Tamriel: Provinces of the Old Empire.

It seemed right for the first province in this book to be the great seat of Empires. Cyrodiil is drenched in history, and a lot of blood too. It's history stretches back to the Daedra worshiping Ayleid Mer who grasped control of the region from the indigenous Beast-folk. These Ayleids formed a mighty kingdom, incidentally the last nation of Mer to rule over Cyrodiil.

The Ayleids, an offshoot of the Aldmeri race that had settled ancient Tamriel, saw the Nedic humans, and the Betmeri (Aldmeri for 'Beast Folk') natives, as being lesser beings than themselves. However the Nedic peoples were considered easier to subdue than, for example, the Khajiit of Elsweyr. So it came to be that in Cyrodiil (and by coincidence, by the Direnni Mer of High Rock) that the Nedic peoples became slaves to Ayleid masters. It was due to this hubris that the Nedic peoples were lesser and thus unable to defend themselves against their Mer owners, that leads to the Alessian Rebellion. Alessia, her Nordic allies (who were fresh from genocidal warfare against the Falmer) and rebel Ayleid lords eventually took the White-Gold Tower, the grand citadel at the heart of the Imperial City which was built by the Aldmer for unknown reasons, and sealed the fate of the Ayleid peoples by killing a vast majority of their kings and forming the Alessian Empire.

The Alessian Empire worked tirelessly over the years to hunt and exterminate the Ayleid kings throughout Cyrodiil, eventually reducing the race to a scarce number of tribes (some of which are still rumoured to exist today) scattered and routing across Cyrodiil. Some Ayleids reportedly fled to Valenwood, where they intermingled and interbred with the Bosmeri tribes. So it came to be that Cyrodiil passed into the hands of Man, the 'Imperials' as we know them today.

Cyrodiil has seen many wars since these times, including the unsuccessful Akaviri invasion which saw the inclusion of Akavari culture into the Empire. It has also seen the fall and rise of four Empires, resulting in the current Mede dynasty Empire, and many wars of succession along the way. It was during the Septim dynasty (created by the revered Tiber Septim) that the Cryodiilic Empire conquered all of Tamriel, creating the provinces described in this book.

Cyrodiil was one of the provinces hardest hit by both the Oblivion Crisis and the Umbriel Crisis, as both apparently targeted the Imperial City and, more specifically, White Gold Tower. However the most important war of late was the Great War between the Empire and the Aldmeri Dominion. It was during this war that the Imperial City itself was sacked, the first time since the First Era that the city was under the exclusive rule of Mer. The Imperial City was soon recaptured, during the Battle of Red Ring, by Imperial legions reinforced with Nordic troops. It was this battle that led to the signing of the White Gold Concordat and the secession of Hammerfell from the Empire.



Cyrodiil has more to it than history, though. The grand beauty of this province is exemplified in its vast woodlands, dotted with mysterious Ayleid ruins made of impressive white stone and curved architecture. The woodlands are most abundant west of the Nibenay Valley (the location of Lake Rumare, upon which the Imperial City stands) where they stretch down the Gold Coast towards Hammerfell and touch on the northern borders with the Aldmeri Dominion's Valenwood and the Khajiiti kingdom of Anequina (modern day Elsweyr). The woodlands also turn north, touching the snow-capped Jerrel Mountains (the natural border with Skyrim) before looping around to the east with a sparse covering over the Velus mountains towards Morrowind, before finishing their expansive loop at the Blackwood border with Black Marsh (now the state of Argonia). Other than the woodlands is the West Weald, famous for its wines.

It is amongst this diverse geography that the Imperials show their subdivisions, the Colovians of the western wooded highlands and the Nibenese of the valleys.

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The province of High Rock is home to the mercantile Bretons. This race of mixed Mer and Man blood came about from the mixing of bloods during the fabled Merethic Era. It is theorized, by both cultural references and magical divination, that the oldest known structure in Tamriel, possibly on Nirn, lies in High Rock. The great Adamantine Tower on the Isle of Balfiera is steeped in myths. Most of these myths point to this location being the place where the Aedra came to discuss the traitor god's betrayal and how to punish him. Eventually, as with all of Tamriel, the Aldmer settled this province, ousting the native Betmeri.

The land was host to the Direnni clan of Aldmer, similar in stature and status to the Altmer of today. The Direnni ruled over the Nedic populace that had moved south from Skyrim, taking slaves in a similar manner to the Ayleids of Cyrodiil without the use of Daedric allies.

