Hammerfell

[Lucien Lachance]

Hammerfell is a province in the west of Tamriel, bordering Skyrim, Cyrodiil, and High Rock. This province is dominated by the wasteland of the Alik'r desert. It is inhabited by the human race of Redguards, who fled to Tamriel after their home, Yokuda, was destroyed.

Hammerfell is predominately an urban and maritime province, with most of its population confined to the great port and trade cities. The interior is sparsely populated with small poor farms and beastherds. The Redguards love to travel, adventure, and the high seas has dispersed them as sailors, mercenaries, and adventurers in ports of call throughout the Empire.



History

Hammerfell's original name was Volenfell, given to it by the Rourken Clan of Dwemer during the First Era. It is said that the leader of the clan threw his mighty hammer, Volendrung, across the continent, and followed it to their new home (This scene is depicted on many frescos in Ruins throughout the region.) The Rourken were opposed to the creation of the joint Dwemer-Chimer state of Resdayn, which prompted their move westward. It was later named Hegathe by the Aldmer and Deathland by the Nedic peoples, before the Redguards arrived and named it Hammerfell, translated from the Dwemeris.

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.


Geography
Hammerfell is a barren and rocky place, the vast Alik'r desert taking up most of it, with fertile grassland 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.


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.


Notable Places

Alik'r Desert, The
Alik'r is a region of northern Hammerfell (within The Iliac Bay region), best known for its large desert, and properly known as The Alik'r Desert. Alik'r also completely surrounds the province of Bergama. The provincial seat is Alik'ra.

During the Warp in the West, this region became a part of the city state, Sentinel.


Dragonstar
A town in Hammerfell, just south of the border with High Rock and Skyrim.


Elinhir
A town in Eastern Hammerfell, close to the border with both Skyrim and Cyrodiil. It is close to the Skyrim town of Falkreath.


Gilane
A town in southern Hammerfell lying west of Taneth and south east of Sentinel. The ruins of the capital city of the Rourken Clan can be found nearby.


Hegathe
Hegathe is a town in South-Western Hammerfell, to the south of Sentinel. Aeons ago, Hegathe was the name given to Hammerfell by the Aldmer.


Rihad
Rihad is a port city at the southern edge of Hammerfell, just north of its border with Cyrodiil. Rihad is located on the coast of the Abecean Sea, on the main road between Anvil and Taneth. The Brena River flows into the Abecean Sea just south of the city. The city is an eclectic mix of Redguard Forebears, survivors of the Yokuda Ra Gada, followers of Satakal, a few Bretons, and warriors-in-training from all over the empire . Buildings in the city with its high domes, the flying dew sails, and the mosaic colophons were constructed over the old and new ruins of past civilizations. In 3E 253, armies of Taneth and Rihad were defeated in the Battle of Dragontooth by the Camoran Usurper, leading to the fall of southern Hammerfell.

The city is the birthplace of well-known historian Destri Melarg.


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.


Skaven
A town in north-central Hammerfell.


Stros M'Kai
Once the home of Crown Prince A'tor, Stros M'Kai is an important mountainous island off the southern coast of Hammerfell near the Cape of the Blue Divide. Stros M'Kai is renowned for its completely steam-powered Dwemer ruins, including the marvelous observatory known as the Orrery.

The game of Redguard was set in Stros M'Kai.


Taneth
A town in southern Hammerfell on the Abecean Sea lying north west of Rihad and east of Gilane.