Lore:First Era Wars

Merethic Era — First Era — Second Era — Third Era — Fourth Era

A painting of Pelinal fighting Umaril

The following is a list of all known wars and conflicts during the First Era.

Skyrim Conquests

1E 240

King Vrage the Gifted began the aggressive expansion now known as the Skyrim Conquests, which would culminate in the First Empire of the Nords. Within a span of fifty years, the descendants of Ysgramor ruled all of northern Tamriel, including most of present-day High Rock and the whole of Morrowind.

Conquest of High Rock

The Nords first encountered Bretons in 1E 200, initially believing them to be elves and cutting them down. However they soon learned that the Bretons were a race of men subjugated by the elves of High Rock, and High King Vrage made it his mission to liberate them. The Nords advanced into High Rock as far as the Bjoulsae River before being repelled by the Elves of High Rock. However the Nords would also found the cities of Camlorn, and Daggerfall in 1E 246. These territories would be lost in the War of Succession, with the Direnni Elves coming to power in High Rock in 1E 355

Conquest of Morrowind

The Nords would conquer the entirety of Morrowind, in part taking advantage of the ongoing rivalry between the Dwarves and Chimer, however the Nords would be unable to conquer the Dwarven kingdom of Vvardenfell, who would remain independent throughout the existence of the First Empire of the Nords.

The Nords would eventually be overthrown in an alliance between the Chimer and Dwemer, spearheaded by the Kings Indoril Nerevar and Dumac Dwarfking who formed a personal friendship. The Nords were pushed out of Morrowind in 1E 412, with the Nords in particular being resentful of the loss of Morrowind's western coast of the inner sea. Following this victory the Chimer and Dwemer formed a permanent alliance, uniting to form the Council of Resdayn.

The defeat for the Nords marked a change in their warfare- Jurgen Windcaller meditated for years on the defeat and how the Nordic art of the Thu'um and the masters of this technique, the Tongues, could have failed. He ultimately came to the conclusion that the Thu'um as a gift from Kyne should be used solely as an act of worship of the Gods, and not of warfare, founding the Greybeards Monastic Order. While this was a move many Nord Warriors fought against, Jurgen Windcaller shouted them down, and the use of the Thu'um from then on was primarily used for pacifistic purposes.

The Alessian Slave Revolt

While the Nordic kings of the East and West had increased their wealth and power in the Skyrim conquests, the kings to the south looked to increase their own fortunes. However, the Jerall Mountains were too well controlled by the Ayleids to let Nordic Armies penetrate into the Heartlands, and the prize to the south was considered too poor to dedicate the armies to overcome them.

This changed with the Alessian Slave Revolt in 1E 242. Alessia allied with several Ayleid city-states, many discontent with the staunch Daedra worship within the Ayleid Empire. The First Empire of the Nords swiftly allied with the Alessians, and when the Ayleids were overthrown, the Nords took several territories in the Nibenay Valley. The Alessians remained allies with the First Empire of the Nords, and the Alessian Pantheon of the Eight Divines that combined the Elven and Nordic Pantheons was embraced by much of the Nords, though it remained controversial in some parts of Skyrim.

The fundamentalist Alessian Order had much sympathy among Nordic Kings, and indirectly would result in the Nordic Empire's dissolution. High King Borgas supported the Alessian Order, and wanted to launch a joint invasion of Valenwood with the Empire. This led to the Wood Elves to conducting a Wild Hunt, in which High King Borgas died without any heirs, ending the line of Ysgramor, and resulting in the War of Succession in 1E 369 when the Moot failed to appoint a successor, only ending in 1E 420.

The Dwarves of Skyrim

The Dwarves of Skyrim had managed to resist the advance of the Nords as they battled the Snow Elves, most of whom sought shelter within the Dwarven City-States and became blinded slaves. However the Nords of Skyrim managed to invade and conquer the Dwemer cities of Skyrim, including Markarth, under High King Gellir which may have been during the era of Skyrim Conquests within the span of three years, to the surprise of the Nords as the cities had previously survived Nordic assaults for at least a century. The Dwarves had weakened themselves in the Aetherium Wars unbeknownst to the Nords fighting for control of the Aetherium Forge, and the subsequent Nordic conquest left several Dwemer sites abandoned. The Nords would maintain control of Dwemer cities for a century before the Dwemer managed to recapture them, potentially during the War of Succession.

