIntoTheLight: After thousands of years centuries of waiting, receiving Hjalti's sword finally releases his soul to do this.
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* GlassCannon: Their light armors made of skin, fur and bones offer very little resistance, since they favor DualWielding, most of them can't block, and their most powerful warriors have a LogicalWeakness that makes them very easy to kill in certain circumstances. However, they move very fast, and that same DualWielding means that even their weaker units can inflict insane amount of damage. Many of them are powerful spellcasters besides. Speaking in terms of magic damage however this isn't always the case, as higher level types of Forsworn have innate magic resistance due to their Breton blood.
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* GlassCannon: Their light armors made of skin, fur and bones offer very little resistance, since they favor DualWielding, most of them can't block, and their most powerful warriors have a LogicalWeakness that makes them very easy to kill in certain circumstances. However, they move very fast, and that same DualWielding means that even their weaker units can inflict insane amount of damage. Many of them are powerful spellcasters besides. Speaking in terms of magic damage however this isn't always the case, as higher level types of Forsworn have [[ResistantToMagic innate magic resistance resistance]] due to their Breton blood.
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* DualWielding: Most of them favour this.
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* DualWielding: Most All Forsworn weapons are one-handed, and most of them favour this.their warriors will use two at once.
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* GlassCannon: Their light armors made of skin, fur and bones offer very little resistance, since they favor DualWielding, most of them can't block, and their most powerful warriors have a LogicalWeakness that makes them very easy to kill in certain circumstances. However, they move very fast, and that same DualWielding means that even their weaker units can inflict insane amount of damage. Many of them are powerful spellcasters besides.
** Speaking in terms of magic damage however this isn't always the case, as higher level types of Forsworn have innate magic resistance.
** Speaking in terms of magic damage however this isn't always the case, as higher level types of Forsworn have innate magic resistance.
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* GlassCannon: Their light armors made of skin, fur and bones offer very little resistance, since they favor DualWielding, most of them can't block, and their most powerful warriors have a LogicalWeakness that makes them very easy to kill in certain circumstances. However, they move very fast, and that same DualWielding means that even their weaker units can inflict insane amount of damage. Many of them are powerful spellcasters besides. \n** Speaking in terms of magic damage however this isn't always the case, as higher level types of Forsworn have innate magic resistance.resistance due to their Breton blood.
* SuperSenses: To offset their vulnerability to having the Briar Heart pickpocketed out of their chest, Forsworn Briarhearts tend to be exceptionally good at detecting sneaking players.
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* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler:If you side with the Forsworn during "No One Escapes Cidhna Mine," he'll show up personally with a contingent of guards to confront the escapees. Given that the Forsworn and the guards at his back are all much more durable than he is and that [[TooDumbToLive he stands right at the front]], he'll almost certainly be the first to die, with no sympathy spared.]]
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* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler:If He loses his wife in a Forsworn attack on his own treasury. Even if you choose the sympathetic "I'm sorry" response, he's savvy enough to know he's an asshole and doesn't believe you. [[spoiler:Additionally, if you side with the Forsworn during "No One Escapes Cidhna Mine," he'll show up personally with a contingent of guards to confront the escapees. Given that the Forsworn and the guards at his back are all much more durable than he is and that [[TooDumbToLive he stands right at the front]], he'll almost certainly be the first to die, with no sympathy spared.]]
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* KickTheSonOfABitch: He loses his wife in a Forsworn attack on his own treasury. Even if you choose the sympathetic "I'm sorry" response, he's savvy enough to know he's an asshole and doesn't believe you. You can also basically invoke the trope by telling him "You deserved this."
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* TheChosenOne: A weird subversion; he was supposed to become this according to a prophecy, which stated he would unite the ten kings ruling the Reach. However, [[OutsideContextProblem the Empire]] arrived and invaded the Reach, killing or bribing the ten kings and ruining all his chances to fulfill the prophecy.
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* ThreadOfProphecySevered: He was supposed to be TheChosenOne of a prophecy which stated he would unite the ten kings ruling the Reach. However, [[OutsideContextProblem the Empire]] arrived and invaded the Reach, killing or bribing the ten kings and ruining all his chances to fulfill the prophecy.
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!People of The Reach
The Reach is the westernmost province, and is dominated by craggy canyons of the Karth River and its tributaries, and by the soaring peaks of the Druadach Mountains. The rugged wilderness of the hold is home to the Forsworn, hostile Breton natives who seek to gain independence from both Skyrim and the Empire and thus attack all outsiders on sight. Its capital is Markarth, built into the ruins of an old Dwarven city. Markarth is one of the most fortified cities in all Skyrim and it is home to a lucrative silver mining and smithing industry. Its banner is a rack of ram horns. Its Jarl is the Imperial-aligned Igmund, a young man who inherited the position from his father Hrolfdir after he was murdered by the Forsworn.
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[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Anton Virane]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/KeithSilverstein (English)[[note]]'''Other Languages''':Alexander Kovrizhnykh (Russian)[[/note]]
The Breton chef in Understone Keep, he plays a small but significant role during the Dark Brotherhood storyline.
* AssholeVictim: Considering his xenophobic attitude against the Reachmen and his abuse of his assistants, he is one of the targets late in the questline that the player won't feel so bad about offing.
* BadBoss: Mistreats his assistants; during a idle chat, he may threaten to cut off the fingers from one of them to teach her a lesson.
* FantasticRacism: Virane really dislikes the Reachmen, even the ones that are not Forsworn. He takes offense at being called one and insists that he is a Breton from High Rock.
* FrenchJerk: The fantasy counterpart, at any rate, since he is a chef, a jerk, and a Breton.
* HeKnowsTooMuch: The Dragonborn will interrogate him about the Gourmet's location and he will quickly spill the beans. However, they are instructed to silence Virane so that their mission to [[spoiler:assassinate the Emperor]] won't be tracked up to him.
* SupremeChef: The reason why he is tolerated, according to his assistant Rondach.
-->"Only reason the Jarl keeps Anton on is because he cooks up a storm."
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Borkul the Beast]]
[[quoteright:244:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/borkul_the_beast_9106.jpg]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Noah Nelson (English)[[note]]'''Other Languages''':Sergey Lavygin (Russian)[[/note]]
An Orc bandit who serves as Madanach's bodyguard in Cidhna Mine.
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* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: In his own words, he was sentenced to life in prison for "Murder. Banditry. Assault. Theft. And ''lollygagging''".
* BloodKnight: If you decide to challenge him to a brawl in order to get the right to see Madanach, he won't hide his delight. It's also implied to be the reason he joined the Forsworn in the first place.
* BrickJoke: Guards all over Skyrim tersely inform the player that there is to be no lollygagging. Borkul actually got arrested for it.
* TheDragon: To Madanach.
* GrievousHarmWithABody: One of the inmates claims that he once ripped off another prisoner's arm and beat him to death with it.
* InLoveWithYourCarnage: It's implied the reason he joined the Forsworn was because he admires their violence and cruelty. He will also appreciate if you tell him you found your first murder exciting.
* TokenMinority: If you help Madanach and the Forsworn escape Cidhna Mine, Borkul goes with them to Druadach Redoubt, dons Forsworn gear, and proclaims that "The Reach will be ours again!" -- despite not being a Reachman. It's mentioned in the ''[[AllThereInTheManual Pocket Guide to the Empire]]'' that the Reachmen historically had strong ties with the Orcs, and learned hedge-magic from them, so it's possible the Forsworn consider Orcs fellow aboriginals.
* WalkingShirtlessScene: In Cidhna Mine, he goes around wearing nothing but ragged trousers. If [[spoiler:you help the Forsworn escape]], he will then go for Forsworn armor, which leaves him shirtless as well.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Calcelmo]]
[[quoteright:254:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/calcelmo_801.png]]
->'''Voiced by:''' George Coe (English)[[note]]'''Other Languages''':Alexey Mikhailov (Russian)[[/note]]
A somewhat eccentric Altmer scholar and archaeologist who serves as the court mage and also runs the Markarth Museum. Obsessed with the Dwemer, he invites anyone (via letter) to come to his museum and will pay handsomely for any Dwarven items they're willing to give him. He is also currently overseeing an excavation of one of the many Dwemer ruins dotting the Reach.
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* AbsentMindedProfessor: Most frequently exhibited by his parting phrase.
-->'''Calcelmo:''' What? Oh, goodbye.
%%* AdventurerArchaeologist
* AmazonChaser: For Faleen.
* CannotSpitItOut: Has the hots for Faleen, Jarl Igmund's housecarl, but can't bring himself to make a move. You help things along during a quest in praise of Mara, the goddess of love and marriage.
* CoolUncle: He's assisted in his researches by his nephew Aicantar, who seems very fond of him.
* CourtMage: For the Reach.
* InterspeciesRomance: With Faleen, a Redguard.
