My version of Erik the Slayer, a follower/NPC from Skyrim, and a major character in my fanfic Her Best Work in Red. I'm also working on an Eric-centric prequel if you like, but we'll get there further below, this lora needs a bit of explanation first. It's post Skyrim Erik in his early 30's with adventuring experience under his belt, but aside from art style and other characters, he's based on the original game model. So if you want to use it like vanilla base game Erik, I'd say just adjust his age in prompts.

I used 41 samples with him and various characters, I didn't use actual game screenshots, so if you're looking for that, I'd suggest leaning heavily into 3d game style prompts and Skyrim style loras. Feel free to download my dataset!

Physical description of Erik: 33 years old (I say he's got to be 19-20 starting out if you want to be accurate to game), long red (or orange) hair and moustache and beard with matching pale blue eyes, muscular and warm features.

His town attire is a brown jerkin, green tunic, and brown pants with a belt and pouch.

His warrior attire is a mix of iron, banded, and leather armor with shoulder pauldrons with belts and straps, and he wields either a one handed or two handed sword.

One quirk of game Erik is he's actually skilled to light armor and two handed but the game starts him with iron armor and a one handed sword, so I always picture him in the iron armor. AI really likes to lean in on the straps and shoulder armor, so if thats getting obnoxious, try negging out shoulder armor or pauldrons. I would be specific about what clothes you want him in, in my experience on sora you get a half and half nonsense outfit if you don't. Also, there's only one or two samples with a watermark, but I'd suggest negging watermark out if they're bugging ya.

In addition to Erik I tried training him in with a few other characters from the fic, I'll do loras for them too, the hope is with my tagging scheme if it doesn't work as is with more than one character it will once we throw in the other loras, but for now if you use them by name you might get them. If you find they're creeping into your gens, try negging them out by name:

1. Karin, long black hair, pale white skin, pale blue eyes, nord, mature female, 40 years old, blue dress, sly features, lithe build. (Seems to work real good, you don't really have to put grin in prompts, you'll gen enough of those naturally. May want to nix pale white skin as it makes her look vampiric)

1. Vayniya (who has a lora), long white hair, colored skin, Dunmer, dark elf, 25 years old, matching purple eyes, lithe build (You MAY try using either my Vayniya lora or keyword v@yn1@)

1. Reldith (yes, game Reldith!), some corrections are necessary from what I put in keywords: blonde hair in two buns, tawny skin, matching yellow-green eyes, altmer, mature female, stern features, green dress. I also recommend using pointed ears instead of elf, feels like you get a Deedlit looking character very easily. She might need her own lora.

So's, in grand tradition of my loras, I don't know what I'm doing yet, I'll take me probably till 3/31 to get a good showcase going. The initial lora gens have promise but need tweaking, so right this second I don't have anything.

Why Erik? Besides the fact that I really like how his character turned out, and I thought this fic generated some awesome sample art, it would be nice to have some loras of characters that are kinda/sorta canon at least. Also, you need guy loras for couple scenes, thats how it is. The odd faceless generic rando is fine sometimes, but I've tried to gen Erik a couple times just through prompts and never been super happy with results.

Ok, well, I'm not gonna relitigate the whole fic to you, I'll do a summary of Erik further below, you can read it here yourself if you're of a mind, I'll update with the prequel I ever finish: https://archiveofourown.org/works/64427326/

He doesn't really show up until Chapter 2 on.

If you somehow got this far without knowing who Erik is:

https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Erik_the_Slayer

And now, the HBWIR variant writeup:

Erik (Erik the Slayer, son of Mralki) is the steadfast warrior, co-parent, and emotional anchor of the Snow-Fell household in this Skyrim-era fanfic. He functions as the calm counterweight to Karin’s chaos and the protective “uncle/father” figure to Kahira.

History

• Born and raised in Rorikstead as the only son of Mralki, the Frostfruit Innkeeper. His father desperately wanted him to stay a simple, safe farmer.

• Rejected farm life and became a sell-sword. The Dragonborn himself took him under his wing and procured armor for the unproven farmer’s lad — a genuine feat that still surprises people.

