Lore:Elsweyr

Elsweyr is a region that lies on the southern coast of Tamriel, and is home to the feline Khajiit. It is divided into two major climates: savannahs, badlands and dry plains in the north, and fertile lands of jungle and rainforests in the south.

Originally, sixteen Khajiiti clans roamed the province, and were often simplified as belonging to a region or realm. With a combination of outside pressures and mastery of areas of expertise, it became more accurate to associate a clan with an area. Eventually, sixteen tribes became sixteen kingdoms. To the north were the kingdoms of Ne-Quin-Al, Rimmen, Riverhold, Dune, Orcrest, Verkarth, Meirvale, and Helkarn in the north. In the south were the kingdoms of Alabaster, Bruk'ra, Pa'alatiin, Corinthe, Tenmar, Torval, Khenarthia, and Senchal.  The lullaby known as the Hasa Zha'ja explains how these clans got their name, while the poem known as Zhan Zhab tells of the transition from clan names being used to refer to the names of regions. Due to the Thrassian Plague, these sixteen clans changed their tribal functions or they may have died due to starvation and other hardships. These clans essentially became two and were separated ideologically and geographically as what we would come to know as the two kingdoms of Anequina and Pellitine.  These two kingdoms would eventually be united into the Elsweyr Confederacy, and once more separated in two kingdoms in the Third Aldmeri Dominion .  
 
 
Geography
Elsweyr is bordered by Valenwood to the west and by Cyrodiil to the north and east, with access to Topal Bay and the Padomaic Ocean to the south.

Anequina
Anequina encompasses the northern half of Elsweyr. The region is dominated by harsh badlands and dry plains,  which gave rise to a hardened warrior culture among the local Khajiit that viewed their neighbors to the south as decadent and depraved. 

Reaper's March
 

Pellitine
Pellitine encompasses the southern half of Elsweyr. The region is considerably more fertile than the arid north, and is replete with jungles, rainforests, and river basins.  The Khajiit of Pellitine were consequently wealthier than their neighbors to the north, whom they derided as uncouth barbarians.  The seat of the Mane, Torval, is located here.

Quin'rawl Peninsula
The Quin'rawl Peninsula is the southernmost region of Elsweyr, and includes the major port city of Senchal.

Tenmar Forest
The Tenmar Forest is a large jungle in southern Elsweyr where Moon Sugar originated. 

Khenarthi's Roost
 

History

Since the Beginning of Time

The origins of the region of today's Elsweyr and the Khajiit lies far back in the Dawn Era, when Nirn was only one large continent. As the war amongst the wandering Ehlnofey and Old Ehlnofey broke out, the continent broke apart into four.  The later lands of Elsweyr remained on what is now known as Tamriel. The Khajiiti creation myth explains the hot deserts of northern Elsweyr and the wet and poisonous Tenmar Forest in the south to be made by Nirni as revenge for being tricked by Azurah. 

Early records and encounters reveal the Khajiit to have lived far beyond today's borders of Elsweyr—reaching north into the Heartlands, close to today's Imperial City , and west into Valenwood—making them the dominant culture of southern Tamriel. It was already highly developed as Men and Mer just arrived on the continent and fought for dominance in the north.  The ancient Khajiit in the Heartlands also may be responsible for the extinction of the Bird Men home to City Isle.  In some of Tamriel's oldest history, the province of Elsweyr was ruled by an unknown Moon Emperor. Gracious architecture that shows veneration towards the moons derives from this, as seen across modern-day Dune's high walls. 

