Brynjolf Elf-Eye

Brynjolf Elf-eye
Age: 27
Race: 3/4 Nord ¼ Bosmer
Height: 5’ 11”
Weight: 160
Family: Forstaag (Grandfather) - Deceased
Selene (Grandmother)
Hakon (Father) -Deceased
Ysolda (Mother) -Deceased

Character Description:
Brynjolf looks like your average young Nord: Average Height, fairly muscular, long brown hair and beard with flecks of red, and pale skin. However, when you walk up close to him he has one feature that makes him stand out: his bright, almost glowing, violet eyes due to his Bosmer blood. He also has a scar that runs down under his eye that he received from a bandit while out hunting for game.
Brynjolf wears Skyrim Steel Armor without the pauldrons and the bracers and boots of the Scaled Armor set in order the sneak slightly better and the put less weight on his shoulders and arms in order to the have a steady draw on his bow. For close quarters combat, he uses a Skyforge Steel War Axe that has been in his family for generations since the beginning of the Third Era and a Banded Iron Shield given to him by his father as a coming of age gift. For Ranged combat, he uses an Imperial Bow that his grandmother gave to him before he left Skyrim.
Family Backstory:

Selene was a Bosmer Archer who served during the Oblivion Crisis at the end of the Third Era. She had seen the aftermath of the Siege of Kvatch, personally fought side by side with the Champion of Cyrodiil at the Battle of Bruma, and watched the defeat of Mehrunes Dagon by Martin Septim while standing atop the inner walls of the Imperial City. After leaving the Legion, she travelled around Tamriel looking for adventure and eventually settled in Whiterun as a hunter and leather worker. It was at the Bannered Mare that she met the Nordic warrior Forstaag. Forstaag was a descendant of members of the Companions, thus, he knew how to eat, drink, and fight with the best of them. The two seasoned warriors shared various war stories (and shots) for hours and decided to travel together throughout the holds to find adventure and riches. The two eventually fell in love and married at the temple of Mara in Riften and settled in Solitude, where they raised Ysolda and her siblings. Selene taught Ysolda how to use a bow, but begrudgingly saw that Ysolda was not one for fighting. Instead, Ysolda had a love for the fine arts, so Selene sent her to the School of Bards to nurture her passion.

Ysolda became a fan favorite at the various taverns she played, especially those that the Legion Soldiers frequent. One night at the Candlehearth Hall in Windhelm, while singing “Ragnar the Red,” a very drunk Redguard decided to try his luck getting Ysolda to give him a “private performance” in his room in the end. When she turned the Orc down the third time, he tried by force. As Ysolda was leaving the inn for her next performance the Redguard along with an Orc a head taller than most of his kind, jumped her on the bridge and proceeded dragging her towards the docks. Hakon, who had just retired from the legion and was coming home to Windhelm, stepped in and gave the Redguard a Nord’s version of no: by thrusting his Imperial sword thru his chest. The Orc spun around and grabbed Hakon but his throat and sword arm, squeezing until Hakon dropped the sword. Just as he was about to slam him head first into the stone, Ysolda came from behind and clubbed the Orc over his death with her lute until it was splinters. The Orc dropped to its knees and Hakon dropped behind him face first. Dazed, Hakon shook his head and found his bearings just after the Orc, who started to choke Ysolda. Hakon grabbed his sword and with both hands came down on the crown of the green giant, splitting his head in two. Hakon ran over to Ysolda and saw that she was unconscious and took her to the Nine Divines chapel for healing. Once healed, the priest told both to stay and rest for a week at Hakon’s home. Ysolda at first was reluctant, wanting to go home to Solitude and see her family, but saw that the priest would not budge in his decision. Ysolda thought that she would leave after the week was over and never return to WIndhelm; instead, she married Hakon a year after they met.

His family had lived in Windhelm for 5 years until his father was offered a position as a captain in the city guard in Markarth by Wulfgaar, an old friend of Hakon during his time in the Legion and now Housecarl to the Jarl of Markarth. Hakon’s experience in the Legion helped to organize the guard into an effective defensive force to keep the Reachmen in their mountains instead of attacking the caravans and travelers on the roads to the various holds. He was able to make the Reach safer than it had been in since before Uriel Septim’s death. Over the years, Hakon was able to make a good living for his family and send Brynjolf to school at the Imperial College of the Voice in order to learn the Thu’um. It was during this time that one of the most influential people in Brynjolf’s life came to Markarth: Selene.