• Met Karin (then a wild, half-mad former assassin), pregnant with her young daughter Kahira. He took pity on Karin and chose to stay with them, moving into the isolated Snow-Fell cottage above Rorikstead. The three have lived as a tight-knit found family ever since.

Personality

• Physical: Strong, broad-shouldered, physically powerful, battle-hardened. Described as having a “mighty arm and fiercer heart.”

• Nickname & reputation: Known locally as “the Slayer.” The text implies this comes from his combat prowess rather than bloodthirst; he is portrayed as merciful or at least restrained compared to Karin’s chaos.

• Devoted to a fault: Described as “besotted” and forever pursuing Karin “with the ardor of a lovestruck youth lured to doom.” He willingly chose danger and chaos over the safe life his father wanted.

• Strong but not flashy: Physically imposing, fierce in battle, yet portrayed as merciful and level-headed compared to Karin. Others (Initially Vayniya) sometimes see him as a simpleton whose sword arm outstrips his wits, but he is literate, thoughtful, and has grown into genuine responsibility through his chosen family.

• Protective and paternal: Trains Kahira in swordwork (even though it “ill befits” her artistic nature) and treats her as their shared daughter.

• Quiet competence and loyalty: The “steady hand” who tempers chaos. He is fiercely protective of Karin and Kahira without being domineering. He chose danger and a scandalous household over the safe farm life his father wanted. He is the rock of the household.

• Emotional steadiness: Literate (reads tomes for pleasure), patient with Karin’s storms, and paternal toward Kahira. He offers the rare combination of rugged masculinity and genuine emotional reliability. These traits make him the most desirable unmarried (or effectively “taken-but-complicated”) man in the hamlet.

Skills

• Combat: Highly skilled sell-sword and adventurer, specializing in two handed sword combat. Nicknamed “the Slayer” for his prowess (initially a self-given nickname) ; fights alongside Karin as comrades, clearing threats around Rorikstead and selling loot. They work as partners with an ambush and fighting style that relies on one drawing the enemy while the other exploits openings.

• Mentorship: Has taught Kahira basic sword art and insists she learn self-defense.

• Practical reliability: Adventuring income, physical labor, and day-to-day protection of the household. He helps keep the chaotic family functional.

Relationship with the Snow-Fell Household

• Visits frequently with Karin and Kahira in their ramshackle cottage on the hill above Rorikstead.

• Acts as co-parent to Kahira (she calls him “uncle Erik,” but the bond is clearly parental; Mralki even sees Kahira as near-granddaughter).

• Provides stability, protection, and purpose. Mralki grudgingly admits that caring for Karin and Kahira has turned his son from a wandering farm boy into a man with real duty and sense.

• The household is their chosen family unit. They fight together, raise Kahira together, and endure the village’s judgment together.

Romance / Struggles with Karin

This is the most layered and non-traditional part of Erik’s character.

• Erik’s feelings: He is genuinely, deeply in love with Karin. He chose her chaotic life, follows her into danger, and is her emotional anchor.

• Karin’s feelings: Beneath her crude, ribald, tempestuous exterior, Karin is fiercely protective and loving toward Erik. She loves him fiercely and protectively.

• The core struggle: Karin is a lesbian, her sexual and romantic orientation is toward women. Her reputation includes mostly women though she has a history of wild, drug-fueled encounters with harlots and the Altmer who fathered Kahira. Reducing their bond to a drunken or narcotic fueled physical fling would likely cheapen or even destroy it, even a walking disaster like Karin is fully aware of this. Her attempt at surrogacy with Erik with Reldith frays the thread further.

• A Half-Lived Bond: Their relationship is built on profound emotional intimacy, co-parenting, loyalty, shared battles, and chosen family rather than conventional sexual/romantic exclusivity. Karin, despite her reputation as an “unbridled whore of insatiable appetites” finds real stability and tenderness in Erik. He is the one person who can calm her storms and stand beside her without fear, and in return she offers him something close to monogamy. It is never portrayed as a conventional heterosexual romance — it is a found-family love where Erik is devoted and Karin loves him back as her person, even if her desire points elsewhere.