Lukewarm Brynjolf-enjoyer

Occupation:

She's a student at the College of Winterhold. Sometimes, to earn a bit of extra money, she will take on tasks for her teachers or fellow students. Like fetching specific artefacts. She also likes to go adventuring, especially exploring ruins. Anything she finds on these adventures that she doesn't want to keep for personal research, she sells.

The Dragonborn, Estlin, eventually hired her to help her find out information about the Elder Scrolls and to join her on her adventures for her skills as both a destruction mage and a healer.

Background:

Mirni was born in Morrowind, near a Telvanni tower owned by master wizard Varonys. Her mother was Alya, a simple maid who worked for the wizard. Mirni never knew her father and Alya didn't speak about him.

When Mirni was about eight, while she was playing outside she was attacked by a masked dunmer. Unexpectedly, master wizard Varonys used his magic to kill the dunmer, saving Mirni's life. He never spoke a word to her. However, seeing such a powerful wizard in action made Mirni realise that she wanted to be a mage when she grew up. The power Varonys displayed even in a single, simple destruction spell stuck with her. She wanted to wield that power herself one day.

Not long after this mysterious attack, Alya and Mirni left Morrowind and after a long journey arrived in Cyrodiil. Initially they lived in the Imperial City, but when the Great War started they left and lived in several different places shortly until the war was over and Alya found it safe to return to the city.

Alya always wanted Mirni to keep a low profile, which Mirni found frustrating. She wanted to study, become a powerful mage and accomplish great things. When she became an adult, Mirni and Alya had a very bad fight that resulted in Mirni leaving home to find her own way. She traveled around, finding work where she could and saving up money. Eventually she found her way to Skyrim, and began her education at the College of Winterhold.

A while into her time at the College, the dragonborn Estlin arrived looking for information on the Elder Scrolls. As Estlin herself wasn't well-versed in magic she hired Mirni so help her with research and to accompany her on her travels as a destruction mage and healer.

After the defeat of Alduin (Mirni wasn't present for the actual defeat, just joined Estlin up until her journey to Skuldafn) Mirni, Estlin and their other traveling companion Kiirra journeyed to Solstheim. This is where they met Ralis Sedarys.

Notable Relationships:

Ralis Sedarys: Mirni's lover. After defeating Ahzidal and finding Ralis at the bottom of Kolbjorn Barrow, Kiirra (Who financed Ralis' excavation of the barrow) wanted to kill him. Mirni took pity on Ralis and defended him against her friend. In return, Ralis offered to accompany Mirni, Estlin and Kiirra on their travels and help them. During their travels, Mirni became increasingly fond of Ralis and they ended up traveling together, just the two of them. This is how they eventually started falling in love.

Mirni and Ralis are very devoted to each other, but have their issues. Ralis can be possessive, and Mirni loves to tease him a little too much sometimes. She enjoys seeing him get jealous.

Mirni didn't initially think she'd get as attached to Ralis as she ended up becoming.

Estlin Thunder-eye: They've always been on good terms, but ended up becoming actual friends during their travels together. While they are very different, they each have qualities that the other admires.

Kiirra: Initially, Mirni saw Kiirra as just as good a friend as Estlin. This changed when Ralis Sedarys came into the picture. Kiirra holds some resentment towards Mirni for stopping her from killing Ralis. Kiirra holds a grudge against Ralis and Mirni doesn't appreciate her friend threatening and intimidating the man she loves. So their relationship has soured a lot, to the point they're not really sure they're friends anymore.

Alya Viloni: Mirni's mother. They were very close when Mirni was just a child, but drifted apart during her teen years. After their fight where Mirni left home, they haven't seen each other. Mirni deeply regrets leaving her mother with no way to reestablish contact, and misses her deeply. She doesn't know where her mother is, but hopes they can one day find each other again. Alya, on her side, hopes the same and is actively searching for her daughter.

Varonys Telvanni: Mirni's father. Though she doesn't know this, she just knows him as the mer who saved her life and who inspired her to become a mage. The reason Varonys never interacted with his daughter was because of his own paranoia. He was afraid his enemies and rivals would use his daughter to get to him. Seeing her nearly killed by an assassin confirmed his fears, and he send her and Alya away for their onw safety. He doesn't think he'll ever see either of them again.

Odalis Ronervi: Mirni's first love. They met as teenagers. Odalis was both an aspiring mage, and a bit of a known troublemaker around town. They could talk about a lot of things together. However, Odalis went away to study magic and Alya didn't allow Mirni to join him. This is how their relationship ended, and they haven't seen each other since.

