“Dunmer Freckles” & A Discussion of Other Races’ Beliefs About Various Particular Physical Traits

With special thanks to Nerevarine Getheven Still-Water-Sky for his instructive elaboration. —

Whilst travelling recently in Morrowind, I was engaged with making sketches of the locals when I chanced to remark upon the curiously charming appearance of a woman whose thunder-grey face was smattered generously with dark freckles. My companion, Getheven, was quick to correct me.

“Those aren’t freckles. They’re scorch marks. From when the Mountain spat embers into the faces of those who climbed the slopes and looked straight into the mouth of the volcano... and spat her embers right back at her! Those born with them are said to have a knack for succeeding when they pair their courage with foolhardiness.

“That’s why you don’t see too many of them,” Getheven adds, scoffing. “The damn fools really do get out of a few scrapes by the hair of their ears and decide it means they’ve got a free pass to bare their arses to the Gods with no consequences. So off they go to look for trouble -- fling themselves off cliffs or go dancing naked into a nest of Daedra, enact their darkest fantasies and abuse all codes of proper behavior -- and, wouldn’t you know it, the magic just doesn’t work when you are the orchestrator of your own demise.” He grins. “Makes for some damn funny stories, though. Damn weird ones, too. They say there are necromancers who collect… bits and pieces. Relics of freckled Mer who ended themselves in particularly spectacular fashion. Brag about the most legendary corpses in their collections, regale their brothers and sisters with the tales of how they came to be in possession of such parts, trade them for superior specimens and favourite figures, show off the priceless pieces in their collections, which most of them have had crafted into ornaments which they may wear openly only in each other’s company…”

I suspect Getheven’s account of necromancers may come more from hearsay than personal experience, but one never knows with him. I advise taking his description of relic-trading with a healthy grain of salt, but I also advise taking it as a rare example of Dunmer humor. I don’t know whether my companion’s amusement may have stemmed initially from the act of deceiving me with a tale I couldn’t tell was true or false, but soon were both laughing as we speculated on ever-more-absurd uses a Necromancer might find for various bodily parts of a dead freckled elf.

Out of respect for more sensitive readers, I shall repeat none of them here.

~. . .~

If the concept of “Darwin awards” existed in their world, Dunmer winners would undoubtedly be among the most... theatrically graphic. In my mind, that means shenanigans that end up looking like the climax of “Repo: The Genetic Opera.”

Now what? YOUR TURN! What sorts of beliefs about particular physical traits might other races have? What “old wives’ tales” did they tell about your characters?

…replying in narrative form because you have a chatty Main Character living in your brain is strictly optional. ;)