Skyrim
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Skyrim is a fictional region in The Elder Scrolls series of games. It is the home of the Nords.
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[edit] History
Tradition has it that the first humans came to Tamriel from the continent of Atmora in ancient days. It was not a single invasion but a series of them over hundreds of years, creating many different Nedic cultures, the new arrived Atmorans always clashing with the generations that had already established themselves. The region around Saarthal in the high northern coastal mountains exchanged hands many times, becoming more powerful and more permanent, like the Nords themselves, by adversity.
In addition to fighting, the Nedic people faced off against a new enemy, the Aldmer. The struggles between the two continues in some form or another to this very day, as the Nedic people became the Nords, Imperials, and Bretons, and the Aldmer became the Aylied, Altmer, Dwemer, Chimer, Dunmer, and Bosmer. Out of this time also rose one of the most legendary of all Tamrielic figures, Ysgramor, from whom all Nordic Kings are descended.
Spreading out from the north, Ysgramor's clan stretched its arms, proving that no ancient force was more fearsome than the Nords. In the 113th year of the First Era, the entirety of modern Skyrim was under the reign of King Harald, and still, it continued to expand. Leaving their snowy valleys and mountains, the Nords attacked the Dwemer of neighboring Resdayn, the Altmer and Bretons of High Rock, and lent aid to the rising slave rebellion in Cyrodiil which was to end the Aylied rule of the south.
In the centuries that followed, Skyrim expanded and contracted as battles were won and lost. Though Cyrodiil was considered a seperate domain, the Nords and the early Imperials formed a loose alliance against their Elven opponents, their cultures mixing together, creating the modern day Aedric worship. Yet Skyrim remained the dominant human nation in Tamriel until it was torn apart by rivalries within the Ysgramor Clan. As individual chieftains fought each other, Skyrim gradually lost her holdings in present day Morrowind and High Rock, and certain localities in Skyrim became independent kingdoms. For brief periods, one rule has managed to unite all of Skyrim, but the Nord character is essentially one of conflict, and the confederacies never last. The Cyrodilic Empire and later the Septim Empire was able to take advantage of this tendency and recruit the warlike Nords to their side before they became a force of opposition.
In the Third Era, if Cyrodiil has been the heart of the Empire, Skyrim has been its strong arm. The greatest threat to the Empire's unity occured in the 120th year of the Fourth Era, when the so called Wolf Queen of Solitude, Potema, aunt of the Empress Kintyra, launched a rebellion that became a bloody civil war. Though it was eventually quelled, the repercussions are evident to this day. There is a strong underground movement called the Horme that believes that Potema and her deposed son Uriel III to be the last of Tiber Septim's true blood and under that principle lead raids against in Imperial interests in the province.
Under the Imperial Simulacrum of Jagar Tharn, cold animosities, between the kingdoms of Skyrim and their neighbors in High Rock and Hammerfell were fanned into the flames of war. Upon the true Emperor's return to his throne, the war ended, but not before Skyrim had reasserted itself on territory it had not held since the 1st Era.
[edit] Geography
Skyrim is the most rugged region in the continent; not only containing five of the highest peaks in Tamriel, Skyrim also is very snowy and cold, and home to all manner of lycanthropes, they being most common in the north. Only in the western reaches is there some measure of flat land, where most of the population resides. The rest of Skyrim is vertical; mountains, cliffs, and deep valleys. A variety of crops are raised in Skyrim, from wheat to the hardy snowberry. Of note is that the particular climate of Skyrim makes it the only region in Tamriel, outside of the most northern reaches of High Rock and Morrowind, suitable for the brewing of the infamous alcoholic beverage Nordic Whiskey, also known simply as "Rotgut". This is because that, in addition to the local availability of certain ingredients, several times during the distillation process, the substance must be subjected to extreme cold temperatures, so that it may freeze and refreeze. The drink is noted for the distinct "cold" taste, similar to extraordinarily strong mint, which persists as a feeling of ice in the stomach, as well as for the very deleterious nature of its content. Nordic Whiskey is illegal throughout the Empire, but this does not stop many proprietors from stocking smuggled bottles for those brave enough to try a mug.
