#camoran usurper

[ego-osbourne]

Nothing but Camorans

Been a second. Kinda in a weird limbo place with school and motivation so I’m doing what I can -w-

Anywho, here are these :]

Thought it’d be fun to make little doodles of this frankly too-large family. Granted they’re not all Camorans or related by blood, but they are all connected in some way ;]

Had a period where I started thinking about Mankar’s parents too, Haymon and Kaalys (the Camoran Usurper and his mistress). Learned that pretty much all the information we have on them is probably Imperial propaganda, and thinking about their values, beliefs, and lives is helping me solidify Mankar’s motives too (realizing that Oblivion is p much if the Empire made a game to show how the Crisis had no nuance and they were totally completely right all the time and the Dawn never had a chance … oh Bethesda and your lack of grey writing).

Anywho, I drew Haymon (Altmer, I have my reasons but this post is too long as is), Kaalys (Bosmer, undisputed afaik), and a young Mankar.

And then a KIDDO Mankar. I wasn’t insanely happy with this one when I first finished it but I know I’m also very self conscious about drawing kiddos and babies (simply need more practice). Thought behind this was him reading The Refugees and realizing that his mother prophesied him to be a world-ender.. until I realized that The Refugees is just 100% Imperial propaganda, so haunted child Mankar is no more. Yippee he has a solid relationship with his mom

[mothermara]

Betrayal is such an interesting theme woven throughout the lore of the Elder Scrolls- at least, the possibility of grand acts of betrayal towed in the dark undercurrents of many of the series' heroic narratives.

For instance, its generally understood that Mundus, the mortal plane that contains the planet of Nirn, was a project led by the missing god Lorkhan that led to the schism between the Aedra (whom stayed on Nirn and lent their divinity to the formation of life and the laws of nature) and Daedra (whom did not take part in the creation of Mundus and thus retained the full scope of their power and influence) and ultimately led to Lorkhan's death. The details of how and why Lorkhan was killed are filled in by various, contradictory accounts. In the Imperial myth of Shezarr's Song, it's said that some of the Aedra (said to later become the primary gods of the High Elven pantheon) became angry at Lorkhan for convincing them to create Mundus, as it had robbed them of much of their power and killed him as punishment.

Mankar Camoran and the mythic dawn believed the Divines to be nothing but usurpers who had betrayed Lorkhan and claimed his plane of Oblivion (Mundus) as their own, thus Mehrunes Dagon's invasion was actually a reclamation of Tamriel's lands as his Daedric Birthright.

I was going to go on to discuss the parallel themes in the story of the First Council and the Tribunal's ascent to Godhood, but I realized that my ADHD meds finally kicked in and I immediately wasted the mental energy on writing an essay analyzing literary tropes in the elder scrolls. VOLUNTARILY? fuck off

[elenwen-and-ondolemar]

(in follow up to The Shards of Whitestrake) Oh Lady Elenwen, it seems that Razelan is upsetting the guests again. You should probably stop him before he causes a political incident and another ban on alcohol for the next few parties!

(After Elenwen leaves) Okay yes actually Ondolemar, please do address the historical claims by the shards of, Whitestrake? With this bottle of honningbrew mead too perhaps. I want to hear all about it!

Ondolemar: You brought your own bottle to one of Elenwen's parties? You certainly like to dance close to the fire, as the Nords say. I'm not partial to mead but He examines the bottle. Oh, this was bottled before that Black-Briar takeover. I'll make an exception for this rarity. He signals a servant for a pair of tumblers.

So what was it you wanted to know about? That lunatic group's historical claims? Let me see. It's a curious text but its central fallacy is common to many Nords, that all Elves are the Same. Note:

We know what you are! Time and time and time again you Elves have tried to return Mankind to your tyranny. First it was the Ayleids with their flesh forges and undead liches that to this day leak out from beneath Cyrodiil's hills like Reman himself.

