Editing Scrollhammer: Holds of Skyrim (section)

====The Golden Age of Skyrim====

Skyrim grew in might, her heroes of old not forgotten in their sacrifices. Through the ages, the Nords of Skyrim retained the old ways of the Nedes, although mixed at times with the more cosmopolitan habits of their kinsmen the Imperials. At various times they served the various iterations of the Empire, and at other times were independent. The tales of this time are endless in number. As long as could be dreamed of, the common people of Skyrim, free from Elvish tyranny, toiled hard in their fields, drank hard in their mead halls, and fought hard on the field of battle. 

It was at this time, though, that the Thu'um began to be lost as an art and as a weapon. Jurgen Windcaller was the mightiest of the Tongues in the First Era, his power over the Thu'um unmatched. He shouted his enemies into defeat battle after battle, but grew tired of the slaughter after many years. Upon the defeat of King Wulfharth at Red Mountain, Jurgen began to wonder if the Thu'um was truly a tool meant to be used freely, or merely a gift for the worship of the gods, only to be used for harm in the darkest of times. He pondered this for years, and at last proclaimed that the Thu'um should not be used as a weapon, but only as a means of rendering praise to Kyne. The other Tongues challenged him over this; he swallowed their Shouts, and forced them into submission. The Tongues of Skyrim formed the Order of the Greybeards, living as monks atop the Throat of the World, and ceasing to use their power in battle.

But the power of the Thu'um was far from becoming a myth. For a hero arose in the Second Era, Talos, a master of its art both in battle and in worship.

Talos was said to be born in Falkreath, the densely forested land in the south of Skyrim. As a general to Cuhlecain, he led the armies of Falkreath to victory against Cuhlecain's rival Jarls and the Bretons of High Rock. Upon Cuhlecain's death, he took control of the armies, and conquered all of Tamriel through the Power of the Thu'um. For Shor dwelt within his heart, and even in life he reached nigh-omnipotence, shouting all the jungles of the Niben into a temperate forest, that Man might be able to tame lands they could not touch before. He crowned himself Tiber Septim, Dragonborn Emperor of Cyrodiil, and upon his neck took up the amulet of kings. He was Ysmir, Dragon of the North, Nord hero in the ways of old, conqueror of all Tamriel. Talos founded the College of the Voice in his age, so that the art of the Thu'um might be preserved for later eras. So great was his power that upon his death, he did not merely take a place in Sovngarde, but took up Shor's missing place on the Wheel of Existence itself. Talos became a living god, wielding eternal powers to protect mankind wherever Shor, as ruler of the dead, could not. It was this act that tied mankind forever to the stars, making them equal in divine power to the Elves.

As the heart of Talos' empire, Skyrim prospered, its people more affluent than their ancestors could ever imagine. Much evil arose in it, however; the madness of Pelagius, onetime Jarl and eventually an Emperor, and the reign of the witch-queen Potema. The decadence and corruption of the Empire had come to Skyrim.