Enthir: One of Mirni's close friends at the college. As well as her ex. Despite having broken up, they're on very good terms and will still playfully flirt with each other. (Much to Ralis' chagrin) Mirni often does business with Enthir.

J'zargo: Fellow student at the college of Winterhold, and another close friend of Mirni. They have a friendly rivalry going on, where they like to challenge each other to duels and competitions to see who is the better mage.

Strenghts:

Magical prowess: Mirni is a very talented mage. She specialises in Destruction, especially fire-based spells. But she also has skills in restoration and illusion.

Charismatic: She likes to use her good looks and charms to her advantage.

determined and ambitious: Once she sets her mind to something, she won't let anything stand in her way.

Booksmart: she reads a lot so she's learned a lot of things.

Fearless: She's brave and adventurous, and even if she is scared she doesn't let that stop her.

Weaknesses:

Power-hungry: She wants to be powerful. And sometimes loses sight of what is really important when in pursuit of said power.

Selfish: It's not that she doesn't care about others, but she tends to think of herself first.

Reckless: Tied to her fearlessness. It can sometimes be a good thing! And sometimes, she gets in over her head and gets herself or others in serious danger.

Prideful: She's good looking and she knows it. She's talented with magic and she knows it. She sometimes overestimates herself, and hates to admit when this happens.

Conjuration magic: The one school of magic she really struggles with.

No interest in:

Children. She actively avoids interacting with children and absolutely does not want to become a mother.

A simple life. She wants adventure, danger, power, knowledge. She doesn't want to settle down and start a family, or spend her days cooking and cleaning in a cozy little home. She's interested in marriage, but not if she's gonna become a housewife.

No concept of:

'Too much power/knowledge'. The pursuit of knowledge and power comes natural to her and she will continue down that path unless someone stops her and gives her a reality check.

Ralis' personal space. She likes being close to him. Cuddling, kissing, just sitting or walking close together. She loves that man and everyone's allowed to see it. (He'll grumble but he actually doesn't mind)

Character/Personality:

Adventurous, ambitious, studious, confident, charming and flirty.

She loves to tease people, especially people she cares about. (She teases Ralis a lot.) She cares about other people, but still has a tendency to be selfish. She wants power and knowledge, and she also wants love.

She's confident around both strangers and people she knows. Being charming and flirty is how she shows she feels certain and strong.

In Battle:

Fights mostly from a distance, flinging spells. She doesn't have real physical combat skills, but will kick, punch, slap and bite if needed. She works better when fighting with someone by her side. (Like Ralis.)

Distinguishing marks/traits:

-She has dimples in her cheeks when she smiles.

Trivia:

-She doesn't like cooking, and thus is bad at it because she doesn't really bother to try with it.

-She is fairly skilled in Alchemy as well.

-She thinks red hair is really attractive.

-She knows three languages.

-Likes jewellery, but not rings. Has a fear that the metal of rings will react to her magic and burn her fingers off. She also just doesn't like how they feel.

-Her room at the College of Winterhold is really messy. She doesn't like cleaning up in the middle of projects and research. So she just leaves it all laying about.

Notable Relationships: OH BOY! I’m gonna restrict this to actual Skyrim NPC’s otherwise it’ll be too long lol

Miraak ❤️: well we probably all know this one 💀 I could yap about then forever so I’ll keep it brief! Kayla and Miraak end up doing the Enemies to Allies to Friends to Lovers route 👍❤️ eventuallyyyyyy they get married and have kids and goddamn someone give Kayla some sort of Medal of Honor for having 5 kids with Miraak smh

Vilkas 😬: you KNOW I gotta bring up this one LMAO SO! Kayla and Vilkas were nearlyyyy on the cusp of being an actual couple but that gets hastily interrupted by a cultist attack that leads her to venture to Solstheim for a few months 👀Kayla sets Vilkas in charge while she’s gone and eventually she also leaves the Companions and names him the harbinger in her place YEUP. It’s a whole thing. Vilkas still has feelings for Kayla even after time has passed and they were in fact very good friends for a while before the other stuff comes up. Someone previously mentioned in this post is a DAY ONE NUMBER ONE HATER of Vilkas for more reasons than 1-and it’s great 🙌 gotta love drama

Teldryn Sero 🦀: Kayla hires and then befriends Teldryn as she journeys to Solstheim to figure out ‘who this Miraak asshole is’. The two end up being really good friends and continue their friendship beyond the dragonborn dlc quest. Teldryn is, at least at first, pretty disappointed in her befriending AND then eventually getting romantically involved with Miraak LOL, it’s pretty much the “really? Of all the people in Skyrim or Tamriel….this one?” 😂 Teldryn and Kayla initially connect over the fact Teldryn’s from Blacklight and Kayla’s father originally lived there too!

