Farsten Mountain-Stalker

Character Name: Farsten Mountain-Stalker

Nickname(s): Stalker, Far.

Race: Skaal, Nord

Sex: Male

Age: 28

Birthplace: A nameless Skaal Village on the harsh westerly coast of Solstheim, 'Dragon Falls' to the Dunmer.



Height: 6'7"

Weight: 245 lbs

Eye Color: Steely blue.

Hair Color: Dark blonde.

Hair Style: Far's hair is long and windswept, it falls down to his shoulders and its cleanliness often fails to impress the more refined city-dwellers. It doesn't require much effort to maintain, but he keepa a ritualistic braid on the left side of his hair.

Facial Hair: Far's face is always covered in a light covering of stubble, mainly due to the short amount of time he spends shaving it. Sometimes he just forgets to shave and it becomes long, thick, stubble before he remembers.

Skin Color: Nordic white.

Build: Far is well toned from his hunter's lifestyle. His body shows little excess body fat and his muscles benefit from the large amount of protein in his diet. His limbs are well defined from the hunt.

Distinguishing Features: Light blue tribal tattoo covering left half of face, large similarly coloured tattoos of the Wood and Beast stones of Solstheim on his upper arms.



Profession: Hunter, Tracker.

Skills: Farsten was well trained in the Skaal ways of the bow, axe, spear and sword. A hunter by trade and birth, Farsten is also notable at being able to keep his footsteps quiet, his breathing steady and his aim true.

Magic: Farsten knows a fair bit about Magic, specifically woodland magic. It is not usually in the Skaal's interest to practice Magic unless you are groomed to become a new Shaman. Farsten was, however, taught a handful of spells by his best friend, the Elder Shaman's apprentice. These spells are as follows:

• Calm - A spell that all hunters of Far's village must learn. This spell is most often used to calm an injured animal, should the first blow prove crippling and not fatal. His relative expertise with this spell comes from the extensive use of it.
  
• Fortify Stamina - A spell most often used when Far expects a long chase, it is taxing on him and it is rarely used unless the prey is of sufficient value to him that it warrents the chase.
  
• Heal - Sometimes the All-Maker doesn't provide the necessary wild herbs to cure the most basic ails. In the very few situations that Farsten finds himself without the aid of the wilds and the wound is serious enough that it could turn sour should it not recieve treatment, Farsten uses this basic spell to hopefully lessen the trouble on his body.
  
• Restore Stamina - After a long and ardous hunt sometimes it is neccessary for a Skaal to traverse many miles to reach their camp. In that situation this spell is cast to exchange some of Farsten's natural Magicka reserve for muscular energy to help him make the journey.
  
• Detect Animal - Sometimes even the training of the Skaal fails in finding a prey, or the animal has disguised itself in its natural habitat. In this situation, Farsten uses this spell to help narrow his prey down. He especially uses this while fishing, as it allows him moments to see his prey before it comes towards him.
  
• Clairvoyance - An unusual spell amongst the none-Shaman Skaal, Farsten was taught this spell specifically from his childhood friend. It was found that Farsten had a natural aptitude for Clairvoyance, but it wasn't his calling to become a Shaman so he and his friend kept this a secret lest their secret liasons become public. He rarely uses this spell, unless he finds himself lost and without any method of using his Skaal training to return to his camp.
  

Training: Farsten has recieved training in all things Skaal, he knows his culture like the back of his hand. He was exceptionally well trained by the Chief Hunter of his village, learning how to not only read the lay of the land and use that to hunt for prey, but also fight Man and Riekling with the weapons of his choice and even unarmed.

Other Abilities: He knows a thing or two about spear fishing too and is quite knowledgable on the plantlife of his native home and what should be avoided.

Apparel: Farstan is often seen wearing his Skaal-style fur clothing. A thick, hooded, jacket made of animal furs and leathers is usually keeping his body warm while similarly thick pants stop his legs from freezing off. While this clothing is not as defensive as metal armour, the fact that it is reinforced with leather under the thick fur means that it can handle a few slashes from a tusk or blade. His feet are covered by thick and sturdy leather boots, the soles unbreaking even on the hardest rocks.

As well as this set of clothing, Farsten also carries around a thinner suit of clothes rolled up tightly in his backpack. A thin fur shirt, leather pants and Dunmer-crafted leather shoes. Not the most appealing clothing, but simple and comfortable.

Weaponry: Farsten carries a quite disproportionate amount of weaponry, mainly because most of it doubles up as survival tools. All of them are in the Old Nordic-style of the Skaal.

• Nordic Spear - Firstly, Farsten carries with him an Old Nordic-style Spear, the steel fashioned in the manner of the Skaal. The haft is strong wood reinforced with rings of steel and a steel base. One thing of note about this weapon is that the tip of the spear is lined with refined Stahlrim that gives it a deep ice blue and a constant sharpness, a rare gift from the Chief Hunter.
  
