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Children of Kyne: Major Characters
Kyne
The Nordic goddess of the Storm, widow of Shor, the Blessed Warrior-Wife, and a favored god of warriors. She is one of the Hearth Gods, and is considered the chief deity of the Nordic pantheon. As the goddess of the Storm, she is strongly associated with wind and rain, and is thought to control both forces, even when they bring misery.
She is the guiding hand of the Windborne family and pushes them to achieve greater heights while loving and supporting them in any way that she can. Kirin was her initial champion, but that role was ultimately passed on to his daughter, Linneá.
Kirin Windborne, born 4E 177
Home province: Skyrim
Birthplace: Morthal
Race: Nord
Height: 6’ 2”
Hair: red
Eyes: blue
Birthsign: The Warrior
Class: Warrior
Favored weapon: longsword
Secondary weapon: bow
Kirin was raised mainly by his father, Kroval, in the small capital of Hjaalmarch. After his father’s passing, Kirin began working as a mercenary and ended up in Cyrodiil until he was 24 years old. It was at this time that Kyne chose him to be her champion, and ushered his return to Skyrim in the early months of 4E 201.
Shortly after his arrival in the Nordic homeland, Kirin was revealed as Dragonborn and played his instrumental part in the Dragon Crisis with his faithful Housecarl Lydia by his side. Lydia had been assigned to him by Jarl Balgruuf of Whiterun after the Battle of the Western Watchtower, and within the coming months their relationship as Thane and Housecarl became one of husband and wife. They were married soon after the World-Eater had been vanquished, and their daughter Linneá had already been conceived.
He disappeared under mysterious circumstances in 4E 203, and after a prolonged imprisonment in the Soul Cairn by unknown forces, Kirin was rescued in 4E 225 by his now grown-up daughter and her soon-to-be wife, Serana of Castle Volkihar. Rescued and reunited with his family after 21 years, his return ushered in the Moot and with it the Jarl’s of Skyrim’s desire to have a Dragonborn King once again.
He ascended the throne in 4E 226 with Lydia by his side as queen, and his daughters faithfully serving in his palatial court. Recognizing the threat still posed by the Aldmeri Dominion, Kirin had the Thalmor expelled from Skyrim, and soon began forging alliances with neighboring provinces. By the year 4E 229, Skyrim had signed defense pacts with Hammerfell, High Rock, Morrowind, and Orsinium. In that same year, it was revealed that he had a son, Cain of Anvil, who was also a Dragonborn, and, being born in 4E 199, heir to the throne of Skyrim. Kirin and Lydia’s tale is told in The Call of the Wind.
Lydia Windborne, born 4E 176
Home province: Skyrim
Birthplace: Whiterun
Race: Nord
Height: 5’ 9”
Hair: dark brown
Eyes: hazel
Birthsign: The Lady
Class: Warrior
Favored weapon: sword and shield
Secondary weapon: crossbow
Lydia is the daughter of an Imperial father and a Nord mother. Not much is known of her parents, and by the time Kirin is thrust into her life, she lived alone in Whiterun. Taking her duties with utmost seriousness, she served her new Thane rigidly until his uncommon kindness and demeanor chipped away at her stoic shell. Soon after joining the fabled Dragonborn on his perilous quest, their relationship became one of friendship over duty, and ultimately of lovers.
Following the birth of their daughter and the disappearance of Kirin, she raised Linneá with aid from Kyne, until the young woman ran away from home after years of their butting heads. Alone with only the goddess for companionship, Lydia did her best to pick up the broken pieces of her life. Years later, in 4E 223-224, she had grown restless and followed a lead on her missing husband that resulted in her capture and imprisonment by Miirak, the First Dragonborn, on the Isle of Solstheim.
She was held captive in Apocrypha until 4E 225 when Linneá and Serana tracked her down with the aid of Kyne and pulled her from Miraak’s grasp. She returned home with a determination to not let things between her and Linneá go back to the way they once were. Instead, she encouraged and supported her daughter any way that she could, and accepted her future daughter-in-law, Serana, with open arms. A couple of weeks later, she would finally be reunited with her husband after Linneá and Serana were able to free him from the Soul Cairn.