Leak? How uncouth. The author believes in the myth of 'Reman Birthed from the Land' which has been thoroughly debunked by even Imperial scholars. Disgusting . . . but you weren't here to ask about the Cyrodiils' vulgar legends, were you?

Right, the Ayleids as examples of our alleged guilt. The Ayleids were Aldmeri by descent, but they strayed from the worship of our Ancestors to follow after Daedra. They formally rejected the sovereignty of Alinor in the founding year of the first Era. For their betrayal, they lost the gods' protection.

Then it was your Queen Ayrenn! She who sought to return Tamriel to Elven Dominion like that of the damned treacherous foul Elves of the City-States!

In retrospect, we can see that Queen Ayrenn's greatest fault was her forbearance. She entered the continental melee while the Empire was doing its best to deliver Tamriel into Molag Bal's maw. They surpassed his Ayleid worshipers a thousand times over.

Later still when her forced fell and Tiber Septim righteously crushed you with the Dwemer's Brass God, that wasn't enough!

This author is keen to blame Alinor for all the sins and alleged sins of the mer, but then is himself in love with "the walking horror" of the Dwemer. I will take this as a compliment.

You sent Jagar Tharn upon us to destroy the Septim Empire!

What? Did Alinor force Uriel VII to promote this mongrel to the rank of Imperial Battle-mage? Are the Tharns now a famous Altmer family?

After him the Camoran Usurper who attempted rule of arms. Then *again* with the Mankar Camoran's Mythic Dawn. We READ his Commentaries, we know what he was. A Bosmer turned Altmer! And we ALL know that the Bosmer are just the Ayleids in shorter form! He sought to fool us all even as he tried to enslave and kill the world.

None of that is in the Commentaries! Look, I don't recommend reading the Commentaries, that's cultist trash and if I saw you with a copy, I'd take it and burn it. Just for your own good. As a friend. But a Justiciar . . . well a Justiciar has to learn about this stuff, no matter how unpleasant. And I can tell you, none of this is in the Commentaries.

Though the Bosmer do have a great deal of Ayleid ancestry, so there's that. Not much going on for Master Shard, otherwise.

Then you killed Good Chancellor Ocato,

So there's at least one mer he likes.

and you would have gotten away with it were it not for a traitor of your own kind spreading the truth!

Who?

And no, of course we didn't kill Ocato. Honestly it's a surprise the poor mer lasted as long as he did. Ever notice how many of Uriel's family members and subordinates died or went missing in weird circumstances? Unless . . .

Have you ever heard of the theory that Ocato was a member of the Mythic Dawn?

Blessed be the Emperor that halted your plans with the White Gold Tower to wipe all of man out of existence like the Great Maruhk tried with you damned Elves.

It's spelt Marukh, you illiterate halfwit. Sorry, not you, of course, the author of this screed. Doesnt even know to spell his hero's name. And he thinks it was Marukh dancing on the tower, of course he does. Did Fervidius Tharn wheel in his mummy to do a spin?

Wait, our plans to . . . Dance on the tower? Because that worked so well when the humans did it. Stands to reason we'd want to do the same thing.

I'm being sarcastic, you get that right?

Blessed by the Lady Alessia, Blessed be Tiber Septim who became Talos,

No, he didn't.

Blessed be Martin Septim who became Akatosh

Even the Nords don't believe this heresy. Go ask the High Priest down at Castle Dour. He'll tell you. Akatosh appeared in answer to Martin Septim's prayer and took him to his side to live on in blessed Aetherius with all the other Cyrodiiil emperors. That doesn't make Martin Septim the Dragon King of Time. in a confidential tone It sounds unlikely, but it's not exactly heretical, just self-centred of the humans to believe the Lord of all Time needed Martin Septim's plea to banish Mehrunes Dagon from Mundus.

Blessed be Maruhk the Prophet! We know who you are, and you will be stopped!

signed, The Shards of Whitestrake Is this a reference to the laughable Shards of AKA theory? Odd . . . the author doesn't strike me as educated enough to have heard of such esoteric material. Perhaps he was servant to a mage, or worked as a bookbinder for a magical organization.