Alessian Slave Rebellion

1E 242 – 1E 243

The Alessian Slave Rebellion was a war that lasted from 1E 242 to 1E 243.

Under the leadership of the Slave-Queen Alessia, the enslaved Nede rebelled against their Ayleid overlords. The legendary nomad-warrior Pelinal Whitestrake dealt the final blow when he killed Umaril the Unfeathered in White-Gold Tower. However, Pelinal died along with the Ayleid king, cut into eighths in mockery of the Divines by the Ayleids, who were obsessed with this number.

The victory, while extremely beneficial to the Nede, signaled the slow decline of the Ayleid race's power, which would end around 1E 500, after the Late Ayleid Period.

The War of Succession

The War of Succession took place between 1E 369 - 1E 420

After King Borgas of Skyrim was killed by the Wild Hunt in 1E 369, a civil war was sparked. Imperial scholars blamed the arbiters of the succession, the Moot, for not choosing Jarl Hanse of Winterhold, who they considered the obvious choice.

Anequine Conquests

The Anequine Conquests were a period of military expansions conducted by the warlord Darloc Brae, the Golden Beast of Anequina, that took place in the fifth century of the First Era.

The Aetherium Wars

~1E 3rd Century

Some time following the reign of High King Harald, the Dwemer discovered a deep source of aetherium, and made an alliance of four city-states dedicated to extracting it and studying it. This league was made of Arkngthamz, Radbalthar, Bthar-Zel, and Mzulft and together they built the Aetherium Forge to create artifacts with Aetherium. However the alliance ultimately crumbled with the Dwemer city-states fighting wars among each-other for control of the forge, but none were successful. This infighting beneath Skyrim was unnoticed by the surface inhabitants, but High King Gellir of Skyrim besieged the Dwarven City-States of Skyrim, conquering them in three short years to the surprise of the Nords. They would hold these Dwemer cities for a hundred years before the Dwemer would reconquer them.

The War of the Crag

1E 7th Century - 1E 700

After the Snow Elves were finally defeated by the Nords under Ysgramor and later King Harald, during the First Era and driven from Skyrim, they sought refuge with the Dwemer in the caverns of Blackreach. The Dwemer agreed to help, but only if the Snow Elves would eat a toxic fungus which rendered them permanently blind. They betrayed the Snow Elves and forced them to serve as slaves. Generations later, the Falmer rebelled against their Dwemer masters, beginning a long and bitter conflict that raged completely unbeknownst to the Nords living on the surface above. After decades of bloodshed, the war ended with the abrupt disappearance of the entire Dwemer race. The newly free Falmer spread throughout Blackreach and other Dwemer ruins, and eventually began mounting raids to the surface.

The War of the First Council

~1E 668 - ~1E 700

Also called the War of the Red Mountain. The secular Dwemer waged war against the Chimer Great Houses, as well as the nomadic Ashlanders of Vvardenfell, who had united under General Indoril Nerevar. The Nords of Skyrim under High King Wulfharth also entered the fray; alongside an allied an army of Orcs, they sought to reclaim Morrowind amidst the chaos and restore the First Empire of the Nords. In the aftermath of the final clash, known as the Battle of Red Mountain, the Dwemer had mysteriously disappeared, Nerevar was dead, House Dagoth was dissolved and assimilated into the other Houses, and a new religion was born revering the living gods of the Tribunal and later cursing Voryn Dagoth, the former High Councilor of House Dagoth, as the devil incarnate.

The war is said to have coincided with the Sun's Death of 1E 668, a cataclysmic eruption of Red Mountain that devastated Morrowind, tainted the skies with ash, and blotted out the sun for a year. Other sources claim the war occurred in or around 1E 700.

The War of the Singers

~1E 780

The War of the Singers was a conflict fought between the brigand army of Emperor Hira and Sword-singers of Yokuda prior to their migration in 1E 808.