As Skyrim’s High Queen, she serves her people with compassion, and continues to support her family in any way that she can. When her husband’s bastard child, Cain of Anvil, was revealed to them in 4E 229, she accepted him with open arms befitting the matriarch she had become. Her and Kirin’s tale is told in The Call of the Wind.
Linneá Windborne, born 4E 202
Home province: Skyrim
Birthplace: Whiterun
Race: Nord
Height: 6’ 0”
Hair: black
Eyes: hazel
Birthsign: The Mage
Class: Spellsword
Favored weapon: illusion and destruction magic
Secondary weapon: tanto
The only child of Kirin and Lydia, she has an uncommon aptitude for magic and is equally skilled with a blade. Despite her father being the fabled Last Dragonborn, Linneá realized at a young age that she also possessed the dragon blood, but sought to suppress it over fear of its implications to her life. Headstrong and precocious, she often clashed with her mother during her formative years, and their constant disagreements over the way she wanted to live her life led her to run away from home and eventually join the Thieves Guild.
Under the guidance of the guild’s leader, Karliah, Linneá grew into a capable young woman with a strong personality, unwavering loyalty to those she loved, and an ever-burning desire to uncover what had happened to her missing father. In 4E 224, she felt the time was right to return home and begin the search anew, only to find that Kyne was alone, for Lydia had vanished as well. Her story begins in Seeking Solace.
It was during those events that she stumbled upon a long slumbering Daughter of Coldharbour in Dimhollow Crypt, and soon became a vampire herself in pursuit of answers along a path that flowed on into the darkness ahead. Soon after leaving the crypt with this mysterious woman, Serana, Linneá developed a fast friendship with the incredibly old vampire, and before long had fallen head-over-heels in love with her. Their journey continued to bring them closer together until Serana finally acknowledged her reciprocatory feelings for Linneá, and they began a courtship that ended with their being wed in 4E 225.
Together, the two hopelessly-in-love young women succeeded in stopping the threat Serana’s father, Lord Harkon, posed to the rest of Tamriel. They also went on to end Miraak’s return to Tamriel, and thwart Hermaeus Mora’s influence over the Dragonborn’s power that he coveted for himself, while also rescuing Linneá’s mother and father.
During this time, she finally accepted her role as a Dragonborn, and allowed her gift to rise up and burn the unwanted vampirism from her spirit. Flooded with newfound power, there are few alive in all of Tamriel that could match her strength and resolve.
She continues to faithfully aid her mother and father, the High King and Queen of Skyrim with her devoted wife, Serana. When her elder brother, Cain of Anvil, was brought into the fold, she was overjoyed at the prospect of having a sibling, and welcomed him with open arms and a palpable eagerness born of a deep love for this unexpected gift to her family.
At an unspecified time in the year 4E 229 Linneá and Serana would take a monumental step in adopting the orphaned Ayleid, Salihn, after they rescued her from a ruined village in Morrowind.
Serana Windborne, born ???
Home province: Skyrim
Birthplace: Haafingar
Race: Nord
Height: 5” 10”
Hair: black
Eyes: blue
Birthsign: The Mage
Class: Summoner
Favored weapon: Conjuration magic
Secondary weapon: tanto
An impossibly old Daughter of Coldharbour, Serana was born sometime in either the late Merethic or early First Era to Lord Harkon and Lady Valerica of Castle Volkihar, in Northern Skyrim. Under immense pressure from her parents who desired power, she willingly gave herself over the Molag Bal at the age of 22 and became a full-blooded vampire. The trauma caused by the ordeal led to a growing animosity towards her power-hungry parents that strained their relationship for many years. Even Valerica, whom Serana had always been close with, grew distant while she grappled with power from her husband Harkon.
Eventually, they both viewed their caught-in-the-middle daughter as nothing more than a pawn, and in a bid to prevent Harkon from fulfilling an insane prophecy that would shroud the world in darkness, Valerica hid Serana away in Dimhollow Crypt. Tucked away with an Elder Scroll against her will, Serana remained sealed off from the world for over 4,000 years, until Linneá Windborne freed her from her slumber.
Confused and disoriented by the new world she found herself in, Serana relied on her rescuer to guide her home. It didn’t take long for her to notice a growing infatuation on Linneá’s behalf, and as they grew closer over the coming months, Serana knew she’d found someone special. Before long they were madly in love, and together, they would put an end to Harkon’s machinations, and even track down Linneá’s missing parents.