* MayflyDecemberRomance: Faleen can't possibly be more than 40, while Calcelmo has centuries behind him and centuries left to go.
* ShopliftAndDie: He takes the security of his museum ''very'' seriously, and has an entire unit of Markarth guardsmen [[spoiler:and an entire, heavily armed bandit clan]] guarding its halls at all times. They'll let you explore the museum to your heart's content if Calcelmo gives you the key, provided you don't touch anything, but [[spoiler:will attack on sight if you use the key to unlock his private laboratory]].
* StalkerWithoutACrush: He somehow knows ''exactly'' when you've purchased a Dwarven item, even if you purchased it from your spouse in the privacy of your own home. Possibly {{hand wave}}d by the fact that he's a mage.
* TwiceShy: It appears Faleen has felt the same for him all along, because when you approach her with the [[spoiler:poem]], it turns out she has a [[spoiler:love letter]] for him on her person, and she finally musters the courage to have it sent to him by that point.
* UngratefulBastard: Even after you kill Nimhe for him, collect the journals of the missing archaeological team, and help him with his love problems, he still refuses to [[spoiler:let you use his Falmer translator to translate an important document in the Thieves' Guild questline, so you have no choice but to do it in an illegal way. However, this is justified, as his Falmer translator is his life's work (and being an elf, that is a ''very'' long time), and he can't risk somebody else stealing his research. Why there's no option for you to ''ask him to do it for you'', however, remains a mystery.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Aicantar]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Jon Curry (English)[[note]]'''Other Languages''':Alexander Matrosov (Russian)[[/note]]
Calcelmo's nephew and assistant, and an obstacle to you translating Gallus' journal for the Thieves' Guild.
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* GadgeteerGenius: Manages to reassemble and control a broken Dwarven spider, which you can sic on some guards in one quest.
* NiceGuy: Outside of the Thieves' Guild questline, he's always polite and friendly to the Dragonborn whenever they stop in to see his uncle.
* VideoGameCaringPotential: He'll confront you in Calcelmo's lab while you're [[spoiler:using the Falmer translator, and will be hostile on sight. Some players, however, find him so sweet that they choose to skip fighting by going immediately into the next room. After you finish the quest, he'll go back to his usual duties and won't remember you breaking in.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Degaine]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/WilliamSalyers (English)[[note]]'''Other Languages''':Dmitry Tarnover (Russian)[[/note]]
A Breton beggar and former smelter worker.
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* CareerEndingInjury: Suffered ''some'' sort of injury that left him unfit to work at the smelter. As for the details, Degaine seems to make up new stories on a regular basis.
* DirtyOldMan: He was reportedly kicked out of the Temple of Dibella, with his tone when asked about the event suggesting that he wasn't there for the worship. He also gives you a miscellaneous quest to steal a statue of Dibella for the temple, again with the implications that he's going to be using it for less-than-savory purposes.
* EntitledBastard: Unlike every other beggar, who at least attempts to garner your pity, he basically tells you to throw money at him because he's a beggar that needs it more than you.
* {{Jerkass}}: While most beggars thank you for your kindness if you give them money, Degaine basically takes your coin and tells you to piss off. He's also a habitual liar and a sleazebag to boot.
* PetTheDog: Stealing the statue of Dibella for him makes him a little bit nicer to you. Incidentally, this also makes him [[KickTheSonOfABitch a prime candidate for feeding the Ebony Blade]], especially since completing "No One Escapes Cidhna Mine" also erases your bounty in the Reach.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Eltrys]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/JasonMarsden (English)[[note]]'''Other Languages''':Anton Kolesnikov (Russian)[[/note]]
A Breton living in Markath who recruits the Dragonborn's help to investigate a conspiracy involving the Forsworn.
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* FacialMarkings: Not immediately apparent, due to him mostly staying in a dark area, but he has [[http://images.uesp.net//c/cc/SR-npc-Eltrys.jpg tattoos all over his face]].
* DisappearedDad: He was only a boy when his father died. [[spoiler:Tragically, Eltrys himself becomes this trope when he is killed by the city's guards; earlier in the quest chain, he off-handedly mentions that his wife is pregnant, meaning that his child will become SomeoneToRememberHimBy.]]
* FreudianExcuse: A discussion with him will reveal his father was killed in the conspiracy when he was a child. He has been haunted by this ever since, leading to his obsession with figuring out why his father died.
* HeKnowsTooMuch: [[spoiler:Thonar's corrupt guards eventually find out about his investigation and kill him to cover up the conspiracy.]]
* VideoGameCaringPotential: Not that it helps him, sadly, but some players exhibit this toward his wife, Rhiada. She is in the same room as Betrid Silver-Blood when Betrid is attacked. Due to her pregnancy, quite a few players reverse-pickpocket a stronger weapon on her, to help her so she doesn't die.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Faleen]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/ClaudiaChristian (English)[[note]]'''Other Languages''':Ramilya Iskander (Russian)[[/note]]
Jarl Igmund's Redguard Housecarl, who previously served his father.
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%%zce* AmazonianBeauty: Calcelmo certainly thinks so.
* CulturedBadass: She's a skilled warrior who has a weak spot for poetry.
* HypercompetentSidekick: To Igmund. She's probably half the reason why he is still in power by the time the game starts. The other half is probably his uncle and steward, Raerek.
* MayflyDecemberRomance: Calcelmo's hundreds of years older than she is and - being an elf - will almost certainly outlive her.
%%zce* UndyingLoyalty: To Igmund, and his father before him.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Coven of Namira]]
A coven of Namira worshippers who are all cannibals. Several are residents of Markarth, keeping their eating habits and worship a secret.
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* DarkSecret: They tend to want to keep their habits secret from the general populace, shushing the Dragonborn should they bring it up.
* ImAHumanitarian: They are all cannibals, eating human flesh willingly.
* TheyLookJustLikeAnyoneElse: despite being cannibals, it would be hard to tell without seeing it in action. Members include [[spoiler:Banning, a male Breton dog breeder outside the local stables; Lisbet, a female Nord food vendor; and Hogni Red-Arm, a male Nord food merchant]], all found around Markarth.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Forsworn]]
->''"The Reach will be ours again!"''
A group that operate primarily in the Reach. They are mostly composed of Reachmen, the original inhabitants of the Reach descended from Nords and Bretons living on the border between Skyrim and High Rock. This has given rise to the claim the territory is theirs by right and they have a long history of bloody conflict with the local Nords over control of the Hold. Several years before the events of ''Skyrim'', they actually managed to take control of Markarth, only to be brutally overthrown by Nord militia led by Ulfric Stormcloak in what became known as the infamous Markarth Incident. Despite this brutal loss, the Forsworn are still determined to take back what they believe is rightfully theirs, and have begun consorting with Hagravens to become powerful mage-warriors known as Briarhearts.
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* AttackAttackRetreatRetreat: It's not uncommon to see Forsworn running at you yelling battle cries only to immediately turn tail and run when you loose an atronach or a zombie on them.
* AxeCrazy: They are perceived as this by most people due to their aggressive behaviour and RapePillageAndBurn actions. One of the in-game books mentions that they sometimes attack people and slaughter them, without bothering to steal any goods from them.
* BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: It's not clear if they're doing it out of bloodlust or for some foul occult purpose, but their lairs are absolutely ''littered'' with butchered animals and tortured Spriggans.
* BlackAndGreyMorality: Can be either this or GrayAndGreyMorality depending on which of them you take in account. The Forsworn as a whole definitely are brutal, vicious, and cruel bandits and implied Daedra-worshipers who cause violence in the Reach, but it's mentioned that several of their members started out as innocents and ended up joining them in the first place because of the brutal and unfair Nord retribution after Ulfric took back Markarth. And that's excluding the corruption of the Silver-Blood family.
* BoomerangBigot: Their hatred of the Nords, as they are historically descended from both Bretons ''and'' Nords.
* DealWithTheDevil: The ritual used to turn a Forsworn into a Briarheart gives them greater combat skill, but robs them of their free will.
* DualWielding: Most of them favour this.
* EliteMooks: The Briarhearts.
* FailedASpotCheck: Many of their hideouts are in ancient Nordic ruins that have been around for thousands of years, yet they think that they have the stronger claim of being native.
* FantasticRacism: Particularly toward Nords, whom they see as oppressive invaders, though they really don't care for anyone who isn't pledged to their cause.
* FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse: Several [=NPCs=] (as well as, potentially, '''the Dragonborn''') admonish them for using what the Nords did to them as their excuse to slaughter people indiscriminately.
* GenuineHumanHide: The dialogues heavily imply their armors are at least partially made from the tanned skins of the people they have killed.
* GlassCannon: Their light armors made of skin, fur and bones offer very little resistance, since they favor DualWielding, most of them can't block, and their most powerful warriors have a LogicalWeakness that makes them very easy to kill in certain circumstances. However, they move very fast, and that same DualWielding means that even their weaker units can inflict insane amount of damage. Many of them are powerful spellcasters besides.
