Lore:Niben Bay

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Niben Bay
Type Body of Water
Continent Tamriel
Province Cyrodiil
Region Nibenay
Appears in Oblivion, ESO
Niben Bay ca. 3E 433
Niben Bay ca. 2E 582

The Niben Bay (also called the Nibenay Bay[1] and historically Lake Makapi to the Khajiit)[2] is a large body of water lying dead in the middle of the Nibenay, in the province of Cyrodiil. The bay is the center of the Nibenay Valley, an important region in the trade of eastern Cyrodiil.[3] Many rivers flows into it such as the Larsius, the Upper Niben, the Corbolo, the Silverfish and the Panther.[4] The Niben Bay drains into the Lower Niben, that connects it to the Topal Bay. The water of both the Niben Bay and Lower Niben is saltwater.[5] Underneath the Niben Bay is a large subsection of caverns that extends from the center of the bay to an old Temple of the Emperor Zero called the Bravil Wizard's Grotto.[6]

The Niben Bay hosts a wide variety of fauna, some of the rarest species of fish in the bay include the Emperor Angelfish, the Jewel Fish and the Topal Fanche.[7] There is also a larger species of slaughterfish located in the underwater caves.[6] There is also a variety of flora in the bay, which includes the Foxglove, Lavender, Monkshood, Nirnroot and the Summer Bolete. There is also a wayshrine dedicated to Zenithar on the northwest shore outside of Bravil.[4]

History[edit]

Early History[edit]

Bawn
Nenalata

The ancestral Khajiit have lived in the southern Nibenay region since long before the Imperials took over the land. To them, the Niben Bay is known as Lake Makapi, similar to the Niben River's name, the River Malapi.[2] For the longest time, warlike clans of the north viewed the region as a traditional hunting ground,[8] and when Topal the Pilot sailed up the Niben River, he witnessed the "cat demons of four and two legs".[9] Sometime later, in the mid-Merethic Era, the Ayleids inhabited Cyrodiil and built cities all over the region,[10] even on the Niben Bay. There are three known Ayleid settlements on the Niben Bay, Bawn on the south shore, Nenalata on the east shore, and the currently unknown city built where Bravil is now located.[11]

The Niben region around modern-day Bravil was one of the strongest, centralized regions in the Ayleid Empire,[11] due in part to the establishment of the White-Gold Tower.[12] While historians are unable to deduce the region's name because of the Ayleid's insular nature, the word they used to describe it translated to "home",[11] which would be either "hame"[13] or "math" in Ayleidoon.[14] Ayleid dominance was so ingrained in the region that it was one of the last places to withstand the Alessians during the slave rebellion. Stories from then are mostly lost in time and only live in the realm of legend. After a series of invasions, the region fell to one of Alessia's centurions, Teo Bravillius Tasus when he and his warriors uncovered their tactics, an early account of the school of alteration.[11]

When the White-Gold Tower fell in 1E 243, the Ayleids scattered all over Tamriel and sought refuge anywhere they could. This time is remembered as the Ayleid Diaspora and while most died on their quest for a new home, some clans were able to survive in Valenwood. The Ayleids of Bawn, one of the cities on the Niben Bay were able to live with the Bosmer but as time went on, they abandoned their previous way of life and took on their neighbors' customs, eventually integrated themselves in the greater Bosmeri society.[15] Meanwhile, another city on the bay, Nenalata overcame the diaspora when it pledged its allegiance to the Alessians and re-established itself as a vassal-state under the First Empire. But as the Alessian Order began to expand, the Ayleids were eventually evicted from their home and moved to High Rock, where they built Bisnensel and allied with the Direnni Hegemony.[16][17]

The Niben Bay in the First and Second Eras[edit]

The Bay Bridge
Fort Grief

When Reman I defeated the Akaviri and started the Second Empire in 1E 2703, one of his first moves was to bolster the province's borders, specifically to the south in the Niben Bay and the Lower Niben. Some strongholds were built throughout this area, such as Fort Grief in the middle of the bay[18] and even Fort Redmane, a little way south of the bay coast.[8] Other forts exist on the bay such as Fort Aurus next to the Corbolo mouth and Fort Irony on the Lower Niben's estuary.[4]

Fort Grief, in particular, was built sometime between 1E 2709 and 2718 to protect the Niben Bay's eastern shoreline from Black Marsh and the Trans-Niben but like Fort Redmane, it lost its purpose from the Empire's rapid expansion.[18] Since then, however, Fort Grief served as a command center for the Imperial Legion[19] and a watchtower to combat piracy and smuggling in the Niben Bay. By 1E 2900,[18] concurrent to the reign of Emperor Reman III,[20] Fort Grief was largely abandoned.[18]

When the Alliance War broke out in 2E 580, it left central Cyrodiil sundered three-ways to the alliances. While it is unknown how much of a role the Niben Bay played in the conflict, the northwest shoreline fell under the borders of the war. The coast from Bravil to the south end of the Upper Niben was claimed by the Aldmeri Dominion while a smidgen of shore between the Upper Niben and the Corbolo fell under the Ebonheart Pact.[7] An important point of contention between the two alliances was the Bay Bridge, a stone bridge right where the Niben River meets the bay. On several occasions, the bridge was the site of many skirmishes and battles and has even been destroyed throughout the war.[21] Eventually, Tiber Septim took over the province and established the Third Empire in the late Second Era. From there, Cyrodiil's restoration was in full motion and everything from roads to cities was rebuilt to reflect the new age of rule.[3] Despite that, many of the milegates present throughout central Cyrodiil that saw a lot of use in the Alliance War were never rebuilt, such as the Bay Bridge.[22]

