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Lore:Ulfsild the Evergreen

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Archmage Ulfsild the Evergreen
ON-npc-Ulfsild's Echo of Introduction.jpg
Archmage Ulfsild the Evergreen
Race Nord/Reachman Gender Female
Born 1st Era
Druadach Mountains
Died 1st Era
Eastmarch
Resided in Eyevea
The Reach
The Pale
Kyne's Aegis
Appears in ESO

Archmage Ulfsild the Evergreen (also called Ulfie as a nickname by her ex-husband Shalidor)[1] was a gifted witch, healer, and priestess of mixed Nord and Reachfolk heritage. She had a unique ability, thought to have been gifted from Magnus, which allowed her to see the flow of magicka on Nirn. As she learned more about magic, her ability to see it is said to have granted her an unparalleled perspective of magecraft.[2] This ability led her to the creatures she called Luminaries of Magic, immortal beings of pure magic she likened to beams of sunlight from Magnus himself.[2][3] Collaborating with these entities, she developed the "metamagical theoryset"[4] of Scribing, the precursor to the modern spellcrafting system.[2][UOL 1] Although she was famous in the First Era, her admirers may not have realized that the stories about magical heroines such as the Warrior-Witch of Kyne's Aegis or the Clever-Woman of the Druadach were about one woman,[5] and many of her greatest accomplishments remained secret until they were discovered by the Mages Guild in 2E 582.[6]

Ulfsild amassed an immense library beneath Eyevea, filled with tomes which held knowledge, magic, and arcane artistry, long lost to Tamriel. The library contained texts in a variety of languages such as Aldmeris, Atmoran, Yokudan, Old Nedic, and Orcish. It also included metal plates carved with runes in Dwemeris and was even theorized to hold texts in some previously unknown dialects of Ehlnofex. The contents of the library were difficult to decipher as many of the tomes were written in forgotten languages, magical script, secret code, or a combination of all three. The texts the library contained covered more than magic, with entire sections dedicated to other topics such as First Era cookbooks, poetry from Atmora, and bawdy limericks, a variety owed to Ulfsild's eagerness to follow the hunt for knowledge wherever it led.[7][8][9][10][11][12]

HistoryEdit

Ulfsild was born during the First Era,[13] where she was active roughly a thousand years before the founding of the Mages Guild.[6] She was raised by Clever Folk in Skyrim, who told her that her father had been a Briarheart and her mother a Nord, but when she was still a baby, she was found in the nest of a Hagraven. She was "stolen" to be raised by them instead. From a young age, she learned she had the ability to see the ley lines of the world, which brought her prestige within her clan.[5]

When she was a child, Ulfsild met the Luminary Indrik after she had attempted to sneakily collect wool from a herd of mammoths. When she was discovered and about to be trampled, the Indrik appeared and whisked her away on his back to safety, then vanished. Her clan laughed at her story, thinking it a dream. Ulfsild kept a feather from the Indrik on her hat as a keepsake, but would herself eventually forget about the strange encounter.[14]

In her youth, Ulfsild's clan-mother would bake tarts from stunted wheat and berries as winter approached. One day, tasked with delivering these treats to an elder uphill, she encountered a small fox on the way. Thinking it hungry and lost, she offered it a tart, which it quickly devoured—then, it darted off with the whole basket. Chasing after the fox through thick snow and tangled woods, Ulfsild stumbled upon a hollowed-out tree trunk where the fox had hidden with its pups and wary mother. After a tense moment, the mother fox relaxed, allowing Ulfsild to retreat slowly. She was eventually found by her angry clan-mother, who Ulfsild realized was just as protective of her as the mother fox was of her pups.[15]

