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by High Chronicler Valerius of Winterhold
A history of Skyrim's early High Kings
- High King Vrage is widely regarded as one of the most important monarchs, not only in the Ysgramor Dynasty, but in the history of Skyrim. As his epithet 'Butcher' suggests, Vrage boasted a reputation as an utterly ruthless and bloodthirsty warrior-king. He is best remembered for his unrelenting campaigns of conquest and expansion that birthed the First Empire of the Nords.
- After usurping the throne from his brother, King Hjalmer, he moved the kingdom's capital to Winterhold and immediately began planning numerous military campaigns into neighboring lands that his father had started. The result would be decades of bloody war that saw the slaughter of untold thousands - man and mer alike.
The Exalted Crusade
- The incredible growth of his kingdom is oft considered exceptional, but historians and scholars have long debated what made Vrage's campaigns so distinct to his predecessors. Notable conqueror-kings such as Hjonskar and Einarth (while accomplished in their own right) managed only a fraction of Vrage's success. Exactly how did Skyrim expand to encompass vast parts of Tamriel in the relatively short span of only 50 years?
- As with such historical conundrums, the truth is complex and relies on a number of factors that were possibly outside of Vrage's own sphere of influence. However, what we do know is that Vrage made a number of sweeping changes within the kingdom before embarking upon his crusade - all of which no doubt played a part in his success.
- One of these key changes was a complete reorganization of his standing army. Flying in the face of ancient traditions and custom, he swept away all forms of clan affiliations and favoritism within the ranks and moved towards a system of rank based on merit. This meant that the commanders of his armies would no longer be members of the Skerd by default. Instead, even a lowly peasant was eligible and was granted the opportunity to climb the social hierarchy if they performed well in his army. As a result, the change bred immense commitment and loyalty.
- Another of his reforms was his adaptability to new forms of warfare that he encountered from his opponents. Instead of exterminating those he conquered, he sought to learn their techniques and integrate them into his offensive. Notable examples include the introduction of Orcish smithing techniques, Ayleid light-magic, and Direnni summoning principles. The latter was instrumental in granting Vrage's clever men the knowledge to summon entire herds of unworldly beasts, allowing entire armies the ability to traverse across enemy territory at an unprecedented speed. While his proud ancestors would have typically rejected such "heathen magicks", Vrage saw the wisdom in learning his from his enemy.
The Breton "Liberation"
- King Vrage made the first priority of his Empire the liberation of his supposedly "tormented kinsmen" in modern-day High Rock. During this time, much of the region was ruled by the Direnni elves who had conquered the local Nedes and the ruled them as a caste of nobility. This system of feudal vassalage over their human subjects led to the establishment of a caste of mixed-blood humans, who were given the name "Bretons" (from the Ehlnofex "beratu," or "half").
- Vrage's initial land onslaught in 1E 223 was a great success that took him through the Western Reach and as far as the Wrothgarian Mountains. To his surprise, Vrage discovered that the tribal Bretons he sought to liberate were in fact willingly aiding the Direnni elves. Whether or not Vrage truly felt a kinship to the tribal Bretons is debated, but it didn't stop him from unleashing his armies upon any resistance. When the Western Reach was conquered, it was incorporated as one of the Holds of Skyrim and the town of Jehanna was founded as the hold capital.
- Vrage attempted to move his forces south into Bangkorai, but was met with heavy resistance. Direnni forces had fortified the entire region surrounding the Bjoulsae River, utterly halting Vrage's progress. Although his ground troops were locked in battle, his formidable navy sailed along the northern coast, sacking towns and villages in their wake. Eventually, the Nords established their own fortified coastal towns to support their pillaging parties. The most notable settlement was the city of Daggerfall, which was founded after landfall was made by the crew of the Mistekniv. Other notable towns founded during the invasion included Camlorn and Reich Gradkeep (known today as Aldcroft).
- A bitter guerrilla war ensued for several years as the vastly larger Nordic force spread throughout the land. The Direnni, in their desperation, began to unleash great clouds of toxic miasma upon territories they were about to lose, rendering the land uninhabitable and killing vast numbers of Nords and Breton combatants alike.