The Sixteen Kingdoms

Sometime in the Merethic Era, when Elsweyr was composed of sixteen kingdoms, Kaalgrontiid and his horde of dragons came to dominate the land and above all, consume the Moon's lunar power. Kaalgrontiid is believed by some to originate from Alduin's horde in   and  , having been driven to split off from the bulk of his kin in the north in order to sate his own pride and ambition.  This behavior is considered normal for dragons, who are naturally driven to seek mastery.  Kaalgrontiid in particular hoped that with the Moon's power, he would become  's equal.  To stop them, The Khajiit hero   recruited four companions,  ,  ,  , and Cadwell the Betrayer.  When fighting them proved to be futile, Cadwell suggested that it may be best to convince the dragons that they were now a willing part of their plans. In preparation, Anequina attuned to  , incited the moons to align to form an eclipse, allowing the   to open a portal the Plane of Jode, where the object the dragons desired,  , rested. The dragon's ambitions would be their undoing, as the dragons accessed the  , but Khunzar-ri convinced them to not simply absorb the power of the Core like they originally intended, but instead store their energy within it in the guise that they would combine the lunar power with their own.   The gamble worked, and the dragons were weakened enough for them to retreat back into the wilderness.  To finish the job, Khunzar-ri once again convinced the dragons to play a part of his scheme. He managed to lure them into the Halls of Colossus, where he managed to seal them away. The Dragons would be obscured as "demons" in legends, and become the fabled "Demon Weapon". Their power would be coveted by many people. 

By the beginning of the First Era, the sixteen realms in the region of today's Elsweyr still existed.  These were not comparable to the kingdoms of Men and Mer, as those Khajiiti realms were not fighting each other for power or land. Instead they were existing in harmony and complementary. Each such kingdom was specialized on providing goods or services and shared it with their neighbors.  Ne Quin-al, also known as Anequina in Cyrodilic, for example provided their excellent trained fighters of the Two-Moons Dance to Torval in exchange for fish and other goods from the sea. Influence and power shifted constantly, and the dominance of the regions cycled through the kingdoms depending on the phases of Masser and Secunda. For example, Ne Quin-al was in power at full moons, while Torval was when both moons were half, or Senchal when they were both new. 

In all this time, the Ayleids seemed to have shown little activity in the regions controlled by the Khajiit.  Only after  , when Alessia begun to persecute the Ayleids, the clan of   tried to find refugee in the Khajiiti lands. However, most of them died on the ill-fated expedition. 

At similar time Pelinal Whitestrake has been slaying many Khajiit, having them mistaken for another strain of Aldmer. Alkosh is being attributed to have repelled this attack , although it also is said Pelinal had realized his error himself. 
right|thumb|Do'Krin Monastery was built with the loot of the Anequine Conquests
In the fifth century of the First Era  the Golden Beast of Anequina, Darloc Brae, expanded the territory of Ne Quin-al in the process of the Anequine Conquests until it ranged from   in the west, over Arenthia, up to the north at Larsius River, and Rimmen in the east. The loot of the Conquests he used to build     He was also invited to the coronation of the Emperor Gorieus in  . 

With the year of   came Sun's Death, an event caused by the eruption of Red Mountain. 

Over many centuries there are no further records of the happenings in the kingdoms of the Khajiit. Only the Dragon Break from   until    was mentioned to be observed by the Mane, using the constancy of the Ja-Kha'jay to record it. 

The political balance in the sixteen Khajiiti kingdoms proved stable enough for thousands of years. Neither the Alessian Empire nor the Bosmer of Valenwood dared to extend their borders too far into the lands of the Khajiit, but caused increasing animosity between the Khajiiti realms.  

The Two Kingdoms

After two millennia the political landscape of the Khajiiti territory changed drastically with the emerging Thrassian Plague of  .  It expanded along the trading routes deep into the realm of the Khajiit and caused a mass mortality. The balance between the sixteen kingdoms was finally destroyed as the survivors were forced into undesired roles; initial consternation turned to distrust and violence.

The remains of the original sixteen realms were two realms with opposing cultures: The northern Ne Quin-al with its many warrior clans, and the wealthy southern Pa'alatiin, also known as Pellitine in Cyrodilic. Both kingdoms fought for centuries, but none of both could ever gain the upper hand of Elsweyr.  

In the Second Empire

With the rise of the Reman Dynasty in  , the new found Second Empire begun to expand. Also the two kingdoms of Anequina and Pellitine could not resist the Empire's power and were conquered, alongside with a propaganda campaign to justify the invasion.  Later, in  ,   of Riverhold lead the left flank for the Empire on in the Battle of Bodrum.  Also in the same year the King of Senchal,  , became appointed advisor to the court of Reman III. 