The "Swamp-Witch" of Hjaalmarch HoldEdit

One day, the legendary Archmage Shalidor wandered onto Ulfsild's property through a portal he conjured, inadvertently ruining her alchemy garden. Ulfsild yelled at the stranger, who argued he had been expecting a glacier of ice, not a marsh with "shouting swamp-witches". Ulfsild's interest became piqued, as Hjaalmarch had not been a glacier for seemingly hundreds of years, well before her time.[5] Inviting him in, she learned who he was, and that he had journeyed back to Skyrim to search for three magic wielders of great renown: the Warrior-Witch of Kyne's Aegis, the Pale's priestess of Jhunal, and the Clever-Woman of the Druadach. She informed Shalidor that his search ended in the garden, as she was, in fact, all three of those people.[5]

Shalidor spent the stormy winter at Ulfsild's home, where they grew fond of each other. They discussed each other's methodology, and Shalidor observed and occasionally aided her duties as a witch, healer, and priestess wherever she was summoned.[16] Before leaving, Shalidor offered her his famous secret: eternal life. However, this resulted in an argument. While Shalidor prolonged his life so his accomplishments were not constrained by time, Ulfsild instead saw the beauty in the passing of time, in marveling at life's journey. It was against her nature to behave like Shalidor. Despite his immortality, he seemed to miss out on life's journey by taking portals from place to place. When she refused his offer, he left, but he did not leave her thoughts.[7]

It took several years for Ulfsild to realize what Shalidor meant to her and that she could no longer bear his absence, and so she learned to open a portal to Shalidor's mage sanctuary of Eyevea.[7] There, she discovered a year's worth of writings, such as unsent letters and confessions that were addressed to her. She learned that Shalidor had gone to see her in Skyrim, traveling from boat and then from foot from High Rock, taking her advice to not take portals and instead enjoy the journey to his destination. Upon Shalidor's return, he found Ulfsild made herself at home at Eyevea. While in Skyrim, he had discovered that Ulfsild also had her own unsent letters confessing her love. Shalidor was truly in a state of bliss, Ulfsild would never forget his smile.[17]

After Marrying ShalidorEdit

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

With a husband that was lifetimes older than her, Ulfsild was eager to prove to herself that she was an impressive mage. Shalidor was supportive of their relationship, and never made her feel lesser.[14] At some point, Ulfsild made Sunnamere, an ancient Aldmeri site near Sunhold, into her own "quiet little sanctum".[18]

During a day out with Shalidor, she encountered a natural Indrik and her fawn in Auridon, which made her suddenly recall the Indrik incident from her youth. No longer a child, she had the epiphany that her savior had been an extraordinarily magical creature, and she sought to learn more about it. She purchased an old story called the Fable of the Indrik from a scroll shop in Sunhold.[14] With the ability to see the magical flow of the world, she noticed that certain ancient fables, like the one of the Indrik, had this same energy leaking out of them, which she followed, leading her to discover the existence of entities of unknown origin she dubbed the Luminaries.[19]

Luminary EncountersEdit

Shalidor and Ulfsild had made a pact not to bargain with otherworldy entities, but after finding and trespassing into the Indrik's domain, Ulfsild made a wager with the creature: if she could prevent the Indrik from reclaiming his feather, still in her hat, he would share his knowledge and power with her. If she could not, she would depart his domain and leave him in peace.[2] Ulfsild passed the trial and formed a bond with the Indrik, the first—and second—Luminary she would encounter.[14]

In the Scholarium one day, as Ulfsild was reflecting on a childhood memory, a fox stole her faerite gem and led her on a chase. It suddenly darted through a wall, and she stumbled through after it soon found herself buried in a snow drift. She was plucked out and saved by the Luminary Gryphon. When the Fox reappeared and offered the stolen gem to the apologetic Gryphon, Ulfsild realized they were akin to a mischievious child and a protective parent. She fell asleep watching the Fox play with the gem, and woke up warmly sheltered under the Gryphon's wings.[15]

