Elder Scrolls Lore » Discussions


Research: Summerset

Tags: #Altmer  #ESO  #Research 
  • June 4, 2018
    I actually noticed it too, and it could confirm that it is similar to sera/serjo cause you can see few books with others signing themselves as "Serjo Nameplate" and such. Lis also said that it can be a regular name, just as we have Hope or Faith used as both names and concepts too.
  • Member
    June 4, 2018

    I thought we could take a very quick glance at Gryphons. Although they deserve a more thorough look with their own article, a small primer can't hurt. I'm leaving the Welkynar, the Gryphon Knights, alone for now.

    Here's my good friend Justiciar Farowel answering a few questions regarding a contract:

    Look at her chest. Now it seems like there is a gryphon trying to squeeze itself out from between her breasts, no? Or is that just me?

    And here are Haeliata and Nagravia chilling with some friends:

    It's a shame I already cleared Sunhold with my Khajiit so will need to go back with another character in order to take a shot of the city's mascot gryphon who needs rescuing, but I do remember this book, The Flight of the Gryphons, found within that Public Dungeon:

    Since the Altmer first looked up at the sky and saw the majestic gryphon soaring on the breeze, there have been dreams to tame the creatures, to ride upon them in times of battle or joy, and feel the freedom of seeing the world far below.
     
    But these were the dreams of children, who quickly learned that the gryphon is proud and fierce, and will not serve as mount to any lesser creature. Generations tried, but the gryphon would never succumb.
     
    The foolish thought to net the creatures in the wild, to break them like a common horse. The gryphon spared future generations from their stupidity. More clever tribes of Altmer managed to scale the cliffs and crags of the isle, taking eggs from the nests of absent parents. Alas, these gambits for years offered no flying mounts, for the eggs would never hatch. Some small comfort was found in the great feasts that followed, for these eggs were held to be delicacies for kings.
     
    One small clan, in the isle's south, would stand up to the untamed splendor of the gryphon and assert itself. Ulorome, whose line would go on to become the Kinlords of Sunhold, found an egg in an abandoned nest during a hunt. Thinking it would never hatch, he brought the egg to his tribe, and prepared it for feast by setting it within the flames of his mighty hearth.
     
    Singing the ancient songs of hearth and family, Ulorome sought to bless the meal before his clan would feast—but lo! The warmth of the hearth and the gentle singing brought life to the cold egg, and from it burst a fledgling gryphon. So red did its feathers look in the firelight, that it was thought to be a phoenix by some. Ulorome, crying out in thanks to the gods for such a gift, wrested the creature from the burning embers and christened it Cel-hinwe.
     
    The legends do not say if Cel-hinwe ever carried his master into battle, but it is known that this creature, the Red Wind of Maormer legend, would become the progenitor of Sunhold's famed gryphon line. These two lines are woven around one another, the kinlords and their gryphons, to the point where one cannot be said to exist without the other. The gryphons have in turn been adopted as the heart of Sunhold, its burning symbol of defiance.
  • June 4, 2018

    Well, hello there, gryphons. I think it is no surprise they are sort of revered, with Altmer being kind of obssessed with eagles. Although...now I´m not so sure. I mean, we always assumed it were eagles on the banners and all that, and maybe they really are, but could the symbolism start with gryphons instead?

  • Member
    June 4, 2018

    I'm glad you said that, Karves, because I wondered and am still wondering the exact same thing. In terms of a lore bombshell, that could be one of the treats Summerset has for us.

    We've also always assumed those Ayleid statues depict Auriel ascending upon the back of an eagle, and have that concept of birds and divinity tightly woven into our imaginations. Yet that book plays down any religious overtones, choosing instead to focus on something more down to earth. I can't be certain of ever having seen an eagle anywhere between the shores of Summerset.

    Eyes peeled, I guess!

    Edit: When next I go to Sunhold (or another does) capturing a shot of their flags and banners to compare with more familar banners could help.

  • June 4, 2018

    Hmm. I would swear I've seen the eagles. Sometimes there were these big shadows flying over me, but right now I can't put my hands into fire if I looked up to see what the shadow belonged to. Like yes, there are seagulls over the beaches, Aetaeum has herons parading around, but I'd swear I saw some big birds in the sky. Heh. Next goal: staring at the sky more :D

    Edit: Btw. Sea Sloads! There´s a damn Sea Sload in Summerset and there was this bit that got me really hyped. Sea Sloads are from some kind underwater kingdom - can´t tell the name, fucking Sload language - and they claim that Summerset was actually their kingdom long time ago. Altmer dispute that of course, but I am inclined to believe the Sloads. Why? Well, those who have travelled inland to Summerset would probably notice that there are the damn coral slopes even in the middle of the damn island. In the middle! So, that in my opinion implies the whole island used to be under water once. Whatcha think?