- While its oft-stated that the Nords conquered the whole of High Rock, the truth is that the Direnni were not completely defeated. Although the entirety of High Rock was reduced to a patchwork of disputed territories, and Nordic settlements dotted the land, some regions (such as modern-day Stormhold and Bangkorai) fared better than others and remained partially under Direnni and Breton rule. The only part of the realm that remained completely untouched by Nordic aggression was the Isle of Balfiera, thanks to its impregnable magical defenses. Although the Direnni elves lost many of their mainland holdings to the Nords, they would retake them a century later when the formidable Direnni Hegemony rose to power.
Blood and Ash
- Vrage's conquest of Morrowind is said to be one of the epic clashes of the First Era that is still recalled by bards in taverns across Skyrim. After his conquests in the west, Vrage turned his attention to Morrowind in 1E 229. Furious that his brother Hjalmer's failed campaigns into Stonefalls cost the kingdom entire swaths of land, Vrage sought to not only reclaim his lost holdings but seize the entire realm.
- Vrage orchestrated a two-pronged attack against Morrowind and sent his best generals to spearhead the invasion. Jorg Helmbolg led an attack from Dunmeth Pass in the north while Derek the Tall pushed through the Cinder Valley in the south. The Nords poured into Morrowind and butchered numerous Chimeri settlements along the foothills of the Velothi Mountains before securing the eastern border.
- Before the establishment of the Great Houses, the Chimer of the time were fragmented into countless warring tribes, but in months prior to Vrage's invasion had banded together under Ashkhan Zershishi to form a formidable, albeit disjointed army. The Chimeri tribes had fortified the region around Ash Mountain and were prepared for the Nordic onslaught. Ancient Velothi tapestries of the impending battle depict the approaching Nords as a great swirling blizzard - appropriate when we remember that Vrage's snow-throated armies were formidable Tongues. Before battle, they would frequently call down storms of ice to not only quell the harsh volcanic climate but confuse and dismay the Chimer warriors.
- Ashkhan Zershishi sought an alliance with a reclusive Dwarven kingdom who claimed lordship over the island of Vvardenfell and sent numerous envoys pleading for aid in the coming war against the Nords, but was ultimately unsuccessful. In his desperation Zershishi used a Daedric artifact, known as the Obsidian Husk, to raise an entire army of mindless shades to bolster his ranks.
- A great battle took place at the foothills of Ash Mountain and many on both sides were slain. Zershishi was said to have even used the Obsidian Husk to raise the fallen Nords and turn them against their brethren. After several days of bloody battle, the Nords thu'um proved too formidable for the Chimer defense and they were defeated. Those who didn't escape into the extensive network of fungal caverns beneath Stonefalls were driven into the Inner Sea. The region was annexed and consolidated as one of Skyrim's Holds, later named Dunkreath.
- The Ashkhan retreated east to the region we know today as the Telvanni Peninsula, where the bulk of the eastern Chimeri tribes gathered to mount a last stand. Centuries prior, a powerful Dragon Priest named Kaarththor fled to the region during the Dragon War and enthralled the local ash tribes with his powerful mind-controlling magic. From his citadel on the eastern coast, Kaarththor ruled for many years before his death in the early First Era. After locating the priest's tomb, the Ashkhan used the Obsidian Husk to reanimate Kaarththor as means to repel Vrage's army. Kaarththor's arose with a fury described in the sagas as "unabated and unrelenting", and laid waste several of Vrage's armies with his powerful magic. It would take several months and numerous bloody battles before Vrage's armies were successful in slaying Kaarththor, Ashkhan Zershishi and an untold number of Chimeri ashlanders. So great was the slaughter, legends claim the city of Necrom (the infamous City of the Dead) was founded around this time solely to inter the remains of the fallen.
The Fall of White-Gold
- In 1E 242, twenty years after King Vrage's crusade began, a slave rebellion erupted in Cyrodiil. Inspired by the success of Vrage's empire in the north, a young Nedic maiden named Alessia gathered her countrymen and rebelled against their Ayleid overlords. The Ayleid civilization was in steep decline at this time and had never fully recovered from their war against Skyrim decades prior. While Vrage had long sought to lead the charge into Cyrodill himself, he was greatly pleased that his southern cousins had risen up against the elves themselves. He sent numerous armies into Cyrodill the same year to aid the rebellion, although his motives were not entirely altruistic. His armies quickly secured large swathes of land around the Jerall foothills and the Nibeny Basin.
