Skyrim: The Hagravens of Tamriel Were Once Human Witches

gamerant.com:

Hagravens are the wicked witches of The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim. Making use of powerful magic and razor-sharp claws to attack their foes, they make for fearsome enemies. Known for their crone-like appearance, the hagravens of Skyrim (and beyond) have been around as early as the First Era. Since then, they’ve spread across the land, though the player can find plenty of them in the Reach.

However, this raises the question of where the hagravens came from. Looking into some of Skyrim’s quests and in-game texts reveals that hagravens were once human. Specifically, they were witches.

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In a Skyrim book entitled “Herbane's Bestiary: Hagravens,” the author tells the story of how a beautiful young woman was cast out of her town for practicing the dark arts. She fled from the Reach and never returned to her former home. Sometime later, sightings of a strange half-woman, half-bird creature were reported deep in the mountains. This creature was the hagraven and, following its sightings, more young women began to disappear.

Herbane, the titular author, traveled to the Reach to see a hagraven for himself. After having come face to face with the creature and defeating it, he writes that it was an abomination — “nothing more than a husk of humanity surrendered in exchange for possession of the powers of dark magic.” Its deformed, misshapen body was likely a necessary consequence that came with acquiring magical prowess.

Further information can be gleaned from “Herbalist's Guide to Skyrim.” The book corroborates Herbane’s claim that hagravens were once humans, then goes on to explain that the transformation infused the creature’s body with magical power. This is likely what elevated the hagraven’s