Hammerfell

Hammerfell is a fictional province of Tamriel in The Elder Scrolls series of games and is home to Redguards.

History
The history of Hammerfell began long before the arrival of the Redguards upon its shores. The land between the Iliac Bay and the Gold Coast of Cyrodiil was called Hegathe, roughly meaning "Death Lands", in the tongue of the Aldmer peoples. The Ayleid elves set up coastal settlements in the southern portion of what is now Hammerfell, though none survived into the Third Era. The northern Elves, and their Breton descendants, also set up coastal settlements, which became, after the Ra Gada conquest, the cities of Sentinel and Lainlyn.

The Dwemer became the first to fully settle Hammerfell in the year 1E 420. The Rourken Clan of Dwemer left their Morrowind brethren after the formation of the First Council alliance between the Dwemer and the Chimer. Legend has it that the leader of the Rourken threw his hammer, Volendrung, and built Volenfell, the capital of the Western Dwemer, where it landed. Other famous Dwemer cities include the citadel on the island of Stros M'kai and Fang Lair in the Dragontail Mountains. After the Battle of Red Mountain and the disappearance of the Dwemer in the year 1E 700, their fantastical cities were lost to looters and the elements of nature. Savage beasts that had once been kept at bay by the Dwemer returned to Hammerfell once more.

The arrival of the Ra Gada in the year 1E 808, marked the beginning of the modern era of Hammerfell.

Leaving their homeland of Yokuda following its decimation in the early eight hundreds, the Ra Gada first landed on the isles of Herne, and then continued onto the other eastern isles and to the mainland by way of the Hew's Bane peninsula. The Redguards - as the Ra Gada came to be called - were a fierce and warlike people, and easily conquered the Breton and Imperial peoples along with the savage beasts and beast-folk of the province.

The Redguards, due to their warrior prowess, managed to subdue all of Hammerfell in a few battles. They quickly built cities atop the ruins of newly conquered cities and ancient ones alike, and within a matter of years the province was theirs. The Imperial, Nord, and Breton peoples did not forgive the Redguard conquest of their lands, and skirmishes continued along the borders for the rest of the century.

Only when the Orsimer, or Orc, nation of Orsinium appeared to challenge their dominance did the Redguards join forces with the Bretons. An alliance of the Sword Singer Order of Diagna, led by Gaiden Shinji; the kingdom of Daggerfall, led by King Joile; and the armies of Sentinel, began an epic siege of Orsinium in the year 950. After thirty years of constant warfare, the Orc kingdom proves to be too much for the alliance. This shared battle led to improved diplomacy between the Redguards and their neighbors. The Redguards opened their borders for trade and to assist other nations in their wars - such as the alliance with Bendu Olo of the Cyrodilic kingdom of Anvil against the Sload.

Bringing in experience from their native Yokuda, the Redguards were able to tame the harsh land and thrive where others perished. Their culture, religion, and even government were transplanted whole to the new land and their civilization flourished. The new environment did however bring about change. The Yoku language was replaced with the common tongue of Tamriel to better trade with their neighbors, and some of the Ra Gada gods, minor dieties in particular, began to take on more Tamrielic aspects. Many of the lower class Yoku and the Ra Gada wanted to adapt and assimilate to the ways of their new land, while the upper class and the Na-Totambu, or ruling class, wanted to keep their traditional ways.

Cities along the border, such as Sentinel in the north and Rihad in the south, adapted particularly fast to the new Tamrielic culture. Trade and cultural interaction encouraged assimilation, and the peoples in those areas became increasingly imperial. Over time, their views and customs differed enough from that of the traditional Redguards for them to seperate into a wholly new socio-political faction: The Forebears. Tension between the factions continued to build for the next two thousand years.

In the years 862 of the Second Era, High King Thassad II died of natural causes and the province plunged into a bloody civil war between the Crowns and the Forebears. Prince A'Tor, heir to the throne of Hammerfell, led the Crown forces against the Forebears. Just as the Crown victory appeared certain, the Forebears made a pact with Tiber Septim, who agreed to send his forces into Hammerfell to defeat A'Tor in exchange for Hammerfell's allegiance to the Septim Empire.

