The new area Elsweyr in The Elder Scrolls Online stands out with its extraordinary landscape and culture. It also has a bloody past. Read in our special what is revealed about Elsweyr in the published lore.
Elsweyr consists mainly of desert and is located in the south of Tamriel. This makes it the perfect place to get rid of a body! It is also the home of the Khajiit – a humanoid cat race – and is divided into three major regions:
- Pellitine
- Anequina
- and Quin’knurr.
Where does the name Elsweyr come from? The name of the province Elsweyr is derived from an old Khajiiti proverb:
“One only finds a perfect society elsewhere“
“Elsewhere” in English is Elsewhere. However, it seems to be just a coincidence that the Khajiiti word Elsweyr sounds similar to Elsewhere in the language of the Imperial people.
Nevertheless, many translate the province name simply as “Elsewhere”, even though Elsweyr is a name and actually has no distinct meaning.
Diverse Landscape
In the north of Elsweyr, you will find the deserts and steppes known from the trailers, while in the south, you will encounter vast jungles and forests. So don’t forget your mosquito spray!
Unfortunately, we have not yet seen a detailed map of the new area as it will be in the addon.
This division also shapes the settlement pattern. While the desert Khajiit in the north live like nomads, the Khajiit in the south are more sedentary and even founded some large cities.
But you will also find one or the other city in the north, don’t worry!
The cats are dancing
The Khajiit have been residing in Elsweyr long before all other inhabitants and were highly developed compared to the other races of their time.
Even before humans made their first written records about Elsweyr, the first Khajiiti cities had already developed into centers of a global trade network.
War, war is always the same
For many hundreds of years Elsweyr was divided into many small kingdoms. Then suddenly the plague came and hit the Khajiit particularly hard.
The balance between the kingdoms was shattered, and two great powers emerged: In the north, a warlike tribe from Anequina took control, while in the south, a wealthy merchant class from Pellitine seized power.
As these two parties rarely agreed, there were frequent brawls. At the same time, the Empire in Cyrodiil was established by the rise of the Remans. It didn’t take long before the kingdoms of the Khajiit were also integrated, leading to even more unrest among the catfolk.
A marriage between the two socially high-standing Khajiit – Keirgo from Anequina and Eshita from Pellitine – ended the differences and the two kingdoms were merged into the “Confederation of Elsweyr”.
However, the power from then on was solely in the hands of the Khajiiti nobility. This bothered the Khajiit of the north after a while, and so in the following centuries there were still frequent territorial disputes.
Invasion of the Third Empire
One day, the well-known Elder Scrolls fans, Tiber Septim, finally appeared. He conquered the southern part of Elsweyr and violently expelled the Khajiit living there.
But that wasn’t enough for him. In the Koloss halls, a monumental complex in Elsweyr, he secretly restored the Numidium.
A gigantic machine with immense powers, originally built by the Dwemer master architect Kagrenac.
With its help, he was finally able to successfully complete his Tamriel campaign. When the Third Era began, all of Elsweyr had finally become part of Tiber Septim’s Empire.
