User:Jimeee/Fiction/YsgramorDynasty4b

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YsgramorDynasty4b
Up The Seventeen and One Monarchs of the Ysgramor Dynasty
Prev. Tyranny of the Dragon Cult Next Valdimar the Vanquisher
by High Chronicler Valerius of Winterhold
A history of Skyrim's early High Kings
The embers of rebellion had smoldered in the hearts of Atmorans after generations of subjugation. Following Alduin's unimaginable cruelty, these embers ignited into an unyielding firestorm that sought freedom from bondage. From among the downtrodden clans arose a warrior know as Valdimar Fireforge.
Valdimar claimed to be Skerd (an archaic term for the family of Ysgramor) and rightful heir to the throne of Skyrim. He claimed his paternal grandfather was Skerd-Prince Grymvaar, son of Totem-King Heimverlund. The Skerd-Prince had supposedly been consorting in secret with a young maiden named Svari Fireforge, daughter of the king's resident master smith. Although such unions were forbidden for novitiates in the priesthood, it wasn't long before long Svari was with child.
When the priesthood assassinated Skerd-Prince Grymvaar and the leadership of Ysgramor's clan, Svari kept her newborn child's identity secret given his lineage. She named him Iglund Fireforge and he grew up and lived much of his life in Riften as a simple farmer, oblivious to the fact he was of royal blood. On her deathbed in ME 31, Svari revealed Iglund's ancestry to him, but urged him remain in hiding given that the priesthood was still very much in power and actively seeking out the last remnants of the Skerd. And so for many years Iglund lived in obscurity with his wife, raising a daughter and three sons - the oldest of which was Valdimar.

Birth of the Rebellion

Legends claim Valdimar was enormous in stature, supposedly "so big that no horse could carry him". Unmatched in combat, he was credited with slaying numerous beasts in his youth, most notably Matriarch Froa, the Giantess of Eastmarch.
Inspired by Miraak's defiance against Alduin in Bromjunaar, Valdimar rallied his kin to fight back against dragonkind. From outside the Palace of the Kings in Windhelm, Valdimar delivered a speech that revealed his true lineage to the gathered crowd and awakened the warrior spirit in the hearts of the Atmorans.
'O Children of the Sky... for too long we hath suffered under the yoke of tyranny as pretenders and beasts lay waste to our lands in a horrible desolation. With a fury unabated, they do not cease as they rage against all indiscriminately with the breath of chastisement. For too long hath the exalted crown of the Harbinger sat upon an unworthy brow.
I ask thee all... are then the deeds of thine forefathers to be forgotten by the men of hence-yore? Art thou descended of fearful men? Nay! As my forefather Ysgramor took back this land from the perfidious elves, so shall we do the same.
Hearken my plea 'O Sister-Hawk, for it is not without cause. Give us the strength to drive these beasts from whence they came and be free once more.
As the masses erupted in an unrestrained battle-lust, Valdimar bellowed is what is described in the Cartulary of the Hawk as a "Call of Valor". To the amazement of all present, the ghostly visage of Ysgramor himself appeared before Valdimar and spoke. Numerous interpretations and translations of the Harbinger's speech have been transcribed over the eras, and they vary wildly in length, but almost all share the following fragment:
"...Kinsman... my heart is laden for I cannot join thine crusade... I beseech thee... avenge the Skerd and take what rightfully belongeth unto thee."
Word traveled across Skyrim that a true heir to Ysgramor's throne was alive and leading a rebellion. It didn't take long for every Hold to pledge their swords to Valdimar and the Dragon War began in earnest. At his side stood four great generals, formidable warriors in their own right: Hakon One-Eye, Felldir the Old, Gormlaith Golden-Hilt and Hans the Fox.

