3. First Era

Era Theme

The First Era marks the transition from myth and foundation into recorded history. It begins with the Alessian Rebellion in @Cyrodiil and the fall of Ayleid supremacy, and it unfolds as the age of Empires: Nordic, Direnni, Alessian, and Reman’s @Cyrodiil. This era is one of consolidation and collapse, with races and kingdoms vying to impose lasting order upon Tamriel. While the Mythic and Merethic define origins, the First Era defines struggle for dominance.

Founding of the Alessian Empire

The Era begins in 1E 243 with Saint Alessia’s rebellion against Ayleid rule. Guided by visions from @Akatosh and aided by Pelinal Whitestrake and Morihaus, Alessia united Nedic slaves to overthrow their Ayleid masters. The fall of White-Gold Tower marked the first great shift in @Cyrodiil: the establishment of the Alessian Order and the birth of a human empire. The Empire spread @Akatosh worship and the Covenant of Man, ensuring Elven gods were diminished in @Cyrodiil’s pantheon. The Ayleids were driven into decline, their great cities left as ruins haunted by memory and Daedric echoes.

Nordic Supremacy and @High Rock

While @Cyrodiil rose, Skyrim had already carved its empire. Ysgramor’s heirs and later High Kings expanded Nordic influence into @Morrowind, @High Rock, and @Cyrodiil itself. For centuries, @Nords held sway over half of Tamriel, ruling through martial strength and clan loyalty. But their dominance faltered under internal strife and external resistance. The Chimer-Dwemer alliance resisted Nordic expansion in @Morrowind, defeating them at the Battle of @Red Mountain. In High Rock, the Direnni Clan allied with @Bretons and other Elves, eventually halting Nordic encroachment. The Nordic empire waned, retreating to @Skyrim’s @Heartlands.

The Fall of Nordic Hegemony

The Nordic Empire, once vast, unraveled during the First Era. Their rule over @Morrowind collapsed after the Battle of @Red Mountain, their expansion into @High Rock was checked by Direnni alliances, and in @Cyrodiil their influence waned as Alessia’s heirs consolidated power. @Skyrim itself fractured into rival holds, torn by disputes over succession and the waning influence of Ysgramor’s bloodline. This decline marked the shift of @Nords from would-be Tamrielic conquerors into a people concerned primarily with defending their rugged homeland, leaving the stage open for @Cyrodiil to dominate.

Rise of the Direnni and the @Bretons

The Direnni reached their zenith in the early First Era, controlling vast territories in @High Rock and beyond. Their feudal system, blending Elven rule with emerging @Breton identity, gave @High Rock its unique culture. The Battle of @Glenumbra Moors in 1E 482, where the Direnni and their @Breton allies repelled the Alessian Order, marked their greatest triumph. Though their influence later declined, the @Bretons rose as a distinct race and culture in this crucible, inheriting Elven magic and human adaptability.

Battle of @Glenumbra Moors

In 1E 482, the Alessian Order marched into @High Rock, intent on imposing their doctrines upon @Bretons and their Direnni overlords. At @Glenumbra Moors, a massive coalition of @Bretons, Direnni battlemages, and allied @Nords crushed the Alessians. This battle preserved @Breton culture, confirmed @High Rock as distinct from Cyrodilic hegemony, and marked the beginning of Direnni decline. The victory also ensured the @Breton nobility would develop as semi-independent lords, planting the seeds of feudal politics that shaped @High Rock permanently.

The Chimer, Dwemer, and the Tribunal

@Morrowind’s history in this age culminated in the legendary Battle of @Red Mountain (1E 700). There, the Dwemer vanished mysteriously, their entire race lost in an instant as Kagrenac’s profane tools struck the Heart of Lorkhan. The Chimer, led by Nerevar and his generals, achieved victory but suffered betrayal. The Tribunal — Vivec, Almalexia, and Sotha Sil — used Kagrenac’s tools to become living gods, transforming the Chimer into @Dunmer with ash-colored skin. This single event reshaped @Morrowind forever: the Dwemer gone, the Chimer reborn, and the Tribunal’s theocracy established for millennia.

The Yokudan Ra Gada

Meanwhile, Yokuda suffered cataclysm and collapse, forcing waves of refugees eastward. The Ra Gada, or “Warrior Wave,” struck @Hammerfell’s shores in 1E 808. With unmatched martial skill and the power of sword-singing, they crushed local Nedic and Elven populations. @Hammerfell became the @Redguard homeland, defined by the warrior codes and traditions they carried from Yokuda. This migration introduced a new race to Tamriel, one that would never lose its independence or martial reputation.