The Direnni were truly a power to be reckoned with, at one point they expanded south into modern-day Hammerfell and north into Skyrim. Overall the Direnni conquered at least one quarter of Tamriel from Mer and Man alike. This expansionist stance eventually backfired as the Direnni reached the end of their limits and halted their lines.

Throughout Tamriel those Mer that had Man as slaves would often interbreed with them, created Manmeri that were unwelcome by both. These Manmeri congregated in modern-day High Rock, where there was a higher-than-average proportion amongst the Direnni cities. Eventually, the Direnni began to lose power on their borders and retreated back to High Rock.

Overtime the Manmeri, becoming more Man then Mer, evolved into what are today known as Bretons. They shared a history, one of slavery and servitude, as well as a language and a common culture. However they warred amongst each other, they faltered on a political level. But it wasn't through force that the Bretons came to claim High Rock as their own, it was through mercantile power. The Bretons of High Rock integrated themselves whole into the receding Direnni culture. Eventually, beset on all sides by enemies and running low on numbers, the Direnni clan retreated to the Isle of Balfiera. Eventually that too wasn't enough and the Direnni clan was absorbed into the Breton bloodline.

The Direnni clan left its mark on Breton culture. The modern-day province of High rock was split into warring city-states so numerous I won't even try to name them all in this book but it was said that you could “Show a Breton a rock and he’d name himself king of it”. Numerous wars occurred, not counting the wars between the various city-states. The Breton states only banded together to fight the encroaching forces of Nords, Redguards and to sack the Orc-kin of Orsinium, multiple times. Tiber Septim did conquer the province during the Tiber Wars, however he failed to stop the various factions from warring with each other.

Peace didn't come until the fabled 'Miracle of Peace', or the 'Warp in the West'. A fabled Dragon Break occurred and the resultant loss of land, life and wealth left only six greatly expanded kingdoms: Wayrest, Evermore, Daggerfall-Camlorn, Shornhelm-Northpoint, Farrun and Jehenna. Of all the provinces of Tamriel, High Rock was the least unaffected by the Great War. In fact after the Red Year, the Great War and the resultant Civil War in Skyrim, High Rock could be considered the best-off province of the Empire.



High Rock is similar in geographical terms to its name. It is a mountainous region of plateaus and isolated valleys. The north bares resemblance to the tundra of Skyrim, glacial mountains and clear-blue streams form rivers that cut through the plains. Towards the south the land becomes slightly more arid, similar to northern Hammerfell.

The Illiac Bay is the most prominent feature of High Rock, as most of the city-states are based around its shores. It was from this access to the sea that the Bretons found such an aptitude for trade.

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Morrowind is definitely an intriguing province both historically and geographically. The original Betmeri denizens of Morrowind, if any, are unknown. It is theorized that the Dreugh of Eastern Tamriel were once the ruling civilization over Morrowind, located along the coast in the water-born stages of their life and inland during their one year Krevinasim life-phase.

The first known inhabitants of the province of Morrowind were the Dwemer, a clan of Aldmer, who settled here fleeing Aldmeri civilization where they were considered 'godless heathens' due to their philosophical focus on engineering, alchemy and logic. Indeed during this time the land known as Morrowind was called Dwemerith after its hosts and the Dwemer built great cities around Morrowind and centred their civilization on the island of Vvardenfell and the great Red Mountain... Eventually another group of Mer arrived from the Aldmeri civilization called the Chimer, who were led to these lands by the Daedra-worshiping prophet Veloth.

The Chimer eventually abandoned their nomadic lifestyle and began to settle the land, in the process creating their own civilization and a Daedra-inspired religion. The Chimer, like their Aldmeri ancestors, saw the Dwemer as heathens and their lack of gods an affront to their own. The Chimer began a period of light but consistent raids on Dwemer settlements, followed by battles for territory between the two peoples.

It wasn't until the Nordic Empire invaded during the First Era that peace was created between the two races of Mer. The Nords came seeking land and the destruction of Mer, as they had done with the Falmer of Skyrim, and indeed managed to conquer the majority of mainland Morrowind. It was a peace-treaty signed by Indoril Nerevar Moon-and-Star, a Chimer king, and King Dumac of the Dwemer that allowed the two races of Mer to combine their might and push the Nordic invaders across the Velothi Mountains. One Dwemer clan of note refused this peace, leaving Dwemeris and settling in modern-day Hammerfell. The First Council was created, a combination of Chimer and Dwemer nobles. The Chimer nobles themselves created the Great Houses of today.