- During Vrage's invasion, several of his scouts report a rampaging white-haired warrior laying waste to Ayleid lands. Vrage became intrigued by this lone warrior and sought to meet with him. An entry from Vrage's fragmented war-journals reveal that the warrior was no other than Pelinel Whitestrake himself:
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- 12th Hearfire, 1E 242.
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- He rode into to my camp three nights ago wearing the bloodied head of Gordhaur on his belt. My scouts indeed speaketh the truth. There can be no doubt this "Whitestrake" is indeed a child of Kyne... a true son of Skyrim... for who else but a blessed champion of Shor himself could eradicate the armies of Ninendava alone. From whence he came remaineth unknown for he spake in riddles when I asked, and I know not why he addresseth me as Valdimar - for that is my exalted ancestor's name - but it pleases and honors me nonetheless. In the morn he will seeketh the heads of the remaining Mafrearana, and to this end I have agreed to... [the rest of the text is missing]
- The Mafrearana (literal translation: Kings of the Frost) was the collective term for the ruling council formed from the Ayleid sorcerer-kings who ruled the city-states of Ninendava, Oblivion:Rielle, and Sedor. These were the same cities who waged a failed war against High King Haknir almost a century prior. The Whitestrake had already dealt with Ninendava leaving Vrage to march upon the others.
- The once-great cities, famed for their formidable war-craft and sorcery, fell within days and their rulers fled into the dense forests and caves lining the Jerall foothills. Eventually, the sorcerer-kings were discovered by Vrage's hunting parties and brought before Vrage himself, who summarily ordered their brutal execution. A fragment of a speech Vrage delivered at their execution is as follows:
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- O Noble Nords! remember these words of the hoar father: Pray not for peace, for such is the wish of the weak and cowardly. Before me in chains kneel the wicked elves who long sought to enslave thy countrymen. Look upon them as they cower among the ruins of their lofty cities they beg for mercy! Yea... these are the very elves who spilled our blood and plundered our land. These elves... who cherisheth their lordship against man... doth they seek clemency from your king? Ha! There shall be none for I hath decree'd these elves be punished in the old way. By way of Hestaaglar!
- Hestaaglar was an ancient Atmoran form of punishment whereupon the victim's feet would be bound to large chunk of ice. Over the course of several days, shamans and clever men would work their magics upon the ice, forcing it to slowly and excruciatingly grow over the victim's entire body until they were completely encased in a pillar of ice. While being frozen alive was brutal in itself, the shamans would sometimes use their powers of Restoration to keep the victim alive for several week or months (depending on the severity of the crime). These vast pillars of ice would then be displayed in prominent places across the land as a warning to rival clans. Some legends even attribute this custom as the origin of Black Stalhrim, whereupon the victim's essence would become fused with the ice that killed them, granting the material unique properties.
- On the snow plains where the Mafrearana were slain Vrage founded the city of Bruma (supposedly named after his beloved sabre-cat, Brumastraad). Attributing his victory to Kyne the city was given the sigil of the sacred hawk, however over time it was distorted into the symbol of the eagle we know today. Swaths of northern Cyrodiil under his control were absorbed into the empire and consolidated under the newly established Frostcrag Hold.
- The following year the White-Gold Tower tower fell marking the end of Ayleid supremacy in Cyrodiil. The Slave Queen Alessia was crowned Empress and founded the Alessian Empire.
Death
- For the next several years Vrage continued his campaigns in across northern Tamriel, strengthening his holdings and eradicating resistance. In 1E 252, at the age of 56, Vrage suddenly fell ill during one his campaigns in Morrowind. Before the Crimson Plague took him, Vrage's generals were summoned to his deathbed whereupon he named his nephew, Thane Gellir of Yorgrim, as his successor.
- Vrage's body was escorted back to Winterhold by a grand procession. Supposedly thousands on his countrymen were struck by such grief that they immediately ceased fighting and returned to Skyrim to attend his funeral on the white cliffs overlooking the Sea of Ghosts.