The Skaal are a weird bunch, even by The Elder Scrolls standards. If you’ve spent any time trekking through the frozen ash of Solstheim, you’ve met them—those hardy, fur-clad hunters who worship the "All-Maker" and refuse to live like the rest of the Nords. But for a lot of players finishing the Dragonborn DLC, there’s a nagging sense of "is that it?" regarding the fate of the Skaal. They don't just disappear when the credits roll, but their culture is fundamentally broken by the time you leave.
Honestly, it’s a tragedy disguised as a victory.
Most people think the Skaal are just Nords who like the cold. That's wrong. They are a remnant of the ancient Atmorans, preserved in a spiritual amber. While the rest of Skyrim was busy worshipping the Divines, fighting dragons, and arguing over High Kings, the Skaal stayed put. They stayed pure. But the arrival of Miraak changed everything, and if we look at the lore provided in Skyrim, Bloodmoon, and the various in-game texts, their future looks pretty bleak.
The Cost of Defeating Miraak
You saved the world, right? You killed Miraak in Apocrypha, stopped the influence of Hermaeus Mora, and freed the people of Solstheim from that creepy mind-control trance.
But look at the cost.
The fate of the Skaal is inextricably tied to the death of Storn Crag-Strider. He wasn't just a leader; he was the spiritual lynchpin of the entire village. When he gave his life to reveal the secrets of the "Oneness" to a Daedric Prince, he didn't just die—he surrendered the very thing that made the Skaal unique. Hermaeus Mora, the Prince of Forbidden Knowledge, finally got his hands on the Skaal's oral traditions.
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That’s a huge deal. The Skaal’s power came from their secrets. Once those secrets are in the hands of a Daedric Prince, the barrier between the Skaal and the rest of the "corrupt" world is gone. Frea, Storn’s daughter, takes over as Shaman, but she’s different. She’s seen the world. She’s traveled with the Last Dragonborn. The isolation that kept the Skaal alive for thousands of years is effectively over.
Cultural Erosion and the Modern Era
If you look back at The Elder Scrolls III: Bloodmoon, the Skaal were even more rigid. By the Fourth Era, they’re already starting to fray.
Think about the village itself. It’s small. Really small. There are maybe twenty people left in the entire tribe. When you have a population that low, any loss is catastrophic. The fate of the Skaal is likely a slow slide into assimilation. You see it happening with characters like Tharstan, the historian from Raven Rock who hangs out in the village. He's a nice guy, sure, but he represents the outside world peering in, documenting, and ultimately "civilizing" a group that survived precisely because they weren't documented.
They’re becoming a tourist attraction.
The Great Oneness—the belief that all life flows from the All-Maker and returns to him—is a beautiful philosophy. But it’s a philosophy born of isolation. Once the Skaal start trading more heavily with Raven Rock, once their hunters start using Imperial steel instead of carved stalhrim, the "Skaal" cease to exist as a distinct entity. They just become Nords who live in a specific village.
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The Stalhrim Secret is Out
Stalhrim is the "enchanted ice" that only the Skaal know how to work. It’s their primary cultural export and their greatest secret. Except, by the end of the Dragonborn questline, it’s not a secret anymore.
You, the player, learn how to craft it.
The Thalmor are actively hunting for it.
The secret has leaked.
Historically, when a small indigenous group loses control over its primary resource, things go south quickly. The fate of the Skaal is tied to this material. If the Thalmor or the East Empire Company decide that the stalhrim deposits on Solstheim are worth the cost of an invasion, the Skaal have zero chance of defending themselves. They are hunters with bows and spears, not an army. Their survival depended on nobody wanting what they had. That protection is gone now.
Is There Any Hope for the All-Maker’s People?
It’s not all doom and gloom, I guess. Frea is a strong leader. She’s arguably more capable of navigating the politics of the Fourth Era than her father was. She understands that the Skaal can’t hide forever.
The real fate of the Skaal isn't extinction in the sense of everyone dying. It's the death of a way of life. They will survive, but they will change. They’ll likely become a more integrated part of Solstheim’s economy. Maybe they’ll even start taking in outsiders who want to escape the chaos of the civil war in Skyrim.
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But the Skaal of the old legends? The ones who spoke to the wind and the ice? Those people are already gone. The "Oneness" has been tainted by the touch of Hermaeus Mora.
What This Means for Your Next Playthrough
When you play through Solstheim again, pay attention to the dialogue after the main quest. The tone in the village is somber. They know things have shifted.
If you want to roleplay the most "lore-accurate" ending for them, here is how you should approach it:
- Respect the Stalhrim: Don't just go mining it all to sell for gold. In the Skaal's eyes, that's desecration. Only use what you need.
- Support the Local Economy: Trade with Deor Woodcutter and the others. Help them maintain their independence from Raven Rock as long as possible.
- Read "The Aegis of the Skaal": This in-game book gives you the best perspective on why they do what they do. It’s not just superstition; it’s a survival mechanism.
The fate of the Skaal is a reminder that in the world of The Elder Scrolls, nothing stays pure forever. Not even the ice.
To truly understand the impact of your actions on Solstheim, take a moment to stand at the Wind Stone after the quest "At the Summit of Apocrypha" is finished. Listen to the wind. The stones are free, but the people who guard them are forever changed. The next step for any dedicated lore-buff is to track down the "Hidden" stalhrim source map—it’s a rare find that highlights just how much of their culture is currently being hunted by outside forces like the Thalmor. Keep a close eye on Frea's dialogue; it's the only real window we have into how the tribe intends to move forward without their Shaman. Residents of the village will now treat you as one of their own, but the weight of Storn's sacrifice hangs heavy over every conversation. It's a bittersweet ending to one of the best stories Bethesda has ever told.