This screed exemplifies the need for oversight of all education. How can the Emperor and his Council expect to maintain their Empire if they don't ensure that their citizens are accurately taught by carefully trained instructors using vetted textbooks?

Well, they can't expect that. Just in confidence, they're obviously doomed. The Dominion does better by its subjects, and you would all benefit from our expertise.

notices Elenwen approaching I shouldn't take more of your time. Thank you for the drinks.

[morihaus]

new emperor diagnosis. uriel V absoLUTELY did not make people forget about the empire's shabby response to the camoran usurper. the brief history of the empire is biased and talks about him as "one of the great warrior emperors, only 2nd to tiber" for ??? for what? conquering a bunch of islands with his massive legions? not doing his homework on the conditions of akaviri weather? eagerly ordering for colonization before more troops because he was so over confident??? dying and ultimately wasting everyone's time and money on his vanity project??? yeah im sure that showed all those local lords who doubted the strength of the empire man

[old-antecedent]

Dagon gets a bad rap from you all. It may be hard to see as a mortal, but as an et'Ada he's genuinely funny. For example, the Oblivion Crisis was far more humorous than you believe. Really, it was a joke we all were roped into helping with. Consider my part in it. Why would Mehrunes title a book he wrote "The Mysterium Xarxes"? A title literally meaning "The Secrets of Xarxes" sounds a lot more like it was written by Xarxes to me. But that's the point. Note Xarxes's position in Bosmeri culture. All that's in the Mysterium, really, is a list of transgressive potentials for great change. I cataloged some of Akavir's stranger histories in exchange for Dagon telling me how he failed to trick Alduin. Letting him take the credit for writing it lead to the most robust joke of the whole thing. Mankar Camoran was this joke. The bastard child of a (usurper) king, elevated to cosmic importance by learning of his bloodline and receiving a grand artefact to help him achieve his destiny. Remind you of anyone? He's a carefully engineered reflection of Martin Septim. The whole Septim bloodline killed by what amounts to Martin's evil twin; the empire toppled by a single elf with a stupid book! This is why the Mysterium Xarxes had this name — to convince Camoran it was of his history and make him feel more connected to it. How could the situation be made any funnier? Do not take the Deadlands' invasion of Nirn as a failed campaign. See it as a change of the channel which lead to much more interesting programming. Though I never much cared for television.

[dankar-camoran]

Mr. Mankar Cameron himself!

The Mankar the Mythkar the Legendkar

First Impression: the hell is this guy even talking about who is lorkhan wait the heart of lorkhan was that thing from morrowind you hit to kill dagoth ur I guess it makes sense it belonged to a guy called lorkhan that's a cool robe (I am 11 years old)

Impression now: TAMRIEL AE DAEDROTH. This guy is a charismatic genius of a cult leader whose machinations led to the end of the Septim Dynasty while also having his head too far up his ass in esoteric daedric lore to see the practical (let alone moral) drawbacks of his actions. He's not looking for power, he's not looking for glory, he is a willing instrument for Mehrunes Dagon's latest scheme. He's horrifying, he's amazing, every TES fan has a Weird Little Guy and he is Mine.

Favorite Moment: Wearing the Amulet of Kings. It's the MacGuffin you're chasing for most of the main narrative, you know it can only be worn by the Dragonborn Heir, and the game doesn't let you wear it when you've got it. And then you see this guy, not a Septim, no evidence he should be able to, and yet there's the Amulet of Kings around his neck. Even to a player like me at the time, not paying much attention to the lore, I remember thinking "How is he doing that??" And he's got no practical reason to even wear it! It's not enchanted to give him extra powers or whatever; It's just his own way of adding Insult to the Injury that is the Oblivion Crisis, and telling Akatosh to stick his Divine Right of Kings up his Draconic Ass. Stunting on the Divines, he's so petty.