Prologue:

Brynjolf woke up as soon as he saw the first rays of sun come through the farmhouse window. He was excited because today was his final exam at the College of the Voice. He had spent 2 years learning and meditating on two words in the dragon language in order to produce a Thu’um. He stumbled to his window and opened it in order to feel the cool Reach air in his room and wake up. “Gods I’m still tired….” he yawned. He was up late because he was excited to finally test his Shouts power with no restraint. He saw that it saw a foggy morning so he decided to try and clear the fog in the yard. He breathed deep, closed his eyes, and just as he was about to speak the Word of Power he sneezes and yell at the same time. “FUS!!” The Thu’um blasts across the yard and clears the fog… only to continue and break the fragile wooden fence 50 yards away. “Mara help me…” Just as soon as he finished his pleads to the goddess of compassion he hears the thunderous, rapid footsteps of his father’s boots coming towards his room. “Thanks Mara; I REALLY feel the mercy and love.” “What in Shor’s name was that?!” his father asked as he stormed into the room. “Would you believe that a giant sneezed, tripped, and stumbled into the fence?” His father walked toward the window and looked out towards the splintered fence and turned slowly back to his son, only this time with a vein popping from his forehead. “I’m guessing from that Kwama worm on your forehead that the answer is no,” said Brynjolf with a nervous smile. “Brynjolf! How many times have you been told not to use the Thu’um like a toy!? It is a weapon that has made entire city walls crumble like sand and you, you…” Hakon was reading to explode when Ysolda walked into the room. “What happened?” the half-elf asked. “Your son just blew up the fence with a sneeze. It’s like living with a spastic battlemage!” Ysolda smiled and told Hakon “I’m sure you wanted to practice with your new weapons when you were his age. If I remember right, you were out for most of the day swinging my father’s war axe after Mother gave it to you as an anniversary gift.” Hakon’s eyes widened, “When did you see…” Ysolda started laughing, “I didn’t.” Hakon blushed with embarrassment and looked to his son and said, “Just be more careful, okay son? I don’t want to have to explan to the Jarl why half of Markarth is in ruins because something made your noise itch.” “I promise Da, I won’t try again until the exam today. Also, I will help you fix the fence when I get home. At least, I will if you teach me how to better use a shield offensively.” Brynjolf had not spent time with his father lately to due renewed raids on towns in the Hold by the Reachmen and was looking forward to sparring with his father again. ‘I might be learning the Thu’um, but having an axe and shield won’t hurt either...’ he thought. Hakon smiled and said “Deal, but you need to learn how to use a weapon better first. You swing like an Orc Berserker and hit softer than a Breton.” Brynjolf’s jaw dropped and he yelled “Hey! I’m not an Ogre like you; I’m built like a normal person!” Hakon laughed and was about to tease his son more when there was a knock at the door. “Captain, the Jarl has called an emergency meeting at Understone Keep!” Hakon went to the door and saw that it was one of his guardsmen from the city. “What happened?” Hakon asked, although in his gut he already knew what the Jarl summoned him for. “A large raiding party has been sighted near the ruins of the Red Eagle Redoubt heading towards Karthwasten. It will take them at least 3 days to reach the town.” Hakon grabbed his sword and turned to Brynjolf, “Rain check?” “Only if I get to use the axe.” he smirked. Hakon kissed his wife and left with the guard. “Guess I need to hurry to the College. Oh, where is Granma?” Brynjolf had not seen her this morning and after the excitement, knew she would have been in his room before his parents. “She is still out hunting game,” said his mother, “but I wouldn’t hurry about her though. She can kill most things with an arrow before they even hear her.” “Who said I’m worried about her? I’m worried about those Reachmen if they run into her; she will slaughter most of the raiders before they could get ahold of her!” Ysolda gave Brynjolf his cloak and walked with him to the door; “Good luck, and don’t blow up the college.” Brynjolf walked out the door, “No promises!”

