Summary
Much of lore found inThe Elder Scrollsis just like real history: full of contradictions, misunderstandings, and mythology. Like their real-life counterparts, lore masters of Tamriel must use a discerning eye when covering the events and descriptions of the past. Todd Howard is thought to have said that the world seen in-game offers a miniaturized depiction of the visions of the real place Bethesda’s in-house moth priests see when scrying their sacred basement elder scrolls, although the story may be apocryphal.
That being said, fans with an eye for detail may be perplexed to find written (and even spoken) accounts of towns, cities, and even whole provinces across Nirn to be much different from what is shown. The series is well-known forits mystical, metaphysical canonical retcons, there are only so many people with only so much time to work with in the studio, and only so much detail can be rendered by a computer at once. However, some places are dissimilar in ways that are beyond logical explanation.
Described as being a haven for artists from the first to third Era, this town would have existed somewhere in the Gold Coast region. Although only a ruined fort now stands in its place, there are many references made to Sutch in theElder Scrollsgames. For example, a book found inObliviondetails the exploits ofa highly-skilled master thief, the central story in the book involving the theft of jewels from a Baron of Sutch named Ignace.
Sutch was likely cut for the sake of time during Oblivion’s development, as can be seen on some early renditions of the game’s title screen. Interestingly, each city in Cyrodiil (except the Imperial City) is dedicated to one of the nine divines. Sutch would likely have housed the missing Chapel of Kynareth.
The city of Winterhold was at one time the capital of Skyrim, and under Ulfe Gersen’s stewardship in the third era, it was known to be a place of great wealth and prosperity. Around 100 years before the events ofSkyrim,a terrible storm tore half of the city down into the Sea of Ghosts, leaving only the Mage’s College, the Jarl’s longhouse, and a few ruined houses and causing its residents to abandon the once-great city.
However, it is strange that only a few bricks can be found at the foot of the cliff. Even on the outskirts of the city, where the remains of houses can still be explored, no city walls can be seen. The only lore-friendly explanation for the complete absence of ruins is that this ancient capital was built by magic in the first era, and so, perhaps his magic finally faded away, vanishing all the stone walls and structures with it (in other words, a wizard did it), but it’s just more likely that the team were stretched thin getting the game shipped on time.
4The Streets Of Whiterun (Skyrim)
Do You Get To The Cloud District Very Often?
Whiterun contains perhaps the smallest but most obvious difference between its in-game lore and its depiction. Citizens of Skyrim’s trade capital (one in particular) will constantly refer to the city’s three districts: the Plains District, the Wind District, and the Cloud District. However, as any player who follows at least the first third of the main story will know, the third could hardly be called a “district,” given that it is solely occupied by one structure, Dragonsreach.
An early concept map (shown above) shows two buildings beside the Jarl in the “Noble District.” There are files hidden in Skyrim’s code that suggest that themuch-memed, Cloud District enthusiast Nazeemowned a home named Whitesand Manor, which could have been located beside the castle had the district been realized, instead of simply renting a room at The Drunken Huntsman every night. A book by Mikael the Bard does state that the Cloud District is exclusively occupied by the Jarl’s castle, but then, he also describes the city’s walls being made out of wood instead of stone.
3Windhelm (Skyrim)
The Hall Of Trails
In the rough, tough city of Windhelm where might makes right, it would make sense that an arena of some kind would be an integral feature of the city. In fact, inTheElder Scrolls Online, an arena does feature as part of the city. Skyrim’s Windhelm arena was cut, ostensibly because of engine limitations, and would have been located where the Gray Quarter stands.
The arena is still in the game’s files and can be accessed. It would have been used for entertainment by the local residents and the player would have been thrust in as a combatant if they were caught breaking the law. Perhaps the real reason that the Nords of Windhelm dislike the dark elves so much is thattheir precious entertainment was bulldozedfor refugee housing.
2The Imperial City (Oblivion)
There Is But One City In The Imperial Province
It’s hard to understate how ambitious Bethesda were in makingThe Elder Scrolls 4. They were aiming at building the heartland province of an empire with entire cities dotting the countryside. The Imperial City would sit in the middle of them all. According toElder Scrollslore, the metropolis, the size of real-world Rome during the height of its power, is spread across eight massive islands situated in the middle of Lake Rumare.
The capital was once referred to as “the city of a thousand cults” inThe Elder Scrolls Online, as it was established as a city that allowed theflourishing of cults and religions of all kinds. A book namedPocket Guide To The Empire, 1st Editionfound inThe Elder Scrolls Adevntures: Redguarddescribes the city as having “whole neighborhoods [resting] on jeweled bridges that connect the islands together” and “ships floating along the flooded lower dwellings.” Due to money, time, sanity, and engine limitations, the city was depicted as being a lot more homogeneous inOblivion.
1The Jungles Of Cyrodiil (Oblivion)
From Rainforests And Swamps To Temperate Middle-Earth
The history of Tamriel is chock-full of weird occurrences, from CHIM toretroactive Dragon Break retcon time shenanigans, such as the Warp In The West. Several in-game sources describe Cyrodiil as being a jungle with rice paddies, legion soldiers lost among thick, sweaty rainforest floors dotted with lost cult temples from a more mythic era.
There are many complicated explanations as to why the Heartlands is depicted as a mild-tempered forest inOblivion,including esoteric meta-text about CHIM. However, perhaps the most concise explanation comes from Michael Kirkbride, the main writer and lorehead behindMorrowind, who said