Why would he go to Skyrim, the Nord homeland, to enact revenge on Dunmer?
O_o

Or is there some slave operation there that's worse than what we saw in Morrowind?

My character, Helmdreke, is a young Nord from southern Skyrim. He has short black hair and a black goatee. In battle, he prefers two blades but, when the opportunity comes, likes to also use his bow and scare enemies from a distance. Judging from that, he's a bit cynical and self-centered at times. Being a Nord, however, he shares a great respect for those who live in his homeland, even if they are of different races. Because of this attitude, he isn't exactly your average Nord and, consequently, he gets a lot of "slack" from his Nordic brothers. There are other reasons for those who share his warm blood to scrutinize him, and this is explained below.

Helmdreke is the great-grandson of Cedric, a Nord gladiator who was, at the time of his success, a revered warrior in the Imperial Arena. No man or beast could slay Cedric due to his immense strength and dexterity. It was said that he spawned out of the very pits of High Hrothgar from the remnants of a great bear...a Nord tale, no less. While fictionalized in public, he was indeed a brilliant fighter, feared by his foes and respected by his friends. All this changed when an unnamed warrior stepped into the Arena. The warrior, dubbed the "Hero of Kvatch", battled Cedric for what seemed to be hours on end until the Nord finally fell. With his blade on his throat, the Hero could have slain the Nord right then and there. And yet, amiably, the Hero defied Arena rules and spared Cedric to fight another day. Legend has it that the Hero responded: "There will come a time when ye must do the same for I". By defeating the Nord, the Hero was able to continue his dominance in the Arena while Cedric himself, much later, watched from the stands as the lone warrior slew Agronak gro-Malog. He recounted the fight, supposedly, as the "greatest battle he had ever seen". When Mehrunes Dagon attacked the Imperial City, Cedric was on the front line defending Martin and the Hero and giving them safe passage through the Daedric hordes. As a result, he was also one of the first to die. It was, for the Hero of Kvatch, far more repayment than the Hero could return to his old comrade.

Records show that Cedric's grandson, Turic, was a Nord of comparably smaller stature but greater intelligence...and a tactician at heart. Because of his "cosmopolitan" personality, Turic married an Imperial woman who, according to her familial records, shared Imperial, Nordic, and, apparently, Breton blood. They settled into a humble village of Imperial sentiments in southwestern Skyrim where they birthed their only son: Helmdreke.

At the age of 18, Helmdreke came back from a hunting trip only to find his village burned to the ground along with its people murdered. A result of the civil war. Raiders, under the guise of Anti-Imperialistic agendas, plundered the once-peaceful village leaving no one, not even his mother and father, alive. On the run, Helmdreke grew as a folk tale in the local area...a boy without an immediate family or home to call back to. He questioned his own beliefs in the process: What side should I really be on? Am I not a Nord? Who am I?

The answer bit him cold by those who took his life away: Displaying the man as a "traitor to Skyrim and his fellow countrymen" and a "saboteur for the enemy", Helmdreke was found and imprisoned. His sentence: Death by execution.

Urge, Thanks for starting this topic.

Now that Skyrim has been officially announced, it's probably time to give my first character some thought.

For Oblivion, I wrote a rather detailed background story, that described why my character was in the starter dungeon.

For Skyrim, I would like to do something similar. Skyrim is Nord country, but because in my first very rough thoughts, my character will be a roleplayed as a shaman type, seeress, or witch type, and the magicks formerly attributed to the Bretons, in older TES games, would probably best suit her prospective role.

Perhaps she willl be a Nord with some Breton blood...still have to work that part out, as she does like to dance close to the fire. It is noted that Breton High Rock and Nord Skyrim are connected on the map.

This background creation process will be somewhat different, as now we will not have to consider assigning an actual class with it's associated benefits and restrictions.

Thanks again, Urge, for the thread, and inspiring a bit of creativity.

Hmm, let's see, she needs a name...

Runs away to draft original concepts of first Skyrim character.

edit: Made minor changes to reflect the fact that classes will not be part of the character's original creation.

Funny, I feel the same about you guys and the invasion of Morrowind.