People of Hjaalmarch
Hjaalmarch is directly southeast of Haafingar, and features a large frozen salt marsh. Its capital is the quiet town of Morthal. Hjaalmarch is remote and isolated and of little strategic importance; Morthal's small lumbermill and the iron mining settlement of Stonehills are the primary supports of the hold's weak economy. Hjaalmarch has a reputation as a foreboding and haunted hold, as a heavy fog rests over it most of the time, the locals are reclusive and the swamp is home to all manner of monstrous fauna as well as the ancient and haunted ruined city of Labyrinthian. There is little reason to go to Hjaalmarch and many reasons to steer clear. Its banner is a simple triskelion on a green background. Its Jarl is the Imperial-aligned Igmond Ravencrone, an elderly mystic who supposedly receives visions but is criticised for her "hands-off" approach to leadership.
open/close all folders
Alva
Voiced by: Susan Eisenberg (English)note
A local woman who recently started a relationship with Hroggar after his wife and daughter died in a tragic fire.
- False Soulmate: To poor Hroggar.
- Honey Trap: For Hroggar, and apparently, Movarth had planned for her to seduce all of the guards, one at a time.
- Impossibly-Low Neckline: Wears the infamous and exceedingly rare female version of "Tavern Clothes".
- Informed Species: In a way. She's not actually flagged as a vampire in the game data, and consequently does not get the associated Glowing Eyes of Doom if Dawnguard is installed, though she does use Vampiric Drain in battle.
- Karma Houdini: If she survives the quest which involves her, she remains in Morthal and nobody seems to care. This is apparently a programming oversight; if Hroggar survives as well, he'll thank the player for saving him from Alva while she's sleeping in his basement.
- The Mole: For her sire, Movarth.
- Our Vampires Are Different: She sleeps in a coffin, unlike most vampires in the Elder Scrolls universe. There's no real reason stated to do so. Further, her ruse is helped by the fact that she's a Daywalking Vampire, and she doesn't even hide out in caves or dress in dark robes like the more conspicuous ones of her kind (like Movarth himself).
- Romancing the Widower: The locals don't approve, believing it's too soon for Hroggar to move on after his family died in such suspicious circumstances. Not that there's any real love involved - Hroggar is just Alva's thrall.
- Tragic Monster: Read the first passage in Alva's journal and you'll see that she was once a doe-eyed, innocent girl who dreamed of being loved and romanced by a handsome Nord. Then she met Movarth...
- The Undead: She's actually a vampire.
- The Vamp: Literally and figuratively - her master Movarth sent her to Morthal to seduce and enslave the people there.
- Vampires Sleep in Coffins: If you sneak into the basement of her and Hroggar's house during the daytime, she can be found sleeping in a coffin in the basement, along with her diary.
- Would Hurt a Child: She had instructed a turned Laelette to kill Hroggar's wife and daughter. Her plans backfired because Laelette didn't want to hurt Helgi, and in fact tried to turn her.
Falion
Voiced by: Stephen Russell (English)note
A Redguard mage who left the College in protest of its restrictive policies on certain studies. If the Dragonborn ever contracts vampirism, he will be willing to provide them with a cure... for a price.
- Bad Powers, Good People: He secretly practices Necromancy and studied vampirism, and even almost became a vampire himself. However, despite his jerky attitude, he really is protecting Morthal from mystical threats, provides cures for vampirism, and is guided by his desire to protect his ward. When you ask for training in Conjuration, he says, "You deal with powerful forces. Take care they do not overwhelm you."
- Berserk Button: The College of Winterhold and Arch-Mage Savos Aren in particular. When Agni brings up the possibility of studying there, he immediately dissuades her. Phinis Gestor will tell you that Falion could never get along with Savos and disliked the way he ran the College, so he decided to leave altogether.
- Court Mage: Serves as a de facto court mage to the Jarl of Hjaalmarch.
- Cultural Rebel: Redguards generally dislike Illusion and Conjuration magics, and have strong cultural and religious taboos against necromancy. Falion is a Conjuration specialist, and probably a necromancer to boot. What's more, he's open about it; he's probably the only person in normal Skyrim society who would admit to practicing Conjuration - besides his former student, Phinis Gestor at the College of Winterhold.
