Hello everybody, and welcome to another presentation
of the The Elder Scrolls Lore. Now that the gods and the universe of The
Elder Scrolls has been established, we can start delving into the realms of recorded
history. Before we get into the stuff I really want to talk about, such as particular figures
and events throughout Tamriel's history, there's more that needs to be set up. That is the
racial and cultural makeup of Tamriel itself, and how it got that way. Once again, I'm going
to have to gloss over quite a bit here. There are a lot of very important and very interesting
events which took place in order to shape Tamriel into the land we're familiar with
in the games. I fully intend to cover some of them individually and in detail in the
future. Now, let's get to it. The first inhabitants of Tamriel were its
aboriginal natives, commonly referred to as Beastfolk. Most notable of Tamriel's
natives are the Argonians, native of Black Marsh, and the Kajiit, native of Elsweyr,
but also included are the Goblins, the Rieklings found on the island of Solstheim, the Giants
of Skyrim and High Rock, the Hist, sentient trees of Black Marsh, the Nymphs, the Imga,
or Great Apes of Valenwood, the aquatic and terrifying looking Dreugh, and the Lilmothiit,
a supposed fox-like race also native to Black Marsh, thought to be extinct. There are plenty
of other beastfolk on Nirn like the Sload and the Tsaesci, who will serve a role in
Tamriel's history, but these are the main native ones, so we'll stop there for now. The first non-native species to arrive on
Tamriel were the Aldmer, direct descendants of the Ehlnofey, who emigrated en masse from
the continent of Aldmeris, which pulled an Atlantis and disappeared forever into the
sea, so it may not have even existed in the first place. If it did, it was likely to the
south of Tamriel. The Aldmer landed on the Summerset Isles and established a thriving
kingdom. Most of the Aldmer would stay on Summerset and become known as the Altmer,
also called High Elves, but not all of them. Some left to explore Tamriel. One group traveled
to Valenwood, and evolved into the Bosmer, or Wood Elves. Another group went up the Niben
River, settling on the islands of Lake Rumare, building the White-Gold Tower, and becoming
the Ayleids. Another group went as far from Summerset as possible, sailing around to Morrowind,
then settling there and becoming the Chimer. According to the Chimer, the Dwemer, also
called Deep Elves or Dwarves, were already settled in Morrowind when they arrived, making
the origins of the Dwemer a source of speculation. The origins of the Falmer, or Snow Elves,
who settled in Skyrim, is also lacking a direct explanation in Aldmer history. Which is partly
why this version of history, written by the Altmer, isn't accepted by everyone. First
of all, the idea of the lost continent of Aldmeris is largely dismissed. Instead the
Summerset Isles are considered by many historians to be the birthplace of the Aldmer, which
seems to make a little more sense. Also, the presence of the Dwemer and the Falmer so far
from Summerset suggests that not all Mer originated from one place, but were multiple distinct
cultures before arriving on Tamriel, and came from multiple locations. The Aldmer that left Summereset for Valenwood
and those that went up the Niben did so as an extension of the Aldmeri Empire, thereby
expanding their territory. The Aldmer that set sail for Morrowind however, did so under
the leadership of the prophet Veloth, and sought independence. Some of the Aldmer did
not appreciate this, and didn't let them go without resistance. The group of Aldmer who
set out to stop them was led by Trinimac, a lesser Aldmeri god, whose most notable role
was as the champion of Auri-El, and was the one who actually removed Lorkhan's heart.
Trinimac and his followers attempted to stop Veloth and his flock from leaving, but were
unsuccessful when Trinimac was confronted and subsequently eaten by Boethia, the Deadric
Prince of deceit, corruption, and treachery. Trinimac's body and soul were irreparably
corrupted. Upon being expunged, he emerged as Malacath, the Daedric Prince of curses
and the betrayed. The exact details aren't clear, but Trinimac's corruption extended
to his followers, who were transformed into the Orsimer, also known as Orcs. The early Orsimer lived independently, forming
small, tight-knit villages and strongholds throughout Tamriel, mainly located within
High Rock and Skyrim. Later, the city of Orsinium would be founded in the Wrothgarian Moutains
of High Rock. As word spread across Tamriel about the new rising civilization of Orcs,
many other Orcs throughout the continent would relocate to Orsinium, eventually developing
it into a powerful city-state. But we're getting ahead of ourselves. The rise and fall of Orsinium
is another story for another time. The first humans to arrive on Tamriel were
the Nedes, who were not one unified race. They were multiple preliterate tribes who
came independently in small groups from Atmora, to the north of Tamriel, settling throughout
High Rock, Hammerfell, Cyrodiil, Skyrim and Morrowind. For the most part, initial relations
between Nedes and Mer were peaceful. The first organized human settlement of Tamriel
came much later, and was by a group of Atmorans who were fleeing a civil war. They settled
in Skyrim, befriended the local Snow Elves, and built the city of Saarthal. Feelings between
the two races were good for a while, until the Snow Elves were intimated by how quickly
the Atmorans were reproducing. Seeing a future competition for the land of Skyrim and fearing
that their culture would be overtaken, the Snow Elves struck first, sacking Saarthal
and slaughtering the inhabitants, in an event later known as The Night of Tears. All the
Atmorans were killed except for one man, Ysgramor, and his two sons. The three of them returned
to Atmora and found that the civil war there had ended. They told the story of how the
Elves ruthlessly betrayed them and mercilessly killed almost everyone. In no time at all,
Ysgramor had an army, later referred to in legend as The Five Hundred Companions. To
make a long story short, Ysgramor reclaimed Saarthal and made the Snow Elves scatter.
