The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrimintroduced Solstheim inDragonborn, and a talentedElder Scrollsfan made a painting of the isle in his own unique style. Despite appearing inSkyrim’s final DLC, Soltheim’s roots in the franchise date backall the way toThe Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind, when its second expansion pack introduced the island (as well as lycanthropy) to the game. Ever since, it has represented the melting pot between Dunmer and Nord culture, especially in the wake of the Red Mountain’s eruption when Great House Redoran was awarded the island by the High King of Skyrim to house its refugees.
Chronologically speaking, Solstheim also represented the endpoint of the Dragonborn’s journey, as players traveled to the distant island toconfront the First Dragonborn Miraak, and become embroiled in the machinations of Hermaeus Mora – the Daedric Prince of Knowledge. It was the perfect epilogue setting forSkyrim’s story, and its settlements of Raven Rock, Tel Mithryn, and the Skaal Village expanded the base game significantly.
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A player by the name of Anomalocaris15 shared their painting of Solstheim on the officialSkyrimsubreddit, and was met with plenty of positive feedback and glowing praise. A week earlier, he had made a map of Wrothgar and Betnikh inspired by the Orsimer territories inThe Elder Scrolls Online, and the warm reception to that post inspired him to make the Solstheim map.
Beyond a first glance, there is a lot of detail packed into the map, with several quaint illustrations of the island’s monsters and unique landmarks that people might come across during their adventures on Soltheim. From Castle Karstaag to the Temple of Miraak, Anomalocaris15’s map is littered with the most important locations from bothMorrowind’sBloodmoonandSkyrim’sDragonborn. Though Castle Karstaag has seen better days by the events of the fifthElder Scrollsgame, the artist’s lore justification for depicting Solstheim at its best was to make the map’s timeline cover the period betweenMorrowindandSkyrim.
Tamriel has always been a popular setting for fantasy cartographers, and as thedevelopment ofThe Elder Scrolls 6continues, it’s practically a given that the community will see plenty of maps drawn in anticipation of the sequel’s setting – whether it ends up being Hammerfell, High Rock, or something a bit more exotic. Hopefully, Anomalocaris15 will decide to do another painting of Tamriel in a few years from now.
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim - Anniversary Editionis out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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