So I was wondering if anyone knows what the Briarhearts are. Are they undead? What the heck are they? I see that it looks like their regular hearts were taken out and replaced with the briar heart, as you can see it on their chests. And I saw a couple hagravens near a word wall seeming to resurrect/create a briar heart with some ritual. Anyone know anything else about these guys? I know about the Forsworn, that they are natives of The Reach, descended from Breton blood, beaten into submission by the Nords, etc. I just want to know if anyone knows anything about the Briarhearts specifically.

Yeah, I came across that Hagraven ritual. For some reason that Briarheart is in a league of his own though. I killed two or three of them on my way up with ease, but the resurrected one kept killing me in one hit. I had to end up killing the Hags before they could complete the ritual.

As for the Briarhearts, it seems to be some sort of necromancy. Makes me think of Lorkhan, actually. Like the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilosella_aurantiaca, only instead of pulling the devil right up out of the ground when you pick them you pull up Sheor.

Yea, I'm really interested in the Lorkhan connection there. I've not come across the ritual myself yet, so I'd love to hear details.

The easiest way to take out a briarheart is to sneak up and pickpocket the heart. Dies instantly.

If you then tied the briarheart to an ebony arrow and launched it into the sky via ebony bow, would it form a tiny volcano on striking the earth?

I'm just glad we finally have some kind of indication as to what the heck Reach Magic is. The whole undead Shezarrine thing is pretty awesome.

And then there's Hagravens. I'd love to know how that works (and if there's any connection to the witches in Bloodmoon becoming regular ravens).

It kinda annoys me that the obvious Lorkhan referencing enemy type comes from the Bretons, who call Sheor the "bad man" (or something like that). I get that the forsworn aren't normal Bretons... but couldn't they have just made the Forsworn a group of primitive Nords instead? I think the only change needed would be a few altered loading screens and maybe a few lines of dialog.

You have a strange sense of easy... I just magically stunlock everything with free chain lightning

To cast some extra murkiness on everything, I literally just heard a Breton swear "By Sheor!" in the exact same way that a Nord would swear "By Shor!"

So there's a chance that not all Bretons dislike him. They are men, at least in part.

Perhaps the Forsworn are the Skaal of the Bretons.

I'd say that they are definitely not your 'typical' Breton. The Reachmen were distinct back in the PGE1, only thing that unites them to Bretons is territory and some vague genetic inheritance way back when.

It may be that the Bretons aren't monolithic in that respect. I imagine that Sheor-hate is stronger the closer you get to Direnni territory and influence.

Yeah, I bet the Bretons have just as many splinter groups as the other races we've seen in depth so far, like the Dunmer and Nords. Would be interesting if we could explore the relationship between the Bretons and the Forsworn a little more closely. How do the Bretons of High Rock feel about the Forsworn and their plight? Sympathetic? Indifferent? Even antagonistic, like in a "we don't want to be associated with them" sort of way?

Could it be tied to Shadow Magic?

Or is it just a further twisting of natural elements that they've got going on. Since the Hagravens have got the twisted-Kynareth's Spriggans theme going on, do you think it's some twisted-mantling of Sh(e)or to make them slightly more kill-proof? If so, then what do they do with their old hearts?

The castle cook in Markarth is a High Rock Breton and he has no love for the Reachmen.

It can't really be a nature thing, as if anything they "hate" nature...or at least they associate with hagravens who the loading screen attests go on spriggan killing sprees out of nature loathe...well, that and all the mutilated animals throughout their homes.

I really wanted to see some more background on what the heck they believe ("The Old Ways") in the game, but maybe I missed some obscure book or conversation.

Twisted maybe wasn't quite the right word. Anti-nature is better, but it evokes civilization, nature's opposite. Anti-nature would be something that is like nature but the two would oppose each other and attempt to destroy the other when put together.

Closest thing that comes to mind to explain the Briar Hearts:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36lSzUMBJnc

That aside, the heart of Lorkhan is said to be his essence. They are replacing it with hedge wizardry (quite literately). Not sure where that derives it from though. It's not standard Imperial magic.

It could be similar to Lichdom, i.e. storing your own soul in an object when you die, then using that object to resurrect your body. Only more ritualistic and barbaric.

So, they remove the heart. make it into a briar heart and then upon the death of one warrior they place the heart back in? Making him stronger then before?

Sounds cool, if I got it right. Personally I just think they are replacing the human heart with something else.

I'm guessing some kind of sympathetic or metaphorical magic to do with the the land, wildness, thorniness, etc., which the Forsworn seem to be big on- literally replacing one's heart with the cruel fruit of the Reach. There's definately Shor symbolism with the hearts and so forth, but perhaps we shouldn't read too much into it. It could even be an anti-Lorkhan thing (replacing the Doom Drum with dead et'ada?), though I doubt the Forsworn are interested in theological niceties.

It's entirely likely that the reason the Bretons called Sheor "Bad Man" in the first place is because of their intermingling with and admiration for the earlier forms of elves. They probably picked up the whole "Aedra - Good, Lorkhan/Sheor - EEEEEVIL" thing from them. Shor, after all, was seen as a good guy by the early Nords, even if only through sheer spite for merrish religious tradition.

The shift of the Reachmen towards almost entirely daedric and shamanistic religious practices, abandoning that aedric religious grounding, may well have similarly recolored their views of Sheor.

The entire notion of what the Reachmen are is wrapped up with, basically, witchcraft in the form of the Hagravens.

Honestly, I'd like to see more written about them, since I find their barbarianism, and goat-head-impaling mysticism far more interesting than any of the Nordic stuff, plus I think their weapons and armors make my character look like a bat**** insane wildman of the woods or druidic witch. The fact that nobody comments on my wearing a goat skull on my head into their shop somewhat disappoints me, though.

I'm not positive if it was a bug (it came up in a bug thread), but I'm pretty sure whenever I take the heart from a Briarheart they go from being muscular to skinny.
EDIT: It's not a bug, they have a seperate mesh with the heart and without.

Then what is the Imperial equivalent?

God, I love The Forsworn. Easily the greatest bit of lore in Skyrim.

That said, I have yet to read anything about the briar-hearts themselves and how the ritual is performed etc.

Well, the Imperials are divided culturally. Colovians and Nibeneans. West and East.
Oblivion did not do a good job showing us these cultural differences.
http://www.imperial-library.info/content/pocket-guide-empire-first-edition-cyrodiil

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:The_Legend_of_Red_Eagle