User blog:Nazul Rostello/Redguards, Hammerfell and Yokuda.

I have read the lore on Atmora the other day and thought I should wrote a blog on this theory. Little is known of the mysterious continent. Nothing in the previous games actually states what was the catalysm that sunk the continent, just that "something" happened. What have happened to the Yokudans who were never made it to Hammerfell? they could have become a long-lost tribe of the Redguards and went native similiar to the Skaal.

The Redguards from Yokuda does not simply drop their anchor in Hammerfell harbours, rather many of the settlers landed on Herne (PGE1). The vanguard Ra'Gada continued on and arrived in Hammerfell in 808. They slaughtered or enslaved the beast-folk, Nedic peoples, and Orcs of the region in a quick albeit bloody war. The Na-totamba ruling class arrived with the colonists in a second 'wave'. What can be implied is that there was a specific rift that had already existed between the Ra'Gada and the Na-Totamba stemming from the Yokudan war. This may have been partially hidden by the swift cultural conversion from Yokudan to Colovian and Breton customs as they amalgamated well after the initial war. The Yoku, the Redguard oral language, disappeared into Tamrielic given the need for trade.

The colonization of Hammerfell was a slow and gradual process. Most of this was due to the rocky expanse of the Alik'r desert where as the coastal regions had fertile grasslands. However, the Yokuda landscape was said to be more inhospitable so agricultural techniques learned there greatly aided the Redguard on arrival. The site of their capitol was chosen as Hegathe, which is Aldmeri for something loosely translating to 'deathlands' (Pocket Guide to the Empire 3rd edition). This creates a differentiation in Redguard culture on par with the Dunmer of Vvardenfell. The Alik'r desert people are nomadic wanderers retaining traditional styles (Of both Yokuda and Nedes) and are derided by their counterparts along the coasts. The coastal regions, are decidedly cosmopolitan civilizations that are decidedly Breton and Imperial both in dress and style of buildings with only symbols from Yokuda. (Pocket Guide to the Empire 1st edition). However, it seems there was a natural architectural design favoring domes and mosaics (Pocket Guide to the Empire 3rd edition).

A Goblin invasion caught Redguards by surprise just after their settlement. Apparently five mystic swords had been brought from Yokuda and sealed away. These were recovered and used to seal a rift in time that stopped the Goblin invasion before it could entirely over run the Redguards (Notes for Redguard History). The swords were assumed to be lost, but with the endeavor the teachings of Grandar Hunding return to a place of prominence.

During the Interregnum the Forebear Republic collapsed and the Crowns took charge, moving the capitol from Old Hegathe to Sentinel which was the third biggest trade empire in the Iliac Bay. 2E 862 was witness to a Forebearer revolution which killed the Crown king Thassad II. In retaliation Crown Prince A'tor embarked from his land of Stros M'kai -the island off the coast- and massacred the Forebears. Tiber Septim dispatched troops to assist the Forebears and routed the Crown army and then crushed the Crown fleet with the West Navy at the battle of Hunding Bay. Once more the Redguard land of Hammerfell became a republic under the aegis of the Imperials( Pocket Guide to the Empire 1st edition). The Redguard became staunch supporters of the Imperials up until the 4th Era White-Gold concordat.

The Bretons and Redguards both seemed to have a common enemy, the Orcs. The early Redguards were wary of the Bretons but the united military offensive against a common enemy in Orsinium led to a trade partnerships (PGE3). This led to the first of many sieges of Orsinium in 1E 980 (From the Memory Stone of Makela Leki). More recently Orsinium was sacked early in the 4th era by another combined Redguard-Breton force leaving many Orcs to emigrate to Skyrim (Lord of Souls).

In 3E 253 the Redguard lands were taken over by Camoran the Usurper which was said to have raised an army first of Undead and Daedra then replaced by Redguards and Bosmer. They were eventually defeated by the Bretons (The Fall of the Usurper). The Redguards themselves still have the decidedly fractured existence, with the Crown and forebear cities not coming to each others aid. It was for this reason that Hammerfell so quickly fell. This cropped up later on in the recent war of Bend'r-Mahk in 3E 396 which the Forebears refused to help Crown cities which were subsequently taken by the Nords.

Your thoughts?