THE ELDER SCROLLS Lore: By SimoTheFinlandized (Written In 2021 CE)

========================== THE ELDER SCROLLS Lore: By SimoTheFinlandized (Written In 2021 CE) ========================== Much of the lore in the Elder Scrolls universe is comprised of recorded events that are not experienced in any of the games. Most of the lore in The Elder Scrolls comes from the continent of Tamriel, in which currently all the games have taken place. The lore itself may describe places beyond Tamriel, which include other continents or realms of existence. ========================== REALMS: ========================== There are three realms in the Elder Scrolls universe. These are: 1) Mundus – The realm in which all mortals reside, It consists of multiple planets, of which Nirn is the one in which all games and most lore takes place. There are a variety of planets orbiting Nirn within Mundus, which most scholars associate with the Aedra. 2) Oblivion – This is the realm where all Daedra reside. Each Daedric prince controls their own piece of oblivion, each differs greatly for every prince. 3) Aetherius – This is where the Magna Ge reside, and the Divines according to Imperial belief. It is the belief of several cultures that this is also where the souls of the dead reside. ========================== ERAS: ========================== In The Elder Scrolls, there are Eras that divide the timeline into sections. These are all reckoned by various events in Tamriel's history: 1) Dawn Era – The Dawn Era is the era in which time began and the world was created. It was a time of chaos and magic where gods walked Nirn. Elven history begins after the Cosmos stabilizes when Magnus leaves the world of Nirn and Lorkhan is condemned for creation of the mortal plane. It begins with the emergence of Anu and Padomay and ends with the Convention. 2) Merethic Era – The Merethic Era is the era that begins when a linear timeline can be discerned. This era begins in ME 2500; the earliest date to be recorded by King Harald's scribes, and goes backwards to 1E 1 (the first year of the first era). Some notable events of the Merethic Era include the construction of the Adamantine Tower (ME 2500), the exodus of the Aldmeri peoples from their ancestral homeland of Aldmeris and the settling of the vast coasts of Tamriel, and later the exodus of the Atmorans from the continent of Atmora, the ancestors of the Nords, who begin settling the northern coasts of Tamriel. The era ends with the founding of the Camoran Dynasty in Valenwood. 3) First Era - The First Era is a very long era that lasted for 2,920 years and is marked by a visible shift in power between the Elven and Human races, with the success of the Alessian Rebellion and shattering of the Ayleid Empire. The Second Era begins when Reman Cyrodiil III and his heir, Juilek, are assassinated, ending the Reman line of Cyrodilic Emperors, and the Tsaesci Potentate Versidue-Shaie takes the throne. The most notable events of the First Era include the formation of the first Orsinium, the first kingdom of Skyrim, the first empire of the Nords, and the first "Empire of Man" led by Saint Alessia. 4) Second Era – The Second Era lasted 896 years, beginning with the death of the Reman dynasty at the hands of the Morag Tong, and ending with Tiber Septim's harnessing of the Numidium and bringing peace to Tamriel. The more notable of the events of this Era include the assassination of Potentate Versidue-Shaie and later his son Savirien-Chorak and all his heirs, ending the second Empire of Men and causing the Interregnum. This period was also marked by the Three Banners War between the Ebonheart Pact, Daggerfall Covenant, and the First Aldmeri Dominion over the Ruby Throne, while the elven necromancer Mannimarco ruled the Empire and worked with the Daedric Prince Molag Bal, who wished to drag the mortal plane into his own plane of Oblivion, Coldharbour. 5) Third Era – The Third Era was a rather short era that lasted 433 years (it is the era in which the first four main entry Elder Scrolls games occur). This era began when Tiber Septim united all of Tamriel under the banner of the Empire and the Septim Dynasty begins. Since the beginning of the Third Empire of Men, there have been many civil wars and revolts against the Empire's rule. Notable events of the Third Era include the Nerevarine's victory over Dagoth Ur and the Akulakhan, the second eruption of Red Mountain, and the assassination of Uriel Septim VII, which would lead to the Oblivion Crisis. Martin Septim's sacrifice during the Crisis marks the end of both the Septim bloodline and the Third Era. 6) Fourth Era – The Fourth Era begins with the end of the Septim bloodline during the events of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. It marks the rise