The Great Mead Crisis of the First Era

Titus Armenis, Order of the Scroll, 4E 142

It is said that every Nord is born with a war-axe in one hand and a bottle of mead in the other. Mead is a staple of our northern cousins, who begin drinking the beverage at the young age of twelve. Another thing that Nords tend to enjoy is sport, particularly combat. In the early days of Nordic Skyrim, after the Snow Elves were toppled from power, a Jarl had a bright idea. Jarl Ulfgar Whiteaxe of Haafingar was constantly being plagued by a group of Snow Elves that had been pushed from the area, but did not disappear with the rest of their race. Whiteaxe made a proclamation, spread to every tavern, inn, and market in the hold: Every elf head that was brought to the castle would be worth a bottle of mead.

Nords, being simple and frugal, saw this as an opportunity to get mead for free. Soon, Whiteaxe was met with hundreds of heads, as even Nords from other holds began to join in. Although this offer was meant to exterminate the remaining Snow Elves, Elves were hunted indiscriminately. The bravest of these Nords even mounted expeditions to Dwarven cities to satisfy their desire for free mead by turning in the heads of their Dwemer inhabitants.

The Jarls from other holds began to follow suit, offering Mead for Elf heads. Although this did manage to decimate the elven population of Skyrim, it began to take a toll on the Mead supply. With so much of the Mead being given away for free, many of the breweries began to close their doors. This created a massive shortage of Mead across Skyrim, inciting outrage from all corners of the province.

The Great Mead crisis reached a head when, almost 40 years after Whiteaxe first offered his deal, Hulfrin Bloodarm, a warlord operating out of what is now Shor's Stone, attacked Jallenhiem in search of Mead for his army. Bloodarm's movement deposed the ruler of Jallenhiem, which was a protectorate of Eastmarch. The drunk, angry Nords of Jallenhiem rallied behind Bloodarm, who promised Mead in return for their services. Soon, the whole of Eastmarch fell to Bloodarm, who was proclaimed Jarl of Eastmarch, and laid claim to the High Kingship, citing his kinship to Ysgramor.

Ulfgar Whiteaxe's son, Regis, also had claims to the throne, as he was descended from Ysgramor as well. He launched an assault on Eastmarch. Many small skirmishes ensued, and Whiteaxe's armies were beaten back by the rabid, drunken supporters of Bloodarm. Seeing as there was no other choice, Whiteaxe hired an assassin by the name of Guljar.

Guljar snuck into the Palace of the Kings during a night of drunken revelry. Just as Bloodarm took a large drink of his Mead, Guljar's arrow pierced his throat, and blood and mead poured from the hole, and he collapsed to the ground. Being drunk, his soldiers and advisers didn't even notice Guljar sneak out of the castle again.

Without Bloodarm's leadership, his armies dissolved back into the normal, working class of Skyrim. Regis Whiteaxe was proclaimed High King, and thus, the Great Mead Crisis was over.

Edit: Made the wording more clear.