Tiber crushed the weakened Crown forces and took mainland Hammerfell. A'Tor and the loyal Crown forces were forced to flee to Stros M'kai, an island fortress in the south of Hammerfell. At the Battle of Hunding Bay, A'Tor met the forces of Tiber Septim in a magnificent naval battle. Just as the Crown forces were about to defeat the Imperial Navy, Dram, a famous Dunmer assassin, shot Prince A'Tor with a poisoned arrow. The Dragon Nafaalilagus, thrall of the Empire, burned down the remaining Redguard forces - and with them the hopes of Hammerfell's sovereignty. Tiber Septim garrisoned Imperial forces in each of Hammerfell's cities and installed Imperial governors to rule the province. The proud Ra Gada were finally subdued.

Shortly after, in the year 2E 864, rebellion again arose on Stros M'kai. Cyrus, a Redguard mercenary, defeated first Nafaalilagus and then Governor Amiel Richton, forcing Tiber Septim to sue for peace with Hammerfell. The Empire conceded to let Hammerfell keep many of their traditions and government, and removed the Imperial garrisons and governors from the provinces.

Cyrus, Sura in the Yoku tongue, was the center of many legends. Many Redguard considered him an incarnation of the HoonDing - the Yokudan god of Make Way and Perseverance over Infidels - due to his defeat of the Empire at Stros M'kai. Additionally, there were legends of him battling the Dunmer god Vivec among the wreckage of Yokuda.

The coming of the Empire only widened the rift between the Crowns and Forebears however. When the Camoran Usurper marched on Hammerfell, the Crowns refused assistance to their Forebear brethren in Rihad and Taneth, leading to their defeat and the fall of southern Hammerfell in the Battle of Dragontooth in 3E 253. The Camoran Usurper decimated much of western Hammerfell until he was finally defeated by the navy of High Rock.

Neither did the Forebears come to the assistance of the Crowns in 3E 396, when the Nords attacked Hammerfell in what was known in the Third Era as the War of Bend'r-mahk. That division left Hammerfell weakened, allowing the Nords to capture significant parts of eastern Hammerfell, including the cities of Elinhir, and Dragonstar. Dragonstar became divided into two distinct cities, its eastern half controlled by Skyrim and its western half controlled by Hammerfell. That division remained into the Fourth Era.

War came again to Hammerfell in the year 3E 402, when the kingdoms of Sentinel and Daggerfall went to war over who was to control Betony Island in the Iliac Bay. Priest Vanech of Daggerfall considered the island a holy realm of Kynareth and refused to cede it to Hammerfell. The High Rock city-state Reich Gradkeep agreed to meditate between Lysandus of Daggerfall and Camaron of Sentinel. At those negotiations, Vanech submitted a fake treaty which upset Camaron and eventually plunged the city-state into chaos. Total war erupted between Daggerfall and Sentinel. The war reached its climax at the Battle of Cryngaine Field. King Lysandus was slain on the field of battle, and his son, Gothryd, was crowned King of Daggerfall. King Camaron was likewise slain, and Lord Oresme surrendered to High Rock.

In an attempt to cement peace between the rival states of Sentinel and Daggerfall, King Gothryd of Daggerfall was married to Princess Aubk-I of Sentinel.

In the year 3E 417 conflict again plagued the Iliac Bay region as the kingdoms of Sentinel, Daggerfall, Wayrest, and Orsinium, as well as the Blades, the Underking, and the Order of the Black Worm, vied over the control of the Numidium, a powerful Dwemer golem used by Tiber Septim to conquer the continent. The Mantella, a device needed to power the Numidium, was in the hands of the Hero of Daggerfall.

In the end, it was not known who received control of the Numidium. It was said that the various squabbling factions destroyed each other, bringing about the mysterious event known as the Dragonbreak, or, in that case, the Miracle of Peace.

The Miracle of Peace redefined politics in the Iliac Bay. High Rock, once a realm of over a hundred squabbling city-states, consisted of only three after the Miracle of Peace: Daggerfall, Wayrest, and Nova Orsinium. Mannimarco, the King of Worms and the leader of the Order of the Black Worm, ascended into godhood and the Underking was able to die a mortal death after the Mantella, which was made from his life-force, was returned to him. Finally, there was peace between High Rock, Hammerfell, and Orsinium.

