Sketching Out Some Dunmer Funerary Outfits, With Bonus Headcanons About Funerary Traditions Below The

Sketching out some Dunmer funerary outfits, with bonus headcanons about funerary traditions below the cut. and personal insight with these characters' outfits and their interpretations of traditions.

ID in ALT, RB to Support an Artist :)

So lots of these initial headcanons are drawn from others on tesblr, I'll have links to the source if I can find the post. My own additions to the HCs are italicized until we get to funerary bits which are of my own thoughts from my special interest in after death care practices :)

(I can't remember who posted this HC but I love it extensively) The mourning colors for dunmer are white and grey, for Ash. Usage of black in mourning was introduced primarily to house dunmer by human culture influences. Red is a common secondary color, but especially for Ashlanders to represent blood and fire, as they have been met with much bloodshed and pushed to almost inhospitable volcanic regions of Morrowind that has caused a lot of death among them.

There is This hc collection by @jiubilant that features hair cutting as a show of immense grief and mourning. It began in chimer/early dunmer culture. It has persisted with the velothi, while with house dunmer it has evolved simply to cutting off a single lock, or an inch or two in general. In both cultures, the hair is burned with the body.

And @kagrenacs has a lovely HC about veils made of spider silk being very common during mourning, to give the idea that their mind is with the deceased who had passed beyond the veil. I've combined that with my own headcanon that daedric spider silk is a beautiful, strong fabric with an almost organza like weight and sheerness, but does not take to dyes very much, so it's commonly used in its plain white form. Perfect for mourning veils and other accessories.

I have my own headcanons for funerary differences between House Dunmer and Ashlanders as well. Across the board, it is often expected that the closer you are to the deceased, the more serious you must take your clothing and presentation for the funeral. There are exceptions, of course, but not frequent. For a society so entwined with death, Funerals are a very serious affair steeped in tradition.

For a House Dunmer that is not of the wealthy variety, it remains a formal event, but clothing is left more lax in how much white you wear. In wealthier families, it is much more rigid. If you don't own a mostly white ensemble you are expected to purchase or make one. The traditional funeral service is often a single day affair, but a long one. It is also typically not handled by next of kin, but guided through by the local Temple. Much of the service and memorial happens after the deceased has already been cremated. It is typically a day of fasting as well, thought a grand meal is presented at the end of service for mourners to have a small serving, the rest is burned for the deceased.

For Ashlanders, it is jointly much more steeped in tradition yet also much less formal than their House counterparts. It is a multi day affair, typically, led by the next of kin (NoK) with assistance from the Wise Woman. The deceased is often carefully washed by NoK, and either dressed in their best clothes or wrapped in fabric. Plain scathecraw fabric is a common choice, but others may opt for imported linen or cotton, or even a nice silk. A small Wake is held if the NoK wants. This is typically where people will present offerings or gifts to be burned with the deceased. Hair trimmings, food, foliage, and on occasion, hand written notes are tucked with the body. This is an informal event, where the wearing of white is not required, but can be worn if desired. Food for mourners, music, and stories of the deceased are told to honor the life they lived.

The next day the deceased is cremated in a ceremony in the community center. It is a day where mourning is expected at it's peak, as is formality and tradition. Under the guidance of the Wise Woman, the NoK light the pyre. The Wise Woman leads the ceremony, primarily, saying prayers to Azura, Mephala, and Boethiah to guide them. If they are intending to be preserved as an ancestor ghost to be called upon, that ritual happens now as well. It is a day of fasting.

The next day is when the cremains are interred into the chosen resting place and is a very small gathering. NoK, close friends, Wise Woman, and sometimes Khans. They are allowed to dress informally, but most typically do not. Wearing some form of white is expected for a few months, unless one cut their hair short. The community typically cooks a large meal to be eaten upon the mourners return.

For personal explanations of these characters' clothes. They are both Ashlanders, at the cremation of their mother, who had a very untimely death. The girl on the left (my oc Nileyransi) is wearing very traditional clothing. It was her mother's. The veil and belt are both of Daedric spider silk. She wears more red than usual out of vanity than anything else. She worries all white will wash her out, with her white hair. She has cut hair hair a few inches to shoulder length as a show of mourning. Despite being the younger of the two, she has been leading ceremonies.

