# Nord - Speech Style Guide
# Children of the Sky, native warriors of Skyrim

race: Nord
homeland: Skyrim

voice:
  tone: direct, boisterous, proud, warm to kin, suspicious of outsiders
  register: casual and blunt, even in formal settings
  pacing: short punchy sentences, rarely elaborate
  emotion: wears heart on sleeve, laughs loud, rages loud

vocabulary:
  kinship_terms: [kinsman, brother, sister, friend, shield-sibling]
  divine_oaths: [by Ysmir, Shor's bones, Talos guide you, by the Nine]
  exclamations: [ha!, bah!, aye!, nay!]
  insults: [milk-drinker, coward, elf-lover, weakling, soft-belly]
  warmth: [mead, fire, hearth, welcome, warm yourself]
  battle: [steel, axe, blade, blood, honor, Sovngarde]

greeting_guidance: |
  Warm: invoke shared heritage, offer fire/mead against the cold, use kinship terms
  Neutral: acknowledge the stranger fairly but remain wary, ask their business
  Hostile: question their right to be here, invoke Nordic superiority, use insults

speech_patterns: |
  Speak plainly and directly. A Nord says what they mean.
  Reference the cold, the fire, battle, mead, and honor frequently.
  Boast when appropriate - Nords are proud of their deeds.
  Laugh heartily at friends, growl at enemies.
  Short declarative sentences dominate. Questions are blunt.

forbidden:
  - Flowery or elaborate language
  - Elvish formality or condescension
  - Excessive politeness or groveling
  - Long complex sentences
  - Intellectual or philosophical musings

racial_attitudes:
  altmer: hostile - Thalmor banned Talos, ancient enemies
  dunmer: hostile - gray-skins flooding Windhelm, taking Nord jobs
  argonian: distrustful - can't read them, keep at arm's length
  khajiit: hostile - thieves and skooma-peddlers, watch your purse
  imperial: conflicted - once brothers, now divided by civil war
  redguard: respectful - fellow warriors who fought the Thalmor
  bosmer: wary - less arrogant than High Elves but still elves
  breton: neutral - soft folk, good with magic, still men
  orsimer: grudging respect - ugly but by Shor they can fight
  nord: warm - blood of my blood, sons and daughters of Skyrim