Board Thread:Lore Discussion/@comment-2165692-20140531154239/@comment-75.72.62.174-20160217013547

Here are my ideas about the races of Humans:

1: Originally, there were three races of Humans. The Atmorans were the humans from the continent of Atmora, the Yokudans were the Humans from the land of Yokuda and the Nedes (who I think were descended from early Atmoran explorers) were the first humans to settle in Tamriel. Culturally, I think that the Nedes were Celtic, the Atmorans were Vikings and the Yokudans were Africans/Arabs. The three races of Humans probably did not come into contact with each other (and would have fought if they did).

2; In the early Merethic Era, the Nedes were the only Humans in Tamriel, and most likely lived in tribal kingdoms in what is now Cyrodiil and the southern parts of Skyrim, Hammerfell and High Rock. The Atmorans were probably divided into multiple kingdoms across Atmora and the Yokudans lived in several kingdoms on Yokuda.

3: When everyone began settling in Tamriel in the mid to late Merethic Era, the Atmorans were the second race of Humans to settle there (after the Nedes). From their foothold in Skyrim, they expanded out into the rest of the continent and split into three groups. One group stayed in Skyrim and built up their empire, another group traveled to High Rock and the final group found their way to Cyrodill. Over time, these groups of Atmorans became the Nords, Bretons and Imperials, respectively.

4. When Yokuda sunk into the sea in the First Era, the Yokudans fled to Hammerfell and became the Redguards.

5. I have an idea of what happened to the Nedes. The ones in Cyrodiil were killed by the Ayleids and Atmoran explorers/early Imperials, the ones in High Rock were chased into the Reach by the Atmoran colonists/early Bretons and became the Reachmen, the ones in Skyrim fled from the Atmoran settlers into the Reach to join the High Rock Nedes and the ones in Hammerfell were killed by the Yokudans. Several Nedic tribes fleeing from the Atmorans/Yokudans may have traveled to Black Marsh and became the now-dead Human population.

In conclusion, the Imperials, Bretons and Nords are descended from the Atmorans and the Redguards are descended from the Yokudans. This means, in my opinion, that most Humans in Tamriel are of Atmoran or Yokudan descent and the only remaining Nedes are the Reachmen.