[edit] Politics
The people of Skyrim are ruled by a hereditary King, and occasionally by a King appointed by the Moot. The majority of Skyrim are ruled by petty Kings and chieftains of villages. The Holds, where most of Skyrim lives, are ruled by mostly-elected Moots, as well as a Lord of some sort. Tiber Septim, and the rest of the Septim Dynasty, are descended from Nordic people, and the people of Skyrim feel that their time may be coming again.
[edit] Current Events
The War of the Bend'r-Mahk increased the territory that is considered Skyrim considerably, allowing the Nordic counts to swallow up many miles of eastern High Rock and Hammerfell. Resistance by the Bretons and Redguards is feeble in the cities of Jehenna and Elinhir, and more active in the border zones of the countryside. The city-state of Dragonstar continues to be divided into western and eastern sections, walled off from one another, each with its own government, and each with an atmosphere of mistrust and fear. There are few days without an act of terror from one resistance group or another, though, so far little territory has changed hands since the days of the Imperial Simulacrum.
Solitude, always one of the richest and most influential counties in Skyrim, has grown ever more powerful, controlling much of the northern coastline following King Thian's alliance by marriage with Macalla, the Queen of Dawnstar. It has sought to expand its influence by annexing several former Imperial fiefs, such as the island of Roscrea, ruled directly by the Emperor since Uriel V conquered it in the 271st year of the Third Era. It has begun sponsoring exploratory missions even farther from the mainland into the misty waters of the Sea of Ghosts.
Winterhold, Solitude's ancient rival, has also experienced a renaissance in power and influence. Refugees from Morrowind, far from burdening the eastern city, have brought with them new ideas, enriching her culture and stimulating her old mercantile spirit. Scholars from all over Tamriel have descended upon the county since it became home to the Ysmir Collective, a library rescued from destruction in the east, and the cornerstone of academic life at the College of Winterhold.
Hrothgar and Whiterun have not been as fortunate as their coastal northern cousins. A dynastic feud, attacks by Horme bandits and frost trolls, and a series of annihilating winters of alternating floods, droughts, and fires have crippled the area that was once considered the Imperial City of Skyrim. The population blamed and then curiously exalted the leader of the local witches' coven, Jsashe, a self proclaimed priestess of Lorkhan. The Witch Queen of Whiterun, as she is called, now wields effective control of the county, though her magic has not brought it prosperity as of yet.
[edit] Notable Places
[edit] Haafingar (Solitude)
The home of the famous Bards' College, Haafingar is also one of Skyrim's chief ports, and ships from up and down the coast can be found at her crowded quays, loading timber and salted cod for the markets of Wayrest, West Anvil, and Senchal. Founded during Skyrim's long Alessian flirtation, the Bards' College continues to flaunt a heretical streak, and its students are famous carousers, fittingly enough for their chosen trade. Students yearly invade the marketplace for week of revelry, the climax of which is the burning of "King Olaf" in effigy, possibly a now-forgotten contender in the War of Succession. Graduates have no trouble finding employment in noble households across Tamriel, including the restored Imperial Court in Cyrodiil, but many still choose to follow in the wandering footsteps of illustrious alumni such as Callisos and Morachellis.
[edit] Windhelm
Once the capital of the First Empire, the palace of the Ysgramor dynasty still dominates the center of the Old City. Windhelm was sacked during the War of Succession, and again by the Akaviri army of Ada'Soon Dir-Kamal; the Palace of the Kings is one of the few First Empire buildings that remains. Today, Windhelm remains the only sizable city in the otherwise determinedly rural Hold of Eastmarch, and serves as a base for Imperial troops guarding the Dunmeth Pass into Morrowind.
[edit] Throat of the World
This is the highest mountain in Skyrim, and the highest in Tamriel apart from Red Mountain, which is at the center of Vvardenfell in Morrowind. The Nords believe men were formed on this mountain when the sky breathed onto the land. Hence the Song of Return refers not only to Ysgramor's return to Tamriel after the destruction of Saarthal, but to the Nords' return to what they believe was their original homeland. Pilgrims travel from across Skyrim to climb the Seven Thousand Steps to High Hrothgar, where the most ancient and honored Greybeards dwell in absolute silence in their quest to become ever more attuned to the voice of the sky.
[edit] See also
[edit] Sources
- Pocket Guide to the Empire - Pamphlet that shipped with the Redguard game.