Ulfsild had already located the Wing of the Gryphon when she met the Netch. As she was again studying in the Scholarium's library, Ulfsild felt something tugging at her skirt. She turned around expecting the Fox, but found nothing. Nonetheless she suddenly felt lighter, as if whatever force had tugged her skirt simply wanted her to look up and was playing a game. The event repeated twice, but nothing showed itself. The next day Ulfsild found her books arranged in the shape of a giant squirrel. The tugging soon returned, but Ulfsild ignored it. The playful presence then lifted the book she held from her hands, prompting her to chase it. The chase brought Ulfsild to an abandoned room, within which she felt an air of power, less serious then either the Gryphon or the Indrik. The space was like the room of a child or the studio of an artist, full of creativity and joy. Upon entering, Ulfsild suddenly found herself in a seaside domain bathed in sunlight. Within she found a large glowing netch, bobbing joyfully in the breeze. Knowing the Luminary meant her no harm, Ulfsild approached her new friend.[20]

Sometime after meeting the Indrik, Ulfsild also met the Luminary Dragon. While travelling with a band of nomads through Malabal Tor, she heard the Fable of Mizbi and the Dragon from a Moon-Singer and immediately knew there was more to the tale. After a sleepless night pondering it, she wandered from the campsite and found a young Cathay Khajiit gazing up at the stars. He seemed not to notice her until she answered a riddle, but once she did, he offered to trade a polished moonstone for the feather of the Luminary Indrik on Ulfsild's hat. Ulfsild refused, as it was very dear to her, and instead she recounted her story with the Indrik. The Khajiit once more offered up the moonstone, this time as payment for telling him the tale. When Ulfsild tried to hand the moonstone back, he refused, but said he would take it back as payment if she wanted another story or riddle. Knowing the the fable of Mizbi was key to finding the Dragon, Ulfsild asked the Khajiit to tell it to her again, writing down careful notes this time.[21]

Ulfsild used clues from the fable to discover the gateway to the Dragon's realm. She obtained keys from the temple of Jode's Light, from the Do'Krin Monastery, from Khaj'Rawlith, and from Ja'zennji Siir to the west of Dune. Ultimately she found the door in a grove south of Willowgrove village, broke the wards, and entered the Dragon's domain.[22] When Mizbi had encountered the Dragon, she asked her a question: what is the thing that in order to have, you must give it up?[23]

The answer to Mzibi's riddle was what the Dragon wanted if she was to lend her power: an impossible riddle.[23] Ulfsild thought long and hard about an impossible riddle for the Dragon, seeking inspiration from the Luminaries themselves and returning to Sunnamere to contemplate the matter.[18] Ultimately, she could not give the Dragon an impossible riddle, but she could give her a paradox: if she scribed a grimoire that could also scribe out every other possible grimoire, would it eventually also create itself? The two argued over the question for hours and, eventually, the Dragon happily conceded. With the Dragon lending her power, Ulfsild's magic was changed forever.[23]

The Birth of ScribingEdit

 
A Scribing Altar

Circa 1E 2150,[6][24][18][nb 1] Ulfsild and the Luminaries collaborated on the creation of Scribing, an art she hoped would allow others to see magic as she did. She also created the True-Sight Lens so those that did not have her gift could interpret the energies of the Luminaries.[2]

The Luminaries are said to have understood magic in a way mortals never could, and so their power, freely given, allowed one to access arcane mysteries most could only dream of. Indeed, Scribing is said to have been somehow destined to channel the power of the Luminaries from the start.[2][25] With the strength of the Luminaries fueling the Scribing Altar in the Scholarium, it could "shape the very heart of magic itself" and translate its very essence into mortal hands. As the practicioner scrawled their soul upon the page, they could change, or rewrite, both the magic and the mortal, with the Luminary as the intermediary.

