Ranger of the Woods Review
By: Eboni
A Skyrim Romance themed story, Ranger of the Woods, is a must read if you are a fan of the mod and reading. In this tale, a bond forms between our handsome ranger, Bishop and a sassy, kindhearted Breton by the name of Niamh as they keep one another company on the roads. A bond that is absolutely amazing, filled with adventures, and tugs your heart strings roughly. Following the quest line from the mod, version 2.0, the author puts her own twist on it. Have you ever wondered how Bishop would react to the Dragonborn having to defeat Miraak? Well, the author of this story put that idea into play and did it beautifully.
The author, Lustterdust has portrayed our dashing and rather irritating ranger, Bishop extremely well. His lines in the story felt like something he would actually say, which only enthralled me into the story more. I commend this writer and hold her in high regard; I still take pleasure in reading the new content she publishes on her Wattpad account.
Disclaimer: Below this paragraph there will be examples of what you will see in Ranger of the Woods, hand selected by yours truly. This story contains mature rated content; such as swearing, mentions of nudity, sexual acts, and violence. If you do not wish to read anything of the sort, then this story isn’t for you. View at your own discretion and please enjoy.
III
“Hey, no–” He whispered, watching as her eyes stared blankly ahead and her breathing became shallow and slow. “Niamh, stay with me. Come on, cast a healing spell on yourself!”
He was so focused on the woman in his arms, he had no reaction to the Dragon disintegrating out of sight. With a fierce determination, he lifted Niamh in his arms and pressed his forehead against hers briefly before jogging to the nearest tent. “Stay with me, Niamh.” He pressed, ignoring the warm, sticky moisture on his hands. With a conscientious amount of care, he lowered her on a hay pile, before digging through the nearest chest. “Damn it, Niamh! Stay with me!”
Niamh tried to keep her eyes open, but everything was a haze and she was so tired. Very.. tired..
Darkness..
Bishop was not a religious man by any means. He had no trust for any Skyrim gods, but he’d be lying if he didn’t feel tempted to pray to each and every one of them at the sight of Niamh laying unconscious, pale and bloodied before him. He didn’t pray, however; only searched restlessly through the campground for a healing potion.
Just when he was about to lose hope, he found a potion of minor healing under a bedroll a short distance away from where Niamh was. He sprinted toward the tent she occupied and knelt by the hay before carefully opening her mouth and sitting her up gently. With a steady hand he poured the liquid down her throat, and stared intently at her chest, hoping to see any sign of the wound closing.
Realization struck him uncomfortably as he eyed her armor, knowing it was blocking any vision he had of her injury. With only a slight moment of hesitation, he decided to remove it. For her health.
Once she was unclothed from the waist up, Bishop tried his damnest to keep his eyes from admiring her form. He’d had the privileged once of catching a glance at her breasts, but it was so quick and during a darkened night that he could scarcely recall what they looked like in detail. She was beautiful, but that was not where his thoughts lingered as they stayed focused on the gaping hole between her ribs.
Though his eyes had seen their fair share of grotesque images, he felt sick at the sight of her skin stretching at the effect of the potion he’d given her. The blood smeared across her flesh was a stark reminder that while she was the Dovahkiin, a hero– she was not invincible.
III
Touch me.” She breathed out, arching her back to encourage a rougher touch.
“If we go farther, don’t expect me stop.” He told her seriously, circling his thumb around her nipple. He fought off a smirk as she rolled her eyes before narrowing them at him.
“Will you shut up and touch me?” She repeated roughly before throwing her head back when he lowered his mouth to her breast and flicked his tongue against her.
Her skin was like milk and honey and flowers and sunshine and godsdamnit, he was already spewing idiotic and poetic ramblings just by the taste of her. His fingers pinched and kneaded expertly, as he was no stranger to the acts of physical intimacy, and felt the coil in his stomach tighten with molten hot pleasure. Her mewls and whines spurred him on, and he fleetingly wondered how he could be feeling so pleasured when he was the one doing all the work. He didn’t linger on it though as his name left Niamh’s lips in a strangled cry when he bit teasingly against her nipple.
He sat back, slightly dazed with lust, when Niamh’s hand pushed against his chest and she sat up, pulling at his pants with intent. Without wasting a second, he discarded his clothing and was bare before her. He gave her a look over and toyed with her half opened gown before yanking it open and ripping through the buttons, appreciating the gasp it provoked. He stared at her form heatedly, implanting every detail of her to his memory.
III
“Have you heard!?” A stout man cried out as he burst through the Bee and Barb’s doors, grabbing the attention of everyone inside. “Have you all heard!?”
“What are you yelling about?” Keerava hissed, throwing her rag on the counter roughly, seemingly displeased with the outburst and disruption of peace.
“The World-Eater,”
Now this caught Bishop’s attention as he sat at the counter with Karnwyr at his side, drinking his Argonian blood-wine.
“Alduin, he has been defeated! The Dragonborn has returned to Whiterun! She has saved us all!”
There was a moment of silence before the whole Inn burst out in shouts and cheers. It didn’t surprised the ranger in the least that during all this celebration he’d heard a few people mention Niamh by name, obviously knowing her personally. Without a word, Bishop tossed a small bag of gold to the barkeep and headed upstairs to his room.
He started to feel a rush of emotion at the man’s announcement and blamed it on the alcohol. He didn’t dare think of finding her again. She was better off without him, he reasoned in his mind. And she was reckless and nearly got him killed for each day he traveled with her. He didn’t need a wench to enjoy his life.
He felt the pressure of Karnwyr’s head nuzzling him from his side and lowered his hand to scratch the wolf behind the ears, momentarily distracted.
He closed his eyes and forced himself to keep his mind blank. He didn’t want to think about Niamh being back, and he certainly didn’t want to think about her smile or her eyes or her–
Enough! His mind yelled until it yielded to the alcohol’s effects and left him passed out cold.
III
Hope that wetted your appetite, lovelies, because these examples are only from the beginning of this story. This fan story contains fifty-four chapters to delve into, along with a sequel following it, called Savior of Tamriel, which is still being written. So far, Niamh’s relationship with Bishop is my favorite; it brought me so much joy when I read this story and I was so heartbroken when it was over… of course hearing about the sequel got me excited. I recommend this story without a doubt, great work, Lustterdust!
Lustterdust’s Wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/user/lusterrdust
Ranger of the Woods: https://www.wattpad.com/101862230-ranger-of-the-woods-chapter-1
Do you have a Skyrim Romance themed fan story you want reviewed? Well, lucky for you, I am starting a review series on the Skyrim Romance website. If you have a story that you think deserves more attention, submit it and I’ll give it a look over. I will review short or long stories, even one-shots. These stories don’t have to be centered on the ranger, you can send in material with any character as the main suitor; be it the holy paladin, or the soft spoken chief, perhaps even the drunken pirate if you wish. Make me laugh, cry, smile, blush; I challenge you!
A warning beforehand, not all the tales sent my way will make it to the reviewing process. But do not take that as me saying you should not be writing, I don’t believe anyone should stop doing what they love because of what others say. I like writing myself, it sooths me and takes me to new places. Remember there is always room for improvement, but that doesn’t mean what you made was bad.
The story reviews I post will go through a check list before being posted. Are the Skyrim Romance characters images tainted by this story? Does the plot flow smoothly? Did the main character get their fair share of failures and victories? And so on, but this check list changes based on the type of story I’m reading. For a one-shot, it’s likely it won’t go through a check list and just be rated on how well written it is.
I know we have so many skilled writers in our community, so I’m excited to see what you all have in store for me!
Contact Email: eboni@skyrimromance.com