| History: |
Origin and first settlements
Summerset Isles is the traditional home of the Altmer, or High Elves, and the possible first landing place of the Mer arriving from their ancient homeland. The Altmeri people are directly bred from the Aldmeri people before they died off. The Altmer of the lands have allowed little in the way of exploration of their own, beyond the capital of Alinor by Ambassadors of the Second Empire of Cyrodiil.In the Third Era, travel into the Isles has been more frequent, as Tiber Septim, using the Numidium, forced it into the Third Empire, but most of the Isle is still unknown. It is also noted that Daedra worship in the Summerset Isle is quite prevalent.
First and Second Eras
The Summerset Isles were incorporated into the Second Empire in the late First Era. Despite this however, all outsiders aside from Imperial Emissaries and traders were prohibited from traveling to the isles, and these few were only allowed in the capital of Alinor. Eric of Guis, the personal ambassador of Reman Cyrodiil II, noted that while the Altmer reliably paid Imperial tithes, they did so to minimize human contact rather than out of fear of war.
During the Alliance War during the Interregnum in the Second Era, Queen Ayrenn joined with Valenwood and Elsweyr to form the First Aldmeri Dominion to oppose the Daggerfall Covenant and the Ebonheart Pact in 2E 580. Many Altmer opposed this, as they saw it as a threat to the purity of their isles and a betrayal of Altmer values. As Queen Ayrenn was often away from the isles to deal with issues in other parts of the Dominion, she appointed her cousin Alwinarewe as a Proxy Queen to rule Summerset Isles in her absence. However, the Dominion ultimately failed in their endeavor to rule Tamriel and was later dissolved.
In 2E 830, the Altmer intervened in Valenwood because of a dynastic dispute, and they formed the Second Aldmeri Dominion. During the Tiber Wars, Tiber Septim sent peace delegations to the king of Alinor early on. The Altmer were very resistant to the taint of humanity on their isles and merely accommodated Reman on their own account, and Septim knew that conquering the isles in totality would have been next to impossible. However, Tiber Septim received the Numidium from Morrowind, and used it to invade Alinor and forced them to surrender within an hour, an event remembered by many Altmer with horror.
Third Era
In the last years of the Third Era, Summerset Isle had been at peace with its neighbors, save a near war with the Empire over trade tariffs. On a cultural level, however, the upheaval of Tiber's conquest was not resolved, resulting in several extremist movements emerging within Summerset's political and cultural landscape.
Fourth Era
Xenophobia
For thousands of years, the Altmer have implicitly believed in their superiority to all other races and cultures in Tamriel. But after the incorporation of Summerset Isle into the Empire, doubts began to creep in. With the insularity of the Summerset decisively broken, many Altmer, particularly the young, began to take a more critical view of the rigid hierarchy of Altmer society and its strict cultural xenophobia. While there had always been discontent on the fringes of Altmer society, which was traditionally resolved by the exile of the malcontents, for the first time a significant element of Altmer began to agitate for social change.
This nascent revolution in the Summerset Isle has taken many forms. Most apparent is the acceptance of new cultures and races onto its shores, some occupying positions that would have been forbidden just a century ago. The Queen of Firsthold, for example, is the Dunmer Morgiah, daughter of Barenziah and sister of the King of Morrowind, Helseth. Her children, Goranthir and Rinnala, though half-Altmer, are fully Dunmer in appearance, and stand to inherit the throne.
The Thalmor.
A more radical side of this movement, however, is exhibited by a shadowy group who call themselves the Beautiful. Originally a salon for artists with the philosophy that Summerset must let go of its past in order to move forward, the Beautiful became a revolutionary group dedicated to the destruction of the greatest monuments of Altmer civilization. The Crystal Tower was naturally an early target, but while attempts against it have failed, many other ancient sculptures and emblems of the past have been vandalized. Since, the Beautiful have turned their attention to living symbols of the Isle, the royalty of Summerset. The particularly gruesome murder of the daughter of the King of Shimmerene has horrified and outraged the public.
Finally, some of the Summerset's youth continue to rebel against their present, ironically, by embracing their past. The Imperial Geographical Society is not allowed to visit the isle of Artaeum to survey and document it, but there is little doubt that the Psijic Order is increasingly popular among the young, and is willing to exploit this. Over the past thousand years, only seventeen new initiates were brought into the order. In the past two years, however, another thirty have joined. Thirty new members of an Order may not be enough to be considered a surprising trend in most circles, but to the tradition-bound graycloaks of Artaeum, it raises many questions. What is the Psijics' aim in this recent recruitment, however, is anyone's guess at this time.
The Great War
After the political chaos of the Oblivion Crisis, the Aldmeri Dominion declared war against the Empire, nearly destroying it. However, Emperor Titus Mede II surrendered to the Dominion, signing a treaty known as the White-Gold Concordat. The treaty, which heavily favored the Aldmeri Dominion, outlaws worship of Talos throughout the Empire, allows the Thalmor free movement throughout the Empire and authority to apprehend anyone worshiping the outlawed god. The province was renamed Alinor, in honor of the isles' capital, during this period by the Thalmor.
The Psijic Order and its base, the Isle of Artaeum, disappeared from Tamriel during this period. Despite this sudden disappearance, their influence as a group continues to be felt by many practitioners of magic in the present through certain visions and premonitions of the future. These sporadic appearances would later aid the Last Dragonborn during their work with the College of Winterhold.
Galmar Stone-Fist mentions after a Stormcloaks victory during the Civil War that an invasion of the Summerset Isles resides in the near future for the Nords. |
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