Upon rising to power in the chaotic aftermath of Randic Torn's death, Emperor Hira attempted to wrestle control of the empire from the people by exterminating the sword-singers. The Singers were few in number and unprepared to join together into an army that could defend their homes and lives. Hira moved swiftly against those Singers who were visibly a part of empire's society. This included Divad Hunding, whose music and fame were so widespread that Hira sent one hundred of his personal guards to arrest him. They successfully captured him at his home, but one of the guards cruelly struck his elderly mother, killing her. In that instant, the spirit of the Way awoke in Divad, and he turned his own chains into weapons, slaying four guards and escaping.

Divad became a prominent figure in the resistance against Hira, rumored to appear everywhere the emperor's plans went awry. He later approached his father, Frandar Hunding, who had retreated to Mount Hattu many years prior to writing down his years of accumulated wisdom, strategy, and the way of the Shehai. Ultimately, Divad convinced his reluctant father to him to lead the war against the emperor. When the Singers discovered that Hira was forming his army to invade High Desert, they fled from their camps to the foot of Hattu where Hunding and Divad emerged ready to lead them. The remnants formed into the Army of the Circle, and began to learn "Hunding's Way", his strategies, and tactics.

Hunding devised a plan of seven battles, leading the armies of Hira further and further into the wilderness to the foot of Mount Hattu, where the final battle could be fought. Hunding called his plan the "Hammer and the Anvil." With each battle Hunding's Singers would further learn his strategies and tactics, grow strong in the use of the Shehai, and be ready to defeat their opponents in the seventh battle. Hunding's plan worked and the six first battles were waged, each neither victory or defeat, each leading to the next. Outnumbering the Singers thirty to one, Hira and his army maneuvered to the base of Mount Hattu, where the hammer blow was delivered. The battle was bloody, but the Singers were victorious. Less than twenty thousand singers survived, but Hira's army was decimated after losing over three hundred thousand. Unappreciated among the citizenry and no longer welcome, Frandar and his army left for the port city of Arch in the province of Seawind. There they boarded a flotilla of ships and began their great migration to Hammerfell.

The Ra Gada Warrior Waves

1E 780 - ~1E 9th Century Following the War of the Singers Frandar Hunding took the surviving Sword-Singers who numbered less than 20,000 (who while victorious in the War of Singers had caused so much death and destruction they were no longer welcome in Yokuda) and sailed east eventually landing in Hammerfell, where they warred against the native inhabitants conquering the land for the Yokudans. The colonization of Hammerfell took place over the course of four 'Warrior Waves' that saw bloody military expansion by Yokudan refugees against the inhabitants of Hammerfell, typically the Goblin, Nedic, Orc, and Elven populations. At some point the Ra Gada would conquer the Systres, wiping out the population of Left-Handed Elves on the islands that had fled from Yokuda.

First Wave

Initially led by Frandar Hunding himself, warring against the Goblin tribes in the region, and conquering the Alik'r desert. This would go on to form the Forebear faction of the Redguards.

Second Wave

Believed to correspond with the destruction of Yokuda in 1E 792, bringing the traditional aristocracy of Yokuda who would become the Crown faction of the Redguards. The Yokudans initially landed on Herne, conquering it from the native Nedes, before setting off for mainland Tamriel in 1E 808, landing in Hegathe, and spreading out to the southern and western coasts of Hammerfell. Stros M'kai and Khefrem's Boot.

Third Wave

This wave discovered the Illiac Bay, and settled the city of Sentinel and northern coast of Hammerfell. Many of the Ra Gada were corsairs and would raid the cities of High Rock, but they were driven back by the sorcery of the Direnni. This wave would continue to clash with the Elves on the island of Yath, and Salas En, and pushed the Elves through the region of Bangkorai settling the region.

Fourth Wave

Known as the bloodiest wave, this saw the disappearance of the Nedic population of Hammerfell, though some argue they had been on the decline anyway.

Siege of Orsinium

1E 948 – 1E 980

Main article: Orsinium § The Siege of Orsinium
In response to the Orcish threat to the Kingdom of Wayrest, a Breton–Redguard–Yokudan alliance was formed which, after a campaign of more than 30 years, destroyed the First Orsinium in the Wrothgarian Mountains.