Teldryn and Kayla are both sassy troublemakers which is a big part of their friendship and they both enjoy teasing / ‘rage baiting’ Miraak. As mentioned, Teldryn and Kayla stay friends throughout everything and even into the future, Kayla and Miraak’s kids call him Uncle Tel 💖

Camilla Valerius 😳: HEHE so Kayla and Camilla became uh friends with benefits / fuck buddies for a while which is one of the funniest random lore I have for Kayla 😂 so while Sven and Faendal bark around at each other and bicker about who should be with Camilla, Kayla’s over here going to freaky town with her without either guys having a clue 😂😂

Serana 💜: Kayla does the dawnguard quest line and definitely becomes friends with Serana. Kayla and Serana bond over a lot of different things and build a deep trust with each other. Serana becomes another lifelong friend and the two remain close and frequently in contact after the main questline and dawnguard questline events.

Lydia 💅: Kayla gets the whole thane of Whiterun title which means Lydia is appointed to her. At first, Kayla is annoyed with the idea of being assigned a bodyguard-I’m the Dragonborn why do I need a bodyguard?? but eventually accepts Lydia’s help with a quest or two and they become very good friends. Lydia is no stranger to Kayla’s antics and isn’t afraid to call her out or lecture her-in a loving bestie kind of way ❤️ Lydia sometimes is the voice of reason Kayla needs 🩷

Strengths:

Speechcraft, in many, many ways (She isn’t exactly one to enjoy or partake in lying and avoids it when she can BUT that gal knows how to put on a performance whatever the occasion may be especially if it’s of a um flirty nature). Smooth talking, gets her way out of trouble, sometimes she amplifies being unassuming, friendly, or ditzy to purposefully fly under peoples radars. And if you’ve seen or read anything about her dad I’ve shared, that’s exactly who she gets it from 😂

Combat and Murder 💀 that’s to be expected at this point 😭 she’s a melee fighter gal through and through and uh well being in the Dark Brotherhood is great for that because she’s skilled at killing people and they DB pays well for her to do it!

One handed / dual wield weapons!!

FAST! She’s small and swift!

Sympathetic / Empathetic / Caring to others (especially those who have mental strife or young). A surprising trait for a fighter assassin lady 😂 Kayla’s kind of an oddity in that she can be her scary warrior Dragonborn self but also is incredibly gentle and soft with those she loves (friends, family, etc) and espeicllay to kids-she’s very protective of them especially given the past she had. That’s how she so quickly agrees to help Aventus Arentino and gets thrown into the whole DB questline. She also used to babysit her two nephews (from oldest brother) alllllll the time back in Cyrodiil. She’s very nurturing, playful, whimsical, and protective which the kids gravitate towards.

Weaknesses:

RECKLESS: Especially / specifically with fighting, she’s the type in battle to be like, ‘I don’t care if I die fighting you, you’re going down with me’

Often overly self sacrificing or commits herself to helping others when she is already out of her depth. She tends to also feel the need to prove she’s strong and capable since she’s often overlooked for that and in turn leads to her burning out or getting injured or other unfortunate outcomes

Too comfortable / too detached with enacting violence / killing enemies: well I had a whole spiel for this but I’ll just put this here quickly. Due to Kayla’s past, she can be a bit detached from the foes she kills and sometimes not as detached and more willfully cruel. This definitely stems from her papa, but he’s ultimately worse/more guilty of this, the sadistic fuck lmao

Kayla’s grandmother on her father’s side talking about her to Azarain (Kayla’s dad):

“She is a juvenile serpent that doesn’t realize when and where to seep her venom in a panic. Teach her to wield it accordingly.”

Disorganized and Unstructured

No interest in:

Learning more Magic?!?? She just wants to attack things fast and hard with one handed weapons 💀

Thievery. “I don’t wanna waste time or energy stealing shit, feels weird. If I really need something from someone I’ll ask, talk my way to it, or kill them.” A.K.A: ‘I may be a killer but I’m not a thief!’

