Skyrim

Skyrim is a fictional region in The Elder Scrolls series of games. It is the home of the Nords.

History
Skyrim, also known as the Old Kingdom or the Fatherland, was the first of the regions of Tamriel to be settled by humans, who migrated there from the land of Atmora in the north. The date of this migration is unknown, although it was during the time before the full flourishing of Elvish civilization. According to legend, Ysgramor landed first at Hsaarik Head, at the extreme northern tip of Skyrim's Broken Cape. It is said that he and his companions were fleeing a civil war in Atmora, which then supported a sizable population. They named the land Mereth, after the many elves that roamed the virgin forests of Tamriel.

For a long while, relations between the Elves and men were relatively peaceful. However, the Elves, seeing that the Nords, with their vastly shorter lifespans, fast rates of physical maturation and expedient (by Elvish standards) reproductive cycle, would eventually overtake them if left unchecked. At the time, men were viewed by Elves as being primitive and animal-like, and it was seen as no great moral remission to stop the spread of a potentially disastrous invasive species, who would destabilize the Tamrielic ecosystem. Thusly, Elvish pogroms razed the city of Saarthal on what became known as the Night of Tears. Only Ysgramor and two sons escaped back to Atmora, and, seeing the tenuous peace which had developed between the various factions, recognized the opportunity for their plight to become a great uniter for humanity as a whole. Within a few years, Ysgramor returned to Skyrim with an army known as the "Five Hundred Companions", composed of the heroes of the Atmoran civil war who, without much hesitation, drove the elves out and laid the foundations for the First Empire of Men.

Elves persisted within the borders of Skyrim until the reign of the Thirteenth of the Ysgramor Dynasty, King Harald, at the beginning of the First Era. Harald was the first to relinquish all holdings in Atmora (Until that time, the Nords of Atmora and Skyrim had been considered the same group), proclaiming that the people of Skyrim were an independent people. All humans on Tamriel are descended from these Nords, although some bloodlines run thin.

Vrage the Gifted started the expansion that would eventually lead to the First Empire of Men. Within fifty years of his reign, the Nords ruled all of Skyrim, as well as parts of High Rock, Cyrodiil, and the Dunmer lands of Morrowind. The acquisition of Morrowind was particularly bloody, still remembered in Morrowind today (The purpose of the formation of the Chimer-Dwemer kingdom of Resdayn was to expel the Nords).

The system which chose the successors to the empire eventually proved to be the Empire's undoing. For a great while the Moot, a gathering of the lords of the many different Holds, chose the successor to the Empire. This lasted well until the death of King Borgas, when the Moot failed to nominate the popular successor. From this came the disastrous Skyrim War of Succession, during which time High Rock, Cyrodiil, and Morrowind provinces seceded with little resistance from the Nords. The war did not end until the Pact of Chieftains, when the Moot was established to convene only when there was no clear successor.

Geography
Skyrim is the most rugged region in the continent; not only containing five of the highest peaks in Tamriel, Skyrim also is very snowy and cold, and home to all manner of lycanthropes, they being most common in the north. Only in the western reaches is there some measure of flat land, where most of the population resides. The rest of Skyrim is vertical; mountains, cliffs, and deep valleys. A variety of crops are raised in Skyrim, from wheat to the hardy snowberry. Of note is that the particular climate of Skyrim makes it the only region in Tamriel, outside of the most northern reaches of High Rock and Morrowind, suitable for the brewing of the infamous alcoholic beverage Nordic Whiskey, also known simply as "Rotgut". This is because that, in addition to the local availability of certain ingredients, several times during the distillation process, the substance must be subjected to extreme cold temperatures, so that it may freeze and refreeze. The drink is noted for the distinct "cold" taste, similar to extraordinarily strong mint, which persists as a feeling of ice in the stomach, as well as for the very deleterious nature of its content. Nordic Whiskey is illegal throughout the Empire, but this does not stop many proprietors from stocking smuggled bottles for those brave enough to try a mug.

Politics
The people of Skyrim are ruled by a hereditary King, and occasionally by a King appointed by the Moot. The majority of Skyrim are ruled by petty Kings and chieftains of villages. The Holds, where most of Skyrim lives, are ruled by mostly-elected Moots, as well as a Lord of some sort. Tiber Septim, and the rest of the Septim Dynasty, are descended from Nordic people, and the people of Skyrim feel that their time may be coming again.

Notable Places

Haafingar (Solitude)
The home of the famous Bards' College, Haafingar is also one of Skyrim's chief ports, and ships from up and down the coast can be found at her crowded quays, loading timber and salted cod for the markets of Wayrest, West Anvil, and Senchal. Founded during Skyrim's long Alessian flirtation, the Bards' College continues to flaunt a heretical streak, and its students are famous carousers, fittingly enough for their chosen trade. Students yearly invade the marketplace for week of revelry, the climax of which is the burning of "King Olaf" in effigy, possibly a now-forgotten contender in the War of Succession. Graduates have no trouble finding employment in noble households across Tamriel, including the restored Imperial Court in Cyrodiil, but many still choose to follow in the wandering footsteps of illustrious alumni such as Callisos and Morachellis.

Windhelm
Once the capital of the First Empire, the palace of the Ysgramor dynasty still dominates the center of the Old City. Windhelm was sacked during the War of Succession, and again by the Akaviri army of Ada'Soon Dir-Kamal; the Palace of the Kings is one of the few First Empire buildings that remains. Today, Windhelm remains the only sizable city in the otherwise determinedly rural Hold of Eastmarch, and serves as a base for Imperial troops guarding the Dunmeth Pass into Morrowind.

Throat of the World
This is the highest mountain in Skyrim, and the highest in Tamriel apart from Red Mountain, which is at the center of Vvardenfell in Morrowind. The Nords believe men were formed on this mountain when the sky breathed onto the land. Hence the Song of Return refers not only to Ysgramor's return to Tamriel after the destruction of Saarthal, but to the Nords' return to what they believe was their original homeland. Pilgrims travel from across Skyrim to climb the Seven Thousand Steps to High Hrothgar, where the most ancient and honored Greybeards dwell in absolute silence in their quest to become ever more attuned to the voice of the sky.

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