Current Events
Following the Miracle of Peace, the Forebear kingdom of Sentinel grew to encompass the entirety of the northern coast of Hammerfell, for Abibon-Gora in the west to Satakalaam in the east, at the mouth of the Bjoulsae River. As most of the formerly independent lands in this northern area were Crown in sympathy, King Lhotun has continually been involved in military, diplomatic, and even religious missions to keep them under his wing. Lhotun has been forced to create what some consider a third party, one with reverence for the Yokudan past but respect for the Imperial ways, which is appropriately enough called the Lhotunic.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the moderate Lhotunics have attracted nothing but contempt from the Crown and Forebear kingdoms alike. Clavilla, the Queen of Taneth, has tried without success to have the charters of the independent guilds revoked from all sentinel lands, saying that the accepted worship of Satakal is grounds enough for heresy against the Empire. Ayaan-si, High Prophet of Elinhir, has called upon the True Crowns of the north to revel against Lhotun, and financed a number of forays against the borders in Bergama and Dak'fron. His one success, thsu far, has been significant. The land of Totambu, named in ancient days after the Na-Totambu of Yokuda, the progenitors of the Crowns, has returned to his fold and declared independence from Sentinel. As Lhotun's kingdom surrounds Totambu on all four sides, it is questionable how much longer it can assert itself, but at the time of this writing, its people are holding their resistance.

Eastern Hammerfell, less concerned with Sentinel, has continued its efforts to take back the lands conquered by Skyrim in the War of Bend'r-Mahk. There is no question that Redguards, while currently lacking the cohesiveness as a society to from effective armies, are excellent warriors and unmatched at guerrilla warfare. Still, little ground has been regained, for the Nords too are renowned warriors.

Geography
Hammerfell was an arid land consisting mostly of deserts, mountains, and grasslands. The few forests of Hammerfell were found mainly along the coasts and along the borders between Hammerfell, High Rock, and Skyrim. The rugged Dragontail Mountains lined northern Hammerfell's border with Skyrim. The Colovian Mountains made up part of Hammerfell's southern border with Cyrodiil. The southeastern region of Hammerfell was occupied by grasslands similar to those found in the Gold Coast region of Cyrodiil. The Dak'fron Desert, a region of rocky desert in the northern region of Hammerfell, bordered the Dragontail Mountains and what was perhaps the most prominent geographical feature of Hammerfell - the Alik'r Desert.

The Alik'r Desert took up all of wester region of Hammerfell, and was widely regarded as the most inhospitable region in all of Tamriel. Until the coming of the Ra Gada in the eight hundreds of the First Era, the deserts were populated only by monstrous beasts. While the fauna of the Alik'r Desert remained deadly into the Third Era, the Redguards had managed to significantly reduce the presence and threat of those creatures. The Alik'r Desert was also the home to ruins of countless civilizations that had perished beneath its sands. Its blazing heat, ferocious sandstorms, and lack of water, made it nearly impossible to survive in the Alik'r Desert. The Desert was inhabited only by the nomadic Dune Dweller Redguards.

Major Cities
The Alik'r Desert was a region of northern Hammerfell, within the Iliac Bay region, that was best known for its large desert. The Alik'r Desert also completely surrounded the province of Bergama. The provincial seat was the city of Alik'ra. During the Warp in the West, the Alik'r Desert region became a part of the city state of Sentinel. Dragonstar was a city in Hammerfell, just south of the border with High Rock and Skyrim. Elinhir was a city in eastern Hammerfell, close to the border with both Skyrim and Cyrodiil. It was close to the Skyrim city of Falkreath. Gilane was a city in southern Hammerfell lying west of Taneth and southeast of Sentinel. The ruins of the capital city of the Rourken Clan could be found nearby. Hegathe was a large city in southwestern Hammerfell, to the south of Sentinel. In the Merethic Era, 'Hegathe' was the name given to Hammerfell by the Aldmer.

Rihad was a port city at the southern edge of Hammerfell, just north of its border with Cyrodiil. Rihad was located on the coast of the Abecean Sea, on the main road between Anvil and Taneth. The Brena River flowed into the Abecean Sea just south of the city. The city was an eclectic mix of Redguard Forebears, survivors of the Yokuda Ra Gada, followers of Satakal, a few Bretons, and warriors-in-training from all over Tamriel. Buildings in the city with its flying domes, flying dew sails, and the mosaic colophons were constructed over the old and new ruins of past civilizations. In 3E 253, armies of Taneth and Rihad were defeated in the Battle of Dragontooth by the Camoran Usurper, which led to the fall of southern Hammerfell. The city was the birthplace of the well-known historian Destri Melarg.

