The Forsworn Kingdom

Culture of the Reachmen

The Forsworn are the natives of the Reach, a mountainous land spanning from Eastern High Rock to Western Skyrim, they are often called Reachmen or in some cases Bretons. The Reachmen share a common ancestry with us, the Bretons, but before you call one of these primitives cousin take into account how vastly different our cultures are. The Reachmen fancy themselves as followers of “the Old Gods” which many scholars claim that they simply worship Daedric princes, which Daedric prince however is unknown. Unlike the more civilized Bretons in High Rock, they live in rather primitive villages, and encampments made of common materials, and sometimes they even live in caves, they wear simple clothing made of animal skins, and have a tribal system of governance. Like most Bretons the Reachmen were quite adept with magic, and even took their devotion to the art in rather fanatical ways. There have been accounts of female witches in the tribes willingly turning into Hagravens for power, and the men sometimes had their hearts torn out and replaced with a Briarheart so that they too may gain power.

But like all Bretons we share a common trait with these Reachmen in the way that we are all war-like. Though the Reachmen have never been part of any alliance of High Rock’s kingdoms, they have no problems in uniting in between tribes to fight a common foe. The Reachmen have been at war with their neighbours since time immemorial, though there have probably been times of peace between the Reachmen and the kingdoms that surround them that time is probably lost to us. Since High Rock has been part of the Empire, the Reachmen have often kept quiet and have seemingly assimilated with the rest of the populace, but all that changed when they saw the perfect opportunity to strike.

Kingdom of the Forsworn

Though the Reachmen have kept quiet for centuries, they found the perfect opportunity for independence during the Great War. The Great War required much of the Empire’s standing army to be recalled from the northern provinces, High Rock and Skyrim, to fight the Aldmeri Dominion’s advance. This left many of the provinces’ cities with little or no guard. The bandits at the time became more bold and so did the Reachmen. The natives of the Reach in Skyrim banded together and invaded the Hold Capital of Markarth, and declared independence. The city was captured in 4E 174 and they held the city for two years.

The reign of the Forsworn Kingdom was relatively a peaceful one. The local Nords were allowed to live, but the harsh landowners and slavers were tried and executed. This time saw the natives become a more centralized people, as their tribal governance was slowly turning to a monarchy with their King Madanach. Though his reign as a king would not last long, Madanach became a well-respected figure in the Reachmen society, as both a leader and a warlord. Not much is known of Madanach’s early life but it is likely that he was once a chieftain of a tribe, or even a rebellious worker from one of Markarth’s mines. The Forsworn Kingdom was already trying to make the Empire recognize its independence by signing a peace treaty, but the Nords had other plans.

From Kings to Bandits

In 4E 176 the son of the old Jarl of Markarth, and future Jarl, Igmund, bargained with another future Jarl, Ulfric Stormcloak. The bargain stated that Ulfric and his men would be allowed to worship Talos freely if they were to liberate Markarth from the Forsworn. Markarth was besieged for two days and Ulfric was said to have used the power of the Thu’um during the Siege. The controversial free worship of Talos was later heard of by the Aldmeri Dominion, and Ulfric became a criminal to the eyes of the Dominion.

The Kingdom of the Forsworn was all but destroyed, the remaining tribes went to the mountains creating encampments and lookouts all throughout the Reach in Skyrim. Their King Madanach has been imprisoned and sentenced to work for life in Markarth’s Cidhna Mine. After the Great War when the Empire’s Legions returned to Skyrim to enforce the peace, the Forsworn became quiet once more. Now the Province of Skyrim is torn by Civil War by Markarth’s very liberator Ulfric Stormcloak, the Empire has devoted more men to the frontlines and the Forsworn have become more and more bold each year. They have been known to perform terror attacks and even ambushing trading caravans in the Reach. It is ironic how the same man that drove the Forsworn out of Markarth, is indirectly the reason they are slowly getting back in.

What will result from the Forsworn’s struggle is anyone’s guess; they have spread fear throughout the citizens of the reach and shall not stop till they gain independence. History has shown that the Reachmen are persistent in achieving their goals and are unstoppable when united, such is a trait shared by all Bretons I suppose. I have no doubt that the Forsworn are capable of ruling and conquering a kingdom of their own, but what I am not sure of is if it will exist for long, or if it could suffer the same fate as Orsinium, and be destroyed by its neighbors who are fearful of its power.