Oblivion Mod:Stirk/Fragments of an Altmer Pocket Guide

reface to the reader: it is the writer's fond hope that this tome will in some small part assist in providing a more truthful account of the new empire in Cyrodiil and those lands that still claim their independence with pride. It is hoped, also, that this will aid in the correction of the more grievous mistruths and errors contained within that most ill-informed pamphlet 'A Pocket Guide to the Empire and its Environs;' perhaps the most blatant collection of lies yet to be produced by human hands.

I would recommend to the reader that they should have studied the Pocket Guide and its falsities prior to reading this document, if only to provide some perspective on how devious our neighbours and oppressors in Cyrodiil truly are.

Ariyael - scholar of his majesty's royal court in Alinor, loyal servant of the Summerset Isle Kingdom of Alinor.

2E-870

A note on racial names: it is the intention of the Empire to destroy individual culture wherever it is found in Tamriel. Thus, no 'common' names for places or people shall be used; the 'elven' races will be referred to by their proper names. Following is a short reference list of all known meri races:

Aldmer - the 'Elder Folk;' common ancestors of all mer except the Ayleids.
Altmer - the 'High Folk' of the Sumurset Isle.
Ayleid - the 'Hidden Folk' of Nibenay, who preserve the ancient language and culture of our Ehlnofey forebears.
Bosmer - the 'Wood Folk' of Valenwood.
Dunmer - the 'Dark Folk' of Morrowind.
Dwemer - the 'Deep Folk' of Vvardenfell who are now widely believed to be extinct in their entirety. Note: the Dwemer were NOT dwarves - they were exiled mer.
Ehlnofey - the 'Earth Bones'; ancestors of all mer and the purity to which (we' might need to look into this) aspire.
Falmer - the 'Snow Folk' of Skyrim. Their actual existence is a matter of some debate, though there were once Aldmer who inhabited the northern wastes of Tamriel.
Maormer - the 'Tropical Folk' of Pyandonea.
Orsimer - the 'Pariah Folk' - commonly called 'Orcs,' these were once Aldmer who were corrupted due to the destruction of Trinimac by the Daedra Prince Boethiah - proof indisputable of the vile influence of the Daedra Lords.

Part I The Aldmeri Dominion

While it is true that the Aldmeri Dominion as it currently exists in political terms is an exceedingly recent creation, having existed less than a single Altmeri generation, it must be pointed out that ever since the middle merethic era when Valenwood was first settled by our Bosmeri cousins, the Kingdom of Alinor was acknowledged by the Kings of Valenwood, the Direnni of Balfiera and High Rock and even the Ayleids of the White Gold Tower as suzerain of all Meri lands then existing. The current so-called 'Dominion' is merely a reaffirmation of the political, cultural and racial bond that has always existed between the Altmer and Bosmer. The humans in their tawdry courts in Cyrodiil, in their lust for power, concoct these falsities to foment tension among the Bosmer, implying that they come as saviours from the Altmeri 'yoke,' when in fact they seek only the enslavement of all Tamriel under their heavy-handed and illegal rule. The Altmeri legions did not have to invade Valenwood; we were welcomed by our cousins wherever we went. 'Twas not an invasion by any means; more a triumphant march north to meet the armies of the Colovian Estate who sought not territorial concessions, but to annex to themselves the entire Bosmeri Kingdom.

The Altmer did not even insist on the inheritance of Valenwood. We merely accepted the fealty of Camoran Anaxemes, which he gave gladly. The Bosmer are freer under our suzerainty than they ever would have been under the rule of Colovia.

The Pocket Guide takes an opportunity in its version of this historical account to present our soldiers as effete, useless and lacking in military skill. Quite the opposite is in fact true, and while I make no claim that we have been always victorious on the field as the evidence attributes, certainly the Colovians and now the Imperial Legions have had to fight with much tenacity to maintain their borders. Our border patrols only return 'in tatters' due to the immense numerical superiority of the Legions - something to be expected from this barbarous empire, hell-bent on conquest.

I will now describe our most elegant culture, speaking not from scraps of scribbling by an old fool, but from my own experience; having been blessed by the gods to have spent many of my years there. While it is the common belief of many Altmer that we are the only perfect race, a number of Altmer acknowledge our bond of kinship with the Bosmer, Dunmer and even the reclusive Ayleids as granting them some right in the inheritance of Tamriel. It is an outright lie that we have bred ourselves into racial purity - we have always been perfect and have had no need to alter our appearance in any way. There is much diversity in our individual attributes and the thought of infanticide of one of our kind is horrifying to many Altmer.

Our culture is a vibrant one. Much art, architecture and high magicka is ours to claim - certainly we appreciate it far more than any human could and while many Altmer are exceedingly formal in attitude to the human eye, we in fact convey much by gestures and physical languages of a more subtle nature than humans could appreciate.

Having put right the wrongs done to my own kind in the Imperial propaganda, I feel I might now extend this service to our cousins in Valenwood. The Bosmer are a product of the machinations of Y'ffre, the earthbones who sought to rescue them from the cruelties of Azura, who would make beasts of them - they did not choose their damnation as did the Dunmer or the extinct Dwemer. They are however, no longer pure and so live as close as is permitted, in the forests of Valenwood. They have their own customs and culture, dissimilar to ours but still superior to any that could be found in human lands. They have ultimate respect for the land and all that it provides. We do not carry this respect as far as they do, for the Altmer are tied to Auri-El while the Bosmer are the servants of Y'ffre, who would have them not harm any of his creations. The Bosmer make fine archers and light infantry and are loyal so long as they believe in the cause of their leaders. Most would never willingly serve the Empire and despise the Imperial intrusion into their sacred forests, for they come to destroy the plant life and to erect their rather pathetic attempts at buildings.

The wild hunt is that part of their history that the Bosmer are ashamed of and rightly so. It is a reminder of the times when there were no natural laws, no order and only the chaos that the Dunmer so worship. Mer would become beast and then mer again, until Y'ffre fixed us all in our forms by his sacrifice to make the earthbones. The Bosmer were evidently not as secured in their new bodies as they would have thought and can by extreme force of will, become a pack of ravenous demons that will exact vengeance on any who cross them or defile their sacred forests.

Valenwood itself is a land of dense forests and jungles, with little in the way of actual buildings, the Bosmer are careful not to interfere with their environment and as much as this annoys the King in Alinor, he will not force our civilisation upon the Bosmer, as now is a time for unity among the mer; if we are to overthrow the tyrannous human government in Cyrodiil we must be united, or all will eventually fall to the Imperial armies. Those most hideous forts and settlements that the last Empire constructed have fallen into decay and disrepair since the collapse of the Potentate and there are now virtually no humans in the entire Kingdom.