High Rock

High Rock is a province in the northwest section of Tamriel. Most of the province is inhabited by the Bretons, who have divided the province into multiple Breton city states and minor kingdoms. The northern tip of central High Rock also contains Orsinium, the City-State of the Orcs. High Rock encompasses the many lands and clans of Greater Bretony, the Dellese Isles, the Bjoulsae River tribes, and, by tradition, the Western Reach. The rugged highland strongholds and isolated valley settlements have encouraged the fierce independence of the various local Breton clans, and this contentious tribal nature has never been completely integrated into a provincial or Imperial identity. Nonetheless, their language, bardic traditions, and heroic legends are a unifying common legacy.

Dawn Era
With its fertile soils and weather that is often cloudy, yet relatively dry, High Rock has attracted many cultures throughout history. The Aedra were the first of these. The Adamantine Tower, on a small island in the middle of the Iliac Bay, is widely considered to be the oldest structure in Tamriel. According to ancient tales, it was crafted in the Dawn Era by the Aedra as a location for meeting and deciding what would be the fate of Nirn. Despite being heavily immersed in myth, it is true that when the first Aldmer came to the region, the Tower was already standing.

Merethic Era
There is evidence that early beast men of one variety or another may have been the original inhabitants of High Rock, but the Aldmer coming from the Summerset Isles were the first to settle and form permanent communities. The early Nedic people who arrived next were stumbling on a highly sophisticated culture and were quickly overwhelmed and absorbed. One of the earliest tales of Khosey describes a Nord raiding party attacking a group of what they presumed to be Altmer, but who were, on closer inspection, actually a mongrel race of elf-human ancestry, the last remnants of the lost Nedic tribe. They were somewhat awkwardly called Manmeri, but today they are known as Bretons.

First Era
It took many centuries for the Bretons to become the dominant force in High Rock. For most of the First Era, the elves kept their hold on the land, with the Nords founding fortified towns along the coasts to support their pillaging parties, such as Daggerfall, which as a kingdom would have a profound influence on High Rock in years to come.

Of all the families of Aldmer who colonized High Rock, none did it as successfully as the Clan Direnni. So dominant were they that by the middle of the First Era, the whole of High Rock was commonly called the Direnni Hegemony. As an economic and military power, they were formidable enough to pose a continued threat to the battle-hardened Nords and the nascent Alessian Empire of Cyrodiil. Taking advantage of internal strife in Skyrim, the Hegemony began taking land north and south of High Rock, claiming portions of Skyrim and Hammerfell. At the peak of their power, they controlled nearly a quarter of Tamriel. They had overextended their reach, and slowly, year by year, they lost all that they had gained, falling back to their fortress on the Isle of Balfiera, the Adamantine Tower, now called the Direnni Tower.

The Bretons were operating beneath the eyes of history, and their rise in High Rock was through commerce and the foundation of small villages in well chosen positions, such as the sleepy fishing hamlet of Wayrest on the coast between the Bjoulsae River and the Iliac Bay. Daggerfall, Camlorn, Reich Gradkeep and many other cities of Nordic origin became Breton not by any act of war, but simply by assimilation. By the end of the First Era, High Rock was the land of the Bretons, and would be so ever after.

But High Rock was never a single cohesive Breton nation. The power vacuum left by the Direnni decline fractured High Rock into a hundred fiefdoms of small, walled city-states. This has often left the Bretons at the mercy of the larger powers of Tamriel, but has also made High Rock surprisingly resilient during the times of chaos following the fall of the great empires.

Scarcely had the rule of the Dirennis passed into history before two new powers arrived in the region. The Redguards of Yokuda began their conquest of Hammerfell in 1E 808, largely displacing beast folk in their attacks, but also supplanting Breton settlements along Iliac Bay's southern coast. The two cultures warred for dominance in the bay until they were faced with a common enemy in the form of the Orcish kingdom of Orsinium.

The rise, fall and rebirth of Orsinium is detailed in a larger section, but suffice it to say for now that the discovery of the "monstrous" kingdom of the creatures, as they were regarded, was a very unpleasant surprise to both Redguards and Bretons. An alliance between Daggerfall and the new kingdom of Sentinel led to the long war known as the Siege of Orsinium in 1E 980. The humans eventually prevailed and Orsinium was destroyed. Afterwards, the Orcs dispersed far and wide across Tamriel.

Second Era
High Rock fared relatively well during the long interregnum following the fall of the Second Empire in the Second Era, but its multitude of fractious kingdoms were easily conquered by Tiber Septim. And there were many Bretons who welcomed the rebirth of the Empire with Talos sitting on the Ruby Throne.

Third Era
Some of the Bretons managed to unite to stop the encroachment of the Camoran Usurper in his destructive march northward from Valenwood in 3E 267. With a weak Emperor on the Imperial throne, and no clear leadership from the usual powers of the west, the Usurper may have swept over High Rock had the smallest of regions of the Iliac Bay not banded together under the Baron of Dwynnen to defeat him. Once again, an overwhelming force had underestimated the Bretons, and was in turn defeated.

The unity was lost when the threat was removed, and for the next one hundred and fifty years, internal and external conflicts continued. In the east, the Nords reclaimed some of their old kingdoms in the War of the Bend'r-Mahk. In the west, the War of Betony, though ostensibly between Daggerfall and Sentinel, spilled into Daggerfall's neighboring kingdoms. In the center, Orsinium reappeared as the home of the Orcs, threatening once again the fortunes of Wayrest. In 3E 417, however, the province redefined itself in a most mysterious way.

