The Green Pact is the central tenet of Bosmeri identity, a covenant sworn with the god Y’ffre, the Storyteller, during the Merethic Era. According to Bosmer myth, when the Aldmer first settled in Valenwood, their forms were unstable, mutable like the chaotic world around them. Y’ffre gave them fixed shape, binding them into mortal form. In return, the Bosmer swore eternal loyalty to the Green — the living forest of Valenwood — and agreed to live by its laws.
This covenant distinguished the Bosmer from their Aldmeri cousins. Where Altmer sought stasis and purity through ancestry, the Bosmer embraced adaptation through covenant. The Green Pact was both blessing and burden: it gave Bosmer survival in the wilds of Valenwood, but demanded strict obedience to laws that set them apart from all other races.
The Green Pact governs Bosmeri life in every detail. Its primary commandment is simple yet absolute: “Harm no living plant of the Green.” This law forbids Bosmer from cutting, burning, or consuming the vegetation of Valenwood.
Key tenets include:
No Woodcutting: Bosmer cannot use wood for weapons, tools, or construction. Instead, they rely on bone, sinew, leather, and stone, or trade with outsiders for timber.
Carnivory: Bosmer must consume only meat. They eat the flesh of animals, enemies, and even kin when necessary. Vegetarianism is sacrilege.
Fealty to the Green: The forests are sovereign. Any Bosmer who harms the Green is an oathbreaker, cast out from kin and condemned.
The Wild Hunt: In times of great crisis, the Bosmer may call upon Y’ffre to unleash the Wild Hunt, transforming themselves into monstrous beasts that devour everything in their path. The Hunt is both weapon and punishment, invoked sparingly but feared even by Bosmer themselves.
These laws define Bosmeri culture, separating them from every other people of Tamriel.
The Green Pact is not merely religion but identity.
Diet and Cuisine: Bosmer eat only meat — venison, boar, bird, fish, or the flesh of their enemies. Ritual feasts often include the consumption of fallen foes, sanctified as offerings to the Green. Outsiders see this as barbaric; Bosmer see it as sacred duty.
Architecture: Without wood, Bosmer grow their homes. The forests themselves shape Bosmeri dwellings, with trees bent or magically coaxed into structures. Bone, shell, and hide are used for tools and adornment.
Trade: Since the Pact forbids them from using Valenwood’s timber, Bosmer rely heavily on trade with Khajiit, Imperials, and Altmer for wood, crops, and fiber. In return, they offer meat, hides, and archery services.
Law and Justice: Oathbreakers who violate the Pact are exiled or executed. Such punishments are seen as necessary for the survival of all Bosmer. Stories of oathbreakers often serve as moral lessons in Bosmeri oral tradition.
The Pact thus shapes every aspect of daily life, making Bosmer one of Tamriel’s most distinct peoples.
Merethic Era:
The Pact originates in the Bosmer’s earliest myths. Y’ffre, the Storyteller, stabilized the world and fixed Bosmeri form, demanding loyalty in exchange. From the beginning, Bosmer saw themselves as chosen children of the Green.
First Era:
The Pact gave Bosmer resilience against foreign invasions. Nords and Ayleids alike struggled in Valenwood’s forests, where Bosmer ambushed and vanished into the Green. Invaders often feared the threat of the Wild Hunt, which left entire armies devoured and landscapes scoured.
Second Era:
During the Interregnum, the Pact remained source of unity. In 2E 582, Bosmer fought in the Aldmeri Dominion alongside Altmer and Khajiit, but never abandoned the Pact. Wild Hunts were rarely invoked, but always threatened as last resort. Outsiders feared this alien covenant, seeing Bosmer as unpredictable allies.
Third Era:
Under the Septim Empire, Imperial governors tolerated the Pact as cultural law, though some sought to regulate it. Reports of ritual cannibalism shocked Imperial sensibilities but were ignored so long as Bosmer loyalty remained. The Pact persisted unchanged, surviving where religions like the Tribunal collapsed.
Fourth Era:
By 4E 201, the Pact continues to define Bosmeri life. Even under Thalmor dominance, Bosmer clans invoke the Pact to resist overreach, claiming loyalty to Y’ffre above Dominion. For some, the Pact justifies independence from both Altmer and men. For others, it is anchor of tradition in an age of turmoil.
The most terrifying aspect of the Pact is the Wild Hunt, a ritual invocation of Y’ffre. When called, Bosmer transform into monstrous, amorphous beasts, losing all reason and consuming everything in sight — enemies, allies, beasts, even the land itself.
The Hunt is invoked only in direst need, when a tribe faces extinction or Valenwood itself is threatened. Afterward, survivors rarely speak of it, ashamed of the destruction they wrought. Legends tell of entire cities erased, armies annihilated, and landscapes left barren. To Bosmer, the Wild Hunt is both salvation and curse, proof of their bond with Y’ffre.
Physiology and Diet:
Bosmer physiology is adapted to meat-eating. Their agility, eyesight, and speed mark them as hunters. Though smaller than most Elves, they are quick and cunning, traits honed by Pact diet and lifestyle.
Religion in Practice:
Worship of Y’ffre dominates. Ancestor shrines exist, but Y’ffre’s law overrides all. Ritual feasts, moonlit hunts, and communal storytelling reinforce covenant. Daedra are acknowledged but secondary to the Green.
Political Use:
The Pact is often invoked in diplomacy. Altmer and Imperials alike hesitate to provoke Bosmer, fearing a Wild Hunt. Within Valenwood, tribal leaders use the Pact as source of authority, binding clans beyond blood.
Outsider Perceptions:
To Imperials and Nords, the Green Pact seems barbaric. Cannibalism, refusal to farm, and devotion to the forest appear alien. Yet even critics admit the Pact has given Bosmer remarkable resilience, allowing them to thrive where others falter.
The Green Pact is not merely law but identity. It marks Bosmer as unique among Tamriel’s peoples — bound by carnivory, oath, and Wild Hunt. Where Altmer cling to ancestry, and men to gods of time, Bosmer cling to covenant with their forest.
Its legacy is paradox: the Pact has ensured Bosmer survival, but at cost of dependence on outsiders for wood and crops. It has given them terrifying power in the Wild Hunt, but at cost of infamy as savages. It unites them as children of the Green, but isolates them from kin and neighbors.
By 4E 201, the Green Pact endures unchanged since the Merethic Era. In every Bosmer clan, in every ritual feast, in every oath to Y’ffre, the covenant is renewed. It is their greatest strength and their greatest burden — a promise that cannot be broken without unmaking the Bosmer themselves.