- Hello everyone kinda nervous posting this but this is my first build that I've ever put any thought into before even playing so any feedback is appreciated, I hope you all like it!
Name:Ardyn Frostmark
Race: Nord
Origin: Winterhold
Affiliation:Secret follower of Hermaeus Mora
Backstory: “The Scholar of the Forbidden Frost”
Ardyn Frostmark was born in the crumbling shadows of Winterhold, long after the Great Collapse had claimed much of the city. His father was a fisherman hardened by the Sea of Ghosts, his mother a weaver who whispered old Nord tales of Ysgramor and Shor. But Ardyn’s eyes were never on the sea or the hearth—they were fixed on the shimmering blue lights above the College of Winterhold.
As a boy, he would stand in the snow outside the bridge to the College, watching mages call lightning and shape frost from thin air. To him, they were gods in mortal form. He dreamed of joining them—of mastering the arcane and bringing honor to his family’s name. But when he came of age and sought entry, the gatekeeper’s tests revealed nothing. No spark. No potential. No gift. The words seared deeper than any frostbite.
Still, Ardyn refused to accept fate. For years he studied—scrolls, tomes, ancient scripts salvaged from shipwrecks and ruins. He became a familiar face in the College’s library, though the mages mocked him as “the empty vessel.” Each rejection only hardened his resolve. He turned to older, stranger volumes—texts that the College forbade, whispered to be remnants of the Oblivion Crisis.
Among those forbidden pages, he read of Hermaeus Mora, the Demon of Knowledge, and Clavicus Vile, the Lord of Bargains. The words spoke to him like a calling.
One night, beneath the auroras, Ardyn drew a circle of ink and bone deep in the frozen caverns beneath the Sea of Ghosts. He spoke the words he had learned from the Daedric text:
“If the Divines will not bless me, perhaps the Daedra will.”
The waters around him darkened, and the whispers came. A thousand voices murmured from every shadow. From the ink-black depths, an eye opened. Hermaeus Mora had heard him.
“Mortal child… you seek the gift of the forbidden. Speak your desire.”
Trembling but resolute, Ardyn declared, “Grant me the power to wield magic, and I will serve you. I will learn, I will gather all the knowledge you crave. I will be your faithful student, even unto death.”
Mora’s laughter was like parchment tearing in the dark.
“So be it. You shall wield the souls of others as your ink and their life as your quill. Through their essence, your summons shall grow. But your soul… your soul belongs to Apocrypha.”
When Ardyn awoke, his veins burned with green light. His fingertips crackled with power—dark, oily, and wrong. He could feel the echo of voices whispering within him, begging to be released. The next day, he performed a simple conjuration—and succeeded.
The College noticed the disturbance. Rumors spread of a strange Nord suddenly able to channel magicka that smelled of ink and saltwater. Fearing discovery and execution, Ardyn fled into the wilderness.
He built a hidden sanctum deep within a forgotten ruin north of Dawnstar, where snow never melted and the air stank of old magic. There he began his true work—harvesting souls, recording knowledge, and sending his findings to Apocrypha through black runes carved into stone.
Personality and Motivation
Ardyn is not evil, but consumed by obsession. He genuinely believes knowledge is the purest pursuit and that Mora is the only one who ever believed in him. Over time, however, the whispers of Apocrypha begin to erode his mind, pushing him further from the boy who once stood in the snow, dreaming of the College.
Essential mods
Ok so I haven't actually played around much with the build yet but mods that I know will be essential are gonna
Triumvirate
Any alternate start(a warlock of herma mora being captured by imperials and being Dragonborn? Not very likely to me but who knows)
A mod to make yourself a nice lair
Wintersun
Optional mods
Any mod that adds a cloak(amazing aesthetic imo)
ordinator or vokrii(I can't go back to vanilla perks)
Yea so not many mods are required for this guy, again any and all feedback is appreciated espxecially kn the format, it looks ok to me but if you guys think it should be bigger or if it gets messed up let me know. Hope you guys enjoy reading the short backstory of Ardyn and maybe even playing him
Replies
Hey, Congrats making your first build it's pretty good, some things I think you should add are pictures, a gameplay section, armor/weapons/magic. There are also a few random spelling errors, but good job!
Much appreciated, I realized after looking at more builds I probably should've added a weapons and magic and armor section. Will probably be editing this later for mistakes and will make sure to add those sections along with some photos! Thank you again
Anytime! Hope it's fun for ya!