As long as Anequina and Pellitine were part of the Empire, they found security in it, but also never stopped rebelling against it at the same time.  And so also the Empire never could bring an end to the fights between the two Khajiit kingdoms.  

The Formation of the Elsweyr Confederacy

right|thumb|Elsweyr around the Second Era
The ongoing strife between Anequin and Pellitine was finally resolved by the Khajiit themselves. Keirgo of Anequina and Eshita of Pellitine married in   and combined the two conflicting kingdoms, aware of the political impact, into one: The Elsweyr Confederacy. The reason for the name is a matter of debate; either a reference to the old Khajiiti proverb "A perfect society is always found elsewhere", or to the Sands Behind the Stars, in Ta'agra called ''Llesw'er''.   The latter however is a paradise promised by the Riddle'Thar  two years after the Elsweyr Confederacy had already formed. 

The Rebellion

The formation of the new kingdom did not bring the expected peace. The cleft between tribal culture of the north and nobility of the south was still present. The power between the two former kingdoms, each had their own central government and allied tribes, shifted to the nobility. The chieftains of the north felt betrayed by both their ruling classes and forgot about their vendettas only to sign treaties of their own. Soon the cities of former Anequina were under constant attack, leaving King Keirgo no choice than to petition to the Empire for help. But the Empire itself was in similar unrest, as they lost their own ruler, Potentate Versidue-Shaie, assassinated in his palace in Senchal, in  .  As Ne Quin-al, the old capital, fell to the rebels, the young Confederation seemed to soon break apart. 

right|thumb|Rawl'kha temple in  
As the rebellion kept going on, Mane Rid-Thar-ri'Datta—the spiritual leader of the Khajiit—revealed the Riddle'Thar Epiphany in the Temple of Two-Moons Dance of Rawl'kha in  .  The edicts from this key event in Khajiiti theology however were not accepted by everyone at this time , leading to those exiled and their temples deconsecrated.  Rid-Thar-ri'Datta was since then known as the First Mane, although there have been at least two Manes before him.  The Mane, usually nonpartisan, used Riddle'Thar to proclaim a new system of dividing the powers in Elsweyr. Bound to the dance of the two moons—their different phases—the power in a region shifted between the nobility of the cities and the chieftains of the deserts. The Mane itself was overseeing this shift of powers, and as this system was implemented it finally brought peace to Elsweyr some time around or after  —lasting under many more Manes.  

Some time after the last Potentate, Savirien-Chorak, of the Second Empire was killed in   , warlord Attrebus persecuted the Akaviri in Cyrodiil. The Khajiit granted the Tsaesci and others asylum in and around Rimmen in northern Elsweyr.  They later built the   in the city.   

Outbreak of the Knahaten Flu

Two hundred years after the rebellion—that followed the formation of the Elsweyr Confederacy—the Knahaten Flu ravaged the land of the Khajiit just as unprepared as the Thrassian Plague before.  The flu, reported the first time in Stormhold in    , appeared in Elsweyr the first time on   in the   slums of Senchal. First dismissed as a toxin in the goods by the city's elders, it spread over to  ,  , and the docks of Alabaster. The expansion of the flu accelerated, soon to be in Torval, Orcrest in   , Dune, Corinthe, and everywhere between. 

As the Khajiit were focused on fighting their own extinction, Colovian armies, in the time of the Longhouse Emperors, invaded the northern part of Elsweyr and annexed it. Their invasion went as far as Riverhold and Orcrest, until they were fought back there in   or a few years later. 

In the meantime,     of Corinthe identified the transfer of the flu, and   distilled a sorghum-tea that mitigated the worst of the symptoms.    ,  , organized the remnants of the   to maintain order and use the newfound knowledge. However, all this did not prevent further spreading of the flu and many more dead. When hope was almost lost, unexpected help came from the Altmer of Summerset Isles, bringing direly needed physicians, healers, and supplies. This aid gradually defeated the Knahaten Flu and saving the Khajiit. Most of them were however suspicious about the Altmer's help, as it was given to preserve the Khajiit as possible alliance partners in times of need. 