** Speaking in terms of magic damage however this isn't always the case, as higher level types of Forsworn have innate magic resistance.
* HatesEveryoneEqually: If you're not Forsworn, then the Forsworn hate you.
* {{Hypocrite}}: The Nords of the Reach in the past committed atrocities against them, and the Stormcloaks were apparently ruthless and indiscriminate in their reprisals when they finally took back the Reach from Forsworn control. But the Forsworn of the present attack and slaughter basically anybody unlucky enough to be caught on the roads by them, whether these people themselves are innocent or not.
* IAmAHumanitarian: Although never outright stated, it is heavily implied that at least some of them are cannibals.
* LiteralChangeOfHeart: The Briarhearts, Forsworn chieftains who have had their hearts magically replaced with Briarheart seeds by Hagravens.
* LogicalWeakness: Since Briarhearts gain their enhanced powers through replacement of their heart by enchanted Briarheart, ripping the Briarheart from their chest ([[DevelopersForesight with Pickpocket]]) instantly kills them.
* MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch: Directed at them. Many non-Forsworn Reachmen are as fed up with their antics as the Nords are.
* OmnicidalNeutral: They are hostile to the empire, the Stormcloaks, the Blades, the Thalmor, the Orc strongholds, other Reachmen who don't support their cause, and random bystanders not affiliated with any of those factions.
* RapePillageAndBurn: It doesn't matter if a person is a Nord or not. To the Forsworn, if a person is not a "Reachman", they are trespassers who deserve utter destruction.
* {{Stripperiffic}}: Their armors leave most males shirtless, and females with... a lot of skin visible.
* YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters: In their eyes, they are fighting to take back their homeland. The fact that they have slaughtered hundreds, if not thousands, of innocent men, women, and children doesn't matter to them.
* WrittenByTheVictors: Played with. One of the books you can find dotted about Skyrim, ''The Bear Of Markarth'', invokes this trope; it is a serious defense of the Forsworn, and attempts to justify their rightful historical claim to the Reach while presenting the Nords involved as brutal oppressors. The author in question, however, has a vested interested in demonizing the Stormcloaks, given his position as an Imperial scholar. This leaves most of the book's contents questionable at best; none of the claims it makes align with the Forsworn's behavior, nor with the cultural history outlined in books like ''The Legend Of Red Eagle''.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Ghost of Old Hroldan]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Craig Sechler (English)[[note]]'''Other Languages''':Sergey Burunov (Russian)[[/note]]
The ghost of a warrior that haunts the Old Hroldan Inn, and seems to have been a companion to Tiber Septim in his early days.
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* GhostlyGoals: His ghost is restless due to "Hjalti" (aka Tiber Septim) apparently promising to grant him his sword after a battle as a sign that they were sworn brothers. For some unstated reason - though it's strongly implied that the warrior died before or during the battle in question - this never happened. After mistaking the Dragonborn for Hjalti (due to both being Dragonborn), he begs them to find the sword and fulfill this oath.
-->'''Ghost:''' Even after the enemies' arrows dug into my chest and their hammers crushed my bones. I've waited.
* GoIntoTheLight: After thousands of years of waiting, receiving Hjalti's sword finally releases his soul to do this.
* HauntedHouse: His presence technically makes the Old Hroldan Inn this. However, the way the inn's owner reacts to seeing him seems to indicate that it's the presence of the Dragonborn which causes him to appear.
* MistakenIdentity: Perhaps because the Player Character and "Hjalti" were both Dragonborn, the Ghost believes the Last Dragonborn is Hjalti.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Lash gra-Dushnikh]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/DianeSalinger (English)[[note]]'''Other Languages''':Elena Morozova (Russian)[[/note]]
An Orc miner from the Dushnikh-Yal stronghold that works in Sanuarach Mine in Karthwasten.
----
* AnArmAndALeg: She threatens Belchimac with this when he complains about Orc cleanliness in her presence.
-->'''Belchimac:''' I don't like bunking with Orcs. It's not... clean.\\
'''Lash:''' If you want me to leave, you could challenge me to a fight. I promise to stop once you've lost an arm.\\
'''Belchimac:''' [[VerbalBackpedaling What I meant to say was]]... I love having an Orc here in the barracks. They're so... pleasant.
* CulturalRebel: She left her stronghold for unspecified reasons, and this causes her mother to disown her.
* IHaveNoSon: Her mother Gharol sends her a sword, to show Lash that she's no longer welcome back at Dushnikh-Yal.
* InterspeciesRomance: She seems to have a crush on fellow miner Ragnar, a Nord, and he seemingly returns it, judging by their conversations.
* YouAreACreditToYourRace: Amusingly, she and Ragnar both compliment each other in this fashion.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Madanach]]
[[quoteright:297:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/madanach_forsworn_9626.png]]
-> '''Voiced by:''' Stephen Russell (English)[[note]]'''Other Languages''':Eugene Waltz (Russian)[[/note]]
The King in Rags, leader of the Forsworn.
----
* AffablyEvil: The Forsworn aren't exactly paragons of virtue, but Madanach is personable enough.
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: The leader of the Forsworn proves himself quite the powerful mage if you help him escape the mine (or try to off him inside it).
* BoxedCrook: Thonar keeps him alive in prison instead of executing him so he can use Madanach's Forsworn as his personal assassins. Thonar doesn't have nearly as much control over Madanach as he believes, though.
* DudeWheresMyRespect: Even if [[spoiler:you help him escape]], Forsworn will still attack you, with a few exceptions. Could be a bit of RealityIsUnrealistic; Forsworn are under orders to attack everyone on the roads on sight. Even if Madanach were to make an exception for you, he likely wouldn't have a way to communicate it quickly to his scattered people or provide them with an effective means of determining your identity. The one camp where they don't attack you after his release is the one where he is personally staying.
* FightingForAHomeland: High Rock and Skyrim have fought over the Reach in the past, but Madanach wants to see it independent.
* GoodOldWays: From his point of view, anyway. Like all Forsworn, he worships the unidentified "old gods" (which are implied in various NPC dialogue to be the Daedric Princes) rather than the Nine Divines.
* ImpoverishedPatrician: There's a reason he's called "the King in Rags".
* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler:One way to resolve the quest. Instead of killing the prisoner he wants killed and helping everyone escape, you can kill ''him'' - you have no weapons, but you have your Shouts and magic spells as well as fists - and then loot the key from his body and escape on your own.]]
* KnightTemplar: Madanach talks a lot about the "injustice" of The Reach, but he's hardly a saint himself.
%% * LargeHam
* LuxuryPrisonSuite: By the standards of Cidhna Mine, at least. He not only has his own private cave with a personal bodyguard, it includes a bed and desk, drawers filled with books and paper and ink; he also apparently does not have to do any labor in the mine. By contrast, everyone else has to sleep on the ground and mine silver all day long.
* MightAsWellNotBeInPrisonAtAll: Despite being a prisoner of Cidhna Mine, Madanach is still capable of coordinating the Forsworn, a fact which Thonar exploits for his own ends.
* NotSoDifferentRemark: Argues this when you've been [[spoiler:unjustly arrested in Markarth]]. It's more poignant when you're a Nord.
* RebelLeader: For the Forsworn.
* RedBaron: The King in Rags.
* TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized: While he claims that his ultimate goal is peace once the Reach gains independence, he's not overly concerned about who has to die to accomplish that, and he ''hates'' the Nords. He does make an exception for a Nord Dragonborn, though, if only because he [[spoiler:needs help getting out of Cidhna Mine]]. [[DudeWheresMyRespect Granted, that won't protect you from all future attacks]], but that's true regardless of race.
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness:
** Says this about Grisvar the Unlucky, whom he tells the player to kill as a test of loyalty.
** He also essentially says this to ''you'', if you [[spoiler:help him and his men escape]]. He and the Forsworn stationed at his camp won't be hostile to you, but Madanach does pretty much tell you before he runs off that his allegiance with you is basically done.
* YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters: The Dragonborn can hear the Forsworn's side of the story of the Reach from him.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Margret]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Colleen Delany (English)
A Nord woman who claims she is visiting Markarth to buy jewelry for her sister. She plays a role in “The Forsworn Conspiracy” quest.
----
* AndYourRewardIsClothes: If you rescue her, she will thank you by giving you a necklace.
* InTheBack: If successful, Weylin kills her by stabbing her in the back.
* PlotTriggeringDeath: Potentially. When the Dragonborn first enters Markarth, Weylin attempts to kill Margret. Her death can trigger “The Forsworn Conspiracy” quest, but you can save her and the quest will still start.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: If you rescue her, after you talk to her in the Silver-Blood Inn and [[spoiler:discover she is a spy]], she talks about leaving Markarth [[spoiler:even though she did not successfully complete her assignment]]. She does disappear from the inn after a while, apparently making good on this.
