The Skaal village was just to the North, taking the way there required us to have some good men to accompany us as the road was filled with all sort of beasts Solstheim has to offer.
The first thing we came across was a swarm of Ash Hoppers, pesky creatures were really large and made a strong scent every time I burned one of them. What made the problem go away was Alina in a weird way. We spotted a strange Spriggan that is known as the Burnt Spriggan. Spriggans are tree spirits that take the form of female humanoids and this one was a variant of the normal Spriggans found around the tundra of Skyrim, this one had a burnt wood scent and appearance.
Alina stepped forward and told everyone to stay behind as she approached the Burnt Spriggan alone, Jull was worried over Alina and kept her crossbow at hand. When Alina approached the Spriggan she started talking to it in a language I didn't really understand but I knew what it was right away, with her title as the 'Daughter of Kyne' Alina at least should have these powers to talk in the Spriggan tongue, a language that can be used to commune with Animals and calm them.
Just as she exchanged a few words with the Burnt Spriggan, it walked into a tree and Alina turned around with some heavy expressions.
"Did something happen?"
"Nah, it is just that poor child, it has lost some of its sense when it became like that." Alina said.
Oh!
"So, what did you talk with it about?"
"It will clear our road of any animals and guide us to the Skaal." She said.
"You are a wonder, girl." Jull patted Alina to comfort her a bit.
"Indeed it is amazing, I was always afraid of those Spriggans when I was young but now I can just ask Sister-in-law to deal with them. That old fool won't have to beat me up again." Wulfur said as he remembered a memory we both shared.
"Old fool? What is that about?" Bjorna asked.
"Back at Riften, there was that Old Man that Jon spent time with, a worshiper of Kyne who taught Jon how to hunt and fight after aunt Hilda visited seven years ago." Wulfur said.
"Yeah, we once went on a hunt near Shor Stone and stumbled upon a group of Spriggan and a lot of Wolves, Wulfur almost pissed himself and was about to harm the Spriggan but the Old Man talked to the Spriggans like Alina and solved the situation, we got beaten mercilessly afterward." I continued the sad story.
"I really want to meet him now, we can hear some embarrassing stories about your past." Alina said.
"I am going to spoil it for you here and now, they mostly end up with us beaten up or hanged on some tree." Wulfur said.
"I think you spoiled the embarrassing part." I said.
"Wait, wasn't that the fun part?"
"No."
Wulfur completely worsened our image in front of the girl but whatever.
"The Old Man was a fanatic of Kyne but he is a kind person. I will have to pay him a visit with you guys one day."
From that point onward, the road was cleared from the swarms of the Ash Hoppers, Alina was being guided by the Spriggan in a way I didn't understand but it seemed to be a Telepathic link of a sort. The Spriggans has the ability to control wild creatures and are really beautiful to look at, this is all due to them being associated with Kynareth, the lesser aspect of Kyne.
From now on, the only headache in the road was the wild Ash Spawns.
***
Along the way when we left the Ashlands to the Snowlands, we stumbled upon some Nord hunters in winter gears.
"Well met, kinsman."
"Well met, travelers. Coming from Raven Rock, aren't you?"
"We are indeed."
"And where are you seeking north?"
"The village of the Skaal, we are traders as you can tell."
The hunter looked at the carts that were being pulled by some horses and nodded.
"I'll guide you there, still, can you help me with a game?"
"What's your game?"
"A fierce stag over these trees, it needs some men to trap it and I am short on men but if you can help me…"
While the man was talking, Jull reloaded her crossbow and shot a bolt that carried a cold sensation towards the trees.
*Swoosh*
*NEEEAH*
A high pitched shriek of death sounded from a beast behind the trees, the accuracy was simply… crazy.
"If you are ever short on men, seek out a girl, that's how things get done." She said and acted cool and mighty.
The man looked at the trees and narrowed his eyes, one of his mates came a second later shouting that the stag was killed.
The man looked at Jull in awe.
"This is a masterful shot! By the All-Maker, I have seen nothing like it!"
The man kept going up and down about Jull's shot until he calmed down and agreed to take us later to the village.
***
"Thank you for your trip all the way here, we rarely get traders and are ever grateful for your visit." The Chieftain of the Skaal welcomed us in her Great Hall.
"It is alright. My men here will oversee the transactions and will take more requests to make further trades."
"To be honest, we heard about the new traders arriving at Raven Rock and were about to send a small caravan for resupplying but that is really a pleasant surprise, remind me again, the Dare Dragon Group?"
"Indeed. We are allies to the Sky Fire trading group and I am a Firemane descendant but I tend to keep that knowledge a secret."