of the Thalmor and the establishment and rise of the Third Aldmeri Dominion, as well as the Great War with the Third Empire. The last known year of the Fourth Era is 4E 201, the year in which the Dragon Crisis occurred and the Last Dragonborn rose to combat the World Eater, Alduin. ========================== GEOGRAPHY: ========================== The continent of Tamriel is divided into nine provinces: 1) Black Marsh – The thick, wet, & very humid rainforested tropical homeland of the reptilian Argonian race. 2) Cyrodiil – The cosmopolitan wealthy, powerful, & prestigious highly-civilized human-dominated Imperial Province, comprising the Nibenay Valley and Colovia, with the great capital city of Imperial City (seat of the Tamriellic Emperor) located within its center. 3) The Elsweyr Confederacy – Home to the feline race known as the Khajiit. At the time of The Elder Scrolls V, it is split into two states, northern desertified Anequina and tropical drug-trading Pelletine. 4) Summerset Isles – A chain of tropical islands which is home to the highly-civilized, technically-advanced, & magically-adept race of elves known as the Altmer. 5) Hammerfell – A harsh desert region which is home to the sword-adept race of human warriors known as the Redguard. 6) High Rock – Home to the human-elf-hybrid highly-civilized & well-cultured race known as the Bretons. Also often the location of Orsinium, the city of the Orsimer, which has been destroyed, relocated and rebuilt many times. The location of Orsinium in the 4th era is unknown. 7) Morrowind – Home to the Dunmer. Dominated by the island of Vvardenfell and the Red Mountain volcano, which nearly destroyed the region & devastated the area. 8) Skyrim – Home of the Viking-esque race of extremely hardy frost-resistant men known as the Nords. Skyrim is allegedly the first province to be settled by man, although this is disputed. 9) Valenwood – Forest region that is home of the Bosmer, an elvish race of wilderness-loving people who live in the forested wild one with nature and dwell in cities built of trees. ========================== There are several other known regions on Nirn. Much of what is known of these places comes from Tamrielic-centric sources. 10) Aldmeris – Also called Old Ehlnofey, Aldmeris is the mythical home of the ancestors of modern mer. The location of the continent is currently unknown, and some doubt its current existence. 11) Akavir – Very little is known about Akavir. The continent is allegedly home of four races, the Tsaesci, the Ka Po' Tun, the Kamal and the Tang Mo. These terms may also apply to provinces within the continent. According to some, this is where Dragons originated from, before migrating to Tamriel. 12) Atmora – Traditionally held to be the home of men before they came to Tamriel, although this is not the only claim. The word means "Elder Wood." 13) Pyandonea – A chain of islands southwest of the Summerset Isles. Home to the Maormer, who have attempted to conquer the Summerset Isles at various points in history. 14) Thras – A chain of islands on a coral reef, sometimes called the Coral Kingdom. Home of the Sloads. 15) Yokuda – The land where the Redguard race originated before they set foot in Hammerfell. An unknown phenomenon caused Yokuda to sink beneath the waves in the First Era. ========================== COSMOLOGY & RELIGION: ========================== The cosmology itself involves several common concepts. An outline of some of these are: 1) Dragon Breaks – Periods of time in which linear time, and therefore causality, do not apply. The events of the game Daggerfall caused a dragon break, making all possible endings to the game true simultaneously. 2) Elder Scrolls – The Elder Scrolls are artifacts of an unknown provenance, that show various interpretations of future events, of what might be. Each reader comes away with a different interpretation, until the events described in the scroll come to pass, at which point the scrolls become fixed. Reading an Elder Scroll takes a toll on the reader, who loses part of their sight with every reading, eventually going blind. 3) Et'ada – Also called the Original Spirits, the Et'ada were spirits that were present at the creation of Mundus. Those who took part are most frequently termed the Aedra, those who did not the Daedra, and those who did initially but abandoned the world as it was being created the Magna Ge. 4) Subgradience – In the universe of The Elder Scrolls, all creation flows from the interplay between two entities, which go by many names but are most commonly called Anu and Padomay. These two entities split themselves in order to know themselves better, resulting in the Et'ada, who subsequently subgradiated again to produce Mundus and the mortal races. ==========================