The Forsworn in The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim are an initially hostile faction that the player can encounter when exploring The Reach. The people of Markarth see them as barbarians and call them the “Witchmen of High Rock.” However, the Forsworn are not violent for no reason.
The player can better understand the Forsworn peoples’ motivations through the quest “The Forsworn Conspiracy.” It’s also worth looking into the Reachfolk’s long history, which precedes the events of Skyrim.
Skyrim: The Reach and the Reachfolk
The Forsworn faction of Skyrim never actually existed until the Fourth Era, though it was primarily composed of Reachfolk, a race native to the Reach. Then, the Imperials and Nords came, forcing them to change their traditions and values to suit their empires. However, the Reachfolk were vehement about ruling over the region. They were its original inhabitants, so it was always their land. Everyone else was considered an invader.
In the First Era, the land had been conquered by the Direnni Hegemony, an elven kingdom. However, the Reachfolk overthrew them, killing nearly all the Reach’s former elven inhabitants and taking the land for themselves. Later, they would move into the Dwemer ruins that would be Markarth. For the rest of the First Era and the continuing Second Era, the Reachfolk would constantly be defending their land.
First, they fought against the Alessian Empire, which conquered every kingdom in the Reach except the Sundered Hills. This was when Skyrim’s Legend of the Red Eagle was born. A Reachman named Faolan formed a resistance group to fight against the Empire’s troops and even gave up his humanity to become a powerful Briarheart, Red Eagle — supposedly the first of his kind. With his leadership, the resistance took back almost all of their former kingdoms but was ultimately unsuccessful because the Empire besieged the Red Eagle’s stronghold.
Despite this loss, the Reachfolk raided other holds to grow their power. Much later in the First Era, the Reman Empire would try to put a stop to these raids, splitting the land between High Rock of Cyrodiil and the Reach of Skyrim. Finally, in the Second Era, the Reachfolk managed to take back their lands and become an independent state. They even invaded High Rock and other areas in Cyrodiil to expand their influence. However, the Reach was eventually reconquered and forced to live under the rule of the Septim Empire.
The Forsworn Uprising and the Markarth Incident
The Septim Empire and the ensuing Mede Empire of Skyrim had a powerful hold on the Reach and its people up until the Great War of the Fourth Era. After the Aldmeri Dominion invaded the Imperial City, the Empire had to focus its military power on retaking the capital, thus weakening its influence on other provinces. The Reachfolk saw this as an opportunity and organized to retake Markarth and the rest of the Reach.
Jarl Hrolfdir, ruler of the Reach at the time, could not contain the uprising and was driven out of the region. As such, the Reachfolk’s movement was successful, and the Reach, yet again, became an independent state. This, however, was short-lived as Hrolfdir and his son, Igmund, sought the help of Ulfric Stormcloak in usurping the power from the Reachfolk. Ulfric agreed on the condition that Markarth would allow for Talos worship. He then marched his troops across the Reach and reconquered the city with the help of his Thu’um. This would later be known as the Markarth Incident, which is what spurred the creation of the Forsworn.
‘The Forsworn Conspiracy’ Quest in The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim
With the Reachfolk once again barred from ruling their own lands, some of them resigned themselves to living in the Stormcloak-ruled Reach. Others, however, stayed true to the “Old Ways.” They also didn’t want to forgive the Nords of Skyrim who had ordered the deaths of so many of their brethren. Thus, these traditional Reachfolk formed a group known as the Forsworn — a rebellious faction that sought to take back the Reach.
That said, the Forsworn were unable to stage another uprising because the Nords had captured their leader, Madanach, and imprisoned him in Cidhna Mine. The Skyrim player can encounter Madanach and help the Reachfolk escape imprisonment in the quest “The Forsworn Conspiracy.” In this quest, the player will have to investigate a strange murder (or an attempted one if the player acts fast enough) that occurred in Markarth’s marketplace as well as why the guards seem to be so nonchalant about it. Following the thread will eventually lead the player to the leader of the Forsworn and to a man named Thonar Silver-Blood.
The Silver-Blood family is the richest in the Reach — likely among the richest in all of Skyrim. And Thonar Silver-Blood ensured that they keep getting richer. After Madanach’s capture, Thonar convinced the Jarl to spare the Reachman, then they struck a deal: Thonar would keep Madanach alive if the Forsworn did what he asked. All the while, Madanach would be allowed to plot the Forsworns’ next uprising in peace.
With Madanach’s influence, Thonar orchestrated Forsworn attacks on the mines of the Reach. This allowed him to take the land for himself and further grow the Silver-Blood family’s wealth. He even bribed the Markarth guards to prevent any official investigations from ever occurring should any suspicious murders occur. Madanach went along with this for a couple of years, biding his time. However, in the events of Skyrim, he’s already planned his escape as well as the Forsworns’ next uprising, so Thonar wants him dead.
At this point, the player can decide to either kill Madanach or help him escape Cidhna Mine. Killing Madanach will earn the favor of Thonar and likely quell any chance of a Forsworn uprising in the near future. Alternatively, siding with Madanach will make some of the Forsworn of the Reach friendly to the player. It also guarantees a bloody future for Skyrim’s Reach as well as the citizens of Markarth.
Despite the Forsworn’s brutal ways, their motivations are clear. In the Imperials’ and, later, the Stormcloaks’ desire for conquest, they failed to respect the autonomy of Reachfolk. Thus, they fought back against their invaders but were rewarded with bloodshed. It’s no wonder the Forsworn turned to violence. Whether such violence is warranted or justifiable is up to Skyrim’s Dragonborn to decide.
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim is available for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