They call the event the Miracle of Peace. On the 10th of Frostfall in 3E 417, a strange force exploded over the Iliac Bay, displacing armies and decimating whole territories. Though its nature is still unknown, most Bretons believe it was the ancient Gods who had once made High Rock their home scouring the land, making it whole once again. Though it was a painful process for most—the Miracle is sometimes spoken of as the Warp in the West—the result of it is a province that is more unified than it has ever been in modern history.

Fourth Era
Where a hundred small kingdoms once squabbled over territory and resources, today, just two decades after the Miracle, there are just five left in High Rock.

Daggerfall, the southernmost kingdom, enlarged greatly, conquering most of the southern peninsular regions up to Anticlere and Ykalon. The crown of Daggerfall, through a series of marriages, is in union with the neighboring kingdoms of Camlorn to the north and Sentinel to the east, suggesting a future kingdom dominating both the Iliac Bay and the wider region.

Camlorn, with its newfound allies to the south, have so far resisted the common skirmishes between that of Daggerfall and Wayrest, or that of Northpoint.

Orsinium had at first prospered after the Warp in the West, and under the rule of Gortwog gro-Nagorm and with the aid of the Numidium, it conquered a mass of territory in central High Rock from the Wrothgarian Mountains to the banks of the Bjoulsae River. Despite this vigorous expansion, Gortwog had maintained good relations with his neighbors, allying himself with his former foe in Wayrest showing promise for a stable future. Furthermore its application for elevation to Provincial status was under review by the Imperial authorities. The Elder Council treats Gortwog as a recognized king, and collects taxes directly from Orsinium, but officially Orsinium still remains a county of High Rock, though technically spanning both the provinces of High Rock and Hammerfell. The only troubling sign for Orsinium at this time was a religious conflict that had brewed over time. However it was not this that would prove it's eventual demise. As in the past, a united crusade from High Rock and Hammerfell would thwart the kingdom. The kingdom would persist in the Dragontail Mountains, however its campaign for provincial recognition is nothing more than a fantasy, especially due to regime changes in Cyrodiil among other pressing matters. Furthermore, much of its population would remain scattered, primarily as refugees seeking asylum in Skyrim and elsewhere, either in Orsimer tribal communities or within Imperial society.

The Northern Kingdoms of Northpoint and Evermore, through a series of skirmishes would annex many petty kingdoms in its wake, absorbing much of northern High Rock, taking advantage of the Miracle of Peace and the resulting chaos. Its expansions, ambitious as they were, would fail to attract the attention of its neighbors, namely Daggerfall. However, Wayrest, Skyrim and indeed Daggerfall remain vigilant, eyes poised at their borders.

Wayrest would remain a dominant power in the West and would take full advantage of its alliance with the Orcs. Rivalries would still remain between Wayrest and the southern kingdoms, but skirmishes between them and the other minor powers never escalated to full blown war.

High Rock would generally remain as a stable province of the Empire, and one of its richest.

During 4E 188, the city of Wayrest falls to corsairs.

Geography
High Rock is another of the smaller provinces in Tamriel with an area of approximately 57'500 sq. miles. It is known that High Rock encompasses Greater Bretony, the Dellese Islands, and, by tradition the Western Reach. Its regional geography is varied. The forested peaks of the northern Wrothgarian Mountains are occupied mainly by Orcish tribes based in Orc Strongholds. The only truly cosmopolitan cities lie along the Iliac Bay, the enclosed body of water across from which sits Hammerfell. A number of kingdoms have prospered due to trade around the bay and up the Bjoulsae River, such as Wayrest. Inland, the countryside rises into the windswept plateau of North Kambria. This region is known for its many small villages and towns and for the many grim fortifications that dot the hills and crags around them. In the past, these castles were the domains of many petty kings and lords that ruled the massive patchwork of small nations that used to make up High Rock. Many of these fortresses are now in ruins, as the Empire has been demolishing them since the time of Tiber Septim to prevent them from being used as bases for future rebellion.

Religion
The main religion in High Rock is the Bretony Pantheon, where there are twelve divines.


 * Akatosh – Chief deity of the Bretony Pantheon, and the Dragon God of Time.
 * Arkay – Bretony God of Life and Death.
 * Dibella – Bretony Goddess of Beauty and Love.
 * Julianos – Bretony God of Wisdom and Logic.
 * Kynareth – Bretony God of the Heavens, Sky and Wind.
 * Sheor – Bretony God of Strife. First he was the god of crop failure, but most of his modern priests agree that he is a demonized version of the Nordic god Shor, and was born during the dark years after the fall of Saarthal.
 * Magnus – Bretony God of Magic.
 * Mara – Bretony Goddess of Love, and is considered to be the Mother Goddess.
 * Phynaster – The Hero-God of Summerset Isles, though he is also worshipped by the Bretons.
 * Stendarr – Bretony God of Mercy and Righteousness.
 * Y'ffre – Bretony God of the Forest.
 * Zenithar – Bretony God of Wealth, labor, and Commerce.

Culture
High Rock society can be divided into a noble elite, a middle class of merchants, and a destitute peasantry. The High Rock nobility is an overwhelming mass of titles, family lines, and hereditary claims that leave most outsiders bewildered at its complexity. Although the Bretons are divided into numerous antagonistic groups, their manner of speech, architecture, and even clothing seems fairly uniform to an outsider. A common anecdote suggests that an outsider only needs to visit one or two High Rock towns before he has an understanding of the entire country. Bretons have a strong tradition of being regarded as powerful mages, and this is especially true in the larger cities. In cities such as Daggerfall and Wayrest, the nobility can trace its lines throughout the Mages Guild, and children are tested at a young age for magical affinity. Magic is practiced by independent mages and medicine men in the more remote regions of the Wrothgarian Mountains.

Appearances


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