Substances beyond the occasional drinks lol save that sort of thing for her brother Julian or as I like to call him SKOOMA BOY

No concept of:

Minimalism (those dovah hoarding tendencies yall)

Staying on task (yep that’s my ADHD girlie right there)

Conformity or fitting into expectations

In battle:

Kayla is mostly dual wielding / using one handed weapons. She knows a few little spells here and there but nothing advanced at all or most intermediate level spells. She likes melee through and through and enjoys close proximity rather than ranged attacks. Because she is smaller/shorter, she’s had to learn to find ways to counter this set back such as being very fast and very aggressive in her attacks. She’s also incredibly unpredictable with battle strategy / movements / attack patterns which also serves as another vantage point to her combat.

Distinguishing marks or notable features?:

Has a few lil scars here and there with one larger one on her back near her ribs that’s about the length of her hand. Other than that, in terms of noticeable physical details: SHORT height! This gal is literally 5’2” or 157.5 cm 😭 the nicknames “Mal Dovah” from Miraak or “Tiny Terror” from Teldryn are in fact very accurate 😭😂😂

Trivia?:

Kayla’s last name Seran stems from her family history with House Redoran and the Seran family-one of the 30 revered families of Vvardenfell that can be traced back to the Chimer! The family has an ancestral tomb in Morrowind TES 3 you can find actually!

Kayla enjoys artsy hobbies like charcoal sketching and painting and enjoy singing a bit too-her mother tried to encourage a lot of hobbies and other varying skills when she was young to balance out the more unsavory and ‘lethal ones.’ Kayla also enjoys hobbies that keep her hands busy usually

Okay so this is relevant for the next lil lore piece but Kayla has pretty rough PTSD prior to TES 5 events and it comes up frequently in her life (I got a whole post explaining those but it’s a bit heavy-it was for the myths of Tamriel disability post so if you wanna know more feel free to look there). She loves animals and eventually ends up with a few including her dog she adopts from the Dawnguard named Winnie. Although the dawnguard dogs are usually husky looking, Winnie resembles more a long haired German Shepherd. Winnie acts as the TES equivalent of a PTSD service dog in many ways such as general comfort /grounding, crowd control / blocking, disrupting SI behaviors, alerting (usually to Miraak) for help, checking surroundings (Kayla can sometimes suffer hallucinations in bad flashbacks and whatnot so Winnie helps to show that the area is safe). Winnie is the best doggy :3 and is able to lend that sort of therapeutic animal duty to Miraak too from time to time ❤️‍🩹 who wouldn’t wanna pet and hug that big fluffy dog?! :3

Even though Kayla’s only half Dunmer, I like to give her some of the aspects usually associated with Dunmer including the ole Morrowind Ancestor Guardian! Kayla’s main ‘guardian’ shows up here and there and is an aunt from of course her dad’s side of the family longggg ago. I’ll have to draw her and post her but her name is Nova Seran or as Kayla calls her Aunt Nova (or Daesma Nova / just Daesma as a sort of Dunmeri translation for aunt- sister: Daeseh and Mother: Alma, thank you to @changelingsandothernonsense for the translation idea help!))

Kayla’s religious associations and practices are all over the place!! Her mother being a priestess of Mara from Cyrodiil, her father worshipping the Reclamations just as his family does back in Morrowind, Kayla also being the listener for the dark brotherhood-it’s scattered to say the least!! It’s easy enough for her to have an appreciation for Aedra but also has no quarrels with appreciating Daedra (mainly just the Reclamations-Azura, Mephala, Boethiah). SO! When Kayla and Miraak do eventually marry, their wedding ceremony is a bit of a mixture that includes little traditions or homages from their cultures (I mean we got a half Dunmer half Imperial with a half Atmoran half Yokudan lol).

Tagging these lovely folks (no pressure to post) (and also if I forgot to tag it wasn’t intentional and feel free to tag me in yours if you want :3 ) and YOU READING IF YOU WANT :3 🫶❤️

The first twelve years of her life were spent across High Rock, with her family moving from place to place and staying in inns more often than not whilst her mother took on work as a sword for hire and her father worked as a tutor. She would spend a lot of time with her father, as Ingja's jobs were often quite dangerous and not a place for a young child, and Edwyn would only take on tutoring jobs which allowed him to take her with him – as such, Elyse picked up a lot on reading, writing, and basic magic from him during her formative years even without the more formal educations which her parents received.