The power of the Indrik infused into every aspect of the texts used for the Scribing process.[25] The Gryphon was associated with the development of Focus Scripts, which defined what effect the Scribed magic would have. During this time, Ulfsild and the Gryphon also sought to create animated constructs based on Ulfsild's own designs to serve as guardians of the Scholarium, though their vision was not realized at the time.[26][27] The Netch worked with Ulfsild to create the Luminous Ink, the substrate of power which served as the binding agent that drew magicka and intent together upon a page on the altar. The Dragon conceived of the development of Signature elements, which could adapt to the magical and fighting styles of the holder of the parchment. They were named for all the ways Ulfsild had discovered in which Scribing could interact with the goals and magics of other disciplines. However, they were not fully completed in Ulfsild's time.[26]

Loss of EyeveaEdit

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

At some point after 1E 2150,[6][24][18] the Scholarium was lost when Eyevea was transported to the Shivering Isles due to a bargain Shalidor made with the Daedric Prince Sheogorath in exchange for the Folium Discognitum.[1][2]

Knowing that nothing they could do would stop a Daedric Prince, Ulfsild first froze the Luminary Gryphon in a tempest of ice, the magic of which she tied to a ward she left behind. This prevented the enraged Luminary from confronting Sheogorath, for whom he would have been no match, while also preventing the Prince from discovering the Scholarium and Luminaries, which would've been disastrous.[2][27][28][29][30][31]

Ulfsild quickly enacted a plan to assure her work would not be lost. In a ritual described as the ultimate act of Scribing, she used part of her own soul to combine her spirit and a copy of her mind from that moment in time, flashing them upon the great wellspring of arcane power she'd gathered in the Scribing Altar to create a new Luminary of Magic.[2][32][33] Thus the Luminary Crow was born, who chose the shape of her physical form. Her personal realm, the Wing of the Crow was similarly shaped and hewn into existence and became connected to the Scholarium via its own door.[2][34][25] With little time to plan the ritual to Ulfsild's normally exacting standards, the process was not fully refined, causing the Crow to have a chaotic arcane presence. The ritual to create the Crow took an enormous toll, requiring years for Ulfsild's spirit to recover.[2][32][33]

Before Sheogorath pulled Eyevea out of Nirn, Ulfsild recorded the secrets on Scribing within the Scholarium's library.[26] In the event that the Scholarium were recovered, she left whoever would don the role as her successor, and emphasized they seek out the Luminaries that would continue guarding the place.[35]

With the doors closed, the altar became dormant. Without that beating heart, the mastery of Scribing was believed to stagnate. The Scholarium itself was not discovered, however, for it had been warded against mages, Princes, and powers long ago, and those defenses held strong even in the Shivering Isles. The Crow did not have much time to speak with Ulfsild, her other self, before the doors were sealed.[2]

Ulfsild left numerous messages for potential future inheritors of the lost art of Scribing, and creating Echoes—magical projections of herself with messages for future spell creators within the Scholarium and Sunnamere. These instructional illusions throughout the library were meant to guide the inheritor through the process of contacting the Luminaries.[2] Among the known visages of her were the Flickering Image, and Ulfsild's Echoes of Introduction, the Lens, Regret, the Dragon, Loyalty, Mystery, Charity, the Final Trial, and of the Netch.[36]

Despite losing the Scholarium, Ulfsild stayed with Shalidor for a time. However, Shalidor regretted his decision to trade Eyevea and became obsessed with recovering it from Sheogorath. This occupied him so much as to cost him the love of his wife. During her pleading for him to snap him back to reality, Shalidor did not even realize she was talking to him. He did not answer when she said that she was leaving him.[1]

LegacyEdit

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

The Luminary Indrik theorized that Ulfsild came to regret not relying on other mortals in her endeavor of Scribing,[25] while others thought she did not like to dwell on the past.[6] After her time with the Luminaries, Ulfsild became known as a teacher and a healer in the Reach,[6] and a respected hedge mage throughout all Skyrim. She found a new purpose in life when things got better for her, and so she took on students, and she took on new life partners. She died of old age in her home in Eastmarch, where her last days were spent writing.[33]

