Games - Skyrim

	Games - 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 civlization. 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 Chieftans, 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, home to all manner of lycanthropes; 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, 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. People are known to faint afterwards.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Skyrim ]

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