Skyrim/History

Merethic Era
Skyrim, also known as the Old Kingdom or the Fatherland is the home of the Nords.

Expedition to Skyrim
During the Merethic Era, a legendary Atmorans leader namedYsgramor, led an expedition from Atmora to the land that would later be known as Skyrim. They called the land Mereth, in recognition of the vast number of Mer that lived there. It was the first region of Tamriel to be settled by humans, who migrated there from the land of Atmora in the far north, across the Sea of Ghosts. According to legend,Ysgramor landed first at Hsaarik Head, at the extreme northern tip of Skyrim's Broken Cape. It is said that he and his companion were fleeing the civil war in Atmora, which at that time had a sizable population. However, Ysgramor and his followers were not the first to come to Tamriel, the continent that Skyrim is located in. Humans had already occupied parts of Tamriel, which included the proto-Cyrodillians, the ancestors of the Bretons, the aboriginals of Hammerfell, and a vanished Human population of Morrowind. The Nords were just one of the ancestors of the Nedic peoples, and were the only ones who failed to find a peaceful relations and accommodation with the Mer who already occupied Tamriel. New archaeological expeditions made in 3E 344 date the earliest Human settlements in Hammerfell, High Rock and Cyrodiil at ME800-1000, centuries earlier than Ysgramor.

The Atmorans settled the area that in the future would be known as Winterhold hold; they eventually built a city in the region and called it Saarthal. For a long while, relations between the Snow Elves and the Atmorans were relatively peaceful.

Night of Tears
However, the Snow Elves saw that the Nords, with their considerably shorter life expectancy, fast rates of physical maturation and expedient (by Elvish standards) reproductive cycle, would eventually overtake them if left unchecked. At the time, men were viewed by Snow Elves as being primitive and animal-like, and it was seen as no great moral remission to stop the spread of a potentially disastrous invasive species, who would destabilize the Tamrielic ecosystem. However, there was a theory which raised the possibility of the Snow Elves' attack on Saarthal for another reason. The Atmorans had discovered something deep beneath the surface, when they were building Saarthal. The Atmorans tried to keep the secret of the artifact they found, but the Snow Elves learned of it. Thus, Elvish pogroms razed the city of Saarthal on what became known as the Night of Tears. Only Ysgramor and his two sons survived, and escaped back to Atmora.

The Return
When Ysgramor and his sons returned to Atmora, they told the stories and events that happened in Skyrim. The people of Atmora cried out in sadness and anger, and for revenge against the Snow Elves; the people were united with a common cause for war against the Elves. In addition, seeing the tenuous peace which had developed between the various factions, Ysgramor recognized the opportunity to turn their plight into a uniting force for the human race. Within a few years, Ysgramor was set to return to Skyrim with an army known as the "Five Hundred Companions", composed of the heroes of the Atmoran Civil War. On the Day of Final Passage, the Five Hundred Companions left the port ofJylkurfyk to return to Skyrim.

Atmoran-Snow Elf War
The Atmoran-Snow Elf War took place in the late Merethic Era. One famous battle, which occurred late in the war and happened to be the turning point for the Atmorans, was theBattle of the Moesring. During the battle, the Atmorans were winning and it appeared that they would be victorious, until the arrival of the Snow Prince. He rallied and led his forces into combat, inspiring the troops of the last remaining army of Snow Elves. Several of the greatest Nord warrior-heroes fell before the Snow Prince, which included Ingjaldr White-Eye, Ulfgi Anvil-Hand, Strom the White, Freida Oaken-Wand and Heimdall the Frenzied. The tide appeared to have turned for the Snow Elves, until the Snow Prince killedJofrior. Finna, who was only twelve years of age and daughter of Jofrior, watched as her mother was slaughtered by the Snow Prince. In her rage and sadness, Finna picked up her mother's sword and threw it at the Snow Prince, which struck him in the breast and killed him. The death of the Snow Prince shattered the morality and motivation of the remaining Snow Elf warriors. Many Snow Elves fled, and those who remained on the battlefield were killed.

The war would end shortly later with the purging of most of the Snow Elves in Skyrim and their civilization would be destroyed. The Five Hundred Companions, without much resistance, drove the Snow Elves out and were knighted in the foundations for the Ysgramor Dynasty.

Founding of Whiterun
After the war against the Snow Elves ended, the Five Hundred Companions decided to break into separate groups to find their own way in the newly founded land. The crew of Jorrvaskr, led byJeek of the River, journeyed around the new land until they came upon a mysterious yet wondrous sight; "a monument of a bird, whose eyes and beak were opened in flame." This monument that would soon later known be known as Skyforge, was older than the Snow Elves themselves. This great monument was about as old as Nirn and was "some remnant of the god's efforts to render a paradise in Mundus before the shattering of Lorkhan." A city was built up around Jorrvaskr, and this city was known as Whiterun, with the initial area around it later known as Whiterun Hold.

Founding of Windhelm
Ysgramor and his group traveled eastwards, heading towards Yngol Barrow, and after stopping there, Ysgramor's eyes turned to the south, where a river met the sea. He decreed that he and his crew would built a great city, in monument to the glories of Mankind, and so he could look upon his son's final resting place and "feel that his line would know peace in this new home that was never known in Atmora." The city was built with a long bridge stretching across the White River, with much of the city made of stone. This city would be known as Windhelm, the City of Kings.