This peace failed to last, resulting in the War of the First Council and the Battle of Red Mountain. Chimer fought Dwemer over the tampering of the Heart of Lorkhan by the Dwemer High Priest Kagrenac. Dumac, not knowing of this tampering with the Heart and the attempts to create the Numidium, refused to surrender the Heart. The once friends Nerevar and Dumac were forced to come to blows during the Battle of Red Mountain. Accounts vary as to what happened, but by the end of the battle both Nerevar and Dumac lay dead. The Dwemer race had disappeared from Tamriel and the Chimer were forever changed into the Dunmer of today.

Nevarine's personally advisers, his Tribunal, managed to attain god-like powers during this Battle. It is unknown how, but theorized that they too tampered with the Heart of Lorkhan after Nevarine's death. They also fought and entombed the Chimer general, Voryn Dagoth in the Red Mountain. Legends say that Azura, displeased with the death of Indoril and the god-hood of the Tribunal cursed the Chimer into the Dunmer and caused the first eruption of Red Mountain, forever changing the landscape of Morrowind.

Some of the Dunmer began to degrade, returning to their nomadic lifestyle and maintaining their Daedra worship. These tribes are known as the Ashlanders, for their continued survival amongst the Ash Wastes of Vvardenfell. The rest of the Dunmer people began to worship the Tribunal, who aided their people in building cities and making a place for themselves in the world. It was around this period in time that a great Blight began to spread itself from the Red Mountain, carrying diseases both magical and physical with it across Vvardenfell. The Dunmer erected the great Ghost Fence around Red Mountain, powered by the souls of their Ancestors that kept the Blight from ravaging Vvardenfell.

A number of times races from Akavir attempted to invade Morrowind, often being fought back by Dunmer, and only succeeded once before begin repelled by the Cyrodiilic forces. The Dunmer secured their borders against the Nords of Skyrim, began raiding Black Marsh for Argonian slaves and even intimidated the Cyrodiilic Empires into staying away from their borders with their powerful armies supported by their Tribunal. Eventually they succumbed to the rule of the Septim Empire, as the last province to do so, but only a couple of battles were fought before a treaty was written that allowed the Dunmer to keep the sacred laws and customs of their Tribunal.

During the Third Era, the ancient Chimer general Voryn Dagoth arose from Red Mountain as Dagoth Ur, threatening the Dunmer people with the Blight and the new disease known as Corprus, which provided immortality to the host at the expense of their mental and physical well-being, resulting in mindless degenerative Corprus Beasts. The Nerevarine Prophecy came to pass, the rebirth of Nevarine at the hands Azura resulted in the supposed destruction of the Heart of Lorkhan, the death of Sotha Sil, Almalexia and Dagoth Ur. Leaving Vivec, the last of the Tribunal, without his godhood.

The Oblivion Crisis hit Morrowind hard. With the loss of their Tribunal a few years beforehand at the hands of the Nerevarine Prophecy the Dunmer were unprepared for the Daedric Invasion that resulted in the destruction of a number of their cities. Even after the end of the Oblivion Crisis Morrowind's suffering was not done. At the start of the Fourth Era with the disappearance of Vivec the great floating body the Ministry of Truth (that he suspended above the city of his namesake when it began to fall) began to fall. The Dunmer managed to halt this, for a short time, by (I believe this was the case) utilizing the souls of specific living volunteers. For reasons unknown to me this either failed or was sabotaged and the Ministry of Truth fell with all the velocity it originally held. The greater portion of the city of Vivec was destroyed instantly, its denizens vaporized by the blast, but what followed was unprecedented destruction.

The shock of the Ministry of Truth colliding with Vivec caused the second eruption of Red Mountain. The year came to be known as the Red Year, because the explosion destroyed the majority of Vvardenfell and even covered mainland Morrowind (and parts of Solstheim) in ash. The eruption levelled cities, incinerating their citizens or leaving them trapped underneath the ash. To make matters worse for the Dunmer their weakened state left them open to a vengeful attack from the newly-independent state of Argonia, which raided and sacked southern mainland Morrowind (which had largely survived the explosion of Red Mountain intact) and killing the majority of the Dunmer they came across. Eventually the troops of House Redoran fought back the invaders but Morrowind was left largely uninhabitable, most of its diverse fauna and flora became extinct or very rare and the Dunmer had fled to other provinces, most noticeably Skyrim and the island of Solstheim, which Skyrim granted to the Dunmer refugees. Since then the Dunmer have begun to return, rebuilding cities from their new capital of Blacklight on the northern shore of Morrowind.