* VideoGameCaringPotential: The ability to save her from Weylin’s attack certainly qualifies as this.
* WalkingSpoiler: She is actually [[spoiler:a spy sent by General Tullius to investigate the treasury house and the Silver-Blood family.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Melka]]
One of two Hagravens residing in Blind Cliff Cave, she was betrayed by the other one, named Petra, and locked away. She recruits the Dragonborn to free her and help reclaim her tower, and rewards them with her unique staff afterward.
----
* AffablyEvil: Granted, she ''is'' a Hagraven and likely has done some nasty things, but she at least tries to be friendly and make small talk while you help her out and actually keeps her word to reward you instead of betraying you like you might expect.
* CainAndAbel: The Abel (for a certain definition of "good") to Petra's Cain, as she calls Petra her sister after she's killed.
* CollectorOfTheStrange: Mentions that she collects ''eyeballs'' in post-quest dialogue.
* FailedASpotCheck: She does ''not'' have a great track record when it comes to discerning the player's race: if the Dragonborn is a Khajiit or Argonian, she thinks they're an Orc; any other race, and she thinks they're a Breton.
* TechnicolorToxin: {{Discussed|Trope}}. She describes poisons as "pretty".
* TrapMaster: {{Justified|Trope}}. It's her tower, so of course she knows exactly how all the traps function and are overcome, which she will share with the Dragonborn as they traverse it.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Muiri]]
[[quoteright:230:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/muiri_5757.png]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Corri English (English)[[note]]'''Other Languages''':Daria Frolova (Russian)[[/note]]
A young Breton girl working for the Markarth apothecary. Despite her innocent demeanor, she experienced a tragic past, causing her to become obsessed with revenge. She's obsessed to the point of summoning the Dark Brotherhood to carry it out.
----
* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: If the Dragonborn kills both Alain and Nilsine, her dialogue indicates she falls for them, and she becomes a marriage option.
* BreakTheCutie: [[spoiler:She lived in Windhelm and was good friends with the well-known Clan Shatter-Shield. When one of said family's daughters was killed by The Butcher, Muiri was comforted by a man called Alain Dufont. It turns out that Alain only used Muiri to get to the Shatter-Shields and rob them. The Shatter-Shields blamed Muiri for this robbery and effectively banished her from Windhelm, taking away the life she built there.]]
* BrokenBird: She presumably used to be a nicer person, until [[spoiler:Alain Dufont happened and Clan Shatter-Shield wanted nothing more to do with her]]. Now she's broken enough to [[spoiler:put out a hit on one of the people in the family she was once friends with]].
* DudeMagnet: She notes the men in the city won’t leave her alone.
* MiscarriageOfJustice: [[spoiler:The victim of a {{frameup}} that ruined her relationship with Clan Shatter-Shield.]]
* SheWhoFightsMonsters: [[spoiler:Also puts the innocent Nilsine Shatter-Shield on the murder contract, just to make the family matron Tova feel rotten. This results in Tova's suicide, and the Shatter-Shield patriarch to fall into a deep depression.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Nepos the Nose]]
->'''Voiced by:''' George Coe (English)[[note]]'''Other Languages''':Alexey Mikhailov (Russian)[[/note]]
An old and rich Reachman living in Markath. Secretly a Forsworn escapee from the Nord purge and an agent of Madanach while he is in Cidhna Mine.
----
* AffablyEvil: When you track back to him, he congratulates you for your success, answers every question you ask, then politely informs you he can't let you get out alive.
* HeKnowsTooMuch: Tries to pull this on you, and is implied to have done it many times before.
* IgnoredEpiphany: His journal reveals that he genuinely feels guilt for sending so many young men to their deaths in the terrorist acts he accomplishes under Madanach's orders, but he apparently thinks he has gone too far to stop now.
* JustFollowingOrders: His reasoning for handing out Madanach's orders and sending people to their deaths.
--> '''Nepos:''' I don't know how, but he lives. I get his messages, and I hand out his orders without question.
* SunkCostFallacy: He knows he's wasted time, money, and lives on Madanach's rebellion, but he says that that isn't a reason to stop. He tries to explain that to stop now would be a bigger waste; see the above IgnoredEpiphany. The Dragonborn will almost certainly kill him for it.
* UnderestimatingBadassery: He clearly underestimates the Dragonborn.
* UndyingLoyalty: [[spoiler:He hasn't seen Madanach in decades, but he still calls him his king and carries out all his orders without question. It is rather disconcerting hearing him talk about his master and gives you an idea just how fanatical the Forsworn are. He even lampshades it himself.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Raerek]]
->'''Voiced by:''' George Coe (English)[[note]]'''Other Languages''':Alexey Mikhailov (Russian)[[/note]]
Jarl Igmund's steward is also his uncle.
----
* {{Blackmail}}: He is secretly a Talos worshiper. If you join the Stormcloak war effort, you will be sent to blackmail him with this information and obtain some valuable intel.
* CoolOldGuy
* HypercompetentSidekick: Far more competent than Igmund himself. His concerns regarding the Silver-Blood family in particular are completely justified.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Thonar Silver-Blood]]
[[quoteright:268:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/thonar_silver-blood_6597.png]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Christian Svensson (English)[[note]]'''Other Languages''':Alexander Taragin (Russian)[[/note]]
A member of the corrupt Silver-Blood family who runs Markarth's Treasury House.
----
* ArcVillain: Of the short Forsworn questline consisting of the "Forsworn Conspiracy" and [[spoiler:"No One Escapes Cidhna Mine"]] quests.
* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: He mentions that he used Madanach to get rid of "competitors, agents, idiots".
* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler:If you side with the Forsworn during "No One Escapes Cidhna Mine," he'll show up personally with a contingent of guards to confront the escapees. Given that the Forsworn and the guards at his back are all much more durable than he is and that [[TooDumbToLive he stands right at the front]], he'll almost certainly be the first to die, with no sympathy spared.]]
* BigBadDuumvirate: With his brother, Thongvor. Thonar runs the family business and Thongvar concentrates on politics.
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: As far as he's concerned, hiring mercenaries to hound his competitors and forcing criminals to mine for him for the rest of their lives is perfectly fine if he gets more silver out of it.
* {{Jerkass}}: He doesn't try to put on any pretense of being likable or caring about anything other than money.
* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler:A possible outcome of the Forsworn questline. The player can kill Madanach, after which Thonar will thank and pardon you, but still continue with his corrupt activities.]] Still, not a complete Houdini with the KickTheSonOfABitch aspect taken into account. That being said, [[spoiler:he immediately loses his essential status at the end of the mission and he greets you in a place with no guards. You can immediately go into sneak mode and kill him with a handful of arrows before the guards notice.]]
* KarmicDeath: [[spoiler:A possible outcome of the Forsworn questline. The player can ally with Madanach and help him escape, after which they and the other prisoners attack and (probably) kill Thonar. He gets slain by the people he tried to seal away.]]
* KickTheSonOfABitch: He loses his wife in a Forsworn attack on his own treasury. Even if you choose the sympathetic "I'm sorry" response, he's savvy enough to know he's an asshole and doesn't believe you. You can also basically invoke the trope by telling him "You deserved this."
* LaserGuidedKarma: Of course, there's nothing stopping you from [[PayEvilUntoEvil murdering him]] after the quest is done, since he's no longer tagged as essential. A particularly delicious way is to enter stealth and shoot him in the back with a [[HoistByHisOwnPetard Forsworn arrow]], making it appear as if he was yet another victim in the string of assassinations carried out by the "Forsworn".
** You can also cast Frenzy on him, having the [[DirtyCop corrupt guards that do his bidding]] kill him, instead.
** If you take his route out of Cidhna Mine (killing the Forsworn present and escaping), then he conveniently becomes a connection to you. A connection you can sacrifice to empower the Ebony Blade. Possibly one of the few times a player will feel glee at hearing "Excellent work, my child~".
* MealTicket: To his wife, Betrid, who proudly boasts of being a GoldDigger.
* SmugSnake: Much like Maven Black-Briar, and admittedly it's not entirely unreasonable as he's been keeping up a rather impressive operation with only a ''very'' few key players knowing (unlike Maven, who is rather open and direct about who's really in charge of Riften) for twenty years now. It's entirely probable that even his brother doesn't know what he's been doing. Thonar believes he has fully cowed Madanach and has the Forsworn completely under his thumb: even Madanach admits it wasn't until around the time of "The Forsworn Conspiracy" that the Forsworn had finally built up the resources to finally make their move against him. Thonar is later brutally proven wrong when Forsworn agents in his own house murder his wife and try to kill him too.