The War of Righteousness

1E 2321 - 1E 2331

The War of Righteousness was a decade-long conflict that led to the dissolution of the Alessian Order and with it the Alessian Empire. The main cause of the conflict is believed to have been internal strife within the Order itself, brought about by the unsustainable expansion of the priesthood. Several of the Empire's territories took the opportunity to distance themselves from the Order or break away entirely. When Western Cyrodiil isolated itself and established an autonomous government, the Colovian Estates, the simmering tension among the Order erupted into open warfare.

While there is no information about how or by whom the war was fought, there are some details about the destruction it caused. Reportedly, half of the contemporary population of the Iliac Bay was wiped out in the violence, and the Alessian Order's great monastic complex at Lake Canulus was razed.

First Akaviri Invasion

1E 2703

In the first major interaction between Akavir and Tamriel, a large Tsaesci armada landed on the northern coast and marched through Morrowind and Skyrim to the Jerall Mountains, defeating all in their path. However, by landing in Morrowind, the invaders had arisen the anger of Vivec, who allied with the Trident-Kings of the Dreugh to attack from behind, cutting off the Akaviri supply lines and their route to the sea. They were brought to a halt by lack of supplies and set up headquarters at the defensible Pale Pass, where they were met by the forces of a united Cyrodiil under the command of Reman.

Reman's army had only begun to advance into the mountains when the entire Akaviri force abruptly surrendered, kneeling before him and saying they had found what they came to Tamriel to seek. Reman integrated many of the Tsaesci veterans into his own armies, and his personal service, and used them to great effect in his subsequent campaigns which resulted in the Second Empire.

Reman Conquests

The Reman Empire led attempts to conquer every province in Tamriel.

The Tsaesci Snake-Men of Akavir invaded Northern Tamriel, cutting a bloody swathe across it hunting for dragons. Reman Cyrodiil united the Colovian Estates and Nibenay to fend off the Akavir, fortifying the border in Skyrim. Upon defeating the Tsaesci at Pale Pass, they swore fealty to him as Dragonborn, and thus the Second Empire was born. The Tsaesci formed the Dragonguard, the core of Reman Cyrodiil's army that he would use to conquer all of Tamriel save for Morrowind, with their tactics and proffessionalism becoming the basis of Tamrielic warfare.

The Summerset Isles viewed the renewed power of a Human Empire suspiciously, but were ultimately subjugated by the Reman Empire. However the relationship seemed akin to a tributary status, with the Altmer engaging in tribute payments so as to minimize as much contact with the outside world as possible.

The Blackwater War

The Blackwater War was a military expansion ordered by Reman II in 1E 2811 - 1E 2837. It seized the northern and eastern marches of Argonia, resulting in the formation of the Imperial Province of Black Marsh. While the Imperial forces won several decisive battles in the early stages, their progress quickly stagnated due to the brutal terrain, endless raids, disease, and mysterious disappearances. After several failed campaigns, each employing wildly differing tactics, the conflict declined into a protracted and complex guerrilla war with no clear victor in sight. Ultimately, tribal infighting on the part of the Argonians finally brought the war to a close. Rather than an official armistice, the war simply ended when the Argonians abruptly buried their weapons and went back to their day-to-day lives.

The Four-Score War

The Four-Score War took place between 1E 2840 - 1E 2920 and was centered around the border regions of Morrowind, with the armies of the Reman Dynasty facing the Tribunal-led forces of the Dunmer. The war was initiated by Reman II after he had successfully taken over Black Marsh. Reman II died fighting the Dunmer in 1E 2843 and the war was continued by his successors Brazollus Dor and Reman III.

The war ended when Akaviri Potentate Versidue-Shaie signed the Cervant Truce with Vivec. As a result, Morrowind remained the only Tamrielic nation independent of the Second Empire until its collapse in 2E 430.

The War of the Uvichil

1E 2911 - 1E 2917

The Sload of Thras unsuccessfully invaded Summerset Isle. The Altmer remember the war as horrible, due to the use of infernal machines and necromancy by the Sload.