In   Euraxia Tharn became Queen of Rimmen after the  . 

In the First Aldmeri Dominion

With the death of King Hidellith of Alinor in  , Queen Ayrenn took up the throne.  As around this time invading armies moved towards south-west Tamriel, she summoned the Khajiit to stand by her side, as compensation for helping them defeating the Knahaten Flu. The signing of the   by Queen Ayrenn, Lord Gharesh-ri and King Aeradan Camoran formed the First Aldmeri Dominion in which the Khajiit thus entered.   Under the united banner of the Dominion, they now also moved into the Three Banners War.  

Attack on Reapers March

right|thumb|Reapers March in  
The Planemeld also hit Reapers March in  .   from the realm of Molag Bal, with the help of the Worm Cult, appeared all over the region in an attempt to suck it into Coldharbour.

Also in this year, the Colovians once again invaded northern Elsweyr. Javad Tharn worked together with the  , and they were able to corrupt the current Mane   as he was on a travel to Valenwood—to show condolence to the death of Silvenar   in the same year.  The Mane was henceforth possessed by the  —a Dro-m'Athra—and worked together with Javad Tharn.    On the way to the   of the new Silvenar   and   Finoriell, Akkhuz-ri attacked his followers and fled to Reapers March. 

On his way, Akkhuz-ri freed the Dro-m'Athra in the long forgotten temple of Khaj Rawlith, below  , to aid Colovian siege there. The Moon Hallowed and both  s,   and  , fought the Colovians and Dro-m'Athra back with the aid of the spirit of Rid-Thar-ri'Datta.   In Arenthia, the Moon Hallowed helped the local militia to end the Colovian occupation, destroy a Dark Anchor, and drive the Dark Mane out of Akkhuz-ri.  

The Mane resigned due the dark influence that had befallen him , leading the two Lunar Champions on the way to become his successors. In the temple of Rawl'kha, Shazah and Khali faced the   successfully. Before this point there never have been two Lunar Champions at the same time to contest for the position of the Mane before in recorded history.  

 , Javad Tharn and the Stonefire Cult also sought to acquire the   —a powerful relic from the era of Mane Tullar-dra —in Do'Krin Monastery, but were fought back by the Moon Hallowed and Rid-Thar-ri'Datta's spirit. 

After this, Shazah, Khali and the Moon Hallowed fought the Dark Mane and by him and Javad Tharn released Dro-m'Athra in Moonmont.  One of the two Lunar Champions sacrificed herself to contain the Dark Mane, leaving only one Lunar Champion left. 

right|thumb|Dune in  
Later the Moon Hallowed and remaining Lunar Champion arrived in Dune. At this time, the city was under an attack of Daedra, summoned up by   and Javad Tharn.    The city was liberated, the by the Stonefire Cult befouled temples  cleansed, and a Dark Anchor at the Shrine to Lorkhaj in the temple district destroyed.  In presence of the Dominion's leaders and other important figures at the   temple, the Moon Hallowed and Lunar Champion walked the last path—the  . There they ultimately defeated Javad Tharn and the Dark Mane. The other Lunar Champion that sacrificed herself before was set free by this, able to reach Aetherius.  Returned from the Path, the remaining Lunar Champion rose as new Mane of the Khajiit. 

With the destruction of the   and the end of the Planemeld within the same year— —also the Dark Anchors no longer threatened Reapers March.  

Dragons over Elsweyr

After the retrieval of the Wrathstone around  , the Imperial battlemage Abnur Tharn inadvertently unleashed the Dragons from their containment from the Halls of Colossus, thus causing them to continue in their quest for the Moon's Lunar Power. The Dragons allied themselves with the forces of the Queen of Rimmen, Euraxia Tharn, who were lead to believe that the dragons were willing to be used as tools. The Dragons were quick to cross Euraxia when she was no longer a use to them, and was left without their aid against the forces of Elsweyr Defense Force as well as the  . The turn of events resulted in her death and the return of Rimmen to Khajiit control. Euraxia's forces now without a leader, allied with the Dragons to avoid their wrath.  The Dragons were put to a halt when the Vestige stepped into the Plane of Jode and defeated Kaalgrontiid and his kin, preventing the lunar power from being completely absorbed. 