The one on the left (Massara) is wearing an outfit so untraditional with black and red being it's primary colors it would almost be disrespectful, if not for that fact that their mother made it. The skirt on the belt is of spider silk, and the jacket is traditional. They have cut their hair very short as a sign of intense grieving. The jewelry is of their own choice, as there's not much regulation on that.

I know that nobody asked, but here's some Telvanni lore for all the foodies.

Before you begin this culinary journey, check out this post about ash yams it's essential.

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Telvanni Cuisine

It’s obvious that Telvanni have an extensive knowledge of fungi.  After all, they live in huge mushrooms and collect and plant numerous species from all across the Tamriel to use them in their potions. It goes without saying that their cuisine is also quite fungal. The commonfolk at Telvanni settlements as most of the Dunmer source their protein both from fungi* and insect meat. But Telvanni nobles love nurturing peculiar worldviews and traditions that differentiate them from other races - or even other Dunmer. One of them is their distaste for anything that doesn’t grow in soil. They frown upon hunter traditions of Ashlanders and stock-raising of house Redoran and regard them as “primitive” in contrast to the delicate art of growing fungi. The alchemy ingredients are an obvious exception from this rule, but in general as their occupations don’t usually include menial work, their light and low-calorie cuisine perfectly matches their lifestyle. This resulted in traditional cuisine of the nobility being solely plant-, or more specifically, mushroom-based**, that contrasts sharply with the cuisine of Skyrim that is rich in venison and other animal-based foods***. Noble Telvanni shun debilitating ingredients such as alcohol and moon sugar in their everyday cuisine, as keeping their minds sharp is their main priority. In order to get an indulgent sweet taste marshmerrow is used instead. Telvanni rarely import vast quantities of vegetables from other provinces as house Hlaalu does. They use commonly grown foods like saltrice, ash yams or mushrooms as the base ingredients of the dishes. In some aspects they prefer to stick to the Dunmer traditions. The nobles, though, indulge themselves in expensive imported berries - not only because of their magic-enhancing abilities but also because of their extravagant taste. As the Telvanni ranks feature numerous alchemists the import of alchemical ingredients is obviously very common. Telvanni chefs gradually incorporated some of the exotic spices into traditional cuisine. Especially valued are the most characterful of them that fancy up the bland taste of mushrooms, such as juniper, ginseng or garlic****. * In real life mushrooms are a rather poor source of protein compared to legumes like beans and lentil. But since there are no legumes in TES universe (at least as far as I know) let's suppose there are some protein-rich mushrooms Telvanni can plant. ** It’s also worth mentioning that I’m a Telvanni-fixated vegan ass myself so that’s a more probable reason why I made my beloved house also vegan xD *** A lovely example of that contrast you can encounter in @thana-topsy ‘s fanfic “Breathing Water”. This would nicely explain Neloth’s preference for apple cabbage stew. **** This recipe for example resembles Telvanni cuisine, it was one of the inspirations from my imaginary dishes above.

Above I’ve come up with some examples of what noble Telvanni would eat on a daily basis.

Thanks for reading that and take care :3

When I escaped the dragon and safely arrived to Riverwood Faendal was the first living being to greet me (well, except the chicken of course xD). He stood there, basking in the sunlight, waiting with his quest. In the distance loomed a vision of our forthcoming adventure in Bleak Falls Barrow.

Khajro being given a moon amulet by his mum. So that he can always remember his home and the warm sands.

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Why so few arts of this adorable khajiit follower?

Hi, if you want a good fanfic with the greatest sexymen of Solstheim (Teldryn and Neloth ofc) do check out "Breathing Water" by @thana-topsy

I fell for this writing, every character's personality is pinpointed and the plot and descriptions are immersively realistic <3

For the requests: Ra'qanar from Oblivion?

"Ra'qanar is just a poor catboy maid, don't hurt poor Ra'qanar"