Judging by its location, the Kingdom of Sentinel could have been nothing other than a merchant power: it was situated on the rocky, infertile northern hills of Hammerfell overlooking the Iliac Bay. It was bordered by Myrkwasa and the Alik'r Desert to the south, and by Antiphyllos and Ayasofya to the east. The uninhabited isle of Cybiades lied off the coast to the north. It was built in the time of the first Redguard colonization of Hammerfell, to serve as a base for their battles against the Bretons, but had since been expanded by the Third Era. The main city streets of Sentinel was a great market leading from the docks to the front gates. Sentinel was an exotic retreat for the nobility of Daggerfall and Wayrest, who delighted in the exotic cooking, craftsmanship, and bizarre plays.

Skaven was a city in north-central Hammerfell. Once the home of Crown Prince A'Tor, Stros M'kai was an important mountainous island off the southern coast of Hammerfell near the Cape of the Blue Divide. Stros M'kai was renowned for its completely steam-powered Dwemer ruins, including the marvelous observatory known as the Orrery. Taneth was a city in southern Hammerfell on the Abecean Sea lying northwest of Rihad and east of Gilane.

Demographics
The ten races commonly encountered in Hammerfell were: Redguard, Breton, Nord, Altmer, Dunmer, Bosmer, Imperial, Khajiit, Argonian, and Orsimer. Redguards were the native majority, but in Dragonstar, a city partially controlled by the Nords of Skyrim, only one in two individuals was Redguard. The other nine races were about equally distributed, with slightly larger amounts of Imperials and Bretons.