Geography:

Morrowind was once a diverse region of grasslands, woodlands and the ever-present ash wastes of Vvardenfell. Ash-storms were common throughout the majority of Vvardenfell and even mainland Morrowind, meaning that the life forms of Morrowind were well adapted to this life that would look completely alien to the majority of Tamriel.

Creatures like deer, well known throughout Tamriel, are replaced by insects the size of wolves and bears that the Dunmer hunt, farm and even ride. Most notable are the twenty foot tall Silt Striders, crab like animals that the Dunmer use as mounts, and the jelly-like Netch that are often farmed.

Now the mainland is mostly ash waste and Vvardenfell is inhospitable. The old woodlands are merely petrified stumps of the former regions and life struggles to survive the poisoned atmosphere and the common darkening of the sky as the Red Mountain continues to belch forth ash storms into the sky. It is indeed a sad sight, especially if like me you had travelled there beforehand.

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'Tamriel's Garden', as it was once described, is the home of the Bosmer, the Wood Elves. Before its establishment as a unified nation, Valenwood was nothing more than a stretch of seemingly endless foliage that all but the locals would get lost amongst. Before the Aldmer began to colonize Tamriel, Valenwood was home to some of the most bizarre, and now rare, races. Beings such as: Centaurs, Satyrs, Minotaurs, Fairy Folk and even Hydra made their home in these ancient woods. But alas such creatures are now rare to find, although rumours persist of their continued presence and I myself have seen quite a few of them. But that is for another book. The only note of importance is that of all these races, only the Imga, Betmeri with the shape of great apes, have had a profound effect on the society of Valenwood.

The Aldmer who settled this land became the Bosmer, returning to their wild roots and supposedly being taught their ways by a god known to them as Y'ffre. The Bosmer, following the laws lay down by Y'ffre, were sworn never to harm any plants and instead became purely carnivorous being, even cannibalistic. They began to roam the forest in clans and tribes, small groups of Mer that were little more than barbarians.

It wasn't until the First Era that the Bosmer were united by a single figure. They banded together under this new King, who created the Cameron dynasty of Valenwood's kings and as a one they built the ancient cities that still stand today. It wasn't until the Thrassian Plague hit that Valenwood was sufficiently weakened for the Cyrodiilic Empire to expand its influence into this mystical land.

The tumultuous time of the Second Era and its Akaviri Potentate lead the Bosmer to try and seek Independence from the empire. They ultimately failed, but without a unified government to call their own the Bosmer warred with every one of their neighbours and even each other. This was until the Maormer invaded, conquering Valenwood from the Bosmer. The Bosmer were freed from these foreign invaders by the Altmer of Summerset and with that the two races of Mer banded together to create the first Aldmeri Dominion, a predecessor of the one today.

The Aldmeri Dominion lasted until the Tiber Wars of the Third Era, when Tiber Septim used the might of a combined Tamriel to defeat the Aldmeri Dominion and assert control over Valenwood and Summerset. Septim wisely chose to give each Bosmeri city relative Independence and for Valenwood to keep a Cameron King. All went well for a few generations until Bosmer began to grow tired of Imperial rule.

The Cameron Uprising fell after 20 years of independent rule over Valenwood. The Empire retook Valenwood, yet the whole crisis had simply made the Bosmer wary of outsiders. The province began to withdraw into itself, the people itself even returning to their wild ways. It was in the Fourth Era, after the Oblivion Crisis had taken its toll on the province, that the Thalmor of Summerset invaded and seized control of Valenwood, recreating the old Aldmeri Dominion.

Geography:

Valenwood was once described as "a sea of endless green, a maze of foliage with half-hidden cities growing like blooms from a flower", a belief I share myself. The northern steppes that border Cyrodiil are vast woodlands with hundred-foot tall trees. This mystical ancient forest stretches downhill towards the coast, where it makes way for swamplands before reaching the sea. Possibly the most unique and fascinating feature of Valenwood are its giant migratory trees. So vast are these trees that the Bosmer of old built cities on them, cities still inhabited today. Although of late, some of the trees migrate no more. It baffles scholars and Bosmer alike as to why.

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Sometimes known as Pellitine or Pa'alatiin.

The jungles of southern Elsweyr have long been a footnote to the history of Tamriel. While the lands were discovered early by the Aldmer, forays into the jungle were few and far between with no race of Mer holding dominion over the lands which cannot be said for the badlands to its north.