Because of the amount of time spent in inns, Elyse never really learned how to fend for herself in terms of cooking – the food would just always be ready (i.e. parents bought it), aside from the bare minimum of cooking basic things over an open flame which didn't need active tending to (e.g. fish on a stick on an open fire). However, her time around inns made her a) a bit uneasy in crowds because of how rowdy they could get and that was quite terrifying to a young child who was often with a father who wasn't physically inclined if things kicked off and him being very averse to getting tangled up in those sorts of situations, and b) made her somewhat musically inclined. She couldn't pick up an instrument, mind, but she could certainly hum the tunes she heard through her childhood.

Upon her grandfather’s death (on her mother’s side) when she was twelve and her mother ending up with an inheritance in spite of her estrangement, they then end up settling down in Chorrol, which is where she lived until her mother’s death and father’s disappearance (and supposed death) in her early 20s – this being the catalyst which made her decide to venture to Skyrim and get arrested at the border.

During her time there, she began to get a bit more training on survival from her parents as she would like to explore in and around the city, being taught what to look for in terms of ingredients to make sure that they weren't toxic if she wanted to taste them or gather them, very basic healing spells (that she could barely get a grasp of), how to use a sword/dagger and a bow, and how to summon a familiar (which ends up being the same conjured wolf as her father, that they call Spectre – he's essentially the family pet).

As she gets older, she starts trying to date, wanting to find herself a whirlwind romance akin to her parents. Instead, she gets disappointed time and time again. Men, women, man, mer, everyone – but she realises that her expectations are too high and that honestly? She's felt nothing with none of these people, even if things became intimate. So after many a night sobbing to her parents over things not working out (there was a point where her father was wanting to make his way to the Imperial City to yell at someone who tried to take her on a date in a rat-infested cabin on the city waterfront), she decides if it happens, it happens. But she won't really actively look for a relationship (though does long for one just like her parents have still).

When she reaches adulthood, she decides to try and help support her parents – no less with this being the time that Ingja starts falling ill so the money which she would make through hunting (which was Ingja's job in Chorrol as it was much less dangerous than being a mercenary) began to fade away – and gets herself a role as a cleaner at the Count's palace. (She actually has a bit of a soft spot for Fianna and Gerda in Dragonsreach as a result, even though Gerda likes to remind her that it's Balgruuf in charge even if she's doing nothing but sitting down).

Then, when Ingja dies, Edwyn essentially shuts down. So Elyse has to work even harder for the two of them to get by. Eventually though, Edwyn says that he's got himself a job that will take him to Cheydinhal, which surprises her, but she wishes him luck as he promises that he will write to her. She gets letters for the first few weeks, and then… nothing. Complete silence. She has to start selling belongings to get by. There's no sign of Edwyn. She assumes that he died.

And eventually, she realises that unless she somehow ended up on a windfall of money, she was going to lose everything. This leads to her making a plan – in Ingja's final months, she had managed to get her into contact with her uncle in Winterhold (Korir). She didn't know much of her uncle, but knew that he wouldn't just be someone to ask for help from. But he was family, which was better than anything she knew of her father's side of the family. That, and she knew of the College being in Winterhold, that her father had been there and was on occasion in contact with the Arch Mage and even would ask if she ever considered going there instead of working as a cleaner. Meaning that attending the College of Winterhold becomes her plan. So she sells up everything but the clothes on her back (even her precious collection of earrings she had built up over time and was one of the last things of value she had kept hold of), a few books, and her mother's bow, and begins to travel north to the border with Skyrim, just to catch wind of the plan to close the border…

Notable Relationships:

Balgruuf – her beloved husband 💛 One of the first people she meets in Skyrim, and she leaves quite the impression on him (a big ball of anxiety with an injured arm, foregoing healing to meet with him to tell him of the danger his people were in, how could it not?). She finds him to be one of the most reasonable and thoughtful people she encounters during her early time in Skyrim and finds that when she follows his advice things typically work out in some way or another. (Emphasis on typically *looking at the attempt to reject Ulfric*). They become close over time, and eventually the lines start blurring... Are they friends, or something more? Of course, everyone around them realises it’s ‘something more’ before they even do. They would do anything to protect the other. And I mean anything. The people around them remark about how much they love each other, how happy that they make each other, but damn, they sometimes need to tone down the sappy. They make each other whole, both physically (in every sense of the word if you catch my drift 😆) and emotionally, after years of being broken.