Dragon War
When the Atmorans came to Skyrim, they brought with them their history and culture, including their religion. Their religion focused on the worship of animal gods, the chief deity of which was the Dragon. Just as Dragons ruled supreme in Atmora with dragon priests being their sub-leaders who did the actual ruling themselves, the same existed in Tamriel.

At an unknown time, the people of Skyrim and all of Tamriel rebelled against the Dragons. At first, people died by the thousands. Later, Kyne, the Nordic goddess of the Storm, intervened to help Mankind. She gave Paarthurnax the task of teaching Mankind the Voice.

The tide began to turn in favor of the Humans, and eventually, Dragons began to be hunted down in large numbers as well. Mankind would win the Dragon War, with many Dragons killed and Dragon Cult dispersing and going into hiding.

Second Century
Snow Elves persisted within the borders of Skyrim until the reign of the Thirteenth of the Ysgramor Dynasty, King Harald, at the beginning of the First Era. King Harald was the first to relinquish all holdings in Atmora (until that time, the Nords of Atmora and Skyrim had been considered the same group), proclaiming that the people of Skyrim were an independent people.

Third Century
Vrage the Gifted started the expansion that would eventually lead to the First Empireof Men. Within fifty years of his reign, the Nords ruled all of Skyrim as well as parts ofHigh Rock, Cyrodiil, and the Dunmer lands of Morrowind. The acquisition ofMorrowind was particularly bloody, still remembered in Morrowind. The purpose of the formation of the Chimer-Dwemer kingdom of Resdayn was to expel the Nords.

Fourth Century
The system which chose the successors to the Empire eventually proved to be its undoing. For a great while the Moot, a gathering of the lords of the many different Holds, chose the successor to the Empire. This lasted well until the death of King Borgas.

In 1E 369, High King Borgas died during the Wild Hunt. His death helped start Skyrim's War of Succession.

First Battle of Red Mountain
In 1E 416, the Nords were expelled from Morrowind during the First Battle of Red Mountain (the Second Battle of Red Mountain would occur in 1E 700 and would have nothing to do with the Nords). The Nords lost all of their territory in Morrowind, and their armies suffered a disastrous loss to the combined forces of the Chimer and the Dwemer.

End of the War of Succession
In 1E 420, the Skyrim War of Succession ended with the Pact of Chieftans and the crowning of Olaf One-Eye as High King.

Fifth Century
In the beginning of the Fifth Century of the Third Era, the Oblivion Crisis started when Mehrunes Dagon attempted to enter Tamriel in his "true and terrible form." Oblivion Gates opened up all over Tamriel, and a massive war between Mortals and Daedra erupted. Though most of the fighting took place in Cyrodiil, Oblivion gates opened up all across Tamriel.

First Century
During the First Century of the Fourth Era, the Red Mountain in Morrowinderupted, which caused widespread destruction and death. Cities were destroyed, many people died, with most of Morrowind destroyed. The event took place from 4E 5 to 4E 6.

In 4E 16 the High King of Skyrim gave the island of Solstheim to the Dunmer, giving the refugees coming from Morrowind a place to live. Four years later, in 4E 20, the Decree of Monument was signed by the Jarls to "decree this site as a monument to the struggle of those who fled their native home of Morrowind in the time following the Red Year."

Forsworn Uprising
In 4E 174, a group of Reachmen launched an uprising in which they took the city of Markarth. This event would later be known as The Forsworn Uprising. Since the Empire was fighting against the Third Aldmeri Dominion in Cyrodiil with theGreat War raging on, Markarth was undefended and was thus left open for attack. The Reachmen who took control of Markarth took over the government administration and created an independent kingdom for The Reach.

Markarth Incident
Two years later, in 4E 176, Skyrim's federal government organized a militia force led by Ulfric Stormcloak, who were to retake Markarth. The militia group eventually retook Markarth, and drove the remaining Reachmen who rebelled out of the city. Those remaining people became the Forsworn, who swore revenge against the Nords for preventing them a life of independence.

Third Century
The Third Century of the Fourth Era in Skyrim was a time to be alive, because the events that took place would be remembered for a very long time. In 4E 201, two events occurred concurrently; the Skyrim Civil War and the Dragon Crisis. During this time, Skyrim and its people finally revolted against the Imperial Empire and the Third Aldmeri Dominion. At the start of the war, the Holds of Eastmarch,The Pale, The Rift and Winterhold Hold rose up and revolted against the Empire, while the Empire controlled Haafingar, Hjaalmarch, The Reach and Falkreath Hold.Whiterun Hold was neutral in the war and refused to join either of the two contestants in the war. Skyrim was divided, and a war of succession was raging on.

In addition, the Dragon Crisis occurred, during which Dragons returned to Tamriel. No Dragon had made an appearance in Tamriel for over a thousand years. This dragon made its first Fourth Era appearance at Helgen, during which the dragon destroyed the entire town and killed nearly everyone there, except for the people inside the fort and an unknown prisoner.