* TrophyWife: Probably Betrid; she looks to be younger than him by a fair bit. Despite this, he seems genuinely grief-stricken by her death.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Red Eagle]]
A famous Reachman hero from back when the Reach wasn't controlled by the Nords. He led the Reachmen's resistance against the Empire when they invaded Tamriel, and was the first Briarheart.
----
* TheChosenOne: A weird subversion; he was supposed to become this according to a prophecy, which stated he would unite the ten kings ruling the Reach. However, [[OutsideContextProblem the Empire]] arrived and invaded the Reach, killing or bribing the ten kings and ruining all his chances to fulfill the prophecy.
* CoolSword: Red Eagle's Fury (or Red Eagle's Bane in its true form), his weapon, also serves as the key to his tomb.
* DealWithTheDevil: He made one with a Hagraven; in exchange for sacrificing his heart, his will, and his humanity, he gained incredible powers and became a pitiless spirit of vengeance. It was this deal that inspired the Briarheart.
* FlamingSword: Regardless of which version of the sword you have on you, it has a fire damage enchantment on it. [[spoiler:When you fight him, he's packing a fire-enchanted {{BFS}}.]]
* FullFrontalAssault: It was said that he made his LastStand "robed in nothing but his righteous fury".
* GameplayAndStorySegregation: [[spoiler:He appears as a regular Draugr boss in-game - complete with [[MakeMeWannaShout dragon Shouts]] - despite his backstory having nothing to do with the Dragon Cult. At high levels, he may even spawn as a Dragon Priest, which is even worse]].
* MeaningfulName: His birth name, Faolan, is a mix of this and LineOfSightName. It translates as 'red eagle,' and according to ''The Legend of Red Eagle,'' he was named for the cry of an eagle that was heard when he was born and the fact that it was autumn and the trees were covered in red leaves.
* LastStand: As mentioned above, he confronted the Imperial Legion on his own with nothing but his sword in the final battle, and managed to slaughter a thousand of them before dying.
* OneManArmy: While alive, he managed to kick the Imperial Legion out of the Reach, and even though they came back and eventually defeated him, he managed to slaughter a thousand enemies before dying.
* TheParagon: Seen as this by the Forsworn.
[[/folder]]
The Reach is the westernmost province, and is dominated by craggy canyons of the Karth River and its tributaries, and by the soaring peaks of the Druadach Mountains. The rugged wilderness of the hold is home to the Forsworn, hostile Breton natives who seek to gain independence from both Skyrim and the Empire and thus attack all outsiders on sight. Its capital is Markarth, built into the ruins of an old Dwarven city. Markarth is one of the most fortified cities in all Skyrim and it is home to a lucrative silver mining and smithing industry. Its banner is a rack of ram horns. Its Jarl is the Imperial-aligned Igmund, a young man who inherited the position from his father Hrolfdir after he was murdered by the Forsworn.
----
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Anton Virane]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/KeithSilverstein (English)[[note]]'''Other Languages''':Alexander Kovrizhnykh (Russian)[[/note]]
The Breton chef in Understone Keep, he plays a small but significant role during the Dark Brotherhood storyline.
* AssholeVictim: Considering his xenophobic attitude against the Reachmen and his abuse of his assistants, he is one of the targets late in the questline that the player won't feel so bad about offing.
* BadBoss: Mistreats his assistants; during a idle chat, he may threaten to cut off the fingers from one of them to teach her a lesson.
* FantasticRacism: Virane really dislikes the Reachmen, even the ones that are not Forsworn. He takes offense at being called one and insists that he is a Breton from High Rock.
* FrenchJerk: The fantasy counterpart, at any rate, since he is a chef, a jerk, and a Breton.
* HeKnowsTooMuch: The Dragonborn will interrogate him about the Gourmet's location and he will quickly spill the beans. However, they are instructed to silence Virane so that their mission to [[spoiler:assassinate the Emperor]] won't be tracked up to him.
* SupremeChef: The reason why he is tolerated, according to his assistant Rondach.
-->"Only reason the Jarl keeps Anton on is because he cooks up a storm."
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Borkul the Beast]]
[[quoteright:244:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/borkul_the_beast_9106.jpg]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Noah Nelson (English)[[note]]'''Other Languages''':Sergey Lavygin (Russian)[[/note]]
An Orc bandit who serves as Madanach's bodyguard in Cidhna Mine.
----
* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: In his own words, he was sentenced to life in prison for "Murder. Banditry. Assault. Theft. And ''lollygagging''".
* BloodKnight: If you decide to challenge him to a brawl in order to get the right to see Madanach, he won't hide his delight. It's also implied to be the reason he joined the Forsworn in the first place.
* BrickJoke: Guards all over Skyrim tersely inform the player that there is to be no lollygagging. Borkul actually got arrested for it.
* TheDragon: To Madanach.
* GrievousHarmWithABody: One of the inmates claims that he once ripped off another prisoner's arm and beat him to death with it.
* InLoveWithYourCarnage: It's implied the reason he joined the Forsworn was because he admires their violence and cruelty. He will also appreciate if you tell him you found your first murder exciting.
* TokenMinority: If you help Madanach and the Forsworn escape Cidhna Mine, Borkul goes with them to Druadach Redoubt, dons Forsworn gear, and proclaims that "The Reach will be ours again!" -- despite not being a Reachman. It's mentioned in the ''[[AllThereInTheManual Pocket Guide to the Empire]]'' that the Reachmen historically had strong ties with the Orcs, and learned hedge-magic from them, so it's possible the Forsworn consider Orcs fellow aboriginals.
* WalkingShirtlessScene: In Cidhna Mine, he goes around wearing nothing but ragged trousers. If [[spoiler:you help the Forsworn escape]], he will then go for Forsworn armor, which leaves him shirtless as well.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Calcelmo]]
[[quoteright:254:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/calcelmo_801.png]]
->'''Voiced by:''' George Coe (English)[[note]]'''Other Languages''':Alexey Mikhailov (Russian)[[/note]]
A somewhat eccentric Altmer scholar and archaeologist who serves as the court mage and also runs the Markarth Museum. Obsessed with the Dwemer, he invites anyone (via letter) to come to his museum and will pay handsomely for any Dwarven items they're willing to give him. He is also currently overseeing an excavation of one of the many Dwemer ruins dotting the Reach.
----
* AbsentMindedProfessor: Most frequently exhibited by his parting phrase.
-->'''Calcelmo:''' What? Oh, goodbye.
%%* AdventurerArchaeologist
* AmazonChaser: For Faleen.
* CannotSpitItOut: Has the hots for Faleen, Jarl Igmund's housecarl, but can't bring himself to make a move. You help things along during a quest in praise of Mara, the goddess of love and marriage.
* CoolUncle: He's assisted in his researches by his nephew Aicantar, who seems very fond of him.
* CourtMage: For the Reach.
* InterspeciesRomance: With Faleen, a Redguard.
* MayflyDecemberRomance: Faleen can't possibly be more than 40, while Calcelmo has centuries behind him and centuries left to go.
* ShopliftAndDie: He takes the security of his museum ''very'' seriously, and has an entire unit of Markarth guardsmen [[spoiler:and an entire, heavily armed bandit clan]] guarding its halls at all times. They'll let you explore the museum to your heart's content if Calcelmo gives you the key, provided you don't touch anything, but [[spoiler:will attack on sight if you use the key to unlock his private laboratory]].
* StalkerWithoutACrush: He somehow knows ''exactly'' when you've purchased a Dwarven item, even if you purchased it from your spouse in the privacy of your own home. Possibly {{hand wave}}d by the fact that he's a mage.
* TwiceShy: It appears Faleen has felt the same for him all along, because when you approach her with the [[spoiler:poem]], it turns out she has a [[spoiler:love letter]] for him on her person, and she finally musters the courage to have it sent to him by that point.
* UngratefulBastard: Even after you kill Nimhe for him, collect the journals of the missing archaeological team, and help him with his love problems, he still refuses to [[spoiler:let you use his Falmer translator to translate an important document in the Thieves' Guild questline, so you have no choice but to do it in an illegal way. However, this is justified, as his Falmer translator is his life's work (and being an elf, that is a ''very'' long time), and he can't risk somebody else stealing his research. Why there's no option for you to ''ask him to do it for you'', however, remains a mystery.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Aicantar]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Jon Curry (English)[[note]]'''Other Languages''':Alexander Matrosov (Russian)[[/note]]
Calcelmo's nephew and assistant, and an obstacle to you translating Gallus' journal for the Thieves' Guild.
----
* GadgeteerGenius: Manages to reassemble and control a broken Dwarven spider, which you can sic on some guards in one quest.
* NiceGuy: Outside of the Thieves' Guild questline, he's always polite and friendly to the Dragonborn whenever they stop in to see his uncle.