The Ra Gada Transformation

The Yokudan warrior-wave was not merely a migration but a conquest that altered Tamriel’s balance of power. By seizing @Hammerfell, the @Redguards introduced a new race defined by mastery of sword and desert. Their victory was so swift that older populations were either assimilated or extinguished. @Redguard refusal to bend to Elven or Human empires made them both a buffer and a threat. Their arrival demonstrated that Tamriel was never safe from external cataclysm, as whole continents could collapse and spill new powers onto its shores.

Alessian Doctrines and Orthodoxy

The Alessian Order, while rooted in liberation, hardened into religious tyranny. Their doctrines outlawed Elven practices, demanded universal worship of the Eight, and imposed monastic austerity on society. Architecture was stripped of Elven ornament, books were burned, and dissenters were persecuted. The Doctrines spread east and west, binding disparate human lords into one cultural system. Yet their rigidity alienated allies, especially @Bretons and Colovians, who resisted being reduced to slaves of orthodoxy. This ideological extremism eroded the very empire it sought to unify, showing that faith without pragmatism cannot sustain political power.

The Alessian Order’s Decline

The Alessian Order, though initially triumphant, grew increasingly fanatical. Their doctrines, the Alessian Doctrines, enforced strict religious orthodoxy and condemned Elven influence. Their authority waned after defeats against the Direnni and @Bretons, and @Cyrodiil fell into disunity. Without strong leadership, the Empire fragmented, leaving Tamriel divided among rival powers. The failure of the Alessian Order left a vacuum, setting the stage for Reman’s rise centuries later.

Reman @Cyrodiil and the Second Empire

The closing centuries of the First Era saw renewed unity under Reman @Cyrodiil. Rising from the Colovian Highlands, Reman unified Nibenay and Colovia, defeating the Akaviri invasion at Pale Pass in 1E 2703. Rather than destroy them, he integrated the Akaviri Tsaesci into his new empire, forming the Dragonguard and establishing a martial-bureaucratic dynasty. Reman’s Empire spread influence across Tamriel, balancing Nibenese mysticism and Colovian militarism. It lasted until 1E 2920, when Reman III and his heirs were assassinated, ending the First Era and ushering in the Second.

Reman’s Reforms and Imperial Unity

Reman I’s genius lay not only in military leadership but in statecraft. He united the fractured Nibenese east and martial Colovian west, creating a balanced empire that respected both mystical tradition and pragmatic warfare. He restructured taxation, established uniform law, and bound provinces with roads and legions. The Akaviri were woven into his bureaucracy, their influence visible in architecture, military organization, and the Dragonborn mythos tied to the Emperor’s line. Under Reman, the Empire achieved a scale of unity unmatched since, enduring centuries until treachery ended his dynasty in 1E 2920.

The Akaviri Invasion

In 1E 2703, Akaviri Tsaesci invaded Tamriel, sweeping down from the northeast. Their armies were unmatched in discipline and strange martial arts, but they were halted at Pale Pass by Reman @Cyrodiil. Rather than annihilate them, Reman integrated the Akaviri into his new Empire, a decision with long-lasting consequences. The Dragonguard, sworn dragon-hunters, became guardians of the Empire, blending Akaviri martial traditions with Cyrodilic governance. This moment was pivotal: foreign conquerors became the skeleton of Tamriel’s greatest empire, a paradox of defeat transforming into foundation.

Closing of the Era

The assassination of Reman III and his heirs brought the First Era to an abrupt end. Tamriel entered the Second Era leaderless, the Ruby Throne empty, the Empire fragmented. Yet the First Era’s legacies were indelible: the end of Elven dominion, the rise of @Bretons and @Redguards, the permanence of @Dunmer identity, and the establishment of @Cyrodiil as the heart of empire. The Second Era would inherit both the triumphs and failures of the First, replaying its patterns of unification and collapse.

Cultural Shifts

The First Era hardened identities. Bretons emerged as a distinct race. The Chimer became the @Dunmer. The @Redguards replaced Yokudans. Elves lost supremacy in @Cyrodiil and @Skyrim. @Dragon cults, Ayleid city-states, and Dwemer citadels faded into memory. Pantheons diversified: @Akatosh’s worship grew in @Cyrodiil, while Tribunal faith rose in @Morrowind, and @Redguards carried Yokudan gods to @Hammerfell. Magic became institutionalized, no longer mythic but scholastic, as guilds, colleges, and oral traditions refined its practice.

Legacy

The First Era is remembered as the age of foundation through fire. Nations rose, empires shattered, and peoples were transformed. Borders shifted constantly, but cultural lines became clearer. The fall of the Ayleids, the vanishing of the Dwemer, the rise of the Tribunal, the arrival of the @Redguards, and the founding of Reman’s Empire all defined the landscape of the Second Era. The First Era was long and bloody, but it forged the civilizations of Tamriel from scattered tribes and fading myths into lasting cultures and powers.