If internet sleuths and Elder Scrolls lore experts are right, then High Rock (and possibly Hammerfell) is going to be the setting for The Elder Scrolls 6. We haven’t got a ton of stuff to go on, but some astute dissections of the (now four-year-old) trailer, as well as analyses of that strange mark in last year’s Starfield reveal trailer make for some compelling evidence that the next Elder Scrolls game will indeed be set in the northwestern regions of Tamriel.
So in preparation for a game that should be with us within the next, say, 20 years, we’ve decided to delve into its likely setting of High Rock – a land of diverse terrain, complex politics, and a history that’s as old as Tamriel itself.
Note that most of this information is based on the events of earlier games in the series, which all occur chronologically throughout the Third and Fourth Eras – 3E and 4E – apart from The Elder Scrolls Online, which is set during the Second Era (2E). The mainline series, The Elder Scrolls 1-5, has always progressed chronologically with each successive entry, so assuming that The Elder Scrolls 6 will continue in the chronology, it’s likely to take place some time after the events of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – maybe even a couple of hundred years.
Obviously, a lot can happen in a couple of hundred years, and it’s very possible that the state of High Rock will be quite a bit different to when we last heard of it.
With that in mind, here’s an overview of the High Rock region.
Geography and Regions
High Rock is situated in the northwestern corner of Tamriel, with the arid desert region of Hammerfell to the south and Skyrim to the east. Despite much of it being at a similar latitude to Skyrim, it’s not a snow-covered region, and if the Elder Scrolls Online map is anything to go by, only its mountains and north-easternmost corners are permanently blanketed by snow.
Most of High Rock wraps itself around the northern and eastern shores of Iliac Bay (with Hammerfell on the other side of the bay). In the centre of the bay is the Direnni Tower (or Adamantine Tower), believed to have been built by the immortal Aedra race in the Merethic Era, which would make it the oldest building in Tamriel.
High Rock is divided into five major regions, which are as follows:
Wrothgar
A cold mountainous region on the northeastern edges of Iliac Bay, and former home of the Orcs, who once resided here in the city-state of Orsinium. With the city having been sacked several times over, the orcish hold over the region is likely to be heavily diminished. Wrothgar has also been home to the Lyrezi vampire bloodline, Riekr ice goblins, and Reachfolk – a hardy race that, like the Bretons, is descended from the Aldmeri and Nedes.
Stormhaven
An affluent and temperate region in central High Rock. The capital city is Wayrest, an urban hub and once a rival to the other great High Rock city of Daggerfall. The city was sacked in 4E 188 by a corsair fleet, who conspired with the city’s own king, Barynia, to let them into the city on condition that they wiped out its Dark Brotherhood chapter, which was conspiring to kill him. The corsair completed their task, sacked the city, and Wayrest’s status as of this event remains unknown.
In the western parts of the region is Alcaire, where the dominant vampire bloodline is Lyrezi. The city of Alcaire (also known as Alcaire Castle), meanwhile, rests at the top of a waterfall that pours into a river leading out to the Iliac Bay.
Glenumbra
The peninsula sticking out over the westernmost side of High Rock. A vast land of woods and swamps, the south of this region hosts the city-kingdom of Daggerfall, a bustling hub that deals in everything from international trade to skooma smuggling. In the centre is another kingdom-city, Camlorn, a wealthy metropolis in the Cambray Hills region and rival to Daggerfall.
Historically, the forests of Glenumbra have been home to werewolves and Bretonian witch covens, the Beldama Wyrd and the Glenmoril Wyrd. While the former congregates around a giant oak tree known as the Beldama Wyrd Tree, the latter are Daedra worshippers.
Bangkorai
In the southeast of High Rock, bordering Hammerfell, the forested uplands of Bangkorai house the Bangkorai Garrison, which has for a long time been defending the region from raiders coming in from the Fallen Wastes to the south. The regional capital is the city-kingdom of Evermore, which borders Hammerfell and is home to a palace built from granite imported from the Skyrim city of Markarth.
The southernmost parts of Bangkorai are badlands known as the Fallen Wastes. This area marks the start of the Alik’r Desert, which stretches all the way into the heart of Hammerfell.
Covering the northwest of High Rock is Rivenspire, home to the Great Breton houses of Dorell, Tamrith and Montclair. The region is known for its high vampiric presence, and around 2E 582 (when Elder Scrolls Online is set) was battling a scourge of feral vampires called Bloodfiends. With its hostile landscape, towering castles and tumultuous history of scourges, it’s known as something of a rough backwater of High Rock.
Rivenspire
Its northernmost area of Boralis is home to the Kingdom of Northpoint, which has the only port in the region, allowing the kingdom to spread its influence across the sea. The other major city of Ravenspire is Shornhelm, nestled in the tough landscape of the Kurallian Mountains. The city is the former seat of power in the region, and in the absence of a king, was most recently run by a triumvirate of Rivenspire’s three Breton houses.
History
High Rock is home to the Bretons, a human race with high intelligence and strong magical affinities. Something that’s been largely suppressed by history is the fact that the Bretons are descended from Elves, or more specifically the Aldmeri – the ancestor race of all elven races in Tamriel – who intermingled with the Nedes, a human precursor race.
High Rock is known as the ‘birthplace of Tamriel.’ Here, on the Isle of Balfiera in the centre of the Iliac Bay, stands the Direnni Tower (or Adamantine Tower), believed to have been built by the immortal Aedra race in the Merethic Era, which would make it the oldest building in Tamriel. It predates the arrival of the Aldmer, the first known settlers of the region, who were later joined by the Nedes.
The region eventually became populated by Orcs, who founded the city-state of Orsinium. The Nords moved in from Skyrim, Redguard from Hammerfell in the south, and High Rock eventually became home to several vampire bloodlines too. The First and Second Eras were filled with strife, as dozens of kingdoms fought for power. The Bretons rose up to become the dominant race in the region throughout this time, extending their reach through trade and soft power to slowly overcome the rival Nordic presence.
In 3E 417, the Warp in the West reshaped the topography and power politics of High Rock. Several major kingdoms of High Rock contested over an artefact called Numidium, which would consolidate the power of their kingdom. Through a mysterious disruption in linear time known as a Dragon Break, believed to be the work of Akatosh, the Dragon God of Time, somehow four of the contesting factions, Wayrest, Daggerfall, Orsinium, and The Emperor all procured Numidium.
Subsequently, a series of cataclysmic events occurred all over High Rock, wiping out swathes of the population and reducing the number of kingdoms from 44 to just the four above. Despite the near-apocalyptic levels of destruction across High Rock, the Warp in the West later became known as the Miracle of Peace for the relative stability it established in the region from that point on, and the subsequent prosperity it brought the four remaining factions.
The Miracle of Peace didn’t just benefit the kingdoms who got their hands on Numidium. In the latter years of the Third Era, the Kingdoms of Northpoint and Evermore took advantage of the power vacuums surrounding them to extend their reach.
Meanwhile, Orsinium was sacked and rebuilt several times over the eras. Its last sacking came in the early years of the Fourth Era at the hands of a combined force of Redguard and Bretons. The last we heard of it, Orsinium no longer existed as a major kingdom in High Rock.
By the middle of the Fourth Era, there were only five major kingdoms in High Rock – Daggerfall, Wayrest, Camlorn, Northpoint, and Evermore. The exact status of these in the time period Elder Scrolls 6 is likely to take place remains something of a mystery, but they’re the most likely kingdoms to remain extant at the time the game will take place.