  • June 4, 2018

    Karver the Lorc said:

    Hmm. I would swear I've seen the eagles. Sometimes there were these big shadows flying over me, but right now I can't put my hands into fire if I looked up to see what the shadow belonged to. Like yes, there are seagulls over the beaches, Aetaeum has herons parading around, but I'd swear I saw some big birds in the sky. Heh. Next goal: staring at the sky more :D

    Edit: Btw. Sea Sloads! There´s a damn Sea Sload in Summerset and there was this bit that got me really hyped. Sea Sloads are from some kind underwater kingdom - can´t tell the name, fucking Sload language - and they claim that Summerset was actually their kingdom long time ago. Altmer dispute that of course, but I am inclined to believe the Sloads. Why? Well, those who have travelled inland to Summerset would probably notice that there are the damn coral slopes even in the middle of the damn island. In the middle! So, that in my opinion implies the whole island used to be under water once. Whatcha think?

    Well, if they didn't change the history of Cloudrest, it's partially built upon coral and it is said that the architecture they built on top of was Sload. 

    As for eagles. Hmm, could be dynamic, you know? Animals can be present one era, extinct the other. I mean, look at cliffracers. And, if Auri-El ascended, maybe he took his favorite animal with him. Could be an interesting explanation of extinction. 

    We had eagles.

    Auri-El ascended

    We no longer have eagles, but we'll revere gryphons because they look similar. 

  • June 4, 2018

    Paws said:

    This pig-child is over 350 years old. Long life comes with the Psijic Robes, she says. Each Holloween for the last three centuries she has dressed up as a Gamorrean Guard.

    I tusking knew it! I knew the name was damn bloody familiar to me! Behold! Black Arts on Trial

    In my new role as Archmagister of the Mages Guild, it is my duty to set policy on this matter. Though I have my own opinions on the Black Arts, I took counsel with two of the most learned mages in the Empire, Magister Voth Karlyss of Corinth and Magister Ulliceta gra-Kogg of Orsinium, and we debated for two days.

    So either this one impossible coincidance of name and surname or this angsty pig-child is over... well, dang, nearly 1000 years old by the time of Archmage Traven and events of Oblivion. 

     

  • June 4, 2018

    Squeeeee, her tusks are so tiny. Orcs must have drank more milk and eaten more protein as the eras progressed. 

    But dang, that is a really old orc if it's not coincidence. 

  • Member
    June 4, 2018
    Damn, that is so freaking sweet! :D To think it was us who inadvertently set her upon the necromantic path, or at least helped her get a foothold! Beautiful, beautiful lore right there.
  • Member
    June 5, 2018

    The Long-Chapper said:

    Karver the Lorc said:

    Hmm. I would swear I've seen the eagles. Sometimes there were these big shadows flying over me, but right now I can't put my hands into fire if I looked up to see what the shadow belonged to. Like yes, there are seagulls over the beaches, Aetaeum has herons parading around, but I'd swear I saw some big birds in the sky. Heh. Next goal: staring at the sky more :D

    Edit: Btw. Sea Sloads! There´s a damn Sea Sload in Summerset and there was this bit that got me really hyped. Sea Sloads are from some kind underwater kingdom - can´t tell the name, fucking Sload language - and they claim that Summerset was actually their kingdom long time ago. Altmer dispute that of course, but I am inclined to believe the Sloads. Why? Well, those who have travelled inland to Summerset would probably notice that there are the damn coral slopes even in the middle of the damn island. In the middle! So, that in my opinion implies the whole island used to be under water once. Whatcha think?

    Well, if they didn't change the history of Cloudrest, it's partially built upon coral and it is said that the architecture they built on top of was Sload. 

    As for eagles. Hmm, could be dynamic, you know? Animals can be present one era, extinct the other. I mean, look at cliffracers. And, if Auri-El ascended, maybe he took his favorite animal with him. Could be an interesting explanation of extinction. 

    We had eagles.

    Auri-El ascended

    We no longer have eagles, but we'll revere gryphons because they look similar. 

    We definitely need to look at the sky more. I know of the shadows, but each time I've glanced up, they have been made by soaring gryphons.

    More info is needed to reconcile these views, and I'm not saying that the eagle doesn't exist: Indeed, we have plenty of references of the importance of that bird, but the gryphon thing adds another element. Like, if the eagle symbolises the Aedra, then the gryphon may well represent something more down to earth such as ferocity and freedom. Being proud and defiant, it's a very relatable animal to the high elven people.

    There could be an element of it being a creature which isn't quite an eagle, much as the Altmer are not quite et'ada.

    Pure suposition, but I like how it's tied up with who they are as a culture, and it could be something like:  The eagle, their spirits. The gryphon, their bodies. The Gryphons of the Welkynar has this to say about the bonds between creature and mer:

    Now remember, this isn't a commitment to be taken lightly. The bond you form with your gryphon will be unlike anything you've experienced. Rather than a mere companion, your gryphon shall become an extension of your very self. Your thoughts, your feelings, your needs, everything will be connected.

    Part of me thinks that within the gryphon, the Altmer have found something akin to themselves.

    Edit: That aside, here's a new cuss word and the importance of Scrolls of Oath: