Somerset Towers
- We cannot seem to decide where the Dwemer came from, and indeed, where they went, yet we record, as if it were truth, the tales of creation - Maggot lazily tapped his knee with a pointer while resting his legs on the table. Today he decided to try a new way of lecturing - theoretically, the farther he was from the students, the more focused they were on the lesson topic.
Alas. Judging by the paranoid mood, they have not forgotten that the quarrelsome Dunmer holds the title of battle mage, for whom distance means little.
- The linear history, relying on at least some facts, begins in 2500 years before the First Era. This period was named the 'Merethic Era', or 'Elven Era', and the date coincides with the construction of the Adamantine Tower on the island of Balfiera. The ending is marked by the foundation of the Camoran dynasty in Valenwood and the construction of the White Gold Tower in Cyrodiil... Endras, next time you decide to confuse these unfortunate towers, start chewing - I probably won't decipher which name you're mumbling... Interestingly, this date appears in elven chronicles, despite the fact that the elves were on another continent - Aldmeri at that time.
Quite unusual, isn’t it?
Map of Tamriel.
For unknown reasons, Aldmeri was abandoned in the Middle Merethic Era. An amazing fact - later, the Aldmeri attempted numerous times to find their old homeland but could not succeed. It was not even about whether the continent had sunk to the bottom of the sea during their absence, it was that they did not even know which direction it lay in - this is directly evidenced by the poem about Topal the Navigator. There, three ships set sail in three different directions, and if Topal discovers Tamriel, the other two ships disappear into oblivion - do they reach their destination, or perish at sea.
Be that as it may, the Aldmeri arrive in Summerset...
Altmer, - raised his hand the Imperial student seated at the back.
Altmer is your neighbor with three skipped seminars, while it was the Alddmeri from Alddmeris that arrived in Summerset, - Dalen said sourly, putting aside his pointer and taking up a fan due to the unbearable heat. - They were the so-called proto-elves, who gave rise to all other elven lines, and the ones most... hmm... closely related to them are precisely the Altmer who remained on the Summerset Isles at the time when the others set off to explore Tamriel.
This province is perhaps the most idyllic place in the Empire. Located in the southwest of Tamriel, the archipelago comprises three large and a dozen smaller islands. It is a green, pleasant country with fertile pastures, misty forests, and many natural bays, filled with ancient and elegant structures. Here is the description of the city of Alinor presented to us in the “Concise Guide”: “a mesmerizing whirlpool of bastions and breathtakingly tall towers, constructed to catch sunlight and split it into constituent colors that entwine and pierce their stones until twilight seems a grace.” In another city, Festhold, spring eternally reigns, reflected in the sapphire waters of the Abessinian Sea.
Abessinian Sea Coast.
The students glanced at each other in confusion. Usually, Dalen did not suffer from an excess of metaphors and comparisons. He had only given his one extravagant speech at the funeral of an old rival, and only because the archmagister had forewarned him - should he utter a single word like “well, finally...” Dalen would be expelled from the guild. He had to improvise.
The riddle was solved as soon as they saw a plump book on the table in front of the elf. Squinting, Maggot read the lines, disdainfully curling his lips. Having finished, he slammed the book shut abruptly, causing the students to flinch.
- To the north lies the Crystal Tower, - announced he darkly, provoking a moan from the plump Bosmer. - Originally, it was not a place of learning magic, but a monument to all elves, their unity, and it is where the first Aldmeri settlers found their rest. The tallest towers intended for burials - a tradition, according to the tapestries of the tower itself, rooted in Aldmeri...
Crystal Tower.
I hope everyone understood that the concept of an “idyllic place” applies only to the external - in the literal sense - side of the islands? Thanks to their voluntary isolation, the Altmer remained for a long time outside the conflicts of Tamriel, enthusiastically immersing themselves in their own.
Initially, this was a purely agrarian, politically egalitarian society, and the custom of ancestor worship, existing since Aldmeri, made it even more cohesive. But gradually, class stratification began along with a schism in the religious sphere - the former worship of all ancestors was replaced with the veneration of only the best - Auri-El, the king of the Aldmeri, equivalent to Akatosh; Trinimac, who, together with Auri-El, led the armies against Lorkhan and men; Magnus, one of the creators of Mundus, the Architect, the creator of magic; Finaster, who taught the Aldmeri to live longer than they should...