The dragon Laatvulon sought to continue his master Kaalgrontiid's plan of bringing on the Dark Aeon, intending for Kaalgrontiid to become Akatosh's equal.  To this end, Laatvulon created a Khajiiti dragon cult, the New Moon Cult, whose ranks were bolstered by many of the vulnerable Khajiit from the region, such as those who were affected by the Knahaten Flu. The red dragon Nahfahlaar, who was Laatvulon's ancient rival, dueled Laatvulon near the city of Senchal in southern Elsweyr, but was overpowered due to Laatvulon's newfound power. Afterwards, Taking refuge in Tideholm, Nahfahlaar was encountered by the Dragonguard, which been recently reformed by the Redguard Blademaster Sai Sahan. Seeing that Nahfahlaar meant no harm, an alliance was forged once again with former foes/allies, one in which Nahfahlaar served as a valuable asset. This alliance led to victory, and Laatvulon, the Demon from the East, was slain. 

Nahfahlaar subsequently aided the Dragonguard in defeating Kaalgrontiid and the remnants of the New Moon Cult. Kaalgrontiid returned and planned to siphon the energy he collected from Jode's Core and become empowered by a giant cluster of Aeonstone. To prevent anyone from disrupting his plans, he utilized the energy of the Aeonstone to create an aegis, a massive and impenetrable ward, around the ancient fortress of Dragonhold. Through the combined efforts of Nahfahlaar, the Dragonguard, and Queen Khamira's forces, Kaalgrontiid was slain. However, the Dark Aeon became unstable as a result of Kaalgrontiid's machinations and threatened to destroy the entire continent of Tamriel. It required the combined power of Abnur Tharn and Nahfahlaar to prevent the Aeonstone from affecting the area outside of Dragonhold. Nahfahlaar and Abnur were successful, but only at the cost of Abnur's life. With Tharn's sacrifice, the rage of Dragons was stopped. 

After the Dragons

The Akaviri of Rimmen later joined the cause to restore the Second Empire, when remnants of the Kamal army of the Second Akaviri Invasion of   tried seizing the Throne from Attrebus' successors. This attempt did not succeed, and the Khajiit used the chaos of these events to reclaim lost land in a series of border wars.

Rimmen seceded from Elsweyr in  , forming the Kingdom of Rimmen. They however still were paying taxes to the Mane in return for protection of their independence. 

In the Third Empire

Towards the end of the Second Era, the ascending Tiber Septim conquered parts of Anequina and cast out all Khajiit. There, in the Halls of Colossus, he reconstructed and reactivated Numidium.  Not long after, Senchal was besieged by Imperial troops under General  . The population did not surrender and was slain entirely.  Ultimately, Elsweyr was annexed to become a province of Tiber Septim's Third Empire, but as under the Second Empire, there have been rebellions against the Empire. 

Under the reign of Emperor Pelagius Septim II a rebellion broke out in Torval. It proved too strong and forced the Emperor to lend money from King Mantiarco to pay additional mercenaries next to the Imperial Legions to strike it down successfully. In return he had to promise him the hand of his daughter,  . 

The Five Year War

right|thumb|Valenwood at the end of the Third Era
During the Imperial Simulacrum—from   to  —a conflict between Valenwood and Elsweyr escalated:  In  , Bosmer invaded Torval, slaying thousands of citizens as retaliation for, as they claimed, Khajiiti bandit attacks. This   marked the beginning of the Five Year War for the Khajiit.  The Bosmer date its beginning back to  .  After a lost battles at  , the Khajiit won the upper hand in all following. The Heart of Anequina,   at Fort Sphinxmoth,    and   . The Khajiit occupied both banks of Xylo River in Malabal Tor.   At the end of the Imperial Simulacrum, with Emperor Uriel Septim VII  back on the throne, the Empire tried to give back the land to the Bosmer. But Khajiit had already settled down in the area and refused to leave, leaving the Empire to leave the situation, possibly convinced that the land rightly belonged to the Khajiit by ancient treaty, and not to cause another conflict. 