* VideoGameCaringPotential: He'll confront you in Calcelmo's lab while you're [[spoiler:using the Falmer translator, and will be hostile on sight. Some players, however, find him so sweet that they choose to skip fighting by going immediately into the next room. After you finish the quest, he'll go back to his usual duties and won't remember you breaking in.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Degaine]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/WilliamSalyers (English)[[note]]'''Other Languages''':Dmitry Tarnover (Russian)[[/note]]
A Breton beggar and former smelter worker.
----
* CareerEndingInjury: Suffered ''some'' sort of injury that left him unfit to work at the smelter. As for the details, Degaine seems to make up new stories on a regular basis.
* DirtyOldMan: He was reportedly kicked out of the Temple of Dibella, with his tone when asked about the event suggesting that he wasn't there for the worship. He also gives you a miscellaneous quest to steal a statue of Dibella for the temple, again with the implications that he's going to be using it for less-than-savory purposes.
* EntitledBastard: Unlike every other beggar, who at least attempts to garner your pity, he basically tells you to throw money at him because he's a beggar that needs it more than you.
* {{Jerkass}}: While most beggars thank you for your kindness if you give them money, Degaine basically takes your coin and tells you to piss off. He's also a habitual liar and a sleazebag to boot.
* PetTheDog: Stealing the statue of Dibella for him makes him a little bit nicer to you. Incidentally, this also makes him [[KickTheSonOfABitch a prime candidate for feeding the Ebony Blade]], especially since completing "No One Escapes Cidhna Mine" also erases your bounty in the Reach.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Eltrys]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/JasonMarsden (English)[[note]]'''Other Languages''':Anton Kolesnikov (Russian)[[/note]]
A Breton living in Markath who recruits the Dragonborn's help to investigate a conspiracy involving the Forsworn.
----
* FacialMarkings: Not immediately apparent, due to him mostly staying in a dark area, but he has [[http://images.uesp.net//c/cc/SR-npc-Eltrys.jpg tattoos all over his face]].
* DisappearedDad: He was only a boy when his father died. [[spoiler:Tragically, Eltrys himself becomes this trope when he is killed by the city's guards; earlier in the quest chain, he off-handedly mentions that his wife is pregnant, meaning that his child will become SomeoneToRememberHimBy.]]
* FreudianExcuse: A discussion with him will reveal his father was killed in the conspiracy when he was a child. He has been haunted by this ever since, leading to his obsession with figuring out why his father died.
* HeKnowsTooMuch: [[spoiler:Thonar's corrupt guards eventually find out about his investigation and kill him to cover up the conspiracy.]]
* VideoGameCaringPotential: Not that it helps him, sadly, but some players exhibit this toward his wife, Rhiada. She is in the same room as Betrid Silver-Blood when Betrid is attacked. Due to her pregnancy, quite a few players reverse-pickpocket a stronger weapon on her, to help her so she doesn't die.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Faleen]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/ClaudiaChristian (English)[[note]]'''Other Languages''':Ramilya Iskander (Russian)[[/note]]
Jarl Igmund's Redguard Housecarl, who previously served his father.
----
%%zce* AmazonianBeauty: Calcelmo certainly thinks so.
* CulturedBadass: She's a skilled warrior who has a weak spot for poetry.
* HypercompetentSidekick: To Igmund. She's probably half the reason why he is still in power by the time the game starts. The other half is probably his uncle and steward, Raerek.
* MayflyDecemberRomance: Calcelmo's hundreds of years older than she is and - being an elf - will almost certainly outlive her.
%%zce* UndyingLoyalty: To Igmund, and his father before him.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Coven of Namira]]
A coven of Namira worshippers who are all cannibals. Several are residents of Markarth, keeping their eating habits and worship a secret.
----
* DarkSecret: They tend to want to keep their habits secret from the general populace, shushing the Dragonborn should they bring it up.
* ImAHumanitarian: They are all cannibals, eating human flesh willingly.
* TheyLookJustLikeAnyoneElse: despite being cannibals, it would be hard to tell without seeing it in action. Members include [[spoiler:Banning, a male Breton dog breeder outside the local stables; Lisbet, a female Nord food vendor; and Hogni Red-Arm, a male Nord food merchant]], all found around Markarth.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Forsworn]]
->''"The Reach will be ours again!"''
A group that operate primarily in the Reach. They are mostly composed of Reachmen, the original inhabitants of the Reach descended from Nords and Bretons living on the border between Skyrim and High Rock. This has given rise to the claim the territory is theirs by right and they have a long history of bloody conflict with the local Nords over control of the Hold. Several years before the events of ''Skyrim'', they actually managed to take control of Markarth, only to be brutally overthrown by Nord militia led by Ulfric Stormcloak in what became known as the infamous Markarth Incident. Despite this brutal loss, the Forsworn are still determined to take back what they believe is rightfully theirs, and have begun consorting with Hagravens to become powerful mage-warriors known as Briarhearts.
----
* AttackAttackRetreatRetreat: It's not uncommon to see Forsworn running at you yelling battle cries only to immediately turn tail and run when you loose an atronach or a zombie on them.
* AxeCrazy: They are perceived as this by most people due to their aggressive behaviour and RapePillageAndBurn actions. One of the in-game books mentions that they sometimes attack people and slaughter them, without bothering to steal any goods from them.
* BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: It's not clear if they're doing it out of bloodlust or for some foul occult purpose, but their lairs are absolutely ''littered'' with butchered animals and tortured Spriggans.
* BlackAndGreyMorality: Can be either this or GrayAndGreyMorality depending on which of them you take in account. The Forsworn as a whole definitely are brutal, vicious, and cruel bandits and implied Daedra-worshipers who cause violence in the Reach, but it's mentioned that several of their members started out as innocents and ended up joining them in the first place because of the brutal and unfair Nord retribution after Ulfric took back Markarth. And that's excluding the corruption of the Silver-Blood family.
* BoomerangBigot: Their hatred of the Nords, as they are historically descended from both Bretons ''and'' Nords.
* DealWithTheDevil: The ritual used to turn a Forsworn into a Briarheart gives them greater combat skill, but robs them of their free will.
* DualWielding: Most of them favour this.
* EliteMooks: The Briarhearts.
* FailedASpotCheck: Many of their hideouts are in ancient Nordic ruins that have been around for thousands of years, yet they think that they have the stronger claim of being native.
* FantasticRacism: Particularly toward Nords, whom they see as oppressive invaders, though they really don't care for anyone who isn't pledged to their cause.
* FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse: Several [=NPCs=] (as well as, potentially, '''the Dragonborn''') admonish them for using what the Nords did to them as their excuse to slaughter people indiscriminately.
* GenuineHumanHide: The dialogues heavily imply their armors are at least partially made from the tanned skins of the people they have killed.
* GlassCannon: Their light armors made of skin, fur and bones offer very little resistance, since they favor DualWielding, most of them can't block, and their most powerful warriors have a LogicalWeakness that makes them very easy to kill in certain circumstances. However, they move very fast, and that same DualWielding means that even their weaker units can inflict insane amount of damage. Many of them are powerful spellcasters besides.
** Speaking in terms of magic damage however this isn't always the case, as higher level types of Forsworn have innate magic resistance.
* HatesEveryoneEqually: If you're not Forsworn, then the Forsworn hate you.
* {{Hypocrite}}: The Nords of the Reach in the past committed atrocities against them, and the Stormcloaks were apparently ruthless and indiscriminate in their reprisals when they finally took back the Reach from Forsworn control. But the Forsworn of the present attack and slaughter basically anybody unlucky enough to be caught on the roads by them, whether these people themselves are innocent or not.
* IAmAHumanitarian: Although never outright stated, it is heavily implied that at least some of them are cannibals.
* LiteralChangeOfHeart: The Briarhearts, Forsworn chieftains who have had their hearts magically replaced with Briarheart seeds by Hagravens.
* LogicalWeakness: Since Briarhearts gain their enhanced powers through replacement of their heart by enchanted Briarheart, ripping the Briarheart from their chest ([[DevelopersForesight with Pickpocket]]) instantly kills them.
* MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch: Directed at them. Many non-Forsworn Reachmen are as fed up with their antics as the Nords are.
* OmnicidalNeutral: They are hostile to the empire, the Stormcloaks, the Blades, the Thalmor, the Orc strongholds, other Reachmen who don't support their cause, and random bystanders not affiliated with any of those factions.
* RapePillageAndBurn: It doesn't matter if a person is a Nord or not. To the Forsworn, if a person is not a "Reachman", they are trespassers who deserve utter destruction.
* {{Stripperiffic}}: Their armors leave most males shirtless, and females with... a lot of skin visible.
* YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters: In their eyes, they are fighting to take back their homeland. The fact that they have slaughtered hundreds, if not thousands, of innocent men, women, and children doesn't matter to them.
