Whiterun’s Skyforge Origins And Where Did It Come From?

The Skyforge located in Whiterun, holds a special place in the lore of the game. Its origin and story are steeped in mystery and legend within the world of Tamriel, not a lot is mentioned within the game about it’s origins and where it came from, I hope to give some insight to this strange yet powerful forge.

According to the Elder Scrolls lore, the Skyforge predates even the founding of the city of Whiterun itself. It is said to have been constructed by the ancient Nords, possibly even by the legendary figure known as Ysgramor, who was the founder and character who founded the Companions and also who is revered by the Nords as one of their greatest heroes, another theory about the Skyforge is said to have been constructed by the legendary Nord hero, Jurgen Windcaller, founder of the Greybeards and the Way of the Voice. However, the true origins of the Skyforge are shrouded in mystery and legend.

The Companions who live just adjacent to the Skyforge in a building called Jorrvaskr, is a prominent faction of warriors in Whiterun, they hold a deep reverence for the Skyforge, considering it to be sacred. It is central to their identity, as they believe it was used by their founder, Ysgramor.  Yngol forged the legendary weapon Wuuthrad and Ysgramor who wielded the weapon. Members of the Companions frequently use the Skyforge to craft and enhance weapons and armour., It is said that the forge’s power is derived from the heavens, hence the name “Skyforge.”.

Legends surrounding the Skyforge suggest that it may have mystical properties or connections to the gods of Skyrim. Some believe that it was blessed by the gods or that it holds the power to create weapons of extraordinary quality. However, the exact nature of these mystical aspects remains shrouded in mystery, leaving players to speculate and imagine its true origins and powers.

There is an excerpt from one of the lore books found in Skyrim called Songs of the Return Vol. 7 which says:

Southwards they went, by beast and by foot. Elves they found, though none remain to tell what those battles entailed. The numbers of the Jorrvaskr never faltered, so shrewd were they in battle, with minds as sharp as their blades.

Once, as the sun beat from its high-home, Jonder the Tiny, the one who ran ahead, came over the hill to tell what was seen. Amidst a vast plain his eyes had met a monument of a bird, whose eyes and beak were opened in flame. When his brothers and sisters crested the hill, they too saw its glory, but they were afraid for no elven settlement could be seen to the horizon.

“But this is not seemly,” said Kluwe, who went by Loate when hiding his face. “Is not this wide land fit for harvest? Why have not the elves, vile to their core, seen to exploit and tame it?” They asked of their elven captives (for they had many) what they found unfit about these plains. Yet even the captives who still bore their tongues could say nothing of the valley. They looked with fear at the winged colossus, and from their babblings did the warriors of the Jorrvaskr learn that it was older than even the elves themselves. Of those who wrought it solid from its mother-stone, nothing could be said, but it was known to drive a magic almost as old as Nirn itself, some remnant of the gods’ efforts to render a paradise in Mundus before the shattering of Lorkhan.

This first of many, this crew of the Jorrvaskr, heathens and ancestors to us all, feared no stories or gods. Indeed, if there was something the elves feared, they would have it for their own. Thus began the labors, once more, of Menro and Manwe, whose eager hands again laid to the Atmoran wood which had born them all across the sea, and what was their ship became their shelter as this valley became their purview until the end of all their days.

Thus began the building of the Great City of Whiterun, circled by the running of the White River, as brought forth by these beloved of Ysgramor, yet but twenty-two of the glorious Five Hundred Companions.

Note: the Jorrvaskr was the ship that brought the 500 Companions and Ysgramor from Atmora over the sea travelling south to the North of Skyrim and later named the building that is adjacent to the Skyforge (when viewed from a distance you’ll notice that the roof of the building is the hull of the ship “Jorrvaskr”).