Lore:Whale

A whale skeleton, used for the Whalebone Bridge in Sovngarde

Whales are gigantic aquatic creatures found in the Abecean Sea and in the Sea of Ghosts. They are known to eat razorfish. They have great swimming fins on their underside, and expel geysers of sea-mist through their blowhole. The ancient Nords revered the whale as a deity in their traditional animal worship.

Hunters

Whalers are known to operate in the Abecean Sea where they use hook-poles on the job. Whalebones are known to be carved into whistles by the Redguards of Stros M'Kai. Whale bones are also known to be made into toothpicks, and dice cups. Whale oil is known to be used to make belt buckle wax.

Sea Giants hunt whales that lurk below the ice in the Sea of Ghosts, they use harpoons made from wood and bone, but don't kill the whale with this harpoon, it is speculated that the Sea Giants' sturdy frame, enormous strength, and resistance to cold would make them adept at leaping into the frigid waters and wrestling with their quarry, with it being suspected that it would take half a dozen or more Giants to incapacitate an adult whale. It is unknown how the Sea Giants draw the whales from the depths of the icy waters. The Sea Giants utilize whales for their meat and their bones, with the bones known to be used for armor.

In ancient folk-lore, the Seamount Clan of Orcs were known to tame killer whales in the Abecean Sea and train them as war mounts. Riders would utilize harpoons and then use the whales' strength to pull down ships and steer them. These harpoons were later used as siege weapons that later built Stonetooth Fortress on the island of Betnikh.

Culture

Carved whale totem

Mural of Stuhn, with a whale being hunted at the top

Stuhn is represented through the whale in the totemic religion of the Ancient Nords. He is known as the "Whale God of Ransom." Some Nords perform a "rite of the Whale" before fishing. The legendary Whalebone Bridge of Sovngarde is made from the spine of a whale. Some sources link the Bridge to the snow-whales instead.

Nordic folklore tells of snow-whales over the skies of Skyrim and sand-whales over the deserts of Hammerfell and Elsweyr, seen only through the use of special concoctions. These snow-whales are described as living at the tops of the highest mountains, singing in magic tones, jumping from peak to cloud and back again, spreading their joy-snow in a horn-like triumph from their blowholes. The Nords used to hunt them, with their best climbers braving the rocks and ice-sheets, carrying rope and hooked spears. The snow-whales are described as having had much meat, and blubber, and fluids that made paint and rosewater. The Nords stopped hunting them however due to the joy-snow that the snow-whales emitted as it would reduce hunter's mental states into that of children. Some scholars believe flying whales are just a cultural metaphor for the transition from Nirn to Aetherius.

Whalefall island derives its name from the multitude of whale bones scattered across its landscape. Some of the Reachfolk decorations are made of the whale bones.

Gallery

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  Whale stone

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  Whalebone bridge concept art

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  Reachfolk decor, including whale bones

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  Whalefall

See Also

Books

• Sea Giant Predation by Varcent Eardrey — A discussion about the hunting techniques of Sea Giants
• Of Fjori and Holgeir — A tale of two star-crossed lovers in Skyrim
• The Snow Whale and the Dirtbird — A Nordic tale of an unlikely kinship

References

Note: The following references are considered to be unofficial sources. They are included to round off this article and may not be authoritative or conclusive.