History Characters / TheElderScrollsTheRacesOfMer

The Wild Elves of Cyrodiil (also known as the "Heartland High Elves"), who were close relatives of the Altmer. They broke away from the Aedra-worshiping leadership of the Summerset Isles to found their own kingdom in which they could worship other entities, primarily the Daedra. But the Ayleids, unlike the Chimer, made no real distinction between "good" and "bad" Daedra, and as such they worshipped even some of the more cruel and bloodthirsty Princes. However, some Ayleids still continued to worship the Aedra along the Daedra, and this eventually provoked a schism in their society, where the Daedra worshipers and the Aedra worshipers got into an intense civil war. The Daedra side eventually emerged victoriously from the conflict, while the scattered surviving members of the Aedra side fled into exile to the Black Marsh, establishing themselves as the Barsaebic tribe.

* AthensAndSparta: There are lorebooks in ''Online'' which talk about the Ayleid city states of Delodiil and Abagarlas. Delodiil was progressive and populated by artists and scholars, and its people worshipped [[BigGood Meridia]]. Abagarlas was a military state whose people worshipped [[BigBad Molag Bal]]. Abgarlas's King was so jealous of Delodiil that he planned on sacking it and sacrificing every one of its citizens to Molag Bal, but by the time he and his army arrived, Delodiil had vanished, and Abagarlas had been sacked. [[spoiler:The Coldharbour arc reveals that Delodiil was absorbed into Coldharbour, Molag Bal's realm, and becomes the main trade hub during the Coldharbour quests. Abagarlas is explorable as a dungeon]]

* NoPronunciationGuide: Unlike the other races of Mer whose racial names are (word)-mer, the Ayleids are the OddNameOut and have a difficult to discern name. The most commonly accepted pronunciation is "ay-LEE-id", but other pronunciations like "i-LEED" and similar exist.

** The leading theory, which you can piece together in the Mages Guild questline in ''Morrowind'', is that [[GodzillaThreshold in the final stages of the Chimer invasion into the heart of Red Mountain]], Chief Tonal Architect Kagrenac attempted to use the Heart of Lorkhan to [[AGodAmI reforge the Dwemer into divine beings]], but the master architect [[GoneHorriblyWrong made some fatal mistake]] in the "reforging" step of the process and this caused his race to simply reduce down to the base elements of the material universe, resulting in the entire Dwemer race all going "poof" with no chance of recovery. [[TooDumbToLive So much for a "super-intelligent" race.]] Sure enough, examination of a Dwemer residential zone suggests that whatever happened to them, it was very abrupt and unexpected - you can find Dwemer dust lying on beds and in piles next to Dwemer equipment, and also find plates and cups laid out on tables as if in the middle of dinner. Other theories suggest that the Dwemer may have actually been ''successful'' in their attempt to achieve apotheosis; it may also be the case that the Dwemer became the skin of Numidium, or they flung themselves through time or into another unknown dimension (to explain why Vivec can no longer sense them).

-->And so it was that your people were given passage to our steam gardens, and the protections of our power. (literally “protection of our mathematics”)\\

** [[EnforcedTrope Enforced]] on the meta level. When the development team of ''Online'' wanted to explore the disappearance of the Dwemer, the idea was "[[https://www.pcgamesn.com/the-elder-scrolls-online/dwemer nixed]]" by Bethesda Executive Director Creator/ToddHoward, who stated "this [is] something we will never do, we will never come out and spoil the mystery and the secrets of the Dwemer". This also has the side effect of decanonizing former dev Michael Kirkbride's declaration that the Dwemer became the skin of Numidium.

** It also may have less to do with genuine inscrutability and more to do with nearly all information records on the Dwemer disappearing, or being destroyed, around the same time, a refusal to accept anything they don't like no matter how true it is and [[CulturalPosturing their monumental arrogance and contempt for "lesser races."]]

** [[EnforcedTrope Enforced]] on the meta level. When the development team of ''Online'' wanted to explore the disappearance of the Dwemer, the idea was "[[https://www.pcgamesn.com/the-elder-scrolls-online/dwemer nixed]]" by Bethesda Executive Director Creator/ToddHoward, who stated "this [is] something we will never do, we will never come out and spoil the mystery and the secrets of the Dwemer".

* SuperiorSpecies: They certainly considered themselves as such, with every other race (Men, Mer, or otherwise) being beneath them. A big part of their [[{{Naytheist}} Naytheism]] came from their belief that even the supposed "gods" were not truly superior to them. Arguably Justified compared to the other races of Tamriel, as their advancements (technological, metaphysical, and more) were (and still are) far, ''far'' beyond what any other race in Tamriel, maybe even Nirn, is capable of.

* TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow: Or rather, mer. One theory about the vanishing of the Dwemer states that they started trying to [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence elevate themselves to a higher plane]], [[AGodAmI up to becoming gods]]. It backfired, causing the entire Dwemer race to just vanish, across Tamriel, all in one day. They were also evidently capable of creating technological devices capable of reading Elder Scrolls, which are practically a form of TomeOfEldritchLore.