Idea for a story: I've got ideas that could feasibly work well as vignettes about various points in his life, from living with his mother, to learning about the Camoran Usurper, to organizing the Mythic Dawn and so on. It'd focus on his shifting motives and goals, and his journey from being an idealistic guy trying to fight imperialism to becoming groomed by Dagon and made a harbinger of Oblivion who is fine with all the death and destruction it will bring.

Unpopular Opinion: I'm not sure. I haven't seen a lot of strong opinions about him one say or the other. I guess I like to half-jokingly call him a More Successful villain than Dagoth Ur or Alduin, which is obviously debatable depending on your metric of success.

Favorite relationship: in my own headcanon, his relationship with his mother, Kaalys, and its gradual collapse as he gets more involved in the sort of things she was trying to keep him away from. In Canon, his only relationship with any depth is with Dagon, even more so than with his own children. The Mythic Dawn is probably the most significant group devoted to Dagon in a way that views him with more depth than just being Diet Molag Bal, and iirc the Commentaries imply Mankar has spoken personally with his Patron, which could make for some interesting stories.

Favorite Headcanon: Where to begin?? His mom Kaalys killed his father the Camoran Usurper shortly before giving birth to him, he was initially an Altmer nationalist who had a romanticized view of his father (much to his mom's despair) as a Revolutionary fighting the Septim Empire, his wife was named Ruma and she died in childbirth with their twins so he named their daughter after her and dedicated a passage of the Commentaries to her, his infamous mixing up of Princes and their Planes was a sign that all his dabbling in Esoteric Deeplore Shit was taking a toll on his mind, and had he lived long enough it would have progressed in a manner like dementia which would have been fine with Dagon since by that point he wouldn't need Mankar anymore

[oolacilian]

anya swipes umbra off that corpse and it’s all downhill from there bc that gets sheo to notice her

HoK is a Camoran descendant like Mankar but doesn’t know it, little crazy wood elf in love with martin septim. i too would fuck off to a mad gods realm if my boyfriend turned into a dragon and sacrificed himself to save the world

sheo notices anya’s particular flavor of soul/magicka/whatever and recognizes akatosh/martin in there and gets a little fixated. doesn’t help that hermaeus is also interested in using her to usurp miraak.

vestige is an altmer sorcerer — goes all of medivh after the events of TESO, various plots for my alts as well

[tenosit]

The thing with TES is that there is a subsect of relatively-high-name fans who really like the "weirdlore". You know the type, its the lore TES is most often brought up about, even though it has track record of retconing anything that they couldn't or didn't do away.

Therefore, the furthest it is from "medieval European fantasy" expectation, the more it gets discussed. Like, Mankar's writing is not true, it is pretty much guaranteed - multiple references to cosmology are contradicted by every other source. But it discusses certain matters that are considered interesting, like CHIM and what have you.

This extends to even smaller matters - like the obviously-in-universe-racist book on racial phylogeny, Notes on Racial Phylogeny, that gets brought up as Laws of the Setting. By the way, by its logic, Mankar Camoran cannot be son of Haymon Camoran, of the War of Camoran Usurper fame, and his Bosmer concubine, because he would be a Bosmer from both parents. And there have been fucky explanations for it, too, but most obvious resolution is that he is fucking lying.

One of the things that irritates me so much about the Elder Scrolls fandom is people taking literally any of the things that Mankar Camoran says when he is very obviously a weird cultist writing cosmological propaganda.

He literally claims Lorkhan is a Deadra and that Nirn is a realm of Oblivion, which would make absolutely no fucking sense at all and HE CAN'T EVEN GET THE NAME OF MERIDIA'S REALM RIGHT

I am BEGGING TES fans, BEGGING YOU to understand the one thing that Oblivion makes unbelievably clear which is that he is diegetically a propagandist making up absolute horseshit to justify why he's helping the Deadric Prince of Blood Oceans and Turbomurder invade Nirn, please TES fans it's like the most obvious thing ever I am begging you please understand that

[uesp]

Did You Know: The Crown city of Elinhir ignored the calls for aid from the Forebear cities Rihad and Taneth against the forces of the Camoran Usurper? In response, the Forebears ignored the Nords conquering the eastern Crown cities during the War of Bend'r-Mahk.