Loss of Territory to Leyawiin

At or before   there has been another border conflict; Between Elsweyr and the County of Leyawiin. A long lasting dispute was resolved by an agreement between the Mane and Marius Caro, Count of Leyawiin, leading to a loss of territory for Elsweyr comparable to the win of the previous Five Year War. This agreement however is not accepted by all Khajiit, and so the Renrijra Krin tried to take back the land. 

The last two decades of the Third Era in Elsweyr were marked by the flourishing of Moon Sugar trade. Under this influence, the formerly dangerous slum Senchal rose up to a resort for wealthy and powerful Khajiit. The sugar trader  , called Gold Cat by his wealth, had a rumored villa in the port city, and paid the guards to keep it crime-free, while continuing his business in Torval, Corinthe and Rimmen. 

After the Oblivion Crisis

right|thumb|Masser and Secunda vanished for two years in the Void Nights
After the Oblivion Crisis and the following assassination of Potentate Ocato of Firsthold, the Stormcrown Interregnum begun.  In this time, Elsweyr once again found itself independent of the Empire, but was granted no peace. In or around   the Mane was assassinated, causing the south of Elsweyr sinking into chaos. In the north at this time a unknown proclaim himself Potentate of Rimmen and surrounding areas.   While the city was rich of Moon Sugar, distribution was tightly controlled, and entirely forbidden to Khajiit clans refusing to work in the city.  

In  , Masser and Secunda vanished from the sky for two entire years. The so-called Void Nights ended in 4E 100 with the return of the moons, while the Thalmor took credit for bringing them back. Whether or not they were actually responsible for this turnaround remains unresolved. Nevertheless, as the Khajiit people and culture are tied inexorably close to the moons, the Thalmor were able to win great influence over them as their apparent saviors. Within the following fifteen years, until  , the influence of the Empire dwindled so much it was unable to stop the coup which dissolved the Elsweyr Confederacy and recreated the original kingdoms of Anequina and Pellitine as client states of the Third Aldmeri Dominion. 
 

Notable Places
;Alabaster: A city found inland from the Niben River on the Elsweyr side of the border
;Corinthe: A city in central Elsweyr
;Dune: A city in northwestern Elsweyr, near the Valenwood border
;The Halls of Colossus: The secret complex that housed Numidium during its reconstruction and activation
;Khenarthi's Roost: A large island off the south coast where Khajiit and Maormer live peacefully together
; : A city on Khenarthi's Roost
;Orcrest: A city in northern Elsweyr, south of Riverhold
;Rawl'kha: A city in western Elsweyr, on the Valenwood border southwest of Dune
;Rimmen: A city in northeastern Elsweyr, near the border to Cyrodiil
;Riverhold: A city in northern Elsweyr, near the Cyrodiil border
;Senchal: A slum turned into a coastal resort, it lies on the northern shores of the southeastern "tail" of Elsweyr
;Torval: City-state and seat of the Mane, near the southwestern Valenwood border

Other Information
Cuisine
The cuisine of Elsweyr is invariably sweet. Meals such as candies, cakes, puddings, sugarmeats and honey stews makes the staples of the Khajiit diet. Non-Khajiiti are often advised against eating these dishes as most of them contain moon sugar, a dangerous substance to which the Khajiit have both a natural predisposition and a resistance developed from a lifelong consumption of the substance. On such occasions, merely touching the food with lips is considered a polite form of declining.   Elsweyr Fondue is a dish containing ale, moon sugar and Eidar cheese, which is a prime example of the cuisine.

Gallery
Maps
 

See Also
For game-specific information, see the Arena, and ESO articles.

References