A story about the past

Maybe it had been the long week, or the mead, or the slow walk to understanding why he did what he did, but Vigor had loosened the tight button around his throat and seemed to speak more freely than usual. “Never use wolf’s bane.”

The memory really stuck with Vigor. It was not a most gentle poison, but one he could give to his mark that would give him plenty of time to get the scent of suspicion off him.

“You don’t even need to eat the flower, you can just leave a bouquet of the flowers in someone’s home, and eventually, someone will brush past it. It just takes a touch.”

It was a symbol of his entire persona. Prim and well-bred to sneak in amongst crowds that his peers couldn’t. Killing someone with a gift.

A beggar who often when unseen, quiet but wise, till something had possessed him to spend what little he had on drink. Feeble and drunk, the man was sobbing in an alleyway. There was nothing grand or noble about his pain. You’d never recognise him as Dmitri as he barely stopped himself from screaming between each new fit of tears.

“My son... Rosa didn’t want him but I saw him there when he was born I just fell apart because he was so small and delicate and I knew I couldn’t protect him. I told her we could try. We could try have a home, and we could be alright but I knew I wasn’t enough.”

Whatever reason he felt when he left his son was so fragile, gone in the night with a little too much rum. But his words weren't slurred, just full of pain.

I shouldn't have abandoned him. I shouldn't have. But look at me!” He shouted as if it made any difference. The only thing he could be thankful for what knowing his son would never see him like this.

“Vigor was always odd. When his father came to me the boy didn’t say a word, just looked up like a helpless puppy. His father was trying not to sound desperate, and I don’t think Vigor understood what was happening because he never begged his father to stay. Now I know he cared, too; the boy doesn’t know it but I remember him crying off in some corner when they said ol’ daddy died.

Eponis’ Aunts

“I was raised by my aunt. I remember thinking she could be strict sometimes, worrying a lot. But I didn’t feel that way when I got older. She was... gentle? She knew I was more like uncle though. Still, I remember her smiling every time I came home with a pile of books.”

Aunt Cindaia was surprised to hear her brother had a child since the news came completely out of nowhere. She was even more shocked to hear that her brother had ran off and the mother was dead. Her and her husband never managed to have a child of their own for the year they were married before Eponis’ birth. The adoption was hard on her at first, but she eased into it, even though she resents her now missing brother for leaving.

Her uncle Stark has a older sister, but Eponis has never met her as she lived in Sentinel. Though she did once write her a letter as a young child, with all the eloquence and penmanship of a six year old.

Aunt Cindaia was a classic motherly sort. Thinking before speaking softly. Rightly worrying when Eponis would do something reckless like climb trees, which Eponis later released was fair. She happily encouraged Eponis in all her interests, even if her Imperial background didn’t fit as nicely with Eponis want to learn to fight, so it was her uncle who trained her there. Though Eponis called her ‘auntie’, she still saw her as a mother.

Vigor’s Cousins

“I’m afraid I don’t have anyone...”

Vigor’s biological father had an estranged brother several years older than him that he met only a couple times as an adult. He was vulgar and drunk, and hinted to children he didn’t care for. His father never mentioned him for good reason.

What does a typical visit to an inn entail for your character? What foods do they normally order?

One way Vigor supports himself is chopping firewood, so he does that most times he stays at an inn. Depending on how tired he is he might just go straight to bed. Often he’ll just buy cold food to take with him to his room or to have for travelling later. If he does stay downstairs then he might have venison since it’s his favourite, though he’s quiet fond of the mudcrab they have in Whiterun.

What does your muse think of the Dwemer ruins? Do they steal anything from there?

Vigor has never been inside a Dwemer ruin. He would have seen them though and grown up around them. He knows a little bit about the Dwemer, but not much. Vigor doesn’t often take from his jobs, taking only rare or useful things and never taking from bodies or graves. Dwemer ruins might have rare books or weapons he could take to the right people he’d know would appreciate it, even if it’s stolen from a ruin.

Does your muse donate to any temples or help any beggars?

Yes, any chance he gets. Vigor may only visit a temple once during his stay in a city, but he’ll still donate every time he does, though he doesn’t like to give more than ten septims a time. He also leaves a few at shrines sometimes, though his is not a donation but rather ceremonial. He’ll give to every beggar he sees, usually just the one septim, but he gives frequently. His coat pockets are usually just a few spare septims for beggars and bounty letters.