[foulserpent]

the fact that mankar camoran is the child of the camoran usurper is a really weird thread that kinda goes nowhere.. what was up with that

[norieleanduril]

I see you're very fond of your long name. If you had children would you give them similarly long ones?

This question haunts my soul.

Before I left Auridon, I would have said, Yes. Of course. My maternal kinship's dedication to grandiose multi-syllabic names is something I hold dear and would like to pass on to future generations.

The problem, though, is you cannot have children with yourself - at least that's not recommended and sounds very gross. At home in Auridon, I believed that any spouse who cast her lot in with me would have largely the same attitude towards bettering ourselves and our family's social status through self-disciplined Altmer formality.

But here I am in Valenwood, in a serious relationship with a woman with her own family tradition of honourable names. You see, Firion's mother is a well-known novelist in Valenwood. Irdan Camoran is her name, and if you go into any bookstore in Falinesti or Elden Root, you can find her books in both the historical fiction and children's stories sections.

Long before Firion or I were born, Irdan wrote all these epic generation-spanning historical romances about Valenwood history like the Blacksap Rebellion, or the Tiber wars or the Camoran Usurper. They're really long meaty several-volume series, and I haven't really read any yet, but the one about the Vinedusk Rangers is on my bedside table for when I get up the courage. After Firion and her brothers were born, Irdan started writing kids' stories for them about Valenwood history and those are all super good and I've read them all.

Anyway, Firion's dad really liked her mom's novels, and that's how they first met, he wanted to meet the author of his favourite historical novels. So when they had kids, they decided together they should name their kids after famous historical Bosmer heroes and heroines, like the ones Irdan was writing about. Specifically, they picked the names of heroes of the First Dominion, since they wanted their kids to live up to that example in the Third Dominion.

Firion is named after the famous Dominion marine who fought the Maormer and worked with the Vestige. Firion's brother Indaenir after the Silvenar who saved his Green Lady from Hircine, and her younger brother Maeroth after the Vinedusk Ranger who helped end the Blacksap Rebellion.

So if Firion and I ever had children, I think my mother-in-law would want us to name them some hero Bosmer name instead of a seven-syllable Altmer name.

Either way, they'll have a lot to live up to.

[ego-osbourne]

Iren Remaster

Rakell is there too <33 Hunkified! Iren was the one to make him a bunk - consider this early on in their relationship

I’d been meaning to take another stab at Iren’s design, and I finally got around to it. It’s been a while! Made him chubbier, switched his primary colors from orange to pink, and made him a bit fancier over all. A lot of his new design aspects are darker in general, too.

I’ve also updated his lore since the last time I posted anything big about him. Under the cut! (Warning for general mention of c.annibalism, attempted assisted s.uicide [unsuccessful])

The climate of Valenwood at the time was in a recover stage after freeing themselves from the tyranny of the Camoran Usurper. Following his death, Valenwood saw a resurgence in tradition to oppose the previous forces they were ruled under. The Green Pact saw more popularity than it had in the last few centuries.

This is what Iren was born into. He grew up in a newly-liberated Valenwood, enjoying a cozy family life where he and his relatives followed the code of the Green Pact. Iren grew to be a troublemaker, though, and was scorned by his family. Ostracized, he left Valenwood and sought a new life in Cyrodiil.

For context, the rules of the Green Pact consist of this: 1) Harm no plant life; 2) Eat no plant life unless it has naturally fallen; 3) Let no felling of any creature go to waste; 4) Do not take on the shape of beasts; 5) Do not kill wastefully.

When regarding these rules, Iren had a lot of trouble adjusting to life in Cyrodiil. He was a staunch Pact Bosmer, among the few who cared even for the grass they stepped upon (Iren would wear shoes with healing enchantments on the soles, so that any grass he stepped on and harmed would be immediately restored). He considered all plant life sacred, not just the forest of Valenwood. He originally would not enter buildings made of/with wood if he did not know that it was rightfully obtained. Meat was far more expensive to buy in Cyrodiil than it was in Valenwood, and he always seemed to be low on money.

