Pocket Guide to the Empire , First Edition : Elsweyr Confederacy Elsweyr . Elsweyr is the youngest of the modern regions , and the only one to have established itself in the Common Era , nearly six hundred years ago . It is inhabited by a strange race of intelligent beastmen , who call themselves the " khajiit " in their native tongue . These " khajiit " are all feline in aspect , some far more than others . A particular family - tribe , or pride , might include a hunting party of males that appear like upright jaguars , a few beautiful youths who could pass for Elves were it not for their swishing tails , an uncle or two that would stalk the perimeters on all fours , and a chief who , depending on the moons of his birth , might have the form of any of the above . The " khajiit " attribute their improbable biology to the workings of the " ja - Kha ' jay " ( the " Moonstrings , " or " Lunar Lattice " ) , a magical and semi - divine phenomena believed to derive from the influence of Tamriel ' s twin moons , Masser and Secunda . According to the native tradition , a " khajiit " born while Masser is full and Secunda a thin crescent will grow to be a " cathay - raht " , one of the aforementioned jaguar - men , while one born under the opposite conditions will be little more than an intelligent house - cat . Even the Senche - tiger , the largest great cat in existence , has proven to be just another form of the " khajiit " ; these massive beasts can often be found serving as steeds for their more humanoid cousins . Over twenty forms have been documented among the catmen of Elsweyr , and , in their own society at least , no one of them is more important or inherently better than another ( with the exception of the Mane form , to be described shortly ) . However , the " ohmes " , or " man - faced " " khajiit " , are those most commonly seen outside of the province , as most adventurers and diplomats come from this , the most discreet of the " breeds . " Until relatively recently , the nearly constant insurrection and tribal warfare among the catmen rarely troubled the stage of history . In CE309 , however , Keirgo of Anequina and Eshita of Pellitine combined their long - feuding kingdoms to create Elsweyr , sparking a great class struggle that briefly threatened to draw in outside intervention . Power shifted from two separate kingdoms , each with its own central government and allied tribes , to a nobility besieged by those tribes , who felt that both their ruling classes had betrayed them . Chieftains forgot their ancient sugar - vendettas and signed treaties of their own ( recorded , incidentally , through facial tattoos ) , and before long the cities of former Anequina were under constant attack . Keirgo petitioned the Empire for help , but it had just lost its own ruler , Potentate Versidue - Shaie ( Should be Savirien Chorak ) , and was in similar disarray . When the old capital , Ne Quin - al , fell to the rebels , it seemed Elsweyr would soon burst under the weight of its own union . Peace was restored , however when the normally nonpartisan " khajiit " spiritual leader , the Mane Rid - T ' har - ri ' Datta , " bestowed to the classes equality under the bi - lunar shadow , dividing their power in accordance with two - moons - dance of the ja - Kha ' jay " . What this established , in a more understandable sense , was a rotational power base in which both sides of " khajiit " society , the city - dwellers under the nobility and the nomadic tribes of the desert chieftains , shared alternate control of the region based on the phases of Masser and Secunda ; the terms of this measure , the Riddle ' Thar , were overseen by the thinly - veiled dictatorship of the Mane himself . Since then , Elsweyr has withdrew itself into a secrecy that has scarcely been breached in five hundred years . Geographically , Elsweyr is a harsh area of badlands and dry plains . Only near the southern reaches does the soil turn fertile , and the whole of this region is covered in jungle and rainforests , with sugarcane groves clustering against the two main river basins . The old kingdom of Anequina is its northern section , and has historically offered no threat to either the early Cyro - Nords or the later Empires . Indeed , Pelinal Whitestrake , Nibenay warlord of the Elven Pogrom , mistook the " khajiit " for another strain of Aldmeri and killed many of their number before realizing his error . [ TRAVELLER : ( ! ) ] Human relations have been minimal in the intervening years , but there is talk that the Elsweyr has recently struck treaty with the Aldmeri Dominion ( see Places of Note : Torval , for more supporting evidence ) , a situation that , if true , may force the catmen into another bloody confrontation with the Cyrodilic masters of Tamriel . Understandably , the " ja - Kha ' jay " makes the culture of Elsweyr very strange and alien . It is a peculiar affliction , which seems , at first glance , to be related to lycanthropy . It is not , however , contagious or temporal in effect like the latter - a " khajiit " retains the form of his birth throughout his lifespan , and the moons , while they determine that form , do not affect it thereafter . There are no known shapeshifting " khajiit " . On the whole , the catmen of Elsweyr are a bestial lot , victims of their own preternatural anatomies . They are quick to anger , unpredictable , and dangerous , though singly no match for an Imperial legionnaire . It is also worthwhile to point out that the so - called " human " features found among many of the " khajiits " are , in fact , distinctly Elven in appearance , no doubt proving once and for all the baser predilections of the Elder Race . This is not to say that Elsweyr is without some semblance of civilization . The " khajiit " that do walk erect dress and conduct themselves in a close approximation of a modern , human culture . Their dress is an abundant shawl , commonly of brightly patterned cloth , for defense against the harsh sun and saber - cuts . Their chief attire , the budi , or shirt , is fastened in braids down the right side , not permitting any part of the torso fur to be seen , for such is believed to be highly indecorous . Jewelry and trinkets often adorn the costume , and tattoos are very popular . In some quarters , the latter can even have religious and legal significance . A recent trend among the younger " ohmes " is the application of feline facial tattoos that make them resemble their more hideous and savage brethren . The obvious weapon of choice among the " khajiit " are their claws , naturally sharp and retractable . Others , though , have