* WrittenByTheVictors: Played with. One of the books you can find dotted about Skyrim, ''The Bear Of Markarth'', invokes this trope; it is a serious defense of the Forsworn, and attempts to justify their rightful historical claim to the Reach while presenting the Nords involved as brutal oppressors. The author in question, however, has a vested interested in demonizing the Stormcloaks, given his position as an Imperial scholar. This leaves most of the book's contents questionable at best; none of the claims it makes align with the Forsworn's behavior, nor with the cultural history outlined in books like ''The Legend Of Red Eagle''.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Ghost of Old Hroldan]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Craig Sechler (English)[[note]]'''Other Languages''':Sergey Burunov (Russian)[[/note]]
The ghost of a warrior that haunts the Old Hroldan Inn, and seems to have been a companion to Tiber Septim in his early days.
----
* GhostlyGoals: His ghost is restless due to "Hjalti" (aka Tiber Septim) apparently promising to grant him his sword after a battle as a sign that they were sworn brothers. For some unstated reason - though it's strongly implied that the warrior died before or during the battle in question - this never happened. After mistaking the Dragonborn for Hjalti (due to both being Dragonborn), he begs them to find the sword and fulfill this oath.
-->'''Ghost:''' Even after the enemies' arrows dug into my chest and their hammers crushed my bones. I've waited.
* GoIntoTheLight: After thousands of years of waiting, receiving Hjalti's sword finally releases his soul to do this.
* HauntedHouse: His presence technically makes the Old Hroldan Inn this. However, the way the inn's owner reacts to seeing him seems to indicate that it's the presence of the Dragonborn which causes him to appear.
* MistakenIdentity: Perhaps because the Player Character and "Hjalti" were both Dragonborn, the Ghost believes the Last Dragonborn is Hjalti.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Lash gra-Dushnikh]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/DianeSalinger (English)[[note]]'''Other Languages''':Elena Morozova (Russian)[[/note]]
An Orc miner from the Dushnikh-Yal stronghold that works in Sanuarach Mine in Karthwasten.
----
* AnArmAndALeg: She threatens Belchimac with this when he complains about Orc cleanliness in her presence.
-->'''Belchimac:''' I don't like bunking with Orcs. It's not... clean.\\
'''Lash:''' If you want me to leave, you could challenge me to a fight. I promise to stop once you've lost an arm.\\
'''Belchimac:''' [[VerbalBackpedaling What I meant to say was]]... I love having an Orc here in the barracks. They're so... pleasant.
* CulturalRebel: She left her stronghold for unspecified reasons, and this causes her mother to disown her.
* IHaveNoSon: Her mother Gharol sends her a sword, to show Lash that she's no longer welcome back at Dushnikh-Yal.
* InterspeciesRomance: She seems to have a crush on fellow miner Ragnar, a Nord, and he seemingly returns it, judging by their conversations.
* YouAreACreditToYourRace: Amusingly, she and Ragnar both compliment each other in this fashion.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Madanach]]
[[quoteright:297:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/madanach_forsworn_9626.png]]
-> '''Voiced by:''' Stephen Russell (English)[[note]]'''Other Languages''':Eugene Waltz (Russian)[[/note]]
The King in Rags, leader of the Forsworn.
----
* AffablyEvil: The Forsworn aren't exactly paragons of virtue, but Madanach is personable enough.
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: The leader of the Forsworn proves himself quite the powerful mage if you help him escape the mine (or try to off him inside it).
* BoxedCrook: Thonar keeps him alive in prison instead of executing him so he can use Madanach's Forsworn as his personal assassins. Thonar doesn't have nearly as much control over Madanach as he believes, though.
* DudeWheresMyRespect: Even if [[spoiler:you help him escape]], Forsworn will still attack you, with a few exceptions. Could be a bit of RealityIsUnrealistic; Forsworn are under orders to attack everyone on the roads on sight. Even if Madanach were to make an exception for you, he likely wouldn't have a way to communicate it quickly to his scattered people or provide them with an effective means of determining your identity. The one camp where they don't attack you after his release is the one where he is personally staying.
* FightingForAHomeland: High Rock and Skyrim have fought over the Reach in the past, but Madanach wants to see it independent.
* GoodOldWays: From his point of view, anyway. Like all Forsworn, he worships the unidentified "old gods" (which are implied in various NPC dialogue to be the Daedric Princes) rather than the Nine Divines.
* ImpoverishedPatrician: There's a reason he's called "the King in Rags".
* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler:One way to resolve the quest. Instead of killing the prisoner he wants killed and helping everyone escape, you can kill ''him'' - you have no weapons, but you have your Shouts and magic spells as well as fists - and then loot the key from his body and escape on your own.]]
* KnightTemplar: Madanach talks a lot about the "injustice" of The Reach, but he's hardly a saint himself.
%% * LargeHam
* LuxuryPrisonSuite: By the standards of Cidhna Mine, at least. He not only has his own private cave with a personal bodyguard, it includes a bed and desk, drawers filled with books and paper and ink; he also apparently does not have to do any labor in the mine. By contrast, everyone else has to sleep on the ground and mine silver all day long.
* MightAsWellNotBeInPrisonAtAll: Despite being a prisoner of Cidhna Mine, Madanach is still capable of coordinating the Forsworn, a fact which Thonar exploits for his own ends.
* NotSoDifferentRemark: Argues this when you've been [[spoiler:unjustly arrested in Markarth]]. It's more poignant when you're a Nord.
* RebelLeader: For the Forsworn.
* RedBaron: The King in Rags.
* TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized: While he claims that his ultimate goal is peace once the Reach gains independence, he's not overly concerned about who has to die to accomplish that, and he ''hates'' the Nords. He does make an exception for a Nord Dragonborn, though, if only because he [[spoiler:needs help getting out of Cidhna Mine]]. [[DudeWheresMyRespect Granted, that won't protect you from all future attacks]], but that's true regardless of race.
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness:
** Says this about Grisvar the Unlucky, whom he tells the player to kill as a test of loyalty.
** He also essentially says this to ''you'', if you [[spoiler:help him and his men escape]]. He and the Forsworn stationed at his camp won't be hostile to you, but Madanach does pretty much tell you before he runs off that his allegiance with you is basically done.
* YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters: The Dragonborn can hear the Forsworn's side of the story of the Reach from him.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Margret]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Colleen Delany (English)
A Nord woman who claims she is visiting Markarth to buy jewelry for her sister. She plays a role in “The Forsworn Conspiracy” quest.
----
* AndYourRewardIsClothes: If you rescue her, she will thank you by giving you a necklace.
* InTheBack: If successful, Weylin kills her by stabbing her in the back.
* PlotTriggeringDeath: Potentially. When the Dragonborn first enters Markarth, Weylin attempts to kill Margret. Her death can trigger “The Forsworn Conspiracy” quest, but you can save her and the quest will still start.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: If you rescue her, after you talk to her in the Silver-Blood Inn and [[spoiler:discover she is a spy]], she talks about leaving Markarth [[spoiler:even though she did not successfully complete her assignment]]. She does disappear from the inn after a while, apparently making good on this.
* VideoGameCaringPotential: The ability to save her from Weylin’s attack certainly qualifies as this.
* WalkingSpoiler: She is actually [[spoiler:a spy sent by General Tullius to investigate the treasury house and the Silver-Blood family.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Melka]]
One of two Hagravens residing in Blind Cliff Cave, she was betrayed by the other one, named Petra, and locked away. She recruits the Dragonborn to free her and help reclaim her tower, and rewards them with her unique staff afterward.
----
* AffablyEvil: Granted, she ''is'' a Hagraven and likely has done some nasty things, but she at least tries to be friendly and make small talk while you help her out and actually keeps her word to reward you instead of betraying you like you might expect.
* CainAndAbel: The Abel (for a certain definition of "good") to Petra's Cain, as she calls Petra her sister after she's killed.
* CollectorOfTheStrange: Mentions that she collects ''eyeballs'' in post-quest dialogue.
* FailedASpotCheck: She does ''not'' have a great track record when it comes to discerning the player's race: if the Dragonborn is a Khajiit or Argonian, she thinks they're an Orc; any other race, and she thinks they're a Breton.
* TechnicolorToxin: {{Discussed|Trope}}. She describes poisons as "pretty".
* TrapMaster: {{Justified|Trope}}. It's her tower, so of course she knows exactly how all the traps function and are overcome, which she will share with the Dragonborn as they traverse it.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Muiri]]
[[quoteright:230:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/muiri_5757.png]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Corri English (English)[[note]]'''Other Languages''':Daria Frolova (Russian)[[/note]]
A young Breton girl working for the Markarth apothecary. Despite her innocent demeanor, she experienced a tragic past, causing her to become obsessed with revenge. She's obsessed to the point of summoning the Dark Brotherhood to carry it out.
----
* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: If the Dragonborn kills both Alain and Nilsine, her dialogue indicates she falls for them, and she becomes a marriage option.