To remedy this issue, and already familiar with some areas of trouble, Iren found himself in the Green Accordance Affiliation. On the surface, the Affiliation appeared as a state-run pseudo-charity, promoting religious inclusion by raising funds and providing jobs for Pact Bosmer so that they may more easily carry out the Green Pact within Cyrodiil. In actuality, the Affiliation employed Pact Bosmer to get their hands dirty and breach county lines to settle disputes, most often through murder. These Pact Bosmer were most desired due to the Green Pact demanding they eat the bodies of their fallen enemies, and, so, there would be very little evidence left of the targets to trace back to the officials who had ordered them.

Iren did not miss the opportunity that the Affiliation gave, being reeled in on the promise that he was “cleaning up” Cyrodiil of the serial murderers and deviants that plagued it, and was eventually desensitized to the prospect of killing whoever his employers told him to, morally justified or not.

As Iren entered his autumn years, he found very little fulfillment in the Affiliation. Religious torment ate at him, as he knew had had been unknowingly and knowingly disobeying the “do not kill wastefully” rule. Moral torment gripped him, too, as he slowly realized there was no redemption for himself.

The Association was difficult to leave, however, due to its illegitimacy. The officials who backed it were paranoid of catching heat, and so threatened the Bosmer that they employed with torture and death if they were to ever speak about the Association or abandon it.

Iren spent many years in hiding. He had used the money he’d earned to make a cozy home in the Great Forest, and eventually sought a means of dying early. Finding a dremora (some years before the Oblivion Crisis), Iren taunted him into a game of cat and mouse with the ultimate goal being suicide in the end.

That end did not arrive. This dremora was Rakell, a Deadlands kynmarcher who had just left his post to enjoy the last few years Nirn had left to offer, as his Prince had plans for a great invasion in the coming future. Iren and Rakel grew to be fast friends, intrigued by one another’s lives, and Iren figured he might try and find one last sense of purpose in the few years remaining.

Iren could not seem to stay away from shadows, however. His self-loathing grew the more he remained within the peaceful life, and so, he sought distraction within the Dark Brotherhood. The DBH doubled as protection against the Affiliation, but would prove to be a point of major contention, anguish, and depression for Iren for as long as he remained within it.

And that’s what I plan to make a mini-fic about between The Dez Illusion and Mortal Intentions ;]

[tamrielwolf]

“Reflecting back, he remembered her words.

He is coming. He is coming, and he will bring death. He will destroy all.

Lukar remembered her eyes. She was sick, but not afraid. Who was this "He" who was coming if the Camoran Usurper was dead?

"Did she say nothing else?" asked Orben.

"She told me the baby's name," Rosayna replied. “Mankar.’”

-The Refugees

[elenwen-and-ondolemar]

An Accusatory Conspiracy filled Screed left pinned to the gates of the Thalmor Embassy: We know what you are! Time and time and time again you Elves have tried to return Mankind to your tyranny. First it was the Ayleids with their flesh forges and undead liches that to this day leak out from beneath Cyrodiil's hills like Reman himself. Then it was your Queen Ayrenn! She who sought to return Tamriel to Elven Dominion like that of the damned treacherous foul Elves of the City-States! Later still when her forced fell and Tiber Septim righteously crushed you with the Dwemer's Brass God, that wasn't enough! You sent Jagar Tharn upon us to destroy the Septim Empire! After him the Camoran Usurper who attempted rule of arms. Then *again* with the Mankar Camoran's Mythic Dawn. We READ his Commentaries, we know what he was. A Bosmer turned Altmer! And we ALL know that the Bosmer are just the Ayleids in shorter form! He sought to fool us all even as he tried to enslave and kill the world. Then you killed Good Chancellor Ocato, and you would have gotten away with it were it not for a traitor of your own kind spreading the truth! Blessed be the Emperor that halted your plans with the White Gold Tower to wipe all of man out of existence like the Great Maruhk tried with you damned Elves. Blessed by the Lady Alessia, Blessed be Tiber Septim who became Talos, Blessed be Martin Septim who became Akatosh, Blessed be Maruhk the Prophet! We know who you are, and you will be stopped!

signed, The Shards of Whitestrake

Elenwen: If this is a prank, it's really not humorous.

