The Last King of the Ayleids Contents . The Last King of the Ayleids by Herminia Cinna The Ayleid s , or Heartland High Elves , ruled Cyrodiil in the long ages of Myth before the beginning of recorded history . One of the earliest recorded dates , in fact , is the Fall of White - Gold Tower in 1E 243 , which is commonly assumed to mark the end of the Ayleids . Although Ayleid rule over all of Cyrodiil was indeed broken in 1E 243 , this was only one of the most obvious stages near the end of a long decline . The first two centuries of the First Era saw increasing strife between the great Ayleid lords of Cyrodiil . Alessia appears to have taken advantage of a period of civil war to launch her uprising . Imperial historians have traditionally attributed her victory to intervention from Skyrim , but it appears that she had at least as much help from rebel Ayleid lords during the siege of White - Gold Tower . The popular image of the Ayleids as brutal slavemasters is based in fact , of course , but it is less well - known that a number of Ayleid princes continued to rule parts of Cyrodiil after 263 , as vassals of the new Empress of Cyrodiil . This suggests either that Ayleid rule was not universally detested , or that Alessia and her successors were more pragmatic than is traditionally believed , or perhaps some of both . In any event , excavations at a number of Ayleid sites show continued occupation and even expansion during the so - called Late Ayleid Period ( 1E 243 - c . 498 ) . At first , many Ayleid lords continued to rule as vassals of the new human regime . In some cases , Ayleid supporters of Alessia were even rewarded with new lands taken from slain enemies . It is not clear to what extent human slavery continued under the Cyrodilic Empire . Humans continued to dwell in the Ayleid - ruled areas of Cyrodiil , but there is nothing definitive to show under what terms . This was an uneasy relationship from the beginning , and was not destined to last long . Resentment at the continued presence of Ayleid nobles within the Empire was a contributing factor to the rise of the so - called Alessian Order founded by Marukh . The first victims of the Alessians were the Ayleids of Cyrodiil . In the early 300s , the surviving Ayleid communities in human - ruled areas were obliterated one by one , the refugees temporarily swelling the power of the remaining Ayleid lordships . Then in 361 , the Alessians gained control of the Empire and enforced the Alessian Doctrines throughout its domain . The Ayleid lordships were abolished . Enforcement of this decree does not appear to have required much direct violence - - it seems that by this point the balance of power was so overwhelmingly against them , and their fate so long foreshadowed , that most of the remaining Ayleids simply left Cyrodiil , eventually being absorbed into the Elven populations of Valenwood and High Rock . Indeed , the rise of the Direnni Hegemony may be linked to this exodus of Ayleids from Cyrodiil ( a connection so far little studied by historians ) . Still , a remnant Ayleid population seems to have survived the rule of the Alessians , because we hear of " the last king of the Ayleids " joining the Battle of Glenumbria Moors where the Dirennis decisively defeated the Alessians in 482 . How this king ' s people survived the preceding century is unknown . We do not even know who they were , although recent research points to Nenalata as the possible resting place of this " last king . " Unfortunately , in the current state of the Empire , funds are no longer available for proper scientific investigation of such extensive ruins , so the answer to these questions will have to be left to future generations .