Elsweyr Elsweyr ( commonly pronounced " Else - where " ) is a region of the continent of Tamriel featured in the game series . It is home to the Khajiit , a playable bestial and feline race in all of the main series of The Elder Scrolls so far . As of the events of ( 4E 201 ) the province is separated into two nations , both of which are client states of the Aldmeri Dominion . Anequina to the North incorporates a desert like badlands fairly similar to that of Hammerfell , whilst to the South lies Pelletine , its geography consisting of a variety of dense jungles and woodland comparable to that of Valenwood . The province is bordered by Valenwood to the west , Cyrodiil to the north and east and Black Marsh to the east , across the Topal Sea . Government . The Khajiit are ruled by the Mane , a spiritual leader of the Khajiit , who , in ancient times , remained neutral in conflicts . The Mane is different from other Khajiit , although he is not of a different breed . The Mane is born during the alignment of Masser and Secunda ( the two moons ) , and when another rarely seen moon is visible . It is said that there can only be one Mane at any one time , although whether this is magical , or the result of the Mane eliminating competition is unknown . Alternatively , it could be due to the very specific lunar conditions that are present at his birth . The manifestation of such a scenario may only occur once in a lifetime ; however , there is no lore regarding its frequency . History . According to Khajiiti version of " the Monomyth " , Khajiit were first envisioned by the ancestral mother , the first cat Fadomai . Fadomai selected her favored daughter Azurah to take one of the already existing races , and refashion them , that they might be the " fastest , cleverest , most beautiful people , " and that they should be called Khajiit . Azurah came down to Nirn , took a forest people torn between man and beast , called them Khajiit , and placed them in the best deserts and forests on Nirn . There she made them of many shapes , and taught them the value of secrets . This account would seem to imply that the Khajiit arose from another race through divine intervention . This race has been linked in other sources to the ancestral Altmeri stock . However , some early Aldmeri accounts record the ancient Khajiit existing in Tamriel since the early Merethic Era . Nothing much is known of the Khajiit in between their settlement of the deserts and forests of Elsweyr and their foundation of a common confederacy . Prior to 2E 309 , Elsweyr was almost continuously mired in internal conflict and strife between its tribal factions . Due to its tribal strife , it was incapable of presenting a common force to external enemies , and , in the words of the Pocket Guide to The Empire , " the nearly constant insurrection and tribal warfare among the catmen rarely troubled the stage of history . " What is known is that Khajiit have some knowledge of the events at Red Mountain and the War of the First Council , as they have their own name for the eruption at Vvardenfell Mountain , " Sun ' s Death . " Some sources even state that the Khajiit fought alongside Wulfharth at the Battle of Red Mountain . Second Era . Elsweyr established central government in 2E 309 , under the guidance of Keirgo of Anequina and Eshita of Pellitine . The agreement between the two Khajiit leaders , combined their holdings into one kingdom . The name ' Elsweyr ' arose from an old Khajiiti proverb that went along the lines of " perfect society is always elsewhere . " The resultant state caused a great deal of discord amongst the members of the former feudal aristocracy , who , feeling betrayed , chose to rise up in arms against the united state . Keirgo fruitlessly petitioned the Empire of Cyrodiil for aid and was met with failure , for the Cyrodiilic Empire was experiencing its own internal issues . The former capital of Anequia , Ne Quin - al , fell to the rebels . A ceasefire was achieved when the normally nonpartisan spiritual leader Mane Rid - T ' har - ri ' Datta stepped in to broker talks . A lasting peace ensued , as the tribes and the urbanized elite established terms whereby control of Elsweyr shifted according to the phases of the moons Masser and Secunda . The two parties to the deal experience only nominal control of Elsweyr , and that true power lies in the Mane , whose government is " secretive . " Potentate Versidue - Shaie , a Tsaesci of Akavir , who began the Second Era of Tamrielic history by assassinating the last of the Reman dynasty of Emperors and took up the throne of Cyrodiil , established his palace in the Elsweyr kingdom of Senechal . He was murdered there in 2E 324 by assassins , members of the Morag Tong , a religious order from Morrowind . The Knahaten Flu spread to Senchal in 2E 560 , and quickly plagued most of Elsweyr . The Khajiit joined the First Aldmeri Dominion in 2E 580 with the signing of the Elden Accord , overseen by Mane Akkhuz - ri . In 2E 582 , the Maormer attempted to tighten their grip on Khenarthi ' s Roost and assassinated the Silvenar Edhelorn , but were defeated by the Dominion . Javad Tharn corrupted the Mane Akkhuz - ri with the Dark Mane , forcing him to step down . After Shazah or Khali completed the Lunar Trials and became the next Mane , they defeated Javad Tharn and brought peace to Reaper ' s March . Between 2E 861 and 864 , the city of Senchal refused to surrender to General Pottreid and the Third Legion of the Septim Empire . As a result , they invaded the city and killed dozens of men , women , and children . Third Era . A seized portion of Elsweyr , an area near Rimmen , was the chosen assemblage site of the Dwemer artifact known as the Numidium . The land was taken by a contingent of the Emperor ' s elite guard , the Blades , and forcibly cleared of its native Khajiit population . Upon that land the Halls of Colossus were built . Imperial Engineers under the Battlemage Zurin Arctus then assembled the machine . Native Khajiiti inhabitants record that a Dragon Break occurred during the assemblage process , which led to continuing health issues for generations onward . After the Numidium was destroyed , The Empire seemingly