 * Redguards - Redguards considered themselves the most gifted warriors of Tamriel. The dark-skinned, wiry-haired people of Hammerfell were born to battle, though pride and independent spirit made them better scouts and skirmishers, and free-ranging heroes and adventurers, than rank-and-file soldiers. They were quick of foot and hardy of constitution, and quickly adopted new weapons and armor styles. Hammerfell was primarily an urban and maritime province, with most of its population confined to the great port and trade cities. The interior was sparsely populated with small poor farms and beastherds. The Redguard love of travel, adventure, and the high seas had dispersed them as sailors, mercenaries, and adventurers in ports of call throughout the Empire.
 * Dunmer - The Dunmer - literally 'the Dark, or Cursed People' or 'Dark Elves' - natives of Morrowind were the dark-skinned Elven peoples of the East. 'Dark' was variously understood to mean 'dark-skinned,' 'gloomy,' and 'ill-favored by fate.' The Dunmer and their character embraced those various connotations enthusiastically. In the Empire, 'Dark Elves' was the common usage. Dunmer prized the virtues of duty, gravity, and piety. Duty was to one's own honor, and to one's family and clan. Gravity was the essential seriousness of life. Life was hard, and events were judged, endured, and reflected upon with due care and earnestness. Piety was respect for the Gods, and the virtues they represented. A light, careless life was not worth living. They were proud of being dark-skinned and dark-humored. The Dunmer race produced great warriors and wizards in equal proportion.
 * Altmer - Altmer were the light-skinned, tall Elven peoples of the Summerset Isles. 'High' was taken to mean variously 'tall,' 'proud,' and 'culturally snobbish.' In the Empire, 'High Elves' was the common usage. They considered themselves the most civilized culture of Tamriel, and in truth, the common tongue of the Empire, Tamrielic, was based on their speech and writing, and most of the Empire's arts, crafts, and sciences were derived from High Elven traditions. The Summerset Isles were green and pleasant lands of fertile farmlands, woodland parks, and ancient towers and manors. Most settlements were small and isolated, and dominated by ruling seats of the local wizard or warlord. The Isles had few good natural ports, and the natives were unwelcoming to foreigners, so the ancient, chivalric high culture of the Aldmer was little affected by Imperial mercantilism.
 * Bosmer - The Bosmer were the clanfolk of the western Valenwood forests. In the Empire, they were called 'Wood Elves,' but they called themselves the Bosmer, or the 'Tree-Sap' people. They scorned pretense and formality, preferring a romantic, simple existence in harmony with the wild beauty of nature. They were nimble and quick in body and wit, and there were no finer archers in all of Tamriel. Valenwood was a largely uninhabited forest wilderness. The coasts of Valenwood were dominated by mangrove swamps and tropical rain forests, while heavy rain falls nurtured the temperate inland rain forests. The Bosmer lived in timber clanhouses at sites scattered along the coast and through the interior, connected only by undeveloped foot trails. The few Imperial roads traversed vast dense woodlands, studded with tiny, widely separated settlements, and carried little trade or traffic of any kind.
 * Bretons - Passionate and eccentric, poetic and flamboyant, intelligent and willful, Bretons felt an inborn, instinctive bond with the mercurial forces of magicka and the supernatural. Many great sorcerers came from their home province of High Rock, and in addition to their quick and perceptive grasp of spellcraft, enchantment, and alchemy, even the humblest of Bretons could boast a high resistance to destructive and dominating magical energies. High Rock encompassed the many lands and clans of Greater Betony, the Dellese Isles, the Bjoulsae River tribes, and, by tradition, the Western Reach. The rugged highland strongholds and isolated valley settlements encouraged the fierce independence of the various local Breton clans, and this contentious tribal nature had never been completely integrated into a provincial or Imperial identity. Nonetheless, their language, bardic traditions, and heroic legends were a unifying common legacy.
 * Nords - The Nords of Skyrim were a tall and fair-haired people, aggressive and fearless in war, industrious and enterprising in trade and exploration. Skilled sailors, they could be found in seaports and settlements along all the coasts and rivers of Tamriel. Strong, stubborn, and hardy, they were famous for their resistance to cold, even magickal frost. Violence was an accepted and comfortable aspect of Nord culture, and they cheerfully faced battle with an ecstatic ferocity that shocked and appalled their foes. Skyrim, also known as the Old Kingdom or the Fatherland, was the first region of Tamriel settled by Nedes from the continent of Atmora: the hardy, brave, warlike Nords, whose descendants still occupied that rugged land into the Third Era. Though more restrained and civilized than their barbarian ancestors, the Nords of the pure blood still excelled in the manly virtues of red war and bold exploration.
 * Imperials - The Imperials were the educated and well-spoken natives of the civilized, cosmopolitan province of Cyrodiil. Imperials were known for their enlightened rule of law and government, and the discipline and training of their citizen armies. Though physically less imposing than the other races, they were shrewd diplomats and traders. Their legions enabled them to subdue all the other nations and races of Tamriel, and to have erected the monument to peace and prosperity that comprised the Glorious Empire. Cyrodiil was the cradle of Nedic Imperial high culture on Tamriel. It was the largest region of the continent, and most was endless jungle. The Imperial City was in the heartland, the fertile Nibenay Valley. The densely populated central valley was surrounded by wild rain forests drained by great rivers into the swamps of Argonia and Topal Bay. The land rised gradually to the west and sharply to the north. Between its western coast and its central valley were deciduous forests and mangrove swamps.
 * Argonians -  The Argonians of Black Marsh called themselves the 'People of the Root'. They were equally at home on land or in water, and were magically gifted. Persecuted and enslaved by other races, they were cautious and secretive. Little was known of their homeland or native culture, and their alien physiology and customs were not well understood by scholars. Most of the native Argonian population of Black Marsh was confined to the great inland waterways and impenetrable swamps of the southern interior. There were few roads there, and most travel was by boat. The coasts and the northwestern upland forests were largely uninhabited. For ages the Dunmer raided Black Marsh for slaves; though the Empire eventually made that illegal, the practice persisted into the Third Era, and Dunmer and Argonians had a long-standing and bitter hatred for one another.
 * Khajiit - The Khajiit were the cat people of the province of Elsweyr. Though the race had a variety of sub-types, each with different forms and habits, only the smooth, quick, agile Suthay-raht were encountered abroad. When most people thought of Suthay-raht, they thought of thieves -- with good reason, since many Suthay-raht were cunning, acquisitive, and slow to embrace the sanctity of personal property. But the speed, agility, and bold spirit of the Suthay-raht also made them gifted traders and adventurers. The Khajiit of the southern Elsweyr jungles and river basins were settled city dwellers with ancient mercantile traditions and a stable agrarian aristocracy based on sugarcane and saltrice plantations. The nomadic tribal Khajiit of the dry northern wastes and grasslands were, by contrast, aggressive and territorial tribal raiders periodically united under tribal warlords. While the settled south had been quick to adopt Imperial ways, the northern nomadic tribes clung to their warlike barbarian traditions.
 * Orsimer - The Orc peoples of the Wrothgarian and Dragontail Mountains were brave and hardy barbarians. Once they were feared and hated by everyone else in Tamriel. By the Third Era, many had gained an education and Imperial citizenship through service in the legions. Their armorers were the finest in the world, and Orc warriors in heavy armor were the best front-line troops in all Tamriel. Detractors said that Orcs were rough and cruel, but Orcs said they were hard, but fair, and stern, but just.

Appearances

 * The Elder Scrolls: Arena 
 * The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Redguard
 * The Elder Scrolls Travels: Shadowkey
 * The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall