Online:Nord Hero

The Nord hero

The Nord Hero is a warrior featured in promotional material for ESO, namely the cinematic trailers. Several figurines were manufactured in his likeness, including a Funko Pop and a detailed statue from Gaming Heads. The Nord hero has also been made into a Call to Arms model. His armor is available as a costume in-game.

He first appears in The Alliances as a member of the Ebonheart Pact, leading a group of warriors against undead werewolves underground before emerging in the middle of a battle between the Aldmeri Dominion and Daggerfall Covenant. He proceeds to fight the High Elf and Breton heroes to a standstill before a Dark Anchor falls in The Arrival, and they are forced to work together. The Nord hero takes on the Daedric forces' flesh colossus, carrying with it a gaggle of scamps which prove to be a nuisance. Eventually, the High Elf hero breaks one of the Dark Anchor's chains, causing it to implode. One of the broken chains snags on a bridge, which causes the fort to collapse. The Nord hero takes cover, later digging himself out from the rubble and recovering the unconscious Altmer mage at the end of the trailer.

The Nord hero without his helmet

In The Siege, the Nord hero is accompanying Ebonheart Pact forces as they prepare to lay siege to the Imperial City, now inhabited by Molag Bal's Daedra. The fight has already started outside the city's walls, and the Daedra are flinging scamps onto the battlefield with trebuchets. The High Elf mage is in chains: one of the Pact's Nord wizards drew out her magic in force to crumble a section of the city's exterior walls, allowing the soldiers access to the city proper. The Nord hero takes a small force to climb the White-Gold Tower, being hit by a few arrows on the approach to the throne room. His companions are picked off, and he meets the archer near the entrance to the throne room: the undead Breton hero, who was killed and promptly resurrected by the Xivkyn in the last trailer.

Their battle begins in The Confrontation. The Breton rogue is a formidable opponent even in undeath, but the Nord warrior's brute strength and ability to power through multiple puncture wounds enable him to come out on top. He leaves the Breton hero to die his second death, passing through the heavy doors to the find Mannimarco upon the Ruby Throne. The Nord hero removes his helmet and approaches, axe in hand. Mannimarco channels a spell, invoking his Daedric patron as the doors to the throne room slam shut. The viewer is left to speculate at what occurs next, but the Nord hero is ultimately seen in Coldharbour at the end of the trailer. The Nord hero reappears at the end of the E3 2019 cinematic trailer for Elsweyr, looking over the Western Holds of Skyrim in a few seconds-long teaser for the Dark Heart of Skyrim storyline.

The Nord hero and Lyris Titanborn investigate the site of a harrowstorm

In the Dark Heart of Skyrim Announcement Cinematic, the Nord hero travels with a group of armored soldiers: among them is Lyris Titanborn. They find themselves in a village ravaged by a harrowstorm: corpses are strewn about, a gray reliquary lies empty, and a few expended stone husks sit before an Icereach witch's ritual circle. As Lyris moves to examine one of the husks, a shadow moves in the mist, picking off the nameless soldiers one by one. After being hit, the Nord hero closes his eyes and focuses, hitting the one of the invisible assailants when next it strikes and giving Lyris the chance to stomp it into the ground. The pair strike two of the vampires down before a third reveals itself, hissing and disappearing in a swarm of bats.

The Dark Heart of Skyrim Launch Cinematic begins with Lyris Titanborn and the Nord hero throwing a torch into a chasm to see how deep it is before climbing down with a small contingent of soldiers. They find themselves in Blackreach, just outside Greymoor Keep. A nearby door opens into the Stone Husk Gallery, where at first, the soldiers are merely unnerved by the occasional blue glow emanating from the structures. Their caution is justified when famished werewolves begin emerging from the stone husks. Lyris and the nameless Nord hero fight them off as the soldiers push the door at the far end of the room open. After some struggle, the door yields and the two rush in, barricading it with Lyris' axe to keep the canine horde off them. They look ahead to see the last of the soldiers being suffocated by a vampire lord down the hall. More Gray Host vampires creep out from the shadows, and the Ashen Lord awakens the rest of the stone husks in the gallery behind him before engaging the protagonists.

The Nord hero battles the Ascendant Lord in the High Isle launch cinematic

Having survived that ordeal, the Nord hero rejoins the High Elf and (surprisingly less undead) Breton heroes in the Systres archipelago during the Legacy of the Bretons Cinematic Announcement Trailer. As the other two attempt to sneak into a political meeting, the Nord hero busts the door open with his face. The Ascendant Lord greets them at the table, the diplomats having already been assassinated in their chairs. The story continues in the High Isle Launch Cinematic, wherein the three heroes (now allies rather than foes) fight the Ascendant Lord on a rooftop as battle rages on in the streets below. The knight fights well, breaking the Nord hero's axe in the midst of combat and nearly throwing him off the roof before the High Elf mage steps in. The three heroes manage to kill the Ascendant Lord by dropping a stone support on him, sending him crashing through the roof. There's not much time to drink in their supposed victory, as Mount Firesong erupts in the distance.

The three heroes return as allies once more in the Gold Road Cinematic Announcement Trailer. The three meet up on a cliff above an Ayleid ruin, where the Breton hero has brought his companions a strange staff wrapped in cloth. Unveiling it, the High Elf mage holds it aloft, causing a light to shine at the ruin in the distance. As the party descends the cliffside, they're accosted by a dremora named Torvesard, who nearly knocks the Nord hero off the mountainside while attempting to snatch the staff from the Breton's hands. After a short struggle, the Breton rogue prioritizes saving his ally's life, and Torvesard makes off with the staff towards the ruin the heroes spied earlier. They find the dremora attempting a summoning ritual of some sort, which seems to go awry as he focuses his attention on their intrusion. With his prize now seemingly out of reach, the dremora leaves through a portal, and the heroes inspect a strange mark left on the ground where the summoned entity exploded.

Appearances[edit]

Notes[edit]

The Nord Hero's armor was available as an outfit in Fortnite.

Gallery[edit]

The Nord hero fights off scamps beneath the flesh colossus in The Arrival
The Nord hero ascends the White-Gold Tower with allies in The Siege
The Nord hero finds himself in Coldharbour after his spat with Mannimarco in The Confrontation
The Nord hero cameos in the short teaser segment for the Dark Heart of Skyrim at the end of the Game Awards 2019 cinematic
A werewolf tries and fails to eat the nameless Nord hero in the Dark Heart of Skyrim Launch Cinematic
The Nord hero with his compatriots in the High Isle launch cinematic
The three heroes in the Gold Road announcement cinematic
A scuffle with Torvesard in the Gold Road announcement cinematic
The heroes regroup at the end of the Gold Road announcement cinematic

Media[edit]

Official Steam wallpaper
Official Steam wallpaper
Official wallpaper
Skyrim 10th anniversary tribute wallpaper
Featured in the background of artwork posted by the official Bethesda Twitter account for ESO's 10th anniversary
Depicted in the center of a wallpaper commemorating ESO's 10th anniversary