Pledging herself to serve Kyne alongside Linneá and the other Windborne’s, Serana cured herself of vampirism in 4E 225 so that she could live a normal life with Linneá, and so that they could grow old together. Along with her wife, she adopted Salihn in 4E 229. Her tale begins in Seeking Solace.
Salihn, born 4E 224
Home province: Morrowind
Birthplace: unknown
Race: Ayleid
Height: N/A
Hair: light brown
Eyes: green
Birthsign: The Lady
Little is known of the young Ayleid. She was discovered by Cain and Anska in the ruins of her village following its destruction at the hands of the Thalmor. Salihn was taken back to the Blue Palace by Linneá and Anska, and left in the the care of Lydia and Sybille Stentor until she recovered enough to accept her new surroundings. Never forgetting who rescued her, Salihn quickly grew attached to Linneá and Serana, who officially adopted her in the following months. Her tale begins in Season Unending.
Cain Windborne, born 4E 200
Home province: Cyrodiil
Birthplace: Anvil
Race: Redguard
Height: 6’ 3”
Hair: dark brown
Eyes: brown
Birthsign: The Warrior
Class: Scout
Favored weapon: longsword
Secondary weapon: restoration magic
Born to Ariessa Janeel of Anvil, Cain was raised in western Cyrodiil without knowing who his father was. At his coming of age, he joined the Fighter’s Guild in Anvil and quietly honed his skills as a warrior, supporting his mother until her death in 4E 229.
Unknowingly guided by Kyne, the Windborne family’s divine matron, Cain departed from Cyrodiil some time after his mother succumbed to illness and was laid to rest on the Gold Coast. Accepting a strange offer from the Companions of Whiterun, he boarded a ship bound for Skyrim without hesitation, and soon found himself in a foreign land.
After settling in for a couple of weeks, Cain was sent on a contract to Stonehills where he met Anska, the woman he would one day be engaged to. Together with another Shield-Brother, Athis, they delved an ancient Nord tomb in search of a mysterious scroll, dispatched a Dragon Priest, and were attacked by an actual dragon after their return to the surface. With the beast slain, Cain was revealed as Dragonborn, and he regretfully parted ways with the beautiful Anska.
To his overwhelming surprise, Cain soon learned that his father was Kirin Windborne, the High King of Skyrim, and that he had a family whom he knew nothing about. He was taken to the Blue Palace in Solitude where he not only met this family, but was also reunited with Anska, who’s village had been burned down by the dragon they had slain. Together again and saddled with unforeseen complications to their lives, they vowed to remain by each other’s side and get through it all together. After learning of Kyne, and being granted a powerful boon of dragon knowledge by his new sister, Cain would bond with this new, powerful family.
Following an attack and the near death of Serana, Cain and Anska were dispatched to Morrowind on a quest that eventually strained their relationship with his new family, and led them all the way to the Imperial City. Along the way, they fell deeper and deeper in love, until the revelation that Anska was pregnant brought about their engagement.
They returned to Skyrim after finding the answers they sought, but during a subsequent attack on his home, Anska was slain in battle while defending Lydia and Salihn from the invaders. His fiancé and unborn child dead, Cain's spirit was broken and left Skyrim to wander alone.
Unwilling to let go of his past and the woman he loved, Cain sought through the forgotten art of time magic to undo Anska's death. He befriended a mysterious Breton woman named Gwyndala Louvain, who had a dark past of her own that would be revealed to him eventually. Together, they would nearly succeed in opening a portal to the past until last minute intervention from his family stopped them from sundering time itself.
He finally let go of his pain, and returned home three months later. Cain’s tale begins in Season Unending.
Anska of Stonehills, born 4E 199, died 4E 229
Home province: Skyrim
Birthplace: Stonehills
Race: Nord
Height: 6’ 1”
Hair: blonde
Eyes: brown
Birthsign: The Warrior
Class: Knight
Favored weapon: war axe
Secondary weapon: bow
The daughter of Freca and Astrid, Anska was orphaned at the age of 15 when her parents were killed in a house fire caused by a stray barrage of fire arrows from a nearby civil war skirmish. She survived on her own with the aid of the other townsfolk until the village was destroyed by a dragon in 4E 229. Anska was away on a quest at the time with Cain of Anvil, and Athis, both of whom were members of the Companions. They initially went their separate ways after slaying a dragon outside of High Gate ruins, whereupon Anska returned home to Stonehills only to find the ruins of her village.