• Nordic Bow - Secondly, Far's weapon of choice is this steel-rimmed bow. The construction is sturdy and the strong string allows for a quick, accurate and far-ranging shot. The maws of two Dragons stick out from the front top and bottom curves.
  
• Nordic Sword - This finely engraved Old Nordic-style sword lies on Far's left hip. He keeps it sharp as it is his primary line of defense against Humanoid combatants. . . In this Era he doesn't know when he'll need to use it.
  
• Nordic Axe - A well-used Old Nordic-style axe hangs from his left hip, secured by easy-release leather straps. This axe can be used as a weapon, but Farsten prefers to use it chop firewood and dismember his kills.
  
• Nordic Arrows - Farsten maintains many of the original Old Nordic-style arrows of the Skaal, should some break he will try his hardest to fix them himself and if that fails, take them to a fletcher to have them fixed or repurposed. He keeps his quiver firmly tied to his back at almost all times.
  

Other Equipment: Always on his person or at his camp is a heavy, wide, backpack that contains all of Farsten's worldly good. It has several hooks to hold items like his sleeping roll, water stein and small game or fish that he manages to catch. Farsten keeps the essentials of wildlife survivals in his backpack, namely everything he can't reproduce from what the All-Maker has bestowed upon the land. A thick fur bed roll is tied to the top of his backpack, something he regularly uses. He carries a water stein with him on his backpack, rarely ever does he allow it to empty.

Companions: Farsten has no companions. Not even a Horse.



Affiliation: The Skaal. Believers of the All-Maker.

Religious Belief: Skaal religion of the All-Maker.

Sexual Preference: Heterosexual.

Relationship Status: None to speak of.

Personality: Farsten can be a man of few words, a Skaal in culture and personality. He kills only when needed, when hunger strikes him or Septims must be earned. Before he went alone into the wilderness, Farsten was a friendly chap. He would laugh, joke and love. His life revolved around his tribe and the All-Maker, every step a step in the direction of balance. Now, although he maintains his reverance of the All-Maker and his creations, Farsten has collapsed inwards into his lonliness. He keeps himself to himself, finding that others often cause unnecessary hassle and pain. He longs for his quiet days in the wilderness of Solstheim, when he had his huntsmen at his back and a strong beast ahead. He tries hard to replicate this world in Skyrim, spending little time in the busom of civilization and more time in the embrace of the wilds.

He is quite fond of cheese, however.



Far on the Western shore of Solstheim lies a rarely visited Skaal village nestled into mountainous woodlands overlooking a natural cove and the waterfall that falls into it. This village has only the name granted to it by the Dunmer of Raven Rock, Dragon Falls. The name is a new one, due to the relatively recent discovery of the Skaal village, and it comes from not only the beautiful waterfalls of the area but the massive skeleton of a Dragon killed upon it during the Dragon Crisis.

The Dragon was struck down by a Dragonborn, which one is unknown to all but two of the Skaal. The Elder Shaman knows, for he bore witness to the climactic duel between the warrior and the fiersome beast. As did Farsten. When the beast fell and its flesh shed away, the Dragonborn departed yet the scar they had caused upon the land remained. The fight had destroyed a large portion of the surrounding forests, burning the trees and scareing the game away. All that remained was a black scar leading to the bones of the great beast. The Skaal would remember this day as Dragon Fall.

Twenty years before that day had been born a boy known as Farsten. His parentage was unimportant in his future, being the son of a Goat Keeper and a Hunter. He was chosen by the Chief Hunter from the very early age of five to be another Hunter for the village, as one other had recently fallen to a Werebear attack. With that he was handed over to the Chief Hunter for training on a daily basis, being taken out into the wilds and taught how to track, what plants were good for use and how to survive in the wilderness. He took quite well to this training, knowing that this was his lot in life as the All-Maker had determined it. Also he would be serving his family and village in the best of ways, providing them with meat for food and fur for clothing and warmth. He grew up to take pride in his training and his future as a Hunter.

At the age of eight he grew close to another child of the village, the young daughter of the Elder Shaman, Raeka. She was going through training from an early age as excessive as his own and she was destined to become the next Elder Shaman, her training had kept her close to the Elder Shaman and out of public eyes for all this time, the time she spent outside was normally short. This time was different, however, she had stopped to talk to Farsten and they had quickly fallen into childish conversations. Farsten was immediately enraptured at the stories she told him of her training and likewise so was she of his. Afterall, he had killed a deer on his own just mere months before and she hadn't even killed a rabbit. They quickly became friends, as there were few other children in the village and it had been nice for them both to talk to someone their own age.