Historic records are few and far between of this region, but Khajiit myths paint the story of a land ruled by a Moon Emperor, with great cities rising from the jungle to bask in the glory of moonlight. The Moon Emperor’s dominion extended across all of Elsweyr and beyond into the Niben Valley and Eastern Valenwood. The heartlands of this empire was the region that would become Pelletine, with its fertile river valleys and native moon sugar. When the Moon Empire collapsed it fractured into at least 16 rival Khajiit kingdoms, with many of these states located within the jungles of the South.

The Khajiit kingdoms existed in disharmony, rarely uniting only to face the Bosmer of Valenwood, the Ayleids of Cyrodiil or incursions by Nedic tribes into their lands. It wasn’t until the Thrassian Plague of the late First Era struck the continent that a lasting unity was sought. It is hard to explain in words the ravages this disease brought upon the Khajiit. Entire cities were wiped out, vast swathes of countryside left depopulated, Kingdoms fell overnight as chaos and unrest fractured the Khajiiti.

Two kingdoms rose from this chaos, securing the lands around them and conquering those who would not submit, the warrior clans of the Ne Quin-al and the richly cultured Pa'alatiin. North and South. Desert and Jungle. Conflict between the two kingdoms raged for centuries, until the coming of the Reman Dynasty of Cyrodiil. The Cyrods conquered first the Ne Quin-al, the warrior-cats of the badlands, were first to fall to the Cyrods. The land was imperialised as Anequina, and then the Cyrods turned their sights on the Pa’alatiin. The conquered warrior-cats were all too happy to take part in the conquest of the rich southern jungles, and with the combined pressure of the northern clans and the Reman legions the jungles fell under the sway of man and were renamed Pellitine. The Remans granted kingly titles to the Khajiit, allowing them a modicum of self rule, but the clans would often fall into a state of rebellion and the wars between the two kingdoms seemed never to cease.

Unity was found when the King and Queen of the two kingdoms joined together in a political marriage, forming the Elsweyr Confederacy. The nobility rejoiced, but the clansmen of the north rebelled against the betrayal. Rebellion swept the Confederacy until the spiritual leader of the Khajiit, the Mane Rid-Thar-ri'Datta, installed a new position of governance that would see power shift regularly between the nobility of the cities, and the clan mothers of the deserts. With peace at last, came prosperity. Although short periods of strife, unrest and disease struck the Khajiit over the next millenia, their existence was relatively one of peace and after the fall of the Third Empire, independence. Until the Void Nights. With the loss of the moons from the skies of Nirn, Khajiit were born dead, broken or corrupted. They faced their own extinction, and once against unrest flared up across the Confederacy. The Mane, spiritual leader of the Khajiit, lost hope in the teachings of the Lunar Clerics - for their moons were gone and their cubs born cursed. A rift between the southern, more imperialised, cities of former Pellitine and the religious, traditionalist, northern clans erupted into civil war as the High Priestess, crowned Moon-Queen by her followers, led an army against the borderline heretical Mane whom she blamed Void Nights for.

After a bloody months long campaign that saw blood run across desert and jungle, the moons returned to the sky. Both sides hailed the miracle as a sign of their righteousness, and both were ready to continue their fight for the unity of Elsweyr, until the Thalmor of the Aldmeri Dominion stepped in. They claimed to have brought back the moons, and ushered in a ceasefire between the Mane and the Moon-Queen. The two would return to their respective lands, and form their own Kingdoms as client states of the Aldmeri Dominion.

The Mane of Pellitine now rules the jungles and rivers of Anequina, backed by the noble and civilised Khajiit of the prosperous south. A strong ally of the Altmer, the Mane and Khajiit he represents have adapted many Altmeri cultural ideas to their daily lives, emulating the ones that rescued their people and brought the moons back. Yet the Mane privately maintains a claim on the rest of Elsweyr, his by birthright, and seeks to rally supporters across the Dominion to press it.

Geography:

The kingdom of Pelletine, which extends south from the borders of Anequina right to the sea, is a land far more civilized than its northern neighbour with grand cities reaching to the moons dotting the dense jungles. The jungles and swamps of southern Elsweyr may not be as fetid or septic as those of Black Marsh, but they are equally as dangerous. Huge monsters of terrifying proportions roam the jungles and coasts, yet the Khajiit survive. Ruins of ancient Khajiiti kingdoms dot the jungles amidst the sugarcane and moon sugar plantations that fuel this Kingdom's economy.

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