Father of the Niben , Fragment One Content . Incorporating Fragment One Translated and With Commentary by Florin Jaliil Introduction : Writing the biography of anyone is a challenge . Usually the problem lies in assessing one ’ s sources , comparing prejudices of one chronicle versus another versus another . There is but one record of the man called Topal the Pilot , the earliest known Aldmer i explorer of Tamriel . Only four short verse fragments of the epic " Father of the Niben " have survived to present day , but they offer an interesting if controversial look at the Middle Merethic Era when Topal the Pilot may have sailed the seas around Tamriel . Though " Father of the Niben " is the only written record of Topal the Pilot ' s voyages , it is not the only proof of his existence . Among the treasures of the great Crystal Tower of Summerset Isle are his crude but fascinating maps , his legacy to all Tamriel . The translation of the Aldmeri Udhendra Nibenu , " Father of the Niben , " is my own , and I accept that other scholars may disagree with some of my choice of words . I cannot promise my translation lives up to the beauty of the original : I have only strived for simple coherence . Fragment One : Second ship , the Pasquiniel , manned by pilot Illio , was to follow the southern pointing Waystone ; and the third , the Niben , manned By pilot Topal , was to follow the north - east Pointing waystone ; the orders from the Crystal Tower , they were to sail forth for Eighty moons and then return to tell . Only Niben returned to Firsthold , laden high with Gold and spice and fur and strange creatures , Dead and live . Though , alas , Old Ehlnofey Topal never found , he Told the tales of the lands he had visited to the Wonderment of all . For sixty - six days and nights , he sailed , over crashing Waves of dire intent , past whirlpools , through Mist that burned like fire , until he reached the Mouth of a great bay and he landed on a Sun - kissed meadow of gentle dells . As he and his men rested , there came a fearsome howl , And hideous Orcs streamed forth from the murky Glen , cannibal teeth clotted with gore For centuries , strange crystalline balls were unearthed at the sites of ancient Aldmeri shipwrecks and docks , peculiar artifacts of the Merethic and Dawn Era s that puzzled archeologists until it was demonstrated that each had a tendency to rotate on its axis in a specific direction . There were three varieties , one that pointed southward , one that pointed northeast , and one that pointed northwest . It is not understood how they work , but they seemed attuned to particular lines of power . These are the " waystones " of the fragment , which each of the pilots used to point their craft in the direction they were assigned to go . A ship with a name not mentioned in the fragment took his vessel northwest , towards Thras and Yokuda . The Pasquiniel took the southern waystone , and must have sailed down toward Pyandonea . Topal and his northeast waystone found the mainland of Tamriel . It is clear from this fragment what the three ships were assigned to do – find a passage back to Old Ehlnofey so that the Aldmer now living in Summerset could learn what became of their old homeland . As this book is intended to be a study of Topal the Pilot , there is scarcely room to dedicate to defferent theories of the Aldmeri exodus from Old Ehlnofey . If I were using this poem as my only source , I would have to agree with the scholars who believe in the tradition that several ships left Old Ehlnofey and were caught in a storm . Those who survived found their way to Summerset Isle , but without their waystones , they did not know what direction their homeland was . After all , what other explanation is there for three ships heading in three opposite directions to find a place ? Naturally , only one of the ships returned , and we do not know if either or both of the other two found Old Ehlnofey or perished at sea or at the hands of the ancient Pyadoneans , Sload , or Yokudans . We must assume , unless we think the Aldmer particularly idiotic , that at least one of them must have been pointing in the right direction . It may well have even been Topal , and he simply did not go northeast far enough . So , Topal setting sail from Firsthold heads northeast , which coincidentally is the longest one can travel along the Abecean Sea without striking land of any kind . Had he traveled straight east , he would have struck the mainland somewhere in what is now the Colovian West of Cyrodiil in a few weeks . Had he traveled southeast , he might have reached the hump of Valenwood in a few days . Our pilot , judging by his own and our modern maps , sailed in a straight line northeast , through the Abecean Sea , and into the Iliac Bay , before touching ground somewhere near present - day Reich Gradkeep in two months ’ time . The rolling verdant hills of southern High Rock are unmistakable in this verse , recognizable to anyone who has been there . The question , of course , is what is to be made of this apparent reference to Orcs occupying the region ? Tradition has it that the Orcs were not born until after the Aldmer had settled the mainland , that they sprung up as a distinct race following the famous battle between Trinimac and Boethiah at the time of Resdayn .