During this period, the Psijics emerged, the oldest monastic order of Tamriel - adhering to the Old Religion, they moved to Artaeum, and although they later served as advisors to the Altmer kings, they no longer considered Summerset their home.
Artaeum is the most unusual island in the Summerset Archipelago. It is the third largest and is located south of the village of Potansa, on the eastern shore of Summerset, and west of Runesibea. It seems easy enough to find it on the map, but therein lies the problem - it constantly moves - randomly or at the behest of the Council, currently headed (as well as two hundred fifty years prior) by Celarus. The most famous “disappearance” of the island occurred at the beginning of the Second Era and lasted for five hundred years. Upon its return, the mages, long believed dead, could not - or did not wish to - provide an answer regarding the fate of the previous master Yahesis and the Council of Artaeum.
- Among... - Maggot scratched his beard thoughtfully. - One cannot say of Artaeum that it is “known” in the sense of “known to all,” only “generally known”... So, among the known attractions of the island - the Cave of Dreams, a place where one can teleport to Oblivion and, more importantly, return.
Altmer. Art from TES III: Morrowind.
Although Alinor, located on the west coast, is the capital, every large city, if not a settlement, has its own king, which often led to conflicts. Thus, on the large island Alinor clashed with Lilandril, while battles occurred between Festhold and Skywatch on the second.
But the main adversaries of Summerset have always been the sloths of Trasa, who claimed these territories, and the Maomeri, elves from the southern continent of Pyandonea, who had once been expelled from Aldmeri for attempting insurrection. And if the misty band surrounding Pyandonea served as sufficient protection for the Old Elnoive, the Altmer were less fortunate. The fierce attacks from the Maomeri sparked Summerset to create a navy that remains the most powerful to this day.
One example of the naval prowess of the Altmer can be illustrated by the clash with the Maomeri in 486 of the Second Era. Then, the Alinor fleet pursued the enemy flotilla and fell into an ambush near Pyandonea. Only one ship returned, and its crew reported about the land of “sea jungles,” where enormous snakes drown enemy ships, and thick fog prevents navigation. Only one ship returned - but it returned.
Starting in 830 of the Second Era, the Aldmeri Dominion begins its existence - the most stable force in Tamriel at that time. Its formation was based on the fact that after the fall of the Cyrodiilic Empire in 430 of the Second Era, a fight broke out in Valenwood among various kingdoms, and an attempt by the Camoran dynasty to restore its rule and unify the lands ended with the engagement of an external force - Summerset.
The Dominion lasted until the establishment of the Empire of Tiber Septim.
Altmer.
Maggot set the fan aside and took up the pointer once again. A light tapping immediately brought the audience from a state of “slumbering realm” to battle readiness.
- The fact that the Altmer are the closest kin to the proto-elves did not diminish their ambitions. Quite the opposite. “High elves” - this signifies not only their height, and I want to note that they are, mind you, taller than Nords, but also their “high birth,” and the perspective from which they view the entire rest of the world. Only the quarrelsome Dunmer and the golden saints of Sheogorath can compete with them in arrogance, - Dalen grinned. - The last comparison is particularly fitting - the skin of the Altmer has a golden hue. They live much longer than the other races - even relatively to the Mer. Some books that have made their way to the guild of mages provide grounds to believe that this longevity is significantly credited to their studies in necromancy. Just recall Mannimarco - he was expelled from Artaeum precisely for studying necromancy. It begs the question - where did he obtain his sources. Probably his main problem was that he pursued this too zealously and openly compared to others...
The students, who had been sitting quietly up to that point, froze completely. According to dubious, unconfirmed information from an unreliable source, who, moreover, was drunk out of his mind at the time of passing this information (in fact, it was an ordinary state for the quartermaster, so it was not worth mentioning), Dalen had once been a spy in the ranks of necromancers. It is not easy to successfully feign a necromancer.
- A high elf with a weapon is a rare sight. They are mages, and they have a considerable amount of time living to polish their skills. The only people who might rival them in that are Bretons, and that is solely for the reason that they are half-breeds with Ayleid blood. On the other hand, they are also vulnerable to magic.
Maggot broke away from gazing at the ceiling, realizing that something extraordinary was happening. There was a grave silence. Surprised by the sight of his frozen students, he interpreted their silence as sympathy for the Altmer's vulnerability to magic.
- But they don't get sick, - he shrugged.