Lydia – her housecarl, though it doesn’t take long once Elyse reluctantly asks for her support after 6 months of trying to figure out the whole Dragonborn thing at the College for the two of them to become firm friends, if not like sisters. Elyse can trust Lydia to give her the truth, even if it hurts her, and that sort of tough love is something that she needs to get something into her head if she has persuaded herself otherwise. Lydia’s responsibility to protect Elyse extends into cooking when they are out and about – and she will never allow Elyse to let the Troll Fat Incident™️ go.

Edwyn Verne – her father, and her role model. She spent the most time with him of her parents in her younger years, as whilst Ingja took on more dangerous jobs for money, she got to accompany Edwyn on his tutoring jobs so got to learn from him. She takes after him the most of her two parents, through their love and talent for conjuration spells, and also physically. His disappearance after Ingja’s death – the time where they needed each other most – hurt her to the point that it almost irreversibly pushed her into the mindset that she needed to go at it alone, that she had to manage things herself (and it took the likes of Balgruuf and Lydia years to pull her back to a point where she felt that she could ask for help). Edwyn’s eventual return comes at an incredibly turbulent time in her life, with her dealing with pregnancy and the stress of Balgruuf being declared High King, and it takes a lot for him to earn back her trust in spite of her love for him still being there.

Ingja Frosthand – her mother, who she most takes after in terms of sheer stubbornness, and her eyes. Ingja wasn’t able to spend much time with Elyse in her younger years due to taking on jobs where she didn’t want her young child to be put into danger, so would entrust her care to Edwyn during those times, though would always return from her jobs no matter how brutal they had been with a little sweet treat and a tale about the job for Elyse. After receiving a surprise inheritance from her father’s death, she lays down her sword when they move to Chorrol, and gets to spend much more time with Elyse. They bonded most over gardening (their prized plant was a strawberry bush), swordplay, archery, and reading tacky novels. Ingja’s death hits her hard, but Elyse takes some comfort in having her bow in her possession, and that when she went to Sovngarde to defeat Alduin, Ingja was there looking like her healthy self once more. They reunited, and took the World Eater down together. Ingja was absolutely gushing with pride at how much Elyse had grown and was taken aback that she was Dragonborn. And on the incredibly rare occasion (like she only uses it once or twice after learning it) Elyse would use the Call of Valor shout, you bet it’s Ingja who comes.

Korir – her uncle (Ingja’s younger brother), and they do not like each other one iota, but will begrudgingly cooperate if a situation called for it. He thinks she’s just like Ingja and hates her for it, presumes that she’s trying to exploit their blood relationship for her gain (she is not), and wants to control her once he learns that she is the Dragonborn thanks to Maven following through with her blackmail threat against Elyse. She thinks he’s a self-serving asshole (he is to an extent, he just persuaded himself that it would be for Winterhold’s benefit) who is grasping for whatever power he can (he is), and feels sad that he chooses to antagonise the College instead of using it as the asset it could potentially be. A Situation happens during the Skyrim civil war which makes them both re-evaluate some of these perspectives of one another and their strong dislike gives way to the occasional bit of tolerance.

Balgruuf’s children – though they don’t get off on the best foot at first, Frothar, Dagny, and Nelkir very quickly endear themselves to her once she moves into Dragonsreach, and she loves her stepchildren dearly – and with their permission, she loves to call herself their mother. She admires Frothar's optimism and enthusiasm and just how much of a quick study he is, and she really enjoys her time spent tutoring and sparring with him to practice swordplay. Dagny feels that she is surrounded by nothing but boys and men, so having Elyse around allows her to let out some of the frustrations about it – and though Elyse isn't the biggest fan of some of the things Dagny wants to do, there are a few activities which they greatly enjoy, such as chatting and gossiping as they eat sweets, looking at Fralia's jewellery stall, and growing flowers (because Elyse persuaded her to give it a go 'because flowers you grow yourself are much more worth the effort and much prettier than flowers you can get at a shop'). Elyse and Nelkir are certainly more kindred spirits though, the two of them enjoying the quiet and Elyse likes listening to his insights and realising just how observant he is, and he eventually gets tutoring from her akin to Frothar, albeit in magic.

Aina – She is Elyse and Balgruuf's biological daughter, and though Aina takes after Balgruuf strongly, with the exception of her pointed Breton ears, they are almost a mirror of one another in terms of mannerism. However, Elyse is baffled at how much confidence Aina gets and can definitely see Balgruuf in her ability to use the right words to get other to agree with her and occasional temper. She ends up with many a fond memory of sitting reading to Aina in the evenings, helping to braid her hair and telling what Aina thinks are fantastical stories (but are actually real tales of her life).