At least once a week the two would meet and tell each other stories or invent games to play amongst the trees. The two would also teach each other skills they had learnt. Farsten would instruct Raeka in the hunt, in how to remain stealthy even in the ferns that grow beneath trees. Raeka gave Farsten knowledge of Magicka and the native plants and their natural properties. The two further cemented over the years, meeting together more frequently and for longer periods of time, until the two reached the age of Fourteen. Eventually it became clear to the Elder Shaman, who had up until this time allowed the two to remain 'secretly' friends, that the time Raeka was spending with Farsten was beginning to affect her learning and her work to care for the tribe and the land. He put an official stop to the two seeing each other.

The two agreed, they respected their Elder enough to listen to his wishes and in Raeka's case it would mean disobeying her father. Months passed and Farsten continued on with his training but every day he missed Raeka, more than he had expected. Seeing her in the village was killing him. By the time he reached Fifteen he simply couldn't take it anymore, he creeped from his hut into the village proper, using his skills in stealth to bypass the lone Hunter on guard and creep upto the Elder Shaman's hut. He managed to wake up Raeka and the two escaped out into the woods. They talked for hours, it had been almost a year since they had said anything but a hello to each other. Eventually, as all good things, it had to come to an end. The two parted but these secret rendezvous continued for the next five years, each bringing them closer and closer to each other.

Then came Dragon Fall. The first Dragon seen by the Skaal of Farsten's village proved to almost be the undoing of the tribe. It descended in the night, a flurry of teeth, claws, wings and fire. It landed amidst the huts and immediately lit several on fire. The lone Hunter on guard wasn't prepared for the beast, his arrows struck true but the scales seemed to deflect the majority. The Hunter died that night, torn in half by the Dragon when he gathered its attention. The other Hunters amassed and faired little better, arrows sunk but did little damage, axes cut into the beasts' legs and wings but the Skaal that delivered the blow was killed or incapacitated. The Shamen came out, casting spells that used the frost of the land to strike at the beast, yet even they only managed to slow it. All hope was seemingly lost and Farsten, caught amidst the firestorm of the burning huts and the surrounding woodlands, saw his world come crashing down. His own home collapsed into a heap of timber, the All-Maker had taken his parents and his home. When the Dragon threatened Raeka, whom he had grown incredibly fond of, Farsten snatched away the young woman and ran for the hills. The Dragon took offense to the stealing of his prey and attempted to chase the two. The Skaal chased the Dragon, but many fell victim to the Beast even in the woods, as it turned around and despatched the gnats behind it.

The chase ended at the Falls. Raeka and Farsten turned to see the beast bareing upon them and they readied themselves to fight or die. Farsten, armed with bow, axe and spear, took to fighting the beast with all the viciousness of a Frost Troll. Arrows hit the Dragon in the face, his spear sunk deep into the creatures neck. Yet it did not fall. Then came the Dragonborn clambering onto the beasts back, fighting back its teeth and holding strong as it snatched and clawed and writhed. An axe to the back of the beast's skull saw the Dragon drop dead, but as it dropped so did Raeka and Farsten. Amidst the Dragon's death throes the two had been sent tumbling over the falls. The river was cold, the ice was hard. Farsten found Raeka in the currents and pulled her assure. He flopped backwards onto the pebbles, surprised he still yet breathed. Yet Raeka didn't stir. Farsten tried all he could, but the young woman wouldn't move. He held her still form for hours, weeping and hopeing she would awaken, until the cold drove him home. He carried her body up the cliffs, back to her grieving father.

Years passed and Farsten became more and more introverted. He found himself disliking the life that had been granted to him by the All-Maker. The tribe had suffered greatly during Dragon Fall and their numbers had been severely reduced. The woodlands around the forest were barely recovering from the Dragon's fire and eventually. The Hunters had to travel further afield each time, which required them to work in pairs to return the game. One of these trips, Farsten and a young Hunter by the name of Garlyn went out in search of Elk. They found the herd quite quickly, but the chase led them for a number of days across the forests of Solstheim. Young Garlyn could barely keep up with the chase, the slow pace he was traveling at meant the Elk were slowly slipping ahead of the pair. Farsten understood the dire necessity to bring back the Elk for the village and in his single-minded determination, sent Garlyn home and continued the chase alone. Farsten returned to the village three days later, an Elk trailing behind him. Garlyn never returned.

The village Chief was furious about the loss of another Hunter and the insistency on the Chief Hunter's part that this was merely an accident were ignored. Farsten had become a danger to the Skaal, he had become uncommunicative, he had a lack of love for Life and this recent display had cost them a promising young Hunter. Farsten, aged 23, was exiled, sent with his only belongings to the town of Raven Rock. From there, Skyrim. Farsten no longer wished to live in a place with so many harsh memories and without even a tribe to call home. He would spend the next five years traveling Skyrim, keeping to himself and occasionally trading what he hunted for thing he couldn't provide on his own.

Of all the things he has lost in life, he dearly misses Raeka.

She too, misses him.