The disjointed Snow Elves were eventually enslaved by the Dwemer and forced to go underground,
in time becoming the degenerate modern-day Falmer. At this point, the Snow Elves were
all but extinct. Following their campaign, Ysgramor and the
remains of his army ventured out and spread across the continent. Those who stayed in
Skyrim interbred with the local Nedes and became the ancestors of the Nords. Those who
found their way to High Rock also interbred with the Nedes there, who in turn were assimilated
into the Direnni Clan, the dominant Aldmeri culture in the area. This intermingling gave
birth to the Bretons. The Atmorans who made their way south were captured and enslaved
by the Aylieds, and interbred with the likewise enslaved Nedes during their captivity. To
make another long story short, their descendants, under the leadership of the slave queen Alessia,
would overthrow the Aylieds and begin the line of ancestry leading to modern-day Imperials. The Nords quickly formed an empire in Skyrim
and expanded into Morrowind, forcing the Chimer and Dwemer under their rule. Now, the Chimer
and Dwemer were never very friendly with each other, mainly due to religious differences.
However, the Nords were a common enemy, so while Skyrim was in the middle of an internal
War of Succession, a tenuous alliance between the Chimer and the Dwemer was formed. They
struck hard and fast at the Battle of Red Mountain, and were victorious, forcing the
Nords out of Morrowind. Fast forward 300 years and the Dwemer, while mining under Red Mountain,
discover the Heart of Lorkhan, and plan to use it to build a new god. Seeing this as
a mockery to the gods and an affront to their beliefs, the Chimer go to war, despite the
attempts of diplomacy by their king, Indoril Nerevar. The War of the First Council culminated
at the second Battle of Red Mountain. The Dwemer were drawn out and defeated. Kagrenac,
the Chief Tonal Architect of the Dwemer, basically the lead designer on project “new god,”
turned his tools on the Heart of Lorkhan, and the entire Dwemer race spontaneously disappeared.
Nerevar then made his generals swear an oath to Azura, the Daedric Prince of Dusk and Dawn,
to never use the Heart. To make another long story short, Vivec, Almalexia, and Sotha Sil
broke their oaths and used Kagrenac's tools with the Heart to turn themselves into living
gods. Azura wasn't pleased, and cursed the Chimer, turning them into the Dunmer, or Dark
Elves, that we are familiar with. To the west of Tamriel, there lies another
continent: Yokuda. About 100 years after the second Battle of Red Mountain, much of Yokuda
was lost when it sank into the ocean. Not like Aldmeris was allegedly lost. No,
this definitely happened. The survivors sailed east and settled on Herne, an uninhabited
island off the coast of Hammerfell, where most of them stayed. A group of Yokudan warriors,
called the Ra Gada continued on to the mainland and claimed all they could, killing or enslaving
the local beastfolk along the way. “Ra Gada” is the origin of “Redguard,” which would
become the common name of Yokudans on Tamriel. After the Ra Gada drove off the local Orcs,
the Yokudan royalty left Herne and made their place in Hammerfell. At first, the Redguards
did not attempt to integrate themselves into Tamrielic culture, maintaining their own language
and refusing to trade with neighboring societies. Eventually, however, the Redguards and the
Bretons found a common enemy in the Orsimer, and after a joint siege on the city of Orsinium,
Hammerfell and High Rock began to openly trade with one another, which compelled the Redguards
to adopt the common language and brought them into the fold of Tamrielic culture. So that about covers it. That is how all of
the races we are most familiar with came to be and arrived at their respective regions
throughout Tamriel. Many of the events I barreled through, like the fall of Orsinium,
the toppling of the Aylieds, and the disappearance of the Dwemer, have much more nuance and many
more details than I have time for in this video. Trust me though, we'll get to these
events and many more. Until then, thanks for watching.