had obfuscated the story surrounding the Numidium , creating an alternate history for the halls , wherein they were built by giants . Despite this , some inhabitants of Elsweyr know the truth of the Halls of Colossus , as the area is still uninhabitable due to Numidium ' s construction poisoning the area . Many Khajiit still loathe the Empire for their actions at Rimmen . Following the tumultuous history of the Numidium , which only touches on Elsweyr briefly , surviving literature records no event in Elsweyr until 3E 394 , when the Five Year War began . The war began following an event the Khajiit call the " Slaughter of Torval . " The Khajiit claim that over a thousand Khajiti citizens were killed by an invading Bosmer i force from Valenwood without provocation , while the Bosmer claim that the attack was in retaliation for the disruption in trade resultant from Khajiti raids on Valenwood ' s wood caravans . The war ended in 3E 399 , with a Khajiti victory , following tactical and strategic moves by Khajiit tribesmen that were seen as impressive both by foreign commentators and the tribesmen themselves . Fourth Era . The Mane of Elsweyr was assassinated in the early Fourth Era , sometime prior to 4E 49 . Elsweyr was also independent of the Empire during this time . When it rejoined the Empire is unknown . The effects of the Great War of the Fourth Era on Elsweyr are unrecorded , though it is known that the Elsweyr confederacy joined the Aldmeri Dominion after they stopped an event known as the Void Nights , when the moons Masser and Secunda disappeared between 4E 98 and 4E 100 . Following a coup in 4E 115 , the Elsweyr Confederacy was dissolved into the ancient client states of Anequina and Pelletine . Religion . The Khajiit religion , while quite different from that of the men or mer , is still clearly derived from the old Aldmer i pantheon . The Khajiit creation myth includes references to powerful ancestor cats with strikingly familiar names . Their legends start with the original litter mates , Ahnurr and Fadomai ( Anu and Padomay ) . These two gave birth to all of the great spiritual children , including Alkosh the first cat ( Akatosh ) , Khenarthi ( Kynareth ) , Magrus ( Magnus ) , Mara , and S ' rendarr ( Stendarr ) . A second litter of children soon followed , including Merrunz ( Mehrunes Dagon ) , Mafala ( Mephala ) , and Sangiin ( Sanguine ) , among others . Ahnurr did not want further children , but Fadomai was persuaded by her elder children to birth one more litter , this final group containing Azura h , Nirni , and the moons . At this , Ahnurr became angry at Fadomai , who fled to the void , and birthed one last child , Lorkhaj . Fadomai knew she was dying , her life having been drained by her birth , but she gave to Nirni a gift , that she would birth children of her own . Nirni went to Lorkhaj , asking him to form a dwelling place for her children . This he did , but he tricked his siblings , forming the mortal plane and trapping many of them there with him . Most of Fadomai ' s first litter were trapped , while her second litter saw the danger and fled . Into this dwelling , Nirni birthed many children , the various human and mer races of Tamriel . However , one of Fadomai ' s children , Azurah , had also been given a gift by their mother . She was given permission to take one of Nirni ' s children , and reshape them to her own liking , so long as she made them the fastest , cleverest , and most beautiful of all creatures . Azurah chose a group of forest dwellers among Nirni ' s children , and from them , she formed the Khajiit . Nirni was furious at this , and asked her sibling Y ' ffer to punish the Khajiit . He did this by turning their grasslands into a dry desert , and their forests into poisonous marshes . The Khajiit , however , were protected by Azurah , who taught them the secret of the moons ( the Lunar Lattice in Khajiiti terms ) , and how to change their shapes to survive . Those forest dwellers who stayed true to their mother , Nirni , were turned into the Bosmer , and given the lush forests of Valenwood as their home . The Khajiit pantheon is similar to that of the Ayleids , who worshipped both Aedra and Daedra . Geography . Elsweyr ' s location has been fixed since the first entry in the series , , where it was found in the southern half of the continent , bordering Cyrodiil to the north and northeast , Valenwood to the west , and the Topal Sea to the southeast . Elsweyr is primarily a province of " harsh badlands and dry plains , " with fertile growing regions covered in jungle and rainforest to the south . Elsweyr ' s society is divided along these lines , with a stratified plantation aristocracy centered on production of the hallucinogenic ' Moon Sugar ' occupying the southern groves , and a society of nomadic desert tribesmen occupying the badlands and desert . Elsweyr was explorable in " Arena " , but has not been accessible since until . Small elements of Khajiit culture recur in each game . Skooma , a drug processed from Moon Sugar , figures in various plotlines and accompanying lore . Native life . The Treatise on Lycantrophy records that cursed Khajiits called Werelion s , a " vile presence , " inhabit Elsweyr , as well Black Marsh and southern Cyrodiil . The herb and alchemical ingredient Nightshade is native to Elsweyr , and is reputed to be quite poisonous . Despite that , the Khajiit cherish the Nightshade , attributing magical powers to it and hiding it in " their armor to increase their abilities to skulk , hide and become invisible . " The plant is also to be found in Western Cyrodiil , surrounding Skingrad , but also in lesser quantities around Bravil in the Nibenay Basin and Cheydinhal in the northeast . In , Nightshade , properly processed , damages health and luck , burdens , and fortifies magicka . As no further effects are registered , it could be presumed that the Khajiit habit remains a bit of superstition . Moon sugar grows here , which the Khajiit process in order to create skooma , which is a popular drug amongst the Khajiit . Skooma is addictive and illegal in most provinces . It is smuggled at sea by pirates to all shores and can be found in skooma dens .