📖 Elsie Leifsdotter – Protagonist of The Story of a Nightingale
Full name: Elsie Leifsdotter
Aliases: The Laughing Ghost, The Siren of the Woods
Approximate age at 4E 200: 19 years
Species: Human, Nord (with old blood, influenced by Daedric magic – descendant of a lineage where most women were Nightingales)
Place of origin: Unknown, possibly Riften
Astral Sign: Gemini ( by her daddy...)
đź”® Physical Appearance
Hair: Golden blonde, extremely long and wavy, sometimes with silverish reflections in Secunda's light
Eyes: Usually grey-ash, cold and hypnotic, like a starless night – yet capable of conveying deep sorrow, and warm joy; they are deceptive and change their color often, from yellow to dark green
Skin: Pale, almost translucent, like porcelain
Preferred attire: Short black robes made of fine and slightly transparent materials, combined with leather, lace, and ritual accessories. She wears strange amulets around her neck and rings carved with ancient runes
Particularities: Long, blood-red nails – actually retractable, cat-like claws. Her beauty is not just enchanting, but menacing – like a warning hidden in a soft melody.
🧙‍♀️ Powers and Abilities
Magic: Specializes in illusion magic and mind control.
Voice: Extremely melodic, capable of calming beasts or seducing spirits. It is said that to hear her sing in the weald means you'll never return.
Intelligence: Calculating and strategic, yet capable of deep compassion in rare moments. Sometimes displays childish behavior.
Favorite combat tools: Wields a ritual dagger called Lucky Dagger and uses magic combined with illusions to deceive her enemies. Occasionally, a heavy crossbow.
đź’” Backstory and Character Traits
Elsie was born neither good nor evil; she was a girl like any other—maybe a bit shyer than most—but her troubled life demanded hard choices. Orphaned at a young age, she grew up on the streets of the Imperial City, often taking refuge in its sewers. A Khajiit family adopted her, and that strongly influenced Elsie's behaviour and habits. It is believed that she was instructed and initiated in Sithis' Mysteries by Alisanne Dupre, the last Listener of the vanished Dark Brotherhood.
Later, she killed the only man she ever loved, which caused her to withdraw into herself for good and forever. Elsie devoted her life to rebuilding the Dark Brotherhood and reshaping the Thieves Guild.
Temperament: Cold on the outside, but not at all devoid of sensitivity. Can be fiercely loyal to the rare few who earn her trust.
Motivations: Discovering the truth about her origins, fulfilling the commandments given by Nocturnal and Mephala, and releasing an ancient force bound by a forgotten pact.
Detentions: Imperial City, Fort Nikel: unknown duration—awaiting execution— by the Order of Stendarr; Bravil, Municipal Penitentiary: six months for indecent behavior by Bravil Municipality.
Warning: Exceptionally dangerous at nights when Secunda is full, during which she usually isolates herself as a precaution.
Miscellaneous: Subject exhibits compulsive tendencies toward theft and habitual dishonesty. Psychological pattern includes persistent acquisitive compulsion (kleptomania) and a proclivity for deception, both casual and calculated. Noted by multiple observers across jurisdictions.
🌙 Quote
"The world is neither kind nor just cruel. But I... I can be both. Or none of them."
Note
This document was recovered from the Imperial Archives of the White-Gold Tower. It is presumed to be a compiled excerpt derived from two now-unavailable observation dossiers: Codex Obscura: Psychological Extract – Subject E.L., reportedly held by the Thalmor Secret Archive of the Dominion, and Elsie: A Secret Accounting of Thought and Tendency, once preserved within the records of Cloud Ruler Temple. Both sources are believed to have been lost or deliberately destroyed.