During their short time together, Anska and Cain had planted the seeds of a deep courtship that would not be fulfilled until a few days after these events, when they were reunited at the Blue Palace in Solitude. Finding nothing but ruin, she was all alone, and utterly homeless until Sybille Stentor showed up to investigate the rumors of a dragon attack. Taken to Solitude, she was given a second chance at a relationship with Cain, now revealed to be the son of Skyrim's High King, Kirin Windborne, and a Dragonborn in his own right. She stayed firmly by his side while they supported each other steadfastly in their new situations.
A romance rekindled, she and Cain were later introduced to Kyne, and then sent to Morrowind following the attack on Linneá and Serana. Their journey led to Anska and Cain being on the run from his own family, and making their way to the Imperial City. Along the way, they discovered Anska was pregnant, and they quickly were engaged to be wed.
Eventually returning home, Anska gave her life in defense of Queen Lydia, and Salihn during an attack on the Blue Palace. She had one final moment with her beloved before passing on. Anska’s tale is told in Season Unending.
Gwyndala Louvain, born 4E 201
Home province: High Rock
Birthplace: Crosswych
Race: Breton
Height: 5’ 3”
Hair: ???
Eyes: olive/light blue (heterochromia)
Birthsign: The Atronach
Class: Mage
Favored weapon: corrupted destruction magic
Secondary weapon: mysticism magic
Gwyndala Louvain is a self-proclaimed witch who lives alone on the Glenumbra Moors of High Rock. On her own since the age of 16, she has a dark past full of trauma that has warped her use of magic to a gruesome end. Stepping in to save Cain at a critical moment in his life, they became close friends after he soon returned the favor by rescuing her from dangerous brigands.
Grateful for his kindness and compassion towards her, Gwyn assisted him in his endeavors to undo his late fiancé's death, even risking her own life just to see her friend regain some measure of happiness. He remains the only person Gwyn has ever opened up to about her tragic past, and this eventually led to her growing a romantic interest in the wayward Prince of Skyrim, despite his unwavering loyalty to Anska. Gwyn’s tale begins in Season Unending.
Children of Kyne: Secondary Characters
Anilay Cato, born 4E 175
Home province: Cyrodiil
Birthplace: Skingrad
Race: Imperial
Height: 5’ 8”
Hair: brown
Eyes: blue
Birthsign: The Lord
Class: Healer
Anilay is the High Chancellor of the Empire, and the right hand of the Emperor himself. A direct liaison to the Elder Council, he is a wise man who strives to serve the citizens of the empire to the best of his abilities, even while Titus Mede II grows ever fearful and paranoid in his old age.
Mara
The Goddess of Love, Fertility, Agriculture, and Compassion.
While not directly involved in the lives of the Windborne family, she has appeared a few times to guide or advise on the matter of love. She is a younger sister to Kyne, and they frequently visit one another to discuss matters of the heart.
Queen Penolore, ???
Home province: Summerset Isles
Birthplace: Rellenthil
Race: Altmer
Height: 6’ 4”
Hair: blonde
Eyes: blue
Birthsign: The Serpent
Class: Sorcerer
The ultimate leader of the Thalmor, she rules the Aldmeri Dominion with an iron fist. A usurper to the royal throne of Alinor, her rise to prominence ushered in the Great War and plunged Tamriel into chaos.
After many long years of peace following the White-Gold Concordat, Penolore knows that another war is inevitable. Her forces having already been expelled from Skyrim following the Dragonborn king's ascension to the throne, and she watches with increasing worry while the upstart barbarian forges new alliances and sets his sights on the Ruby Throne.
Sybille Stentor, born ??? - 4E 229
Home province: High Rock
Birthplace: ???
Race: Breton
Height: 5’ 5”
Hair: brown
Eyes: red
Birthsign: The Shadow
Class: Mage
Sybille Stentor served as Court Wizard for the most recent Jarls and High Kings of the Blue Palace in Solitude. A vampire of indeterminate age, she carried out her duties with care and efficiency for several rules, including Torygg, Jarl Elisif the Fair, and Kirin Windborne. She was slain during the attack on the Blue Palace in 4E 229.