The Thu'um of Mankind

At first, many rebels were slaughtered as mere steel could not match the mighty Thu'um of dragons. According to myth, Kyne heard Valdimar's prayer and took pity on mankind. She convinced the dragon Paarthurnax to betray his own kind and teach Men to use the Thu'um.
Mastery of the power of the Voice came quickly to the Atmorans and the tide began to slowly turn. Those most proficient in the Voice became known as Tongues who went on and formed a loose order of warrior-monks who would gather at the highest mountaintops and share their knowledge of the Voice with each other. At once such meeting the monks meditated for three nights, pouring the anguish of their countrymen into their into whispered prayers and chants. By morning the group had forged a new Shout foreign to dragonkind. The mages of Winterhold claim this shout forced the incomprehensible concept of mortality onto the dragons, rendering them vulnerable for a brief time. Hakon, Felldir and Gormlaith spread knowledge of the Shout far and wide, to great success.
The regent of Dawnstar and ardent cultist, Warlord Gathrik, led his Army of the Undead to the foothills of Mount Anthor to meet Valdimar's rebels. In their desperation, the high priests had began to raise long dead warriors from their tombs to fight for them after the slaughter of their standing army. Led by Hans the Fox, the Battle of Anthor raged for two days and supposedly enough blood was spilled to paint the vast slopes of the mountain red. Many great warriors were lost in the battle, but Hans' army emerged victorious.
Valdimar laid siege to several strongholds of the priesthood, leading his snow-throathed armies against the cities of Ragnvald, Volunruud and Saarthal, where only the most devout cultist remained. As the years passed, numerous High Priests were put to the sword, while others fled deeper into the mountains or fled Skyrim. Otar the Mad fell to heroes Saerek and Torsten and Hevnoraak was betrayed by his own followers. Hans the Fox personally killed two dragons in Skuldafn before putting down high priest Nahkriin.
It was the closing days of the Merethic Era when Valdimar set his sights on Bromjunaar - one of the last strongholds of the priesthood famous for its impenetrable walls. After a long and costly siege, numerous Voice masters gathered and together burst through the magical barricades. Valdimar himself supposedly led the charge directly into the council chambers and slayed high priest Morokei.

Alduin's Bane

With much of the priesthood either dead or in hiding, the rebels turned their attention to Alduin and his minions. According to Valdimar's fragmented war-journals, Felldir had discovered one of the mysterious Elder Scrolls deep within the vaults of Bromjunaar after its fall. With the aid of numerous Clever Men, he devised an incantation that could possibly deal with Alduin. Valdimar had seen old etchings of a scroll much like this one in Ysgramor's royal archives in Windhelm and was hesitant to use such power. According to the archives, a golden scroll was discovered by the High Priestess of Atmora centuries prior. When she attempted to read from it, an enormous blast of ice engulfed the forests of Drekihrim freezing the once green woodlands. So bitter and enduring was the frost-grip, that it was as if time itself had ceased, and neither man nor dragon dared trespass thereafter.
The rebellion was on the verge of victory in 1E 03, but Alduin was elusive. Slaughtering the entire priesthood and its armies wasn't enough to coax the World Eater into battle. According to Valdimar's advisers, to truly show defiance they had to slay Alduin's generals.
Valdimar sent Hakon, Felldir and Gormlaith to the summit of the Throat of the World where several dragons were known to roost. Battle-chroniclers speak of the generals climbing to the peak as numerous dragons fell to their blades. As predicted, Alduin did indeed appear and fought a fierce battle with the generals. Despite the power of their Shouts, the World-Eater was formidable and Gormlaith was slain in battle. In his desperation, Felldir unveiled the Elder Scroll and began to recite his incantation:
"Begone, World-Eater! By words with older bones than your own we break your perch on this age and send you out! You are banished! Alduin, we shout you out from all our endings unto the last!"
Alduin was banished and so ended the Dragon War. With his lordship broken the surviving dragons scattered to the four winds. The news reached Valdimar within hours, who in his elation bellowed a mighty Shout that purportedly shook all of Eastmarch. Valdimar and his generals traveled to Windhelm the following day to a heroes reception and Skyrim celebrated as Valdimar was made High King.
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