Ulfric Stormcloak – Though initially, Elyse does not know how to think of him, and feels that their first impressions were absolutely dreadful (imagine getting arrested, knocked out, and waking up lying on your intolerant uncle's work colleague's shoulder-!!!!), it's after her defeat of Alduin that Elyse begins to realise… that she really doesn't like Ulfric. It starts with him assuming that she will join him because her mother is a Nord (yes, Ingja was a Nord and yes, Ingja stubbornly continued to worship Talos, but there was no way that Ingja would support her homeland being torn apart by her own kinsmen). Then it becomes incessant letters. Then it becomes a forceful marriage 'proposal' which almost ends fatally in the attempt to keep her in Windhelm when she turns him down in person. The fact that Ulfric tries (or at least, someone with close ties to Ulfric tries) to use her refusals and stubbornness as a manipulation tool against Balgruuf and Whiterun though? That makes her blood boil. Even when Balgruuf realises that it really is just Ulfric trying to get Whiterun on his side, it still angers her. But though that anger continues, there are few things Elyse hates more than Ulfric, and one of them is the continued war. And there may be a point where she tries to utilise that fact against him.

Other notable (albeit not to the extent of the others) relationships –

Hrongar (brother-in-law, the one pushing the most for Balyse to become a thing),

Irileth (Balgruuf’s housecarl, eventual sister-in-law, receives a life-changing injury in Elyse's defense and Elyse feels she owes her for that)

Proventus (Balgruuf’s steward, occasional bickering between them, co-conspirator in making Balgruuf rest by adjusting his schedules)

Farengar (nerd out together a lot)

Galmar (person she fears most in Skyrim, he wants her dead or at Ulfric’s beck and call)

General Tullius (he keeps trying to order her about like she is a soldier of his. She is not. She and Balgruuf have to remind him of that fact frequently.)

Tolfdir (her tutor and advisor at the College, like a second father to her, she has likely accidentally called him ‘dad’ at some point)

Arngeir (like a third father to her)

Paarthurnax (like a fourth father to her. She’s basically collecting father figures in Edwyn’s absence.)

Odahviing (loyal to and protective of her to a fault)

Mikael (she has a bad habit of burning things which she doesn't like. His books and ballads very much fall under that category. As such he is terrified of her.)

Strengths:

Conjuration magic

Alchemy

Swordplay

Tactical thinking

Embroidery and sewing

Her loyalty to her loved ones

Weaknesses:

Her difficulties in asking for help when needed

How helpless she feels without magicka

Cooking ability

Sweet tooth

Low alcohol tolerance

How she hates being backed into a corner or caught unawares, she needs plans and contingencies

Restoration magic

No interest in:

Serving daedric princes

Serving anyone, really

Being put into a position where she won't have her independence

Marrying Ulfric

No concept of:

Understanding that things which can be used in alchemy and things that can be used are not interchangeable (i.e. just because troll fat and butter can be seen as fats… they are most certainly not interchangeable.)

Illusion magic. It was essentially taboo in her family during her upbringing, so whilst she got to dabble in all other schools of magic, she didn't with illusion – with one exception. She learned the invisibility spell, but uses the logic of 'it alters your physical form to not be visible, therefore it is an alteration spell'.

Self-preservation when her nearest and dearest are hurt

Character:

Smart, sharp, but stubborn, and though capable of putting on a strong face and is more than willing to fight to show her independence, behind those walls she is very soft and feels vulnerable and exposed – and honestly just wants someone to be there for her. To keep her propped upright when her supports and strength is fading away. (And Balgruuf is that for her).

In battle:

She wields her dual conjured swords, dropping to just one if she needs to cast further spells. Wears partially hand-crafted steel plate armour (it's a collective effort between her, Alvor, and Adrianne) with flowers that she personally carved into the steel of her gauntlets and boots. If she does not have Lydia by her side, she conjures Spectre to support her. If absolutely necessary, she falls back on using her dagger (given to her by Ralof when escaping Helgen), or her bound bow or her mother's bow.

Distinguishing marks:

She doesn't really have any distinguishing marks aside from a few scars on her back – places that couldn't be as easily reached to heal. The closest thing she really has to a distinguishing mark is more of a distinguishing accessory, which is her golden, petal-shaped earrings which Balgruuf gets her for her birthday.

