Lore:Ghostsong Clan

Clan Matron Nathari circa 2E 582

The Ghostsong Clan was a Reachmen organization that inhabited the Reach and were named after their interactions with the deity that they interacted the most, Namira the Spirit Queen, who often spoke to them and offered the clan dark and powerful secrets. Their ranks were made out of mostly witches, warriors and even werewolves.

History

Ancient Past

In ancient times, the first Ghostsong Clan matron was led by the Spirit Queen to a location in the modern Lost Valley Redoubt where they built a ritual site and where she made a bargain with Namira, with the site becoming known at some point as the Dark Descent and at some point they prepared doors that could only be opened by the spells of a Ghostsong witch. For generations they have also discussed about the nature of the Dark Heart with some believing that its prophecy was symbolic while others believed that the prophecy was to be taken literally. At some point, foremothers of the clan believed the Spirit Queen granted them power in exchange for souls they sent to her realm, with them practicing several sacrifices inside Dark Descent in order to acquire such power.

Second Era

Arana, former Clan Matron

Bradan, leader of the Ghostsong Clan survivors

Eventually the matron Arana wanted to forge new traditions for the clan instead of remaining with the dark ones. As the darker days for the Reach in the Second Era approached, however, Arana's younger sister Nathari promised Namira's blessing to the Ghostsong if they followed the old ways, with Arana leaving the clan not too long afterwards, although at least one member claims she was banished.

Prior to 2E 582, some of the Clan were already working with the Gray Host in order to take part in a dark prophecy. By that year they were considered a reclusive clan that inhabited the wilds of the eastern Reach and were known for their powerful witches and loyal werewolves, holding special care for the Daedric Prince Namira who they considered a spirit of the natural world.

As the Gray Host moved its operations to the Reach, they became allied with the Ghostsong Clan who had similar interests as they wanted to complete the prophecy of the Dark Heart which claims the Heart would devour everyone but faithful of Namira. Their hunters were even gathered by matron Nathari who wished to sacrifice them to the object in order to complete the prophecy and awaken the Dark Heart.

Eventually, that plan came to pass as several members of the Clan were sacrificed while others allied with Nathari were killed by the Vestige and Arana who had been investigating and combating the Host for some time and sought to stop the prophecy from being completed, despite their efforts the energy of the sacrifices was still able to stir the Heart. According to Count Verandis Ravenwatch, the souls were enough to prime the heart and opened a path between Nirn and the Void.

After the defeat of the Gray Host, the survivors of the clan asked the werewolf Bradan to become the chieftain of the clan, however, he himself thought that it was better to start a new clan with a new name in order to leave the old traditions behind, with names of those possible future clans being Longfangs or Wolfrunners, but it is unknown if he went ahead with those plans.

Meanwhile, other survivors of the Ghostsong, now considered part of a rogue clan by Markarth, remained with their dark tendencies and the Stonehands, another Reachfolk organization that dealt with several threats in the Reach, recruited the help of the Vestige and others to deal with this new risk. Under the leadership of Witch-Lord Kegairn and the formidable Voidmother Elgroalif, a group of rogues engaged in forbidden practices and conducted sinister rituals at Four Skull Lookout. These individuals were suspected of harnessing Namira's power for malicious purposes, potentially leading to catastrophic consequences for the Reach. Disturbingly, they resorted to abducting innocent Reachmen with the intention of sacrificing them as part of their dark rituals.

Another effect of those rituals done by the rogues was that it opened ruptures in the natural world that were considered pockets of unstable forces, with the Stonehands offering an outsider a charm that was capable of closing the rifts. One of the crones of this section of the clan wrote down notes which detailed the ritual, something unusual as the Reachmen rarely are able to read or write and the crone was even compared to a "Nord heretic" for doing so. Ultimately, the Vestige was able to deal with this group of the clan, freeing their captives, closing the ruptures and taking the ritual notes to the Stonehands so that they could destroy them.

Gallery

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  A Ghostsong Witch

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  A Ghostsong Void-Blade

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  A Ghostsong Skirmisher

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  The Ghostsong Clan during a Void ritual

See Also

• For game-specific information, see the Elder Scrolls Online article.