The Niben Bay in the Third Empire[edit]

The Forlorn Watchman
The Door to the Shivering Isles

On the Last Seed of 3E 421, a ship known as the Emma May sailed south through the Niben Bay but crashed on the Mouth of the Panther in the midst of a storm.[23] Ever since then, a local legend has circulated in Bravil about a ghost called the Forlorn Watchman, who looks out into the bay precisely at 8pm and walks down the coast. Even though he was harmless, the locals actively avoided him.[24] In life, he was Grantham Blakeley, a former crew member of the Emma May who met his untimely end in a mutiny mid storm. Like the other crew members, he died when the ship crashed onto the Mouth of the Panther. His spirit was put to rest when his skeleton was unshackled at the bottom of the ship.[25]

For the longest time in the Third Era, the Khajiit had control over the Western Niben, including some unspecified portion of the Niben Bay. It was disputed territory between the province of Elsweyr and the County of Leyawiin but by 3E 432, an agreement was made between the current Mane and the Count of Leyawiin, Marius Caro, which leased the land to the Cyrodiils. The decision did not bode well with other people, however, namely a few Khajiit. The situation brought the rise of the Renrijra Krin, a militia of Khajiiti nationalists that hoped to retake the land by force,[2][26] with or without the Mane's consent. Their movement was able to garner support, even from sympathetic Imperials. As they wrote in their manifesto, the Ahzirr Traajijazeri, they were willing to go through great lengths to force the Imperials out of the region, even if it were uninhabitable.[2] Since then, the West Niben and the Green Road have been dangerous.[26][27]

In 3E 433, a magical door to the Shivering Isles appeared on an unmarked island in the middle of the Niben Bay. It was placed there by the Daedric Prince of Madness, Sheogorath so that he may find his next champion. The gate led to the Fringe, a small region in the Isles where mortals wait to receive Sheogorath's gift.[28]

Notable Locales[edit]

The Niben Bay at sunset
Bawn
An Ayleid city on the southern shore of the bay, its people later fled to Valenwood.
Bravil
The county seat of Bravil County, located on the western shore near the mouth of the Larsius River.
Door to the Shivering Isles
An unnamed island with a magical doorway to the Shivering Isles.
Fort Grief
A former Imperial fort in the middle of the bay built to defend the southern bay from Argonia.
Nenalata
One of the last Ayleid vassal-states in Cyrodiil until their exile into High Rock.
Temple of the Emperor Zero
An old tower dedicated to Emperor Zero. In the late Third Era, it was occupied by Bravil's court mage, Fathis Aren.

Gallery[edit]

  • Bravil

  • Fort Grief

  • Temple of the Emperor Zero

  • Fort Aurus

  • Giant Slaughterfish of the Niben Bay

  • Niben Bay Cutthroat (Legends)

See Also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Blackwood Preview—The Zone
  2. ^ a b c d Ahzirr Traajijazeri — Anonymous
  3. ^ a b Pocket Guide to the Empire, 1st Edition: Cyrodiil — Imperial Geographical Society, 2E 864
  4. ^ a b c Niben Bay location in Oblivion
  5. ^ Fishing holes in ESO
  6. ^ a b Bravil Wizard's Grotto unmarked location in Oblivion
  7. ^ a b Cyrodiil location in ESO
  8. ^ a b A Legionary's History of Fort Redmane — Pristan Vinicio, Centurion, 19 Sun's Dawn, 2E 233
  9. ^ Father Of The Niben — Florin Jaliil
  10. ^ Before the Ages of Man — Aicantar of Shimerene
  11. ^ a b c d Daughter of the Niben — Sathyr Longleat
  12. ^ Ayleid Cities of Valenwood — the Esteemed Historian Homfrey at the University of Gwylim, 2E 455
  13. ^ Hectahame loading screen text in ESO
  14. ^ Ayleid Reference Text — Raelys Anine
  15. ^ Ayleid Survivals in Valenwood — Cuinur of Cloudrest, 4th Tier Scholar of Tamrielic Minutiae
  16. ^ The Last King of the Ayleids — Herminia Cinna
  17. ^ A Life of Strife and Struggle — King Laloriaran Dynar
  18. ^ a b c d The Restoration of Fort Grief — Devastator Idrian Volturno, Spring, 2E 580
  19. ^ Fort Grief loading screen text in ESO
  20. ^ Reman III's epitaph in Oblivion
  21. ^ Bay Bridge location in Oblivion
  22. ^ The milegates missing in Oblivion
  23. ^ Log of the Emma May, 3E 421
  24. ^ Gilgondorin's dialogue in Oblivion
  25. ^ The Forlorn Watchman quest in Oblivion
  26. ^ a b Pocket Guide to the Empire, 3rd Edition: Sugar and Blood: the Cats of the South — Imperial Geographical Society, 3E 432
  27. ^ Guide to Leyawiin — Alessia Ottus
  28. ^ Haskill's dialogue in Oblivion: Shivering Isles
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