User:Imperialbattlespire/Sandbox2

Crosswych
Type	Settlement
Continent	Tamriel
Province	High Rock
Appears in	Daggerfall, ESO

Crosswych ca. 2E 582

Crosswych is a Breton town found in High Rock.

History

First Era

In the early 24th century of the First Era a trove of iron ore was found beneath the hills of northern Glenumbra by the celebrated Pinifred Lode-Finger. A great mine was delved to dig out the ore, and the town of Crosswych was founded to house the miners.

Second Era

High Rock
Type	Province
Continent	Tamriel
Appears in	Arena, Daggerfall, Shadowkey, ESO, Legends

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, resisting integration into a formal province or Imperial identity. Nonetheless, their language, bardic traditions, and heroic legends are a unifying legacy.

The main eight kingdoms of High Rock are Camlorn, Daggerfall, Evermore, Farrun, Jehanna, Northpoint, Shornhelm and Wayrest. Each kingdom rules over many vassal states, including duchies, marches, counties, baronies, and fiefdoms.

History

Merethic Era

It can be rightly said that history begins in High Rock. Convention occurred here, at Adamantine Tower, the oldest structure in existence. The tower was there when Aldmer settled the region and inspired almost every race of mer to create a mimicry of it. According to the Altmer, several colonies were established by the Aldmer throughout what would become High Rock during the Merethic Era. Accounts of when the Direnni arrived are less clear – some say the Direnni arrived in the Merethic Era, while others say they were a late arrival and only rose to power in the early First Era after their purchase of Balfiera Island. Questions of when Men arrived in High Rock are similarly unclear, since while the Altmer believe they arrived first and absorbed the incoming primitive Nedic population later, the Reachmen account of their own origins place Nedes in northwestern High Rock far earlier than this would suggest. At any rate, recent archaologocial excavations have dated the ruins of Nedic habitation to as early as ME 1000.

The Nedes who later settled the region were mostly absorbed by the Aldmer, but eventually, a biracial man-mer society arose, and the ancestors of the modern Bretons were born.

First Era

Khosey, in his 'Tamrilean Tractates,' transcribes a firsthand account of the "discovery" of the Bretons by a Nordic hunting party. The Bretons, in ten generations of Elven intermingling and slavery, had become scarcely recognizable as humans. Indeed, the hunting party attacked them thinking they were some new strain of Aldmeri, halting their slaughter only when one of the oldest began to wail for his life, a shrieking plea that was spoken in broken Nordic. When word of this reached Windhelm, the Nords reasoned that the "Manmeri" beyond the Reach were, in fact, descended from human slaves taken during the Elven destruction of Saarthal. King Vrage made the first priority of his Empire the liberation of his long-tormented kinsmen in High Rock. His initial onslaught took him as far as the Bjoulsae, but beyond that, the First Empire never established a lasting presence; with the Elves being too strong with their magic, and many of the Bretons aided the Elves against their would-be liberators. Ironically enough, it took the tyranny of the Alessian Order to finally free High Rock from Elven dominion. Although the Alessians were crushed at the Battle of Glenumbria Moors, this costly victory so weakened Aldmeri power that the Elves could no longer challenge the emerging nobility of Greater Bretony, who seized power throughout most of High Rock within two decades of the Alessian defeat.

With the arrival of the Nords (and yet another bloodline), the fall of the Direnni Aldmer of the region was assured. The humans would eventually become the predominant power in High Rock.

The most concrete history of High Rock begins with its most well known colonized family; the Aldmer Direnni Clan. Described by A Pocket Guide to the Empire "As an economic and military power, they were formidable enough to pose a threat to the battle-hardened Nords and the nascent Alessian Empire of Cyrodiil. Taking advantage of the internal strife in Skyrim, the Hegemony began taking land north and south of High Rock, claiming portions of Skyrim and present day Hammerfell. At the peak of their power, they controlled nearly a quarter of Tamriel. But they had overextended their reach, and slowly, year by year, they lost all that they had gained, falling back to their fortress in Balfiera, The Adamantine Tower, now called the Direnni Tower." It is believed the Bretons came to power in High Rock not by violence, but by trading and slowly overcoming the Nordic population. The province of High Rock was controlled by the Bretons by the end of the First Era. The Direnni made an impact on the Breton population, as they left the province split apart into numerous city-states. They would not be given peace, however, as the Redguard conquest in 1E 808 caused conflict in settlements along the Iliac Bay. They would have to unite, however, against the Orcs of Orsinium. This battle is known as the Siege of Orsinium, and ends with the destruction of Orsinium.

In 1E 1029, Empress Hestra of the Alessian Empire routed King Styriche, the Vampire of Verkarth, and drove his host westwards into the Bangkorai Garrison. The Garrison held, and Styriche was crushed between the two forces. Impressed with the Bretons, Hestra granted High Rock admission into the Empire soon thereafter. However, the Garrison would later also play a role in High Rock's departure from the crumbling Empire in 1E 2305. Attempting to bring it back into the fold, the Legions of Piety and Grace laid siege for five months, but were ultimately unable to break the Garrison and retreated in disgrace.

Second Era

In 2E 542, the Reachmen under Durcorach the Black Drake invaded High Rock, sacking Evermore and Camlorn. They were defeated at the gates of Daggerfall by Emeric of Cumberland, which led to the formation of the first Daggerfall Covenant, signed by the kings of Daggerfall, Camlorn, Shornhelm, Wayrest and Evermore. In 2E 563 Emeric became the king of Wayrest. Three years later, king Ranser of Shornhelm invaded Wayrest, angry at Emeric for rejecting his daughter's hand. He was defeated at Markwasten Moor by the forces of the Covenant. These events led to the formation of the Greater Daggerfall Covenant, which was an alliance between Emeric, the Redguard king Fahara'jad and the Orcish king Kurog gro-Orsinium. The Covenant later participated in the Alliance War.

