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"The western coast of Vvardenfell from Seyda Neen north to Gnaar Mok is called the Bitter Coast. The salt marshes and humid swamps of this region are uninhabited, with the only settlements found at the good harbors of Gnaar Mok, Hla Oad, and Seyda Neen."
―Anonymous[src]

The Bitter Coast or the Smuggler's Coast[1] is one of the nine regions that make up the island of Vvardenfell. The Bitter Coast consists of humid bogs and gloomy flora that give the region its namesake.

By game[]

Description[]

Geography[]

The Bitter Coast makes up the southwestern coastline of Vvardenfell, and despite how close it is to the mainland of Stonefalls, trade throughout the coast is entirely under the radar. The Bitter Coast is populated by dense fogs and humid swamps that make traveling difficult. Regardless, many smugglers use the Bitter Coast as a way to travel across Vvardenfell and the Inner Sea, to import stolen goods or to export slaves from the clutches of House Telvanni. The only settlements to populate the region are the towns of Seyda Neen, Hla Oad, and Gnaar Mok, all of which are small in stature but can provide on their own. Settlements such as Vivec City, Balmora, and Caldera are located on the edge of the swamps.

History[]

Second Era[]

Main article: Bitter Coast (Online)

During the Interregnum in 2E 583, the Bitter Coast was mostly unpopulated with the only significant settlement to exist an iteration of the Ahemmusa Camp of Ashlanders. At this point, the Gold Coast Trading Company of Anvil made an agreement with House Hlaalu to build a settlement in Vvardenfell to keep the business going on in the Bitter Coast. This settlement later became known as Seyda Neen and it garnered traction throughout the Bitter Coast and the nearby Ascadian Isles.[UL 1]

Slavers had appeared throughout the Bitter Coast and had taken the island of Firemoth as their base of operations. A slave ship crashed on the shores of the Bitter Coast, and someone put out the fire at the Grand Pharos Lighthouse, prompting a search by the Seyda Neen coastguard and Deminah Salvi, Deputy Governor of Seyda Neen. It was revealed that Governor Omellian was in league with the slavers and after a botched job, he ordered a Morag Tong agent to assassinate the leader of the slavers, Captain Svadstar. Svadstar was murdered in Firemoth, but Omellian was arrested and taken to Vivec City for trial.[2]

Around this time, the Alliance War ravaged Tamriel and hit locations from Stonefalls to Auridon. In the early years of 2E 582, the Daggerfall Covenant launched a campaign throughout Stonefalls and destroyed many settlements such as Davon's Watch and Fort Virak. The Covenant committed atrocities in Stonefalls by attacking innocent and neutral territories, one of the Covenant's most pristine warriors, General Khartag went AWOL from the Covenant and fled to the northern Bitter Coast to form a group of Orcish Smugglers called the Ropefish. The Ropefish was infamous in Vvardenfell because they freed slaves from all across the region. The Camonna Tong syndicate began to take notice and offered Khartag a deal where Slave Smuggling would become a cruel business rather than helping the less fortunate. Khartag went against the contract and disrespected the Camonna Tong. This caused the Camonna Tong to raid their hideout and subsequently killed Khartag. Khartag's operation did not die with him. However, the Ropefish continued to smuggle slaves out of Morrowind.[3]

Vvardenfell's Bitter Coast is known for their unfertile land that makes it relatively hard to live. Tropical flora such as Moon Sugar cannot be grown in places such as the Vvardenfell Grazelands or the Deshaan Grazelands but rather in places such as the Tenmar Forest or Khenarthi's Roost. A Khajiit known as Halinjirr discovered a cave in the Bitter Coast called Zainsipilu had the perfect climate to grow Moon Sugarcane and was under the Hlaalu radar. Halinjirr's exploits were soon heard from local bandits and eventually House Hlaalu themselves. Whether his Moon-Sugar crops were destroyed or not is unknown.[4]

Third Era[]

Main article: Bitter Coast (Morrowind)

By 3E 427, more settlements began to spring up on the Bitter Coast such as Gnaar Mok and Hla Oad. These settlements, however, were struggling to stay afloat due to consistently paying high taxes to the smugglers and due to the swamps slowly swallowing these ransacked towns to the ground. The Camonna Tong has prominent power in the region and is seen on the western edge of the Bitter Coast near the villages of Gnaar Mok and Hla Oad. The Blight was released onto Vvardenfell in the same year, and this disease has affected various settlements including the three on the Bitter Coast.[5]

Locations[]

Settlements[]

Ruins[]

Caves[]

Landmarks[]

Gallery[]

Appearances[]

References[]

  1. Guide to Vvardenfell
  2. Events of "Breaking Through the Tide"
  3. Events of "A Smuggler's Last Stand"
  4. Events of "A Hidden Harvest"
  5. Events of The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
Notice: The following are unlicensed references. They are not copyrighted by a ZeniMax Media company, but can still be considered part of The Elder Scrolls lore and are included for completeness.
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