mastered the use of the saber and scimitar , the dagger and the longbow . There is no standing army in Elsweyr , and the catmen have never shown an expansionist inclination . In fact , they have lost territory in the last fifty years with the secession of their rim territories ( see Rimmen ) . Tamriel ' s two moons are inextricably linked to the society of the " khajiit " , who worship their different phases , and the combination of the phases , as if they were gods . Therefore , each " breed " of " khajiit " has its own patron deity . Earlier it was believed this practice was just another heathen system of worship common among the beastmen of Tamriel , but recent studies in comparative religion have proven that the lunar gods of Elsweyr are merely the divinities of the Imperial Pantheon ( Stendarr , Mara , Kynareth , etc . ) in disguise . Similar findings have revealed that the dro - m ' Athra , or dark spirits of Elsweyr , which correspond to the inverse phases of Masser and Secunda , to be aspects of the more universal Daedric powers . The " khajiit " also believe that their gods regularly bestow blessings to their chosen people , in the form of the moon - sugar , a substance native to the Tenmar Forest in southern Elsweyr . This sugar has a variety of uses ; it is alternately a seasoning and a magical ingredient , a source of communion with the holy moons and a dangerous and addictive drug . The " khajiit " understand it to be " crystallized moonlight , " caught in the water of the Topal Sea and brought to the sugarcane groves of the Tenmar by the force of the twin tides . By partaking of the sugar , the " khajiit " believes they are consuming small portions of their gods ' eternal souls . This drives them into fits of ecstasy and abandon , and the streets of Elsweyr ' s major cities are full of catmen shivering in the grip of sugar fits . A particularly hazardous derivative of the moon - sugar , known as skooma , is often smoked in raw form through a water - pipe by the more pathetic " khajiit " ; its victims are addicted for life , and in constant , alternating states of euphoria and lethargy . Nevertheless , moon - sugar is a daily part of " khajiit " life , and their kingdom ' s chief export . The food of Elsweyr is invariably sweet ; candies , cakes , puddings , and sugarmeats are the staples of the " khajiit " diet , and travelers to Elsweyr are cautioned against partaking of any of the native food . Humans , it seems , are even more susceptible to the effects of the moon - sugar than the catmen themselves . Places of Note . Senchal . This infamous city is the largest port in southern Tamriel . Its sprawl covers the easternmost tip of Elsweyr ' s Quin ' rawl peninsula , a motley assortment of bazaars , taverns , merchant quarters , and open - air markets ringed on three sides by its crowded harbors . Senchal is a favorite stopping point for pirates and sea captains seeking to ply illegal or blackmarket goods , it being far easier to smuggle these goods into and out of the Empire by way of the Topal Sea than to use the well - guarded inland highways . Thieves abound here , as do beggars and pathetic " khajiit " sugar junkies . The traveler is advised to steer clear of Black Keirgo , Senchal ' s most squalid and dangerous quarter , when visiting the city . Illicit sugar - dens line the streets here , where beastmen and nobility alike wither away in sucrose fevers . All in all , Senchal is the ugliest city outside of Imperial jurisdiction . The air is humid and full of the chimney - smoke caught in the eddies from the surrounding coasts . Much of the city is abandoned or in ruins . In CE560 , a strain of the Knahaten Flu blew across the channel from nearby Argonia and quickly infected the city ' s population . Whole neighborhoods were razed in some mad effort to cleanse Senchal of the Flu and have never been rebuilt . Visitors to the open - air markets can see these charred skylines on the periphery , as black and jagged as the teeth of the nearest sugar junkie , begging for cake . Torval . Torval is the city - state of Elsweyr ' s spiritual and temporal ruler , the Mane . He and his tribe live here in stately and exotic palaces built from massive timbers of Valenwood oak , whose territorial borders are only a few hundred miles away . Symmetrical sugarcane gardens surround these palaces , where the Mane is often seen in day - long meditations atop his palanquin , held up by his inexhaustible " cathay - raht " servants . As has been said , the moon - sugar of Elsweyr is the holiest of substances to the " khajiit " . They speak of sugar as we might speak of the soul or the lifeforce . Therefore , humans have been traditionally forbidden to trespass on these estates , and the Warrior Guard enforce this measure as strictly as they do around the Tenmar Forest . An Imperial diplomat was not long ago chased from the premises , even though he had been promised an audience with the " khajiit " ruler . The panther - like Warrior Guard hissed at his approach , bared their fangs , and threatened him to leave quickly , lest they " leak his sugar " into the sand . Our Glorious Emperor , Tiber Septim , has yet to seek redress from the lawless catmen . Rimmen . Though ostensibly its own kingdom , Rimmen still pays tribute to the Mane of Elsweyr , from whose realm it seceded in CE812 during the Interregnum . Earlier , Akaviri refugees had fled persecution when the warlord Attrebus briefly aspired to the Imperial Throne . Attrebus , though he lasted no longer than most of the pretender kings of that period , thought he might rid Cyrodiil of the foreigners who had ruled it for the first half of the Common Era , and he drove the Akaviris past the Empire ' s borders into Elsweyr . The " khajiit " granted them asylum in the hills and steppes of northwestern Elsweyr , where they dwelt in relative seclusion until remnants of the Dir - Kamal resurfaced in Cyrodiil , seizing the Throne from Attrebus ' successors . The Rimmen ( literally , the " Rim Men , " as the " khajiit " called them ) joined their brothers to try to rebuild the Empire . This effort was doomed to failure , but not before the " khajiit " attempted to reclaim their lands in a series of bloody border wars . Currently , since the ascension of Tiber Septim , the hapless Rimmen have once again submitted to the protection of the Mane , with a renewed tribute paying for the Cat Lord ' s guarantee of their independence , a truly weak reed upon which to lean . Annotations . 1 . " The current Mane of Elsweyr , Nhad - hatta , wearing the braids and hair - locks of his entire tribe ~ Second Seed 18 "