* BreakTheCutie: [[spoiler:She lived in Windhelm and was good friends with the well-known Clan Shatter-Shield. When one of said family's daughters was killed by The Butcher, Muiri was comforted by a man called Alain Dufont. It turns out that Alain only used Muiri to get to the Shatter-Shields and rob them. The Shatter-Shields blamed Muiri for this robbery and effectively banished her from Windhelm, taking away the life she built there.]]
* BrokenBird: She presumably used to be a nicer person, until [[spoiler:Alain Dufont happened and Clan Shatter-Shield wanted nothing more to do with her]]. Now she's broken enough to [[spoiler:put out a hit on one of the people in the family she was once friends with]].
* DudeMagnet: She notes the men in the city won’t leave her alone.
* MiscarriageOfJustice: [[spoiler:The victim of a {{frameup}} that ruined her relationship with Clan Shatter-Shield.]]
* SheWhoFightsMonsters: [[spoiler:Also puts the innocent Nilsine Shatter-Shield on the murder contract, just to make the family matron Tova feel rotten. This results in Tova's suicide, and the Shatter-Shield patriarch to fall into a deep depression.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Nepos the Nose]]
->'''Voiced by:''' George Coe (English)[[note]]'''Other Languages''':Alexey Mikhailov (Russian)[[/note]]
An old and rich Reachman living in Markath. Secretly a Forsworn escapee from the Nord purge and an agent of Madanach while he is in Cidhna Mine.
----
* AffablyEvil: When you track back to him, he congratulates you for your success, answers every question you ask, then politely informs you he can't let you get out alive.
* HeKnowsTooMuch: Tries to pull this on you, and is implied to have done it many times before.
* IgnoredEpiphany: His journal reveals that he genuinely feels guilt for sending so many young men to their deaths in the terrorist acts he accomplishes under Madanach's orders, but he apparently thinks he has gone too far to stop now.
* JustFollowingOrders: His reasoning for handing out Madanach's orders and sending people to their deaths.
--> '''Nepos:''' I don't know how, but he lives. I get his messages, and I hand out his orders without question.
* SunkCostFallacy: He knows he's wasted time, money, and lives on Madanach's rebellion, but he says that that isn't a reason to stop. He tries to explain that to stop now would be a bigger waste; see the above IgnoredEpiphany. The Dragonborn will almost certainly kill him for it.
* UnderestimatingBadassery: He clearly underestimates the Dragonborn.
* UndyingLoyalty: [[spoiler:He hasn't seen Madanach in decades, but he still calls him his king and carries out all his orders without question. It is rather disconcerting hearing him talk about his master and gives you an idea just how fanatical the Forsworn are. He even lampshades it himself.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Raerek]]
->'''Voiced by:''' George Coe (English)[[note]]'''Other Languages''':Alexey Mikhailov (Russian)[[/note]]
Jarl Igmund's steward is also his uncle.
----
* {{Blackmail}}: He is secretly a Talos worshiper. If you join the Stormcloak war effort, you will be sent to blackmail him with this information and obtain some valuable intel.
* CoolOldGuy
* HypercompetentSidekick: Far more competent than Igmund himself. His concerns regarding the Silver-Blood family in particular are completely justified.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Thonar Silver-Blood]]
[[quoteright:268:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/thonar_silver-blood_6597.png]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Christian Svensson (English)[[note]]'''Other Languages''':Alexander Taragin (Russian)[[/note]]
A member of the corrupt Silver-Blood family who runs Markarth's Treasury House.
----
* ArcVillain: Of the short Forsworn questline consisting of the "Forsworn Conspiracy" and [[spoiler:"No One Escapes Cidhna Mine"]] quests.
* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: He mentions that he used Madanach to get rid of "competitors, agents, idiots".
* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler:If you side with the Forsworn during "No One Escapes Cidhna Mine," he'll show up personally with a contingent of guards to confront the escapees. Given that the Forsworn and the guards at his back are all much more durable than he is and that [[TooDumbToLive he stands right at the front]], he'll almost certainly be the first to die, with no sympathy spared.]]
* BigBadDuumvirate: With his brother, Thongvor. Thonar runs the family business and Thongvar concentrates on politics.
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: As far as he's concerned, hiring mercenaries to hound his competitors and forcing criminals to mine for him for the rest of their lives is perfectly fine if he gets more silver out of it.
* {{Jerkass}}: He doesn't try to put on any pretense of being likable or caring about anything other than money.
* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler:A possible outcome of the Forsworn questline. The player can kill Madanach, after which Thonar will thank and pardon you, but still continue with his corrupt activities.]] Still, not a complete Houdini with the KickTheSonOfABitch aspect taken into account. That being said, [[spoiler:he immediately loses his essential status at the end of the mission and he greets you in a place with no guards. You can immediately go into sneak mode and kill him with a handful of arrows before the guards notice.]]
* KarmicDeath: [[spoiler:A possible outcome of the Forsworn questline. The player can ally with Madanach and help him escape, after which they and the other prisoners attack and (probably) kill Thonar. He gets slain by the people he tried to seal away.]]
* KickTheSonOfABitch: He loses his wife in a Forsworn attack on his own treasury. Even if you choose the sympathetic "I'm sorry" response, he's savvy enough to know he's an asshole and doesn't believe you. You can also basically invoke the trope by telling him "You deserved this."
* LaserGuidedKarma: Of course, there's nothing stopping you from [[PayEvilUntoEvil murdering him]] after the quest is done, since he's no longer tagged as essential. A particularly delicious way is to enter stealth and shoot him in the back with a [[HoistByHisOwnPetard Forsworn arrow]], making it appear as if he was yet another victim in the string of assassinations carried out by the "Forsworn".
** You can also cast Frenzy on him, having the [[DirtyCop corrupt guards that do his bidding]] kill him, instead.
** If you take his route out of Cidhna Mine (killing the Forsworn present and escaping), then he conveniently becomes a connection to you. A connection you can sacrifice to empower the Ebony Blade. Possibly one of the few times a player will feel glee at hearing "Excellent work, my child~".
* MealTicket: To his wife, Betrid, who proudly boasts of being a GoldDigger.
* SmugSnake: Much like Maven Black-Briar, and admittedly it's not entirely unreasonable as he's been keeping up a rather impressive operation with only a ''very'' few key players knowing (unlike Maven, who is rather open and direct about who's really in charge of Riften) for twenty years now. It's entirely probable that even his brother doesn't know what he's been doing. Thonar believes he has fully cowed Madanach and has the Forsworn completely under his thumb: even Madanach admits it wasn't until around the time of "The Forsworn Conspiracy" that the Forsworn had finally built up the resources to finally make their move against him. Thonar is later brutally proven wrong when Forsworn agents in his own house murder his wife and try to kill him too.
* TrophyWife: Probably Betrid; she looks to be younger than him by a fair bit. Despite this, he seems genuinely grief-stricken by her death.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Red Eagle]]
A famous Reachman hero from back when the Reach wasn't controlled by the Nords. He led the Reachmen's resistance against the Empire when they invaded Tamriel, and was the first Briarheart.
----
* TheChosenOne: A weird subversion; he was supposed to become this according to a prophecy, which stated he would unite the ten kings ruling the Reach. However, [[OutsideContextProblem the Empire]] arrived and invaded the Reach, killing or bribing the ten kings and ruining all his chances to fulfill the prophecy.
* CoolSword: Red Eagle's Fury (or Red Eagle's Bane in its true form), his weapon, also serves as the key to his tomb.
* DealWithTheDevil: He made one with a Hagraven; in exchange for sacrificing his heart, his will, and his humanity, he gained incredible powers and became a pitiless spirit of vengeance. It was this deal that inspired the Briarheart.
* FlamingSword: Regardless of which version of the sword you have on you, it has a fire damage enchantment on it. [[spoiler:When you fight him, he's packing a fire-enchanted {{BFS}}.]]
* FullFrontalAssault: It was said that he made his LastStand "robed in nothing but his righteous fury".
* GameplayAndStorySegregation: [[spoiler:He appears as a regular Draugr boss in-game - complete with [[MakeMeWannaShout dragon Shouts]] - despite his backstory having nothing to do with the Dragon Cult. At high levels, he may even spawn as a Dragon Priest, which is even worse]].
* MeaningfulName: His birth name, Faolan, is a mix of this and LineOfSightName. It translates as 'red eagle,' and according to ''The Legend of Red Eagle,'' he was named for the cry of an eagle that was heard when he was born and the fact that it was autumn and the trees were covered in red leaves.
* LastStand: As mentioned above, he confronted the Imperial Legion on his own with nothing but his sword in the final battle, and managed to slaughter a thousand of them before dying.
* OneManArmy: While alive, he managed to kick the Imperial Legion out of the Reach, and even though they came back and eventually defeated him, he managed to slaughter a thousand enemies before dying.
* TheParagon: Seen as this by the Forsworn.
[[/folder]]