Ondolemar: To address the historical claims -

Elenwen: Please do not. Just find out who sent it and deal with them.

[morihaus]

was about to say man it must've been awkward for the camoran family when the mythic dawn was around and being led by a guy named mankar camoran but i just remembered the camoran usurper so i think its safe to say there were a lot of reasons it was awkward for the camorans around that time

[thetamrieliclibrary]

Pocket Guide to the Empire, Third Edition: High Rock

High Rock, the westernmost province on the mainland of Tamriel, is a land of temperate climates and soft rolling hills, split in half by the towering Wrothgarian Mountains. The quaint charm of its hamlets and austere grandeur of its cities speak of a gentle life, something that was only a distant dream for most of the long, peculiar history of the Bretons.

History

With its fertile soils and generally clement weather, it is little wonder that the region that is now known as High Rock has attracted many cultures throughout history. the Gods were the first of these. The Adamantine Tower, in a little island in the middle Iliac Bay, is widely considered to be the oldest structure in Tamriel. If the ancient tales are to be believed, it was crafted in the Dawn Era by the Gods themselves to have a place for meeting and deciding what would be the fate of Nirn. Perhaps this is merely a myth, but it is true that when the earliest Aldmer came to the region, the Tower was already standing.

There is evidence that early beast men of one variety or another hay have been the original inhabitants of High Rock, but the Aldmer coming from Summerset Isle were the first to settle and form permanent communities. The early Nedic people who arrived next were stumbling upon a highly sophisticated culture, and were quickly overwhelmed and absorbed. One of the earliest tales of Khosey describes a Nord raiding party attacking a group of what they presumed to be aldmer, but who were, on closer inspection, a mongrel race between the elf and human, the remnants of the earlier lost Nedic tribe. They were somewhat awkwardly called "Manmeri," but we know them today as Breton.

It took many centuries for the Bretons to become the dominant force in High Rock. For most of the First Era, the elves kept their hold on the land, with the Nords founding fortified towns along the coasts to support their pillaging parties, such as Daggerfall, which as a kingdom would have a profound influence on High Rock in years to come.

Of all the families of Aldmer who colonised High Rock, none did it so successfully as the Clan Direnni. So dominant were they that by the middle of the First Era, the whole of High Rock was commonly called "The Direnni Hegemony." As an economic and military power, they were formidable enough to pose a continued threat to the battle-hardened Nords and the nascent Alessian Empire of Cyrodiil.  Taking advantage of the internal strife in Skyrim, the Hegemony began taking land north and south of High Rock, claiming portions of Skyrim and Hammerfell. At the peak of their power, they controlled nearly a quarter of Tamriel. But they had overextended their reach, and slowly, year by year, they lost all they had gained, falling back to their fortress in Balfiera, the Adamantine Tower, now called the Direnni Tower.

The Bretons were operating beneath the eyes of history, and their rise in High Rock was through commerce and the foundation of small villages in well-chosen positions, such as the sleepy fishing hamlet of Wayrest on the coast between the Bjoulsae River and the Iliac Bay. Daggerfall, Camlorn, Reich Gradkeep, and many other Nordic cities became Breton not by any act of war, but simply by being assimilated by them. By the end of the First Era, High Rock was the land of the Bretons, and would be so ever after.

But High Rock was never a single cohesive Breton nation. The power vacuum left by the decline of the Dirennis fractured High Rock into a hundred fiefdoms of small, walled city-states. This has often left the Bretons at the mercy of the larger powers of Tamriel, but has also made High Rock surprisingly resilient during the times of chaos following the fall of the great empires.