Trivia:

If Elyse had a septim for every time she lived in a city which has a big famous tree in it, she would have two septims – not a lot, but weird that it happened twice (Chorrol with its Great Oak, Whiterun with the Gildergreen).

Though unintentional, she does have a draw towards the colour yellow. Meg's hardly concealed bias towards the colour more like.

In her version of Skyrim, my OC Thorne does the Thieves Guild quests and actually fails the Honningbrew quests. Elyse accidentally stumbles on Honningbrew in the midst of its skeever trouble, and helps to solve the problem, get Mallus arrested, and becomes an investor in the meadery (much to Maven's chagrin). Sabjorn actually makes a lavender-infused reserve which is dedicated to her as thanks for saving his business and helping to keep it afloat, and it becomes one of her favourite drinks.

Speaking of lavender, it is one of her favourite flowers. She finds the scent comforting and the colour beautiful, and grows a lot of it as it has uses in alchemy (and has a fortify conjuration effect, which is a plus to her), and she uses it to make perfumes and soap.

Tea is her favourite drink, and though she isn't allowed to cook (and is in fact banned from the Dragonsreach kitchens following the disaster that was her attempt to bake a cake for Balgruuf with his children), she is allowed to make tea and is very good at it. It's almost like another branch of alchemy, hence why she takes to it.

She hates reading non-fiction, and adores a good mythological piece or sappy romance. The only exception she will make to the non-fiction is if Balgruuf reads it aloud to her.

Often, she wears clothing with exposed shoulders. She has a few exceptions to this. And sometimes she borrows Balgruuf's fur mantles if her shoulders get cold.

Speaking of the cold, she's fine with it, but isn't quite as tolerant as someone who only has partial Nordic blood, and having grown up in the relative warmth of High Rock and Cyrodiil (she doesn't realise that had Ingja not been a Nord, she'd have been much colder than she's complaining about). She just gets a bit dramatic over how she feels. But she does have a worse tolerance after her freezing cold plunge into the Windhelm docks.

And now speaking of that plunge, she refuses to enter most bodies of water after that as a result. The only way she is entering any of them is if she is holding onto someone, and no more than her feet enters the water.

Honey is her favourite sweet thing, and honey and lemon boiled sweets her favourite treat. Sweetrolls are a close second, followed by strawberries.

Though she is Dragonborn, she prefers not to use her thu'um. Calling for Odahviing is possibly her most used shout.

She has done the Dragonborn/Solstheim stuff, but it's so close to canon what happens, it's not really remarkable. Only difference is that she encounters a few residents of Apocrypha, one of which being her ancestor, Avelynne, who gave a few little pointers about how to navigate the area. (What I mentioned before about how Edwyn's family is a minor noble family in High Rock? Ave is why, she's the Vestige, therefore close friends with High King Emeric, and the Verne family received a little nudge up in society as a result).

Elyse has a few AUs - one where she didn't escape Windhelm and is forced to marry Ulfric, one where her parents never leave Winterhold so Ingja becomes Jarl and eventually Elyse does (meaning that there is a very bitter Korir who will do anything for the power he thinks was stolen from him... Even arranging for his niece and brother-in-law to be overthrown+left to rot in The Chill or killed respectively... And also an AU where she's not Dragonborn and instead becomes a teacher, eventually setting up a school in Whiterun after adopting Lucia and steadily ending up the tutor for Whiterun's children.

And some drawings I've done of her (and Balgruuf):

So have a little peek at a new OC I'm making (because thinking about Bosmer some time this week with my friend has led to me NEEDING one on my roster!! I miss them..... they are forever my favourite race since the first time I started playing YEARS ago, and it feels WRONG not to have an OC with them (i mean Vivild being part-Bosmer exists but I need m o r e)) She is ALMOST done in terms of design, I just want to play with the design of her clothing for a little longer

And, unfortunately, I have a crippling addiction to storyboarding so have an out of context wip to a NEW one I'm currently working on since last night :) featuring @drachniid's little guy 💖

Now Skywriter.... As of writing this, there are a grand total of three and a half scenes for this chapter left to complete and I'm guestimating that the next chapter for Skywriter will be going up exceptionally soon!! So I'll only be sharing a shortish snippet from that for now, ft. a different character that will be heavily featured in this :) (NOTE: I'm still in drafting mode so there's 100% going to be a lot more mistakes than there may end up being in the final product!!!)