#stonefolk

Adventurers occasionally return home with tales of strange beings lurking around the wilds of Tamriel or in places that ancient races constructed. The creatures that they describe do not fit into any category of what scholars know to be atronoch - for no creatures in known texts that are made of stone are not powered by the forces of magic and can also move, talk, and act with sapient intelligence.

My theory is that these beings could be an unknown species, lost to time like the Dwemer, that have resurfaced with the resurrection of the dragons. I will have to collect some coin, and try to seek out a place of sightings to try and uncover extra information so this mystery of the ‘Stonefolk’ can be explored further...

Kem the Spearman

"Kem is one of the stonefolk youngsters who will lead the next generation of his people.  While he was raised by civilians about as far removed from military affairs as could be, his true father was a veteran spearman.  Although he did not know it, he too was destined to take up the spear.

The fateful moment took place at a barbecue for a local children's club.  The spear he picked up felt instantly familiar in his hands, as though it were meant to be."

Kem the Dream Spear

"From that day forward, he would always skewer meat on a spear, as though out of superstition.  While others saw him as crazy, to him it felt like a sacred gift."

Kem the Mystic Spear

Manmer the Defender

"Manmer the stoneman can always be found in a crouching position.  Though this was originally just an effort to minimize energy consumption, at some point it made him introverted and melancholy.  On the bright side, he's developed an extraordinary sense of creativity.

The elaborate design painted on his stone shield is his own work and demonstrates the depth of his artistic sophistication."

Manmer the Survivor

"He basically guards his entire body with that shield and simply waits for enemy assaults to end.  He has a talent for survival."

Manmer the Attacker

"His shield has now become a fully operational weapon controlled by his brain waves.  Here, too, his creativity comes into play.  He can simply trace a trajectory in his mind and his shield will swoop and soar accordingly to defend him."

~

[Samupí]

"One night, Manmer was about to doze off when he sensed that somebody was watching him.

'Hm?'

It was a rather uncomfortable feeling--like a sort of gloom that was trying to cling to him.

It was almost creepy, in fact, on account of the viscous emotion that it packed.

However, Manmer steeled himself against the encroaching emotion, and soon came to realize the gaze was not aimed at him.

'It's...it's aimed at my shields?' he said to himself.

Focusing even more, Manmer now perceived that the gaze was not at his stone shields themselves, but rather at the elaborate patterns that they bore.

So, he immediately flipped the shields over to hide the patterns.  That's when he heard a voice exclaim 'Ah!'  It was Samupí who had been staring the whole time.

The explanation was simple.

I want you to teach me how to create that pattern, was what Samupí was thinking, but he could not get the words out.  But no one who knew Manmar would be surprised.

The aura that stoic stoneman emnated said keep away and was strong than anyone had ever felt before.

So it was Samupí had been secretly staring at the pattern, night after night, hoping that it might inspire him.

'I'll give you one if you'll stop staring.'

And with that, Manmer gave one of his precious shields to Samupí, for he was weary of the persistent gaze.

Samupí the Handsome

"Samupí is a young man of the stonefolk who has patterns shaved into his closely cropped hair and sports tattoos all over his body.  The utter confidence expressed in his appearance and bearing attest to his personal belief that he is truly handsome.  He is a member of the Upi Foundation, which pursues beauty, preaches the magnificence of art, and promotes the spiritual elevation and expansion of the mind."

Samupí the Chromatic

"Samupí's knowledge of fashion is vast and deep, and his own attire is always of his own making.  Skilled at dyeing and weaving fabric, he can produce singular, wondrous gradations.  Rumor has it that the key to his technique lies in dyeing the thread before it is woven and infusing just the right amount of magic."

Samupí the Wonderful

"The thread he dyes is imbued with magic, and by weaving it with a special machine, he is able to produce a magic force field that intensifies magic power.  He uses it to make himself even more beautiful and to discover the joy in making others beautiful as well."

~

"The desolate yet beautiful world had been obliterated.

Though he had not witnessed the planet's death throes, the imaginative powers fueled by the Upi clan's fine aesthetic sense painted the devastation vividly in his mind.

It is said that is the moment when the clan arrived at a new theory.

'It is precisely because it withers away that life shines so brightly.'

Taking this to heart, they began to explore an entirely new concept of beauty."

~

[Zan]

"The flamboyance of Samupí's attire declined, and the majority of his adornment disappeared.

He abandoned his old ways of trying to stand out and make his mark.  What he sought instead was a oneness with existence.