Scarcely had the rule of the Dirennis passed into history before two new powers arrived in the region. The Redguards of Yokuda began their conquest of Hammerfell in the 808th year of the First Era, largely displacing beast folk in their attacks, but also supplanting Breton settlements along the southern Iliac Bay. The two cultures warred over dominance in the Bay, until they were faced with a common enemy in the Orcish Kingdom of Orsinium.

The rise and fall and rebirth of Orsinium is detailed in a larger section, but suffice it to say for now that the discovery of the "monstrous" kingdom of the creatures, as they were regarded, was a very unpleasant surprise to both the Redguards and Bretons. An alliance between Daggerfall and the new kingdom of Sentinel led to the long war known as the Siege of Orsinium. The humans eventually prevailed: Orsinium was destroyed and the Orcs dispersed far and wide across Tamriel.

High Rock fared relatively well during the long interregnum following the fall of the Cyrodiilic Empire, but its multitide of fractious kingdoms were easily conquered by Tiber Septim. Indeed, many Bretons welcomed the rebirth of the Empire. Still, some of them managed to unite to stop the encroachment of the Camoran Usurper in his destructive march northward from Valenwood in 3E 267. With a weak Emperor on the Imperial throne, and no clear leadership from the usual powers of the west, the Usurper may have swept over High Rock had the smallest of regions of the Iliac Bay not banded together under the Baron of Dwynnen to defeat him. Once again, an overwhelming force had underestimated the Bretons, and been defeated.

The unity was lost when the threat was removed, and for the next one hundred and fifty years, internal and external conflicts continued. In the east, the Nords reclaimed some of their old kingdoms in the War of the Bend'r-Mahk. In the west, the War of Betony, though ostensibly between Daggerfall and Sentinel, spilled into Daggerfall's neighbouring kingdoms. In the centre, Orsinium reappeared as the home of the Orcs, threatening once again the fortunes of Wayrest. In the year 417, however, the province redefined itself in a most mysterious way.

They call the event the Miracle of Peace. On the 10th of Frostfall, a strange force exploded over the Iliac Bay, displacing armies and decimating whole territories. Though its nature is still unknown, most Bretons believe it was the ancient Gods who had once made High Rock their home scouring the land, making it whole once again. Though it was a painful process for most--the Miracle is sometimes spoken of as the Warp in the West--the result of it is a province that is more unified than it has ever been in modern history.

Where once there were a hundred small squabbling kingdoms, today, just two decades after the Miracle, there are five.

Current Events

Battle-weary, the kingdoms of High Rock have eschewed violence recently in favour of diplomatic solutions. This is not to say that there have been no tensions over the new borders between Daggerfall and Wayrest, or between Camlorn and Northpoint and Evermore, but they are localised skirmishes, and have yet to explode into war, as they might have done in the past. The royal family of Daggerfall has recently celebrated the marriage of their son Camaron to Lady Kelmena, the daughter of Duke Senhyn of Camlorn, suggesting a possible unified kingdom along the western coast of Tamriel. King Gothryd and Queen Aubk-i's own marriage twenty years before had cemented relations and formed the basis of the peace between Daggerfall and Sentinel, which continues to this day.

Northpoint and Evermore were not directly affected by the Miracle of Peace, but took advantage of it, swallowing up their small neighbours in the chaos of its aftermath. Far enough west to avoid the predations of Skyrim in the Bend'r-Mahk, and far enough north not to be targeted by Daggerfall and Wayrest, they have been quiet of late, watching their neighbours distrustfully.

The Queen of Wayrest, Elysana, is considered by many to be the most feared ruler in the West. It is hardly surprising, considering that in order to achieve the throne, she had to outmaneuver and defeat her stepbrother, Helseth, a man now renowned in the East for his cunning, as well as his mother, Barenziah. With her consort, Elysana continues to control and dominate politics in High Rock, and her recent alliance with Wayrest's old enemies, the Orcs of Orsinium, has many observers wondering what her next move will be.

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