- Dark Is Not Evil: He practices necromancy, generally believed to be an evil art both in Skyrim and Hammerfell, but he uses his knowledge to protect Morthal.
- Dimensional Traveler: He's extensively explored Oblivion realms and even claims to have encountered the Dwemer somehow, wherever they are after their disappearance.
- Failed a Spot Check: He claims to protect Morthal from otherworldly dangers and is one of the continent's foremost scholars on vampirism... but fails to notice that his next-door neighbor is one. This is especially odd, since nearly half the town is involved in said quest. Even his sister is involved in it, yet he is not.
- Immortality Seeker: But not for himself so much as for his ward, Agni - he knows that he'll die one day and leave her alone, and he's worried that this could happen before Agni can take care of herself. He made a study of vampirism as a way to extend his life, but abandoned it because it might have put her in danger.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's a good man at heart, if a bit bitter. Of course, just about anyone would be somewhat bitter if they were holed up in a swamp where everyone else hates them.
- Knight in Sour Armor: The whole of Morthal thinks he's a creepy jerk. He protects them from mystical threats anyway, though he's pretty grudging about it.
- Morality Pet: Has one in the form of Agni, his ward, who adores him.
- Necromancer: Likely. He's a Conjuration specialist, he's looking for ways to manipulate life, he left Winterhold College due to irreconcilable differences, and the other residents of Morthal don't like his studies (though that's probably the Nord prejudice against almost all magic). If nothing else, the ritual required to restore a vampiric Dovahkiin to true life requires a filled black soul gem.
- Older Than They Look: He actually trained Phinis Gestor, the College of Winterhold's resident Conjuration expert.
- Overrated and Underleveled: He is presented as one of the most powerful mages in the game, but he is only at level 15 and, more glaringly, doesn't know any spells. The same applies to most court wizards who also don't know any spells, but it is especially noticeable with him, because he leaves his house every night to visit a stone circle outside of town and is very likely to stumble onto random wildlife on the way there. It is rather embarrassing to see one of Skyrim's most powerful mages running in terror from a mudcrab.
- Scary Black Man: A Redguard necromancer feared by most inhabitants of Morthal.
- Secret-Keeper: If the player is a vampire and comes looking for a cure, he tells you outright that he knows you're one.
- Summon Magic: He's the master-level Conjuration trainer.
Gorm
Voiced by: Michael J. Gough (English)note
Nord warrior and housecarl for Jarl Idgrod Ravencrone.
- Bodyguard Betrayal: Despite his loyalty to Idgrod, he wishes to see her removed from her position because he thinks her powers are taking their toll on her and she isn't fit for duty anymore. It's as much for her own safety as it is for Morthal. Nothing really comes of it, since his confidant Captain Aldis isn't wholly convinced.
- Undying Loyalty: Despite questioning her ability to rule, he still respects Idgrod, and warns the Dragonborn to do the same.
Helgi
Voiced by: Harley Graham (English)note
Hroggar's daughter. She and her mother recently died in a mysterious fire, and she now exists as a ghost. She is the one who allows the Dragonborn to find out about Alva's scheme.
- Cheerful Child: Being dead hasn't gotten her down. When you meet her, she invites you to play hide-and-seek with her just like other children in Skyrim. Her "hiding" place is her grave.
- Go into the Light: Once Movarth has been destroyed, Helgi's spirit appears for a final time, thanking the Dragonborn and noting that "Mother says it's time to rest now." By resolving her murder, you set her spirit free.
- Kill the Cutie: Her backstory.
- Spanner in the Works: Completely unravels the schemes of Alva and her master Movarth by winning over Alva's pawn Laelette with her adorableness. It doesn't save her from dying, but Laelette's attempt to turn Helgi rather than make her death look like an accident is what causes suspicions among the townspeople, and leads to the Jarl permitting the Dragonborn to investigate. Then, by appearing to play with the Dragonborn, she indirectly leads them to the true culprits behind Morthal's troubles.
- Undead Child: Not that she minds much.