 
The unstable Scribing Altar

In 2E 582, around the time Eyevea was returned to Tamriel by Shalidor and the Mages Guild, the Scholarium was rediscovered by a group of knights from the Order of the Lamp. During their arrival, the once dormant altar became unstable, necessitating the sealing of the doors to prevent catastrophe. The disaster was prevented due to the intervention of the Vestige, who replaced the unstable focusing crystal. This potentially also prevented the discovery of the Scholarium by Sheogorath, which would've likewise been catastrophic.[2][37]

After the magic was calmed, the Scholarium's caretaker, the Luminary Crow, directed the Vestige to seek out the other Luminaries and gain their support. To inherit Ulfsild's legacy and advance spellcraft itself, their strength would have to be returned to the altar.[2]

The Vestige retraced Ulfsild's footsteps, guided by her echoes and the True Sight Lens she'd left behind. The fable and keys were discovered, the wards broken, and the Wings of the Indrik, the Dragon, the Gryphon, and the Netch reconnected with the Scholarium. The Luminaries issued a series of challenges to complete in order to prove themselves as Ulfsild's Inheritor. Once completed, they agreed to lend their power.[2][3][25][38][27]

 
Aut'arioth, the Inheritor's Bane
 
The Luminaries of Magic

With their trials completed, the Luminaries granted their Sigils to the Inheritor. Placed at the altar, the Sigils restored the connection between the realms of the Luminaries and the Scholarium.[3][28][39][40][41] With their strength fueling it, the altar could once more achieve incredible feats of magic.[2][25] This reconnection led to new ley line activity, making new arcane components appear across Tamriel.[25][42][43][44][45]

With the support of the other Luminaries now assured, the Crow revealed to the Inheritor her true nature as the final Luminary, created by Ulfsild herself, and the last who could lend her power to the Scribing Altar. The chaotic magic that had originally led to the rediscovery of the Scholarium was due to the Crow's own presence and nature, which had remained chaotic as the process of her creation had not been adequately fine tuned due to lack of time.[2]

In the Wing of the Crow, the Vestige underwent the final trial to be declared Inheritor. Within the Luminary Crow's replica of Labyrinthian, they navigated the invisible path through the maze with the aid of the Fox, tasked to help by Ulfsild herself.[29] Once the wards were broken and the Chimera Aut'arioth bested, the challenges were complete. The other Luminaries then appeared and acknowledged the Vestige as Ulfsild's Inheritor. The Crow guided the Inheritor to retrieve her own Sigil, which Ulfsild had taken with her when she departed, so it too could be added to the Scribing Altar, amplifying its power further.[3][34] Knowing the Inheritor had other matters to address, the Crow chose the Order of the Lamp's Votary Nahlia as the Scholarium's new caretaker. Thus Scribing returned to Tamriel.[2][37]

Vanus Galerion was particularly enthusiastic of the possibilities it would open up, with early ideas being altars being installed in every guild hall, or that Scribing will perhaps one day be taught in the wilds.[6] The legacy of Ulfsild's lived on, with Scribing eventually evolving into the modern spellcrafting systems.[UOL 1]

Despite seemingly being lost from wider history for a while, First Era effigies carved from wood were made to revere a Skyrim hedge witch who was popular for her teachings and power. They were found across Tamriel, with some surviving well into the Second Era.[13]

NotesEdit

  • 1. The approximate date of 1E 2150 for when Ulfsild was active is derived from Loremaster's Archive - Scribing, which states the Mages Guild estimate that it was about a thousand years before the Guild was formed. The Mages Guild Charter says the Guild was founded in 2E 230. The First Era ended in 1E 2920. Adding 2920 to 230 and subtracting 1000 yields 2150. In Our Story, Part III, Ulfsild wrote, "[I]mmortality was anathema to me. I would not prolong my life any more than I would want to prolong summer to stave off winter. The beauty in seasons is always in their passing". Therefore, though her actual lifespan is unknown, she likely did not live an extraordinarily long time, like Shalidor.
  • The clothing called Evergreen existed as of 2E 582 and was associated with the New Life Festival,[46] a celebration once related to Magnus.[47]
  • Ulfsild appears in the Fable of the Crow as the Crow.[32]