* WrittenByTheWinners: Following their disappearance, the only groups in positions to know much about the Dwemer were the Dunmer (having been turned from the Chimer) and the Nords, both of whom warred with the Dwemer and wouldn't have had any reason to say anything good about them. In the years that followed, the Dwemer would be demonized by the Dunmer and popularized by ahistorical tales like [[UnreliableNarrator Marobar Sul's]] ''Ancient Tales of the Dwemer'' series. Not helping matters is that their language was quickly lost after their disappearance, making it impossible for anyone to read the Dwemer's own records. (A means of translation was discovered around the time of ''Morrowind'', but was apparently lost again by the time of ''Skyrim'' 200 years later.) Attempts by scholarly groups to study the Dwemer constantly run afoul of the hazards of their ruins, making it difficult for impartial scholars to safely study the remnants of Dwemer civilization.

** They also have some similarities to Tunnelers from the VideoGame/{{Fallout}} franchise. Both were forced underground where they then mutated. The falmer will also rest on their hands in a similar stance to the tunnelers.

* WrittenByTheWinners: They are the "losers" in this case to Alessia and the Imperial's "winners." While there is plenty of evidence that the Ayleids committed atrocities against their human slaves (it's even outright stated in conversations with [[LastOfHisKind King Laloriaran Dynar]] in ''Online'' have him admit that the Ayleid Empire's treatment of their human slaves really ''was'' as monstrous as the histories say), there has almost certainly been some exaggeration of the centuries since. Even though several rebel Ayleid lords supported Alessia and were permitted to keep their lands and culture after the war, even they would be demonized once the monkey prophet Maruhk came to power. In addition to the persecution of any elves within the empire, he also [[BookBurning destroyed any records]] and cultural artifacts of the Ayleids that could be found. Eventually, only the (almost certainly heavily biased) Imperial records of the Alessian Revolt remained.

* {{Sadist}}: By all accounts, the Ayleids were infamous for their indulgances in sadism and blood sport at the expense of the races of Men, especially the Nedic slaves. They committed unspeakable atrocities upon them and were greatly loathed for their callous mistreatment of them and their perchent for death traps. Many Ayleids were said to be worshippers of ''Molag Bal'' (in fact one of their major cities Abagarlas was dedicated to him), which in itself should tell you exactly the sort of people they were.

** While most (in)famous for their Daedra worship, the Ayleids also worshiped other beings who seem to have been forgotten in the eons since. One such example, from the ''Adabal-a'', is a "Insect God" whose name has been lost to whom an Ayleid king sacrificed all of his human slaves.

* NoPronunciationGuide: Unlike the other races of Mer whose racial names are (word)-mer, the Ayleids are the OddNameOut and have a difficult to discern name. The most commonly accepted pronunciation is "ay-LEE-id", but other pronunciations like "i-LEED" and similar exist,

* MalevolentArchitecture: Their ruins (formerly Ayleid cities) are notorious for their death traps, many of which are implausible and seem more dangerous to the denizens of the city than any invaders. One theory states that the Ayelids didn't always have such traps in their cities, and started constructing them as defensive measures during the Alessian Revolt, potentially justifying it. They make full use of {{Pressure Plate}}s and SmashingHallwayTrapsOfDoom.

* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: Malacath encourages tribal behavior within Orc communities, ensuring that the best warriors within a tribe are acting as chieftains. As shown by his quest in ''Skyrim'', Malacath isn't above taking a more hands on approach when a weak Orc chieftain goes unchallenged by his tribe. [[spoiler:(He sends Giants to attack their stronghold. Either the weak chief mans up and defeats them, another warrior steps up to overthrow the weak chief, or the tribe gets wiped out.)]]

* TheArchmage: Downplayed, but as a close sister race of the Altmer (and arguably more influential than them) they were considered some of the greatest mages and scholars of their age and were the only race whose magical capability was said to rival the Dwemer or the Thu'um. They're even credited with inventing the Alteration school of magic, meaning they were the first race to use magic to manipulate the physical world.

* KickTheDog: When Falmer refugees begged the Skyrim-Dwemer to save their race from genocide, the Dwemer forced them to blind themselves, made them into servants (eventually slaves), and probably caused them to mutate into the beasts they are today. Terrifyingly, it's strongly evinced [[BlueAndOrangeMorality the Dwemer genuinely considered this "saving" the Falmer]].

* KickTheDog: When Falmer refugees begged the Skyrim-Dwemer to save their race from genocide, the Dwemer forced them to blind themselves, made them into servants (eventually slaves), and probably caused them to mutate into the beasts they are today. Terrifyingly, it's strongly evinced [[BlueAndOrangeMorality the Dwemer genuinely considered this "saving" the Falmer]]

* KickTheDog: When Falmer refugees begged the Skyrim-Dwemer to save their race from genocide, the Dwemer forced them to blind themselves, made them into servants (eventually slaves), and probably caused them to mutate into the beasts they are today.