High Rock was eventually brought into the Third Empire by Tiber Septim during the Tiber Wars.

Third Era

Still divided, some did unite to try to stop the Camoran Usurper, yet he was not stopped until the Baron of Dwynnen united the citizens of the Iliac Bay against him. The Bretons would not remain united, and went back to fighting one another, and those outside of High Rock, until they had to unite when the Nords reclaimed their land in the War of Bend'r-Mahk, when they fought the Redguards in the War of Betony, and when the Orcs resurrected Orsinium. However they would be united in The Miracle of Peace, also known as the Warp in the West, which is best described in the book of the same name. "The 'Miracle of Peace' is celebrated as the product of the miraculous interventions of Stendarr, Mara, and Akatosh to transform this troublesome region into peaceful, well-governed Imperial counties. The catastrophic destruction of landscape and property and the large loss of life attending upon this miracle is understood to have been 'tragic, and beyond mortal comprehension.'" This event transformed High Rock from numerous city-states into five kingdoms.

Kingdoms of High Rock

Iliac Bay map

The main eight kingdoms of High Rock are Camlorn, Daggerfall, Evermore, Farrun, Jehanna, Northpoint, Shornhelm and Wayrest. Each kingdom rules over many vassal states, including duchies, marches, counties, baronies, and fiefdoms.

Daggerfall

Daggerfall is one of the nine historical Breton kingdoms in the province of High Rock, located in the southwest portion of the province, on the north half of the Iliac Bay. Throughout much of history, Daggerfall was one of the largest kingdoms in High Rock, from the early First Era before the rise of its rival, Wayrest and its incorporation into the Third Empire, to the turn of the Third Era, where it was one of the province's five kingdoms. It is named after its capital city, Daggerfall.

Notable city-states and regions that are part of the Kingdom of Daggerfall are:

• Betony
• Glenpoint
• Tulune

Evermore

Evermore, sometimes spelled Evermor, is a city on the banks of the Bjoulsae River in eastern High Rock, located near the border with Hammerfell.

Its impressive palace was assembled from slabs of granite quarried from nearby Markarth. Local traditions include the worship of Saint Pelin, a hero of the First Era who once served as a clergyman at Bangkorai Garrison.

Historically, the Bretons of Evermore ruled over the region of Bangkorai. These lands were subject to frequent attacks from the Reachfolk of the mountains, who asserted their birthright to the city and aimed to reclaim their ancestral homeland. Southern Bangkorai included the Fallen Wastes region of Hammerfell, and Evermore's rulership of it was often contested by the Redguards of Sentinel. Evermore served as a crucial trading hub, strategically positioned to benefit from trade routes spanning the Tamriel. It linked High Rock of the Bretons, the southern and central regions of Hammerfell inhabited by the Redguards, the Orcish city of Orsinium to the north, and Skyrim through Dragonstar and Markarth, territories inhabited by the Nords and Reachfolk respectively.

Farrun

Farrun (or Fharun) is a northern port city on the north shore of High Rock, and one of eight kingdoms in the province. It is known for its icy winters. The kingdom of Farrun has existed since the First Era, one notable citizen of Farrun in the First Era was Lord Storig, who commanded the vanguard of the Imperial army at the Battle of Bodrum in 1E 2920 during the Four-Score War. By the Second Era it was an Orcish stronghold by the name of Fharun, named after the Fharun Clan. The stronghold was infamous for its Breton-designed prison complex, which was notorious even among the Orcs.

Jehanna

Jehanna (also called Jehenna or Jelhana) is one of the nine historical Breton kingdoms in the province of High Rock, situated on the icy shores of the Northern Coast. Nestled in the snow-covered forests of the Western Reach, it is described as being as beautiful as its name.

Northpoint

Northpoint (also spelled as North Point) is one of the nine historical Breton kingdoms in the province of High Rock, located on the northeast point of Rivenspire. Northpoint is an important trading center along the northwest trading route on the Eltheric Ocean, as well as the seat of power for House Dorell, one of the three major houses of Rivenspire. Their power extends across northern Rivenspire, including farmland around the city and beyond the sea. As of 3E 432, Northpoint was one of five major kingdoms in High Rock.

Shornhelm

Shornhelm (sometimes spelled Sharnhelm) is one of the nine historical Breton kingdoms in the province of High Rock, located in the center of Rivenspire. Shornhelm was once the seat of power for the Kingdom of Rivenspire, the north-central region of High Rock and it was aptly ruled by the Riven-King. If no monarch is present, then the regency council, the Council of the North takes over. It is a triumvirate of the kingdom's three major houses, Dorell, Montclair, and Tamrith. The city acquired the epithet of the "Crown City of the North" for its status.

Wayrest

The Kingdom of Wayrest is located in the center of the High Rock province, at the mouth of the Bjoulsae River, named after its capital city, Wayrest.

Notable city-states and regions that are part of the Kingdom of Wayrest are:

• Alcaire
• Dwynnen
• Gavaudon
• Menevia

Gallery

Maps

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  Arena

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  Morrowind Codex (PGE1 and TES3 variants)

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  Oblivion Codex

See Also

• For game-specific information see the Daggerfall and Shadowkey articles.