Eating habits and sample daily menu

One of the reasons Vigor prefers camping to staying at inns is because it gives him the chance to cook for himself. He’ll sometimes cook breakfast as a nice way to wake-up, but if he’s busy or just too tired then whatever is in his satchel will do. Lunch is the largest meal of the day, and though he’d like to cook his lunch he’s often too busy to spend the time. Dinner is the smallest meal and is simply gathering of whatever is in his satchel.

Breakfast is often apples or plain bread. If he has the time to cook, Vigor is fond of tomato soup or venison. Venison is his preferred meat in general, reminding him of his father since he was a hunter and the two lived of whatever he could gather. Lunch is very much the same as breakfast in what he’ll eat. Dinner is often salted meat or cheese, occasionally washed down with mead.

This is all assuming his work doesn’t get in the way. He relies on snacking only when he doesn’t have the time for an actual meal, such as days he may spend clearing out bandits. Otherwise he never snacks.

Vigor is only used to Nordic food; hearty and heavy and perfect for a day out in the cold. He enjoys cooking but his food is nothing exceptional, though it might surprise someone not expecting that pinch of salt or those junpier berries in his venison stew.

Favourite way to waste time and feelings surrounding wasting time

Vigor’s main hobby is cooking, so while he may not always need to cook or spend as much time as he does, it at least has some practical value. He also dabbles in alchemy though he knows little more than a few simple recipes for healing. Time gets spent more on gathering ingredients, some of which is used in his cooking.

He could sit and look at the beauty of Skyrim for hours, but he knows he can enjoy it while gathering or hunting or other such things.

Vigor keeps a journal which he writes in every so often, usually every few days. He might read a book to pass the time and keep the strict education Irnvar gave him sharp. This along with his occasional moments just enjoying a forest river or a mountain-clad sky is how Vigor might just waste time.

He has a few little tools on him for all sorts of things including grooming, though oddly enough he doesn’t have a comb. He does need to trim his beard, even if it insists on looking fairly scruffy no matter what he does. He doesn’t particularly enjoy it but it has to be done every few days, though it never takes him too long.

In general Vigor doesn’t waste much time. He tends to stop himself if he feels he is just pondering around. It’s part of his very disciplined upbringing, not that he has many time-wasting habits anyway. If he didn’t enjoy having to spend his free-time checking his weapons or scouting for a good place to camp, then he wouldn’t so willingly spend his life in Skyrim’s wilderness.

Despite his upbringing, Vigor feels to need to judge how other’s spend their free-time as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone. As long as said person has time to waste then he’s not going to take issue, and even then is would just be concern rather than judgement.

Biggest and smallest long term goal?

Vigor’s life is a very aimless one. He just wants to help people and that seems to really be it. He wanders without a home or much of a goal. He’s not going anywhere with what jobs he does; bandits never seem to stop showing up there’s always something to do. He doesn’t really know what he wants, just that without his brothers he has no one, and that he cannot travel aimlessly forever.

His smallest long-term goal would perhaps be learning smithing. He has a grasp of the basics from his time in Shor’s Stone, helping the blacksmith there. It’s something he’s always been curious about, and knowing he can’t travel forever he’s considering smithing in his later years.

Vigor would love to have a family. A home would mean he could grow his own ingredients, collect books he likes, and even have a pet dog. A home would also mean he could move his mementos from the shack his father raised him in, hidden under the rotting floorboards. Vigor loves children and dogs, but having a family is not a goal that drives him, it feels to him just a distant dream.

A goal would imply he was working towards something. But in general he lives for the moments where he can help and any gratefulness he can get. He wants to feel redeemed of his past, which would be considered a goal if he believed such a thing could happen.

Are they more analytical or more emotional in their decision-making?

For Vigor, how he makes a decision can depend on several factors. Without any driving force he is analytical, strategic. It’s not the way his mind is inclined but rather brought about by years of experience. He plans things out in advance when it comes to his work and was taught about strategy by both his father and Irnvar. More individual strategies by his hunter father and more group organisation from Irnvar who had history in the Imperial army.

But unfortunately Vigor has a very uncompromising heart, and his decisions can become emotional driven quite easily. For one, even as difficult as it is he will try to restrain someone if he gets the chance, which makes having to kill them when necessary harder. There isn’t really anyone in Vigor’s life, but if there was someone he cared for in danger he would be completely driven by his emotions.

He can’t help himself with hunters since his father was one. Any hunter would have to do something completely unforgivable for him to get lost in his response. He has a soft spot for children, both in general and because of his strange upbringing, and so jobs involving them are going to be more emotional for him.