After passing his exams, with neither casualties nor property damage, Brynjolf was walking back to his house only to see that it was on fire. “Ma! Da!” He was running to the house to find Selene standing at the front of the house surrounded by 6 dead Reachmen. “Are you ok Grandma? Where’s MA? What happened to the-““Calm down, Brynjolf,” Selene said in a calm voice. “Part of the raiding party stole horses from a nearby inn and rode around scouting and razing random homesteads. I tried to make it back before them but I too late.” Selene had tears in her eyes as she handed him a small, slightly charred locket. Brynjolf fell to his knees and began to sob uncontrollably. After slightly recovering from the shock of his mother’s death, Brynjolf went inside the smoldering ruins of his house and recovered his family’s war axe and shield. He turned towards he grandmother and asked “Where is the rest of the raiding group?” Selene pointed towards the direction of the guard tower, “That was the last place I had seen them; your father and the town guard were holding the party until Imperial reinforcements arrived from Fort Sungard.” “What about the survivors that did this? How far could they have retreated?” Brynjolf gripped the axe handle tighter until he felt the leather popping in his grip. “Don’t worry, out of the remaining 6 only 2 were uninjured. We can easily catch up to them if we run.” Selene grabbed her bow and started running towards the trail that the raiders left with Brynjolf closely behind. After 20 minutes they heard voices ahead of them, so Selene began climbing the rocks above the trail while Brynjolf snuck behind cover. One raider was being stripped of his armor and weapons and being divided with the group. “Damn elf! She was alone but she still killed seven of us!” one raider exclaimed. “Eight if you count poor Sven here. Bastard got two arrows in the liver and one in a lung. Surprised he lived that long.” Another stood up, wearing an imperial helm and a guardsman uniform, “Yeah, and the younger woman gave a good fight too, at least before we slit her throat. Too bad, would have liked to take her back to camp and give her to the men for a much needed moral boost.” The group laughed and prepared to leave just as to arrows impaled the head of the bandit with the imperial helm. Brynjolf then stepped out and yelled “If you had let her live I might have decided to spare some of you!” Two bandits began charging towards him with greatswords drawn, but Brynjolf had a surprise for them. “YOL!” Fire erupted from Brynjolf’s mouth and hurtled towards the now terrified bandits, scorching them to death. The remaining three raiders stood their ground as Selene began to fire arrow as rapidly as possible. Brynjolf charged into a Breton shield first, bashing his noise open. The Breton screamed in pain and reared back just as Brynjolf brought the war axe down on his left shoulder cleaving through to the Breton sternum like a side of beef. A Nord berserker in fur armor gripped his battle axe and swung at Brynjolf with full strength, sending his shield to the ground, and then bashed the youth in the chest with the axe handle. Brynjolf crumpled to the ground and struggled to breath. ‘Shor help me! I can’t die before these sons of whores!’ Just as he saw the axe being raised for the final blow, a sword came through the big berserkers’ chest. Hakon, bleeding and severely wounded, pulled the sword out and began dueling the remaining bandit. Selene and Brynjolf watched the veteran warrior, matching the uninjured bandit blow for blow until his wounds caught up with him. The bandit scored a hit on Hakon leg, splitting his hamstring open and then pulled a dagger and stabbed it into his shoulder. Hakon bellowed in pain and then used a headbutt to get distance between him and the bandit. Hakon stood there, exhausted and unable to lift his shield or sword. The bandit recovered and wiped the blood from his now split forehead and charged towards the dying warrior. “FUS!” The shock of the Thu’um on his left side caused the bandit to fall close a edge of a nearby cliff. Brynjolf smirk at the bandit and looked at his grandmother just as she let a loose an arrow. It hit the bandit right in the heart, killing the bandit almost instantly and sending him over the edge.

“Brynjolf…” Hakon called to his as he fell to the ground. Brynjolf and Selene ran to him and listen as he explained that the scout was actually an assassin sent by the raiders to kill him in order to weaken the defending forces leadership. He was able to beat the assassin but was wounded in the process. “Selene, take Brynjolf and leave Markarth. Raise him and teach him all that you know about archery and scouting. Once you think he is ready, sent him, back to Markarth to finish his training in the Voice.“ They waited until Hakon passed and buried him at the remains of their home. Selene and Brynjolf bought supplies in Markarth and prepared to leave for Solitude. Selene still had connections within the Imperial City and decided that it would be safer there than the Reach. Brnyjolf looked back towards the direction of his home and then climbed aboard the carriage to start his new life.