#IS MORROWIND PART OF THE EMPIRE SKIN#

When first we hear of the Dark Elves, they were divided into numerous petty clans, half of whom were at war with the other half at any given moment. Morrowind was not given its modern name until after the first eruption of Vvardenfell (see Places of Note - Vvardenfell). The Nords gave to the region the name of Dunmereth from being the land of the Dunmer but in earlier ages it was called by themselves Resdayn and Imperial Librarian Elba Laskee traces the foundation of the Dark Elven nation back to above 3,500 years from the present time. The earliest human records bearing on the subject (which must remain our best source until the archives of the High Elves are opened to Imperial scholars) are the sagas and chronicles of the Nords. They consider themselves superior even to other Elves, who in their estimation are effete and decadent specimens of the pure Elven race 1. Like all elves, they tend to be tall and gaunt, but the Dark Elves take the Elvish haughtiness to an extreme, viewing humans as no better than beasts, fit only to serve as slaves on the plantations of Tear.

#IS MORROWIND PART OF THE EMPIRE SKIN#

His ash-grey skin and glowing red eyes makes a Dark Elf instantly recognizable, although few have seen one, as they rarely leave their homeland. The Dark Elves must have split from the original trunk of the Elven race many long eons ago, for although unquestionably kin to the other Elves of Tamriel, the Dark Elves differ in many ways, not least in their striking appearance. But from whence these unusual people came, what were their race and lineage, or where their original home, ere they spread themselves over Morrowind and the Deshaan, are questions easier asked than answered. They are known as the Dunmer in the Elven tongue, and now populate the great stretch of northeastern Tamriel between the Velothi Mountains and the sea, and between the southern edge of the Deshaan plain and the northern coast. The grey-skinned red-eyed Dark Elves seem admirably suited to their weird, ash-blighted region. Everywhere, cowering slaves - Argonian, khajiit, human - scurry to carry out the barked commands of their Dark Elven masters. A courier clatters by on the back of a 20-foot-tall, crab like creature. Cloaked and masked Dark Elves tend herds of giant insects. The familiar flora and fauna of Tamriel is exchanged for bizarre and twisted forms that can survive the regular ashfall. The sky is darkened regularly by furious ash storms belched forth from the mighty Vvardenfell volcano.

The traveler, upon crossing Shadowgate Pass, may be forgiven for believing that he has left Tamriel and entered a different world. Savage and proud, the Dark Elves shun all contact with the outside world, even with their brethren from Valenwood and the Summerset Isles. Once a part of the First Empire of the Nords, Morrowind is now the land of the Dark Elves, whose origins are shrouded in mystery like the ash storms that regularly blanket their homeland.

Is morrowind part of the empire