"Oh, I understand I understand. The mainlanders tend to act strangely when they deal with the Clans."
"It is true."
The Sky Fire Company is the Firemane's trading front and has a very well known name. Chieftain Fanari Strong-Voice of the Skaal welcomed us right away when we proved to be related to them.
"So, what is the purpose of you young ones coming all the way here? You must have something you are looking for." The one who asked us was Storn Crag-Strider, the Shaman of the Skaal.
"It is indeed true, we are after the Stalhrim in the mountains up north and wish to buy some from the Skaal, we heard that by the Laws of Solstheim, only the Skaal has the right to mine in the North." I said right away.
I didn't intend to hide it from them at all.
"Strange! The mainlanders were never interested in the Stalhrim since two hundred years ago? Is there any events on the mainland that requires it now?" Chieftain Fanari wondered.
What a sly question! Are they trying to bargain for the price?
"Not really, I was just looking for materials that can strengthen the Frost Enchantments and my research led me to the Stalhrim, I heard that it is as hard as Ebony and as beautiful as Glass. Now that's something I would love to see." I replied.
"It is indeed beautiful and sturdy. If that is what you want then we will provide you with what you need. Still, it will take us three weeks to cover an equal amount of Stalhrim to the supplies you brought."
"I don't mind, I have around the same time to stay in Solstheim anyway. In the meantime, I was interested touring the land and meeting the oddities of it. What piqued my interest the most is the famed Stones of the All-Maker, I really would love to visit them and see if I could acquire a blessing?"
"You wish to get a blessing? That's odd for an outlander! You believe in the All-Maker?" The Shaman asked me.
"I do have an understanding of the All-Maker and recognize the power he gives the land."
The All-Maker is a mysterious deity revered as the Wellspring of Creation. The All-Maker could be a deity from the Atmorans or branched from the animal deities of the Atmorans that the Firemanes still consider sacred. Either way, they share similarities with each other and derive from the ancient Nords, reverence for the All-Maker is now nearly extinct except in the Skaal village which preserved the ancient beliefs throughout the ages, and modern scholars have learned of the All-Maker through their eyes.
All life flows from the All-Maker like a great river, and, in time, this river flows back to its source. The spirits of dead creatures return to the All-Maker, who shapes new life and returns it to Mundus. Death, then, is simply the beginning of the next stage of this endless journey. However, each life is a gift given in the great wisdom of the All-Maker, thus each one is very precious and sacred. Even the snow is viewed as a blessing for the shelter it can offer and for allowing hunters to track prey.
The All-Maker favors those who hone their skills, and disfavors the greedy and lazy. The six All-Maker Stones of Solstheim are viewed as representations of the six aspects of nature, the six great gifts of the All-Maker—flora, fauna, the sun, the earth, water, and wind. The stones are believed to be conduits by which the All-Maker's power flows into the world.
In opposition to the All-Maker is the 'Adversary', an equally enigmatic opposing force which works to corrupt the dominion of the All-Maker. The Skaal believe the Adversary takes delight in tormenting and testing them.
I said it once before that I know more about the All-Maker that what the Skaal may tell.
The 'All-Maker' is another aspect of 'Anu' and the 'Adversary' is clearly 'Padomay'.
From the Myth Creation of Lorkhan and Auriel, it was mentioned that Auriel was created by Anu-el which is the spirit of Anu, or Anu the Everything, which is thought to be the quintessential form of Stasis, the anthropomorphization of one of the two primal forces. The other is Padomay, also called the Darkness, which is the quintessential form of change, the one whose spirit is Sithis that created Lorkhan.
If one looked closely at the Six Blessings that can be granted by the All-Maker, one can find the characteristics of the other Aedra that got created after Auriel.
These Six Blessings can be obtained from the Six Stones of the All-Maker, the only problem is that the powers that can only be used for one time and only can be acquired again by getting another blessing.
I discussed my General Knowledge about the All-Maker with Storn Crag-Strider, the Shaman, and didn't mention anything disrespectful like my own understanding of the All-Maker.
"If one wants to acquire a permanent blessing from the All-Maker, one must perform a Pilgrimage to the Six Stones." The Shaman gave me a pleasant surprise.
"A Permanent Blessing? Is that possible?" I asked.
"It is, do you know the difference between a Blessing and an Agent?"
"Yes, Blessings are mostly temporary while Agents are a higher and a better form that is considered a sort of a Divine Protection."
The only Agents that appeared in the Game are the Agents of Mara, Dibella and some other Daedra.
"This is possible to acquire by a pilgrimage to all the Six Stones." The Shaman confirmed.
This is truly marvelous! The possibilities if we acquired those Agents are amazing!
"Honorable Storn, I am listening."