Hroggar
Voiced by: Christian Svensson (English)note
A lumberjack whose wife and daughter died in a tragic and mysterious fire. His neighbors believe he had something to do with it, since he immediately moved in with Alva the very next day.
- Acquitted Too Late: If you try to enter Alva's house at night and your stealth skill isn't high enough to let you go undetected, you'll be forced to kill him, unless you use a Calm or Fear spell.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: Comes with being a vampire's thrall.
- Incriminating Indifference: Him shacking up with another woman one day after his family died while showing little in the way of grief makes him very suspicious in the eyes of his neighbors.
- Mistaken for Murderer: Understandably, considering the conditions, everyone assumes he caused the fire that killed his wife and daughter. He didn't; Laelette did, following Alva's orders.
- Survivor Guilt: If he survives the quest involving his family, he's crushed and no longer feels any joy in life, even though he's thankful that you saved him (and astonished that you'd even want to speak to him after all he's done).
- Ungrateful Bastard: Due to a programming quirk. If you finish "Laid to Rest" without killing him, he does occasionally thank you for releasing him from "Alva's evil spell", but killing Alva actually lowers his disposition towards you. This will result in him sincerely thanking you one moment and rudely brushing you off the next.
Idgrod the Younger
Voiced by: Corri English (English)note
The daughter, elder child, and heir to Jarl Idgrod Ravencrone.
- All There in the Manual: According to the official strategy guide, Idgrod is, like her mother, actually a sort of mage. She isn't aware of it herself, but her visions are caused by her subconscious manipulation of Magicka.
- Blessed with Suck: There's no "off switch" to the abilities of premonition she inherited from her mother.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Not as severe as her little brother, but she still has "The Gift" from her mother to some degree, as indicated with several random conversations with Lami, the town's alchemist.
- Cloudcuckoolander's Minder: She is this for her little brother, who has "The Gift" from their mother even more than she herself does.Idgrod The Younger: Please don't mind Joric. He's not mad. Really, he's not.
- Nice Girl: She comes across this way, especially regarding her attempts to help her little brother.
- Strong Family Resemblance: If you use the console commands on the PC to de-age the elder Idgrod, you'll find that Idgrod the Younger is her spitting image.
Aslfur
Voiced by: Brandon Ellison (English)note
Jarl Idgrod's steward is also her husband and the father of her two children.
- All There in the Manual: It's really only in the strategy guide that there's any clear mention of the relationship between Idgrod and Aslfur, although if you enter the Jarl's longhouse during the night, you'll find them sharing a double bed.
- Bodyguard Crush: How their romance began, apparently. In her youth, Idgrod roamed the breadth of Skyrim in quest of wisdom, and Aslfur traveled with her as her protector. They got married prior to returning home to Morthal.
- Cloudcuckoolander's Minder: He's this for his wife, who often gives cryptic advice that the rather simple folks of Morthal don't understand.
- Happily Married: They seem to be this, and Aslfur is rather protective of his wife; he initially asks that the Dragonborn come to him with concerns rather than approaching Idgrod directly.
- Let Us Never Speak of This Again: Should the Dragonborn kill Gorm, Aslfur will send a thank-you note about it. If questioned about the matter, he will acknowledge sending the note, and then add that their conversation never took place.
Lurbuk
Voiced by: Noah Nelson (English)note
An Orc bard "working" at the Moorside Inn, famous for being the worst bard in all of Skyrim, and a potential target in the Dark Brotherhood storyline.
- Calling the Young Man Out: According to the game data, Lurbuk's father is Burguk, the chief of Dushnikh Yal. And like Lemkil in Rorikstead with his daughters, you may get a letter of thanks for attacking or killing him. That's right; even Lurbuk's own father can't stand his performances.
- Dreadful Musician: He is such a terrible bard that not only have people recruited the Dark Brotherhood to kill him off, but there were so many that Astrid actually had to draw a lottery to determine exactly whose contract to honor.
- Epic Fail: Being a terrible bard is one thing. Being such a terrible bard that people want to kill you is something else. Failing so badly at being a bard that the Listener-deprived (read: only getting contracts via scouring for word of mouth) Dark Brotherhood can't keep up with all the people that want you dead? That's this trope.
- Expy: A Dreadful Bard with a major case of Small Name, Big Ego? Sounds a lot like Cacofonix.
- Foreshadowing: Ambient dialogue between him and the innkeeper of where he plays hints at his fate should the Dragonborn join the Dark Brotherhood:Lurbuk: Jonna, do you think the townspeople are warming to my serenades?
Jonna: No. They ain't. And they aren't gonna. If you weren't payin' for your room, I'd have thrown you out a long time ago.
Lurbuk: Yes, but they'll come around eventually. You'll see.
Jonna: Oh, I shouldn't be surprised if they come 'round. And if you're never seen or heard from again. - Giftedly Bad: Lurbuk believes himself the greatest bard in Skyrim. If the Dark Brotherhood is to be believed, at least half of Skyrim's population vehemently disagrees.
- Hollywood Tone-Deaf: You can ask him for a song before killing him. While the "song" is tuneless and rambling, Lurbuk's actual singing voice isn't all that terrible. One gets the impression that if he wised up and took a few classes at the Bard's College, he'd be okay.
- Kindhearted Simpleton: He's not nearly as tough-acting and pugilistic as most Orcs, and also completely unaware of how others perceive his bardic performances.
- Literal-Minded: In the Dark Brotherhood contract to kill him, it's possible to threaten him before you kill him by telling him to sing "A song of fear, and death." He apparently doesn't get the hint and starts actually singing a (really, really bad) song about fear and death.
- My Species Doth Protest Too Much: Seriously, how often have you ever seen an Orc Bard?
- Nice Guy: He's pretty friendly and upbeat for an Orc.
- Suckiness Is Painful: This is apparently the reaction his performances get if the Dark Brotherhood has been hired to kill him.
- Small Name, Big Ego: Despite obviously being a terrible bard, he is convinced that he's talented and destined to become famous, and oblivious to the hatred people have for him. If you tell him the Dark Brotherhood has been hired to kill him, he will just laugh and call such a thing ludicrous, stating that no one would want to "deprive the world" of his unique talent.
Movarth Piquine
The master vampire behind Morthal's recent troubles. He was originally introduced in Oblivion as a significant character in an in-game book called Immortal Blood, which can also be found in Skyrim.
- And Then John Was a Zombie: Movarth used to be a devoted vampire hunter; it was an obsession that consumed his life. Then he met the author of Immortal Blood. Now he's everything he once fought against and worse.
- Arc Villain: Of the Morthal questline.
- Ascended Extra: Was initially introduced in Oblivion as a character from one of the many books available over the course of the game. Skyrim gives him his first (and presumably last) actual appearance in-game.
- Bald of Evil: Not necessarily in the vanilla game, where his appearance was randomly generated; but by Dawnguard, he has a definite appearance and plays this trope straight.
- Bare-Fisted Monk: Used to be one back when he was alive (in the present day, as typical of vampires, he prefers magic), claiming that you never know when a weapon can fail you, but you always know both the capacities and the limitations of your body.note By his own account, he could "land a thousand blows without losing [his] balance, provided [he got] the first strike."
- He Who Fights Monsters: Started out fighting vampires, only to end up as one himself.
- Looks Like Orlok: With Dawnguard. Doesn't have the ears, but plays this much straighter than any other Elder Scrolls vampire, barring the Vampire Lords.
- The Man Behind the Man: To Alva.
- Oh, Crap!: Upon The Reveal that the anonymous author of Immortal Blood was a vampire themself. As the author states: "He was surprised, even stunned by the pallor of my flesh, the dark hunger in my ageless eyes, and the teeth. Oh, yes, I think the teeth definitely surprised the man who could not afford to be surprised."
- Retcon: The ending of Immortal Blood heavily implies that Movarth was killed when the author attacked him; but as Skyrim reveals, he suffered not mere death but undeath.
- They Killed Kenny Again: A bug causes Movarth to respawn if his lair is targeted for a Radiant quest, making it possible to kill him multiple times.
- Tragic Monster: Like Alva, he wasn't bad at all before being turned into a vampire. He was a well-meaning hunter who failed to guess the very simple reason that his teacher in vampire-hunting knew so much about them...
- The Undead: He's a vampire.
Olaf One-Eye
Voiced by: Paul Ganus (English)note
A former Jarl of Whiterun who became High King. It was he who captured the dragon Numinex, whose head is displayed in Dragonsreach, where he imprisoned the beast. In present times, he's known as a tyrant and an annual festival in Solitude burns an effigy of him.
- 0% Approval Rating: Not only does Solitude have an annual festival denouncing him and celebrating his death, but when it gets cancelled (Elisif feels it's in poor taste with Torygg's recent passing), people protest.
- Ambiguously Evil: He's certainly seen as evil in Skyrim these days, and his corpse is fought as the boss of a tomb. But when you get to Sovngarde, he's living it up in the Hall of Valor and is shown to be a personable, friendly man. He's Affably Evil at worst.
- Americans Hate Tingle: In-universe example; Olaf One-Eye is hailed as a hero and a legend in Whiterun (with Jarl Balgruuf descending from him), to the point that most historians don't know that High King Olaf and Olaf One-Eye are the same person, finding his popularity in Whiterun to be irreconcilable with the hatred Solitude has for him.
- Asskicking Leads to Leadership: He became High King because his defeat of Numinex made him such an inspirational figure to all of Skyrim. Some versions also claim he became Jarl of Whiterun as a reward for the defeat.
- Easily Forgiven: He doesn't seem to mind that Svaknir's tales of him have defamed him so much over the centuries, and hopes to welcome the bard into the Hall once Alduin is slain.
- Future Imperfect: Viarmo, one of the more learned historians in the game, is completely shocked to discover that High King Olaf and Olaf One-eye are the same person. As mentioned above, it's likely due to the difficulty reconciling Solitude's historical hatred of King Olaf and Whiterun's hero worship of Olaf One-eye.
- Guile Hero: According to King Olaf's Verse, he came to power in Skyrim through deals and promises of power to get the holds to fall in line.
- Handicapped Badass: The name should be a hint.
- A Hero to His Hometown: Though reviled elsewhere in Skyrim, Olaf is still remembered as a hero to the people of Whiterun for defeating and imprisoning the dragon Numinex. He may or may not have originally been from Whiterun, but the people of the town apparently took him up as one of their own just the same, in some tales even naming him their Jarl.
- Historical Villain Upgrade: Can be exaggerated when filling in the blanks of King Olaf's Verse. Whatever he did in real life, he most certainly was not Numinex in human form.
- Noodle Incident: He certainly did something to make Solitude hate him so much, although what it was is never made entirely clear.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: He performed one of the only known dragon captures in history, and is revered as a hero by the people of Whiterun.
- A True Story in My Universe: The legend of Olaf's battle with Numinex is obscured, and it's theorized by one author that this is on purpose - that Olaf's defeat of Numinex was for whatever reason anticlimactic, so they made up a more heroic tale. As well, the bard Svaknir's account of Olaf's rise to power is heavily biased against him, and is further muddied by you the player randomly filling in missing parts of the last remaining copy of the tale, with the option to declare that Olaf was Numinex in human form. Your improvisations, which may or may not have any truth to them, are likely to be further passed down through history as truth now.
- Worthy Opponent: Apparently considers Svaknir one. Olaf comments in Sovngarde that Svaknir is a "fool of a poet", but nevertheless an honest enemy he respects, and he hopes to see him make it into the Hall when the threat of Alduin is passed.
Svaknir
A bard who opposed Olaf One-Eye and the writer of King Olaf's Verse. His ghost haunts the tomb where Olaf is buried. You later find his spirit wandering the mists of Sovngarde, if you finished the questline in the tomb and put him to rest.
- Arch-Enemy: Of Olaf.
- A True Story in My Universe: There's no telling if anything Svaknir says of him is true or not.
- Unfinished Business: "Olaf! Let us finish this!"
- Worthy Opponent: One-sided for Olaf, though Olaf does speak of him positively if you send him to Sovngarde.