See AlsoEdit

BooksEdit

ReferencesEdit

  1. ^ a b c Arch-Mage Shalidor's dialogue in ESO
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s The Crow's dialogue in ESO
  3. ^ a b c d The Dragon's dialogue in ESO
  4. ^ The Largesse of the Archmagister in ESO
  5. ^ a b c d Our Story, Part I — Ulfsild
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Loremaster's Archive - Scribing — Votary Nahila
  7. ^ a b c Our Story, Part III — Ulfsild
  8. ^ The Scholarium's loading screen in ESO
  9. ^ Votary Llaren's dialogue in ESO
  10. ^ First Letter to the Mages Guild, Draft Copy — Adept Irnard Rirnil
  11. ^ Second Letter to the Mages Guild, Draft Copy — Adept Irnard Rirnil
  12. ^ Third Letter to the Mages Guild, Draft Copy — Adept Irnard Rirnil
  13. ^ a b Ulfsild the Evergreen Effigy item description in ESO
  14. ^ a b c d Ulfsild's Log: The Indrik — Ulfsild
  15. ^ a b Ulfsild's Log: The Gryphon and the Fox — Ulfsild
  16. ^ Our Story, Part II — Ulfsild
  17. ^ Our Story, Part IV — Ulfsild
  18. ^ a b c d Ulfsild's Notes: The Origin of Luminaries — Ulfsild
  19. ^ Ulfsild's Echo of the Lens' dialogue in ESO
  20. ^ Ulfsild's Log: The Netch — Ulfsild
  21. ^ Ulfsild's Log: The Dragon — Ulfsild
  22. ^ Fable of the Dragon (Annotated)
  23. ^ a b c Ulfsild's Notes: The Impossible Riddle — Ulfsild
  24. ^ a b Mages Guild Charter
  25. ^ a b c d e f g The Indrik's dialogue in ESO
  26. ^ a b c How to Scribe — Ulfsild
  27. ^ a b c The Gryphon's dialogue in ESO
  28. ^ a b The Wing of the Gryphon quest in ESO: Gold Road
  29. ^ a b The Fox's dialogue in ESO
  30. ^ Ulfisild's Echo of Regret's dialogue in ESO
  31. ^ Ulfisild's Echo of Loyalty's dialogue in ESO
  32. ^ a b c Fable of the Crow
  33. ^ a b c Ulfsild the Evergreen's dialogue in ESO
  34. ^ a b The Wing of the Crow quest in ESO: Gold Road
  35. ^ Ulfsild's Log: Your Discovery, My Farewell — Ulfsild
  36. ^ Flickering Image, Ulfsild's Echo of Introduction, Ulfsild's Echo of the Lens, Ulfsild's Echo of Regret, Ulfsild's Echo of the Dragon, Ulfsild's Echo of Loyalty, Ulfsild's Echo of Mystery, Ulfsild's Echo of Charity, Ulfsild's Echo of the Final Trial, and Ulfsild's Echo of the Netch's dialogue in ESO
  37. ^ a b The Second Era of Scribing quest in ESO: Gold Road
  38. ^ The Netch's dialogue in ESO
  39. ^ The Wing of the Dragon quest in ESO: Gold Road
  40. ^ The Wing of the Indrik quest in ESO: Gold Road
  41. ^ The Wing of the Netch quest in ESO: Gold Road
  42. ^ Sigil of the Dragon Analysis in ESO
  43. ^ Sigil of the Indrik Analysis in ESO
  44. ^ Sigil of the Gryphon Analysis in ESO
  45. ^ Sigil of the Netch Analysis in ESO
  46. ^ Evergreen Style in ESO
  47. ^ Breda's dialogue in ESO

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

  1. ^ a b ESO 2024 Global Reveal
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