Hammerfell

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Hammerfell is a fictional province in The Elder Scrolls series of games and is home to Redguards.

A map of Hammerfell Province.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Politics
4 Notable Places
- 4.1 Sentinel
- 4.2 Stros M'kai
5 See also
6 Notes

[edit] History

The Elder Scrolls series lore surrounding the earliest history of Hammerfell is not entirely consistent, or perfectly clear. Oblivion's Before the Ages of Man provides two possible answers to the question of Hammerfell's earliest history, though both are vague. A first passage gives the possibility of 'beastfolk' as Hammerfell's first settlers, though by no means denying possible alternatives. "During the early Merethic Era, the aboriginal beastpeoples of Tamriel -- the ancestors of the Khajiit, Argonian, Orcish, and other beastfolk -- lived in preliterate communities throughout Tamriel."^[1] A second passage provides Aldmer, ancestors of the Elder Scrolls series' playable race Altmer, as a second possible choice. "In the Middle Merethic Era, the Aldmeri...refugees left their doomed and now-lost continent of Aldmeris...and settled in southwestern Tamriel. The first colonies were distributed at wide intervals on islands along the entire coast of Tamriel."^[1] Frontier, Conquest, and Accommodation is more exact in its terminology, giving "Hammerfell, High Rock, and Cyrodiil" as definites, rather than "Tamriel", and a "ME800-1000" rather than "Middle Merethic" and "early Merethic".^[2]

The Nedic peoples, who settled across "High Rock, Hammerfell, Cyrodiil, and possibly Morrowind", were minorities in the lands of the Aldmer, only having left their homelands in the Late Merethic period.^[2] The Aldmeri settlement of the region was predominantly coastal, as the Aldmer's inland settlements were "founded primarily in fertile lowlands in southwest and central Tamriel". It was the Nedes who were the majority inhabitants of Hammerfell at the time of the Redguard conquest, as it was primarily "beastfolk and Nedic villagers" who were slaughtered.^[3]

The Pocket Guide to The Empire relates the story of early Hammerfell history as a Dwemer holding. According to the Guide, Hammerfell's original name was Volenfell, taken from the name of the Dwemeri Rourken Clan settlement in the region, the "City of the Hammer". The Rourken were opposed to the creation of the joint Dwemer-Chimer state of Resdayn, which prompted their move westward, sometime during the First Era. A myth arose surrounding their exodus, wherein their chieftan is said to have thrown his "mighty hammer, Volendrung, across Tamriel, promising to lead his clansmer to 'wherever it should fall.'"^[3] The "City of the Hammer" rendition is read by the Elder Scrolls Translation Dictionary as a more or less direct translation. "Fell" is the Dwemeri term for city; and "Volen", "Hammer".^[4]^[5] Another source, by former Bethesda employee Douglas Goodall, contains characters who doubt the authenticity of the myth and its relation to the name "Volenfell", which is called, in any case, a "bad translation".^[6] Regardless of what fictional characters may or may not believe, the hammer certainly seems to exist.

The fate of the Volenfell Dwemer, like that of all Dwemer, remains a mystery, as they all disappeared at some time during the First Era. However, Hammerfell did not stay uninhabited for very long. A great cataclysm sank the continent of Yokuda to the west, forcing the ancestors of modern Redguards eastward, toward Tamriel. They originally landed on the isle of Herne, and the Ra Gada warriors, eventually anglicized to Redguard, went on to Tamriel, paving a bloody trail through the native Men and Mer for the Yokudans to settle. Assimilation into the rest of Tamriel began relatively quickly, as the Yokudans, while displacing the Men, had adopted many of their customs and traditions.

Hammerfell was conquered by the Second Empire in the Second Age, during which time the Ra Gada warriors were finally granted semi-equal rights to the Na-Totambu ruling class. During the Interregnum (See; Cyrodiil), however, the Na-Totambu regained control, making the Ra Gada a subservient class again. The capital was moved from Old Hegathe to the merchant power of Sentinel, capital of the province to this day.

After the death of Thassad II, the Ra Gada took Sentinel by force, resulting in the bloodiest massacre in Hammerfell history, at the hands of Crown Prince A'tor. Tiber Septim and the Third Empire were called to help, defeating A'tor's forces at the Battle of Hunding Bay. Hammerfell then became a province of the Third Empire.

Afterwards, in the year 397 of the age of the Third Empire (three years prior to the end of the events surrounding Arena), roughly around the time of Jagar Tharn, a rival of the nefarious battlemage would later take up refuge within the city of Dragonstar (located near the Skyrim border) who went by the name of Shadowmage Skelos Undriel. The events of Shadowkey cover the battles between Undriel and Jagar Tharn's proxy, Shadowmaster Pergan Asuul, as Asuul attempts to resurrect the evil monster, Umbra’keth. It would eventually be resolved by an unknown hero (the player) who hailed from Azra's Crossing (located near the western most border of High Rock) and would join forces with Undriel to prevent Tharn from gaining a foothold into Hammerfell.

[edit] Geography

Hammerfell is a barren and rocky place, the vast Alik'r desert taking up most of it, fertile grassland exists only on the coasts. As such, the major population centers are on the coastline, while the majority of the country is inhabited only by shifting sands and nomadic tribes. In the north are the Dragontail Mountains, home of the misunderstood groups of Orcs reviled by many Bretons and Redguards.

[edit] Politics

Redguards are divided between the mostly Imperial cosmopolitan Redguards, and the wild desert Redguards (Some, at one time, took to biting the heels of the guards, like snakes, as part of their religious beliefs). Many of the Desert people dislike Imperial rule, and as such have been banished from the cities, for the safety of the people.

[edit] Notable Places

[edit] Sentinel

Judging by its location, Sentinel could be nothing other than a Merchant power- it is situated on rocky, infertile hills overlooking Iliac Bay. It was built in the time of the first Redguard Colonization of Hammerfell, to serve as a base for their battles against the Bretons, but has since been expanded. Its main street is a great market leading from the docks to the front gates. Sentinel is an exotic retreat for the nobility of Daggerfall and Wayrest, who delight in its exotic cooking, craftsmanship, and bizarre plays.

[edit] Stros M'kai

Once the home of Crown Prince A'tor, Stros M'kai is an important island near the Cape of the Blue Divide, renowned for its Dwemer ruins, including the marvelous observatory known as the Orrery.