#zalyn

I've been thinking about my Skyrim characters lately and want to explore their backstories more. Their families and their dynamics are an interesting start so I made these portraits.

Agnetha Goldenbraid (She/Her) was a happy child with a mother, father, and baby brother. She was born in Cyrodiil and raised on a small farm in Bruma, living the traditional Nord lifestyle.

Her father, Erland Goldenbraid, was a proud Nord who lived by the sword and valued family above everything else. He married his childhood sweetheart, a half-Imperial, half-Nord woman named Cassia Spada, and soon conceived their first child. Erland and Cassia were considerably easy-going with Agne but imbued Nordic customs and homesteading chores on her as soon as she began to walk. Her chores included helping her mother with domestic tasks, tending to animals, feeding chickens, and sometimes having run-ins with Folki, the grumpy goat that terrorized the townsfolk. Like any typical child, Agne played with other children and got in trouble when the adults weren't around.

When her mother got pregnant, Agne was exhilarated. Having a little sibling to play with tickled her little heart. After her brother Gunnar was born, Agne adored him and proudly accepted her new role as the protective big sister.

As the Great House Dres dictates, family, honor, and tradition weighed heavily on every household member's shoulders. Lorthyn and Favani imposed merciless cruelty on their rivals and slaves. None of their three children were spared from the whips and chains, both figuratively and literally.

To say Zalyn Dres (He/Him) grew up in a strict household would be an understatement. At a young age, Zalyn was forced to undergo grueling tasks. His father Lorthyn would drag him on slave raids in the dangerous swampland to mold him into a warrior like his older brother Thalyn, as per Dres tradition. Zalyn was no stranger to being the brunt of his father's wrath. In response, he became more rebellious as he got older.

Zalyn's relationship with his mother Favani was cold and distant. He barely received motherly love from her. In fact, anytime Zalyn came to her for anything, she would either ignore him or harshly shoo him away, paying him no attention. She enabled her husband's ways of disciplining the children, especially on Zalyn, and took her cruelty out on servants and Dresla, her youngest daughter.

Despite the venomous relationship with his parents, Zalyn enjoyed all the riches and privileges that came with being a Great House-born dunmer. He got along with Dresla and was protective of her, shielding her from their mother's whip on several occasions. As for his relationship with Thalyn, Zalyn revered him and sometimes felt envious of him since he was the oldest and favorite child.

Marlyn Rulvani (She/Her) was born a clone. Her "mother" Hekatah created her by accident via meddling in Daedric magic, giving her the mockery of a "failed clone". As powerful as she's beautiful, madness inevitably consumed her amid the experiments. Rumors say her mind was corrupted by the Daedric Prince of Madness himself.

Hekatah despised Marlyn, often berating and punishing her for every minor thing, whether it's wearing the wrong dress or growing her hair too long. She did everything she could to ensure that her clone daughter looked nothing like her.

There were softer moments, however. Marlyn was naturally a curious child so Hekatah facilitated this by allowing her free-reign to the library (mostly because Hekatah wanted nothing to do with her and wanted an excuse to whisk her away somewhere where she was out of sight and mind). Marlyn had the best tutors a young Telvanni apprentice could ever want and spent hours burying her nose in dusty tomes and books.

Nalin (They/Them) was born as Nauriel Silarume by an Alinor-born artisan and noblewoman. Anthea, whom Nalin thought was the most beautiful mer, was the daughter of a wealthy family that arranged a marriage for her with a captain of the Altmeri Dominion Navy. Much to her family's dismay, she ran off with the young, charismatic Corelas instead. Their marriage was progressive, even by Altmeri standards, and driven by genuine love, not wealth or elven purity.

October was busy for me so I missed out on a lot of drawing. During the middle of the spooky season, I have been fixated on an alternate scenario/relationship between Agne and Zalyn in my head. At the beginning of November, I had time to finally bring this idea to life and draw these babies as a vampire and vampire hunter.

All my Skyrim OCS as fancy alcoholic/mixed drinks. Which one would you like to try out?

Agnetha -> Very sweet and cold, top with thick whip cream or ice cream. Don't forget to add sprinkles and edible flowers!

Zalyn -> A smokey red cocktail chilled with ice. Spicy and bold, just like Zalyn. Don't be fooled by the small glass as this special drink has a powerful kick that will knock you out.

Nalin -> A bubbly green champagne made with perfection. This drink also has a hint of sourness and saltiness. Always use the fanciest glass you have for this one!

He huffs and takes another swig of his drink.