* FeelingOppressedByTheirExistence: According to Altmer religious beliefs, the creation of Mundus was seen as an act of malevolence as it forced them to experience mortal suffering, loss, and death while removing them from a place of pre-creation divinity.

* FeelingOppressedByTheirExistence: According to Altmer religious beliefs, the creation of Mundus was seen as an act of malevolence as it forced them to experience mortal suffering, loss, and death while removing them from a place of pre-creation divinity. While most are content to toil in this mortal "prison" with "more limitations than not," some extremists, like the Thalmor, actively seek to ''undo creation'' to return to that state of pre-creation divinity. However, they believe that not just the existence of mankind, but the existence of the ''possibility'' of mankind keeps them trapped in Mundus. (According to their beliefs, mankind were made up from the "weakest souls" by Lorkhan to spread Sithis (chaos) "into every corner," ensuring that there could never be the "stasis" of pre-creation again.) Essentially, the Altmer are oppressed not just by the existence of mankind, but the ''possibility'' of mankind's existence.

** The leading theory, which you can piece together in the Mages Guild questline in ''Morrowind'', is that [[GodzillaThreshhold in the final stages of the Chimer invasion and infiltration of Red Mountain]], Tonal Architect Kagrenac attempted to use the Heart of Lorkhan to [[AGodAmI reforge the Dwemer into divine beings]], but the master architect got the "reforging" step of the process wrong and this caused his race to simply reduce down to the base elements of the material universe, all going "poof" in the process. Sure enough, examination of a Dwemer residential zone suggests that whatever happened to them, it was very abrupt and unexpected - you can find Dwemer dust lying on beds and in piles next to Dwemer equipment, and also find plates and cups laid out on tables as if in the middle of dinner. Other theories suggest that the Dwemer may have actually been ''successful'' in their attempt to achieve apotheosis; it may also be the case that the Dwemer became the skin of Numidium, or they flung themselves through time or into another unknown dimension (to explain why Vivec can no longer sense them).

'''Note:''' ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' lore is generally not clear-cut. Reasons for this range from [[UnreliableNarrator biased]] in-universe sources intentionally only giving you only one side of a story, to sources [[CriticalResearchFailure lacking critical information]] or working from [[BlatantLies false information]], to the implication that AllMythsAreTrue, despite the contradictions, or that at least all myths are MetaphoricallyTrue. [[WordOfGod Out-of-game developer supplemental texts]] (frequently referred to as "Obscure Texts" by the lore community) are more trustworthy, but are frequently left [[LooseCanon unofficial]] and sometimes later contradicted. Because of this, it is entirely possible for two contradictory statements in the below examples to ''both'' be true. (And due to frequent events in-universe that [[TimeCrash alter the timeline]], both may ''literally'' be true in-universe.)

* AlienLunch: Various forms of insect make up a portion of their diet due to the restrictions of the Green Pact. Additionally, they are known to ''smoke'' certain insects in their bone pipes, as smoking plant matter within Valenwood would violate the Pact.

* AlienLunch: Considering how unusual the flora and fauna is in Morrowind, it should come as no surprise that the Dunmer eat unusual foods. A staple "crop" of Dunmer society are the eggs of the kwama, a social subterranean insect whose eggs are "mined" regularly. The kwama eggs have a sour taste, pungent odor, and gummy texture, which makes them initially unpleasant to eat without proper preparation. The Dunmer also harvest the meat of scribs, which are late larval forms of kwama, and make jerky and jelly out of their meat, which also has a sour taste and unpleasant texture without proper preparation. Other dietary staples include numerous forms of fungus (some of which glow), odorous yams which grow in volcanic ash, and numerous other types of FantasticFruitsAndVegetables.

* HadToBeSharp: Even though they live in the lush forests of Valenwood, their lives are still overall pretty much as hard, short, and brutish as their northern cousins, as they are not part of the Green Pact, and therefore are not sharing in the divine protection against the natural dangers and hazards of woods that Y'ffre extends to the Bosmer.

** [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness Originally]], the Orcs were simple "hurr durr smash hoomies" Tolkein-style Orcs with nothing particularly noteworthy about them (they weren't even playable in ''Arena'' or ''Daggerfall''). Beginning with ''Morrowind'', however, their characterization has shifted massively. Rather than just being dumb, they'd been severely marginalized for ages -- even their god reflects this. The Imperial Legion of Uriel VII's time, among other things, however, helped them to begin to properly integrate into the Empire better -- thus making them playable.

Not too long after the genesis of the Orcs, some early Orc tribes emigrated to Valenwood. Over the centuries since, these tribes has adapted to life in the dense forested areas, to the point where they have dividered considerably from their mountain dwelling kin, mostly culturally, but also in some physiological ways, to a point where they more resemble the Bosmer in some aspects. They are still very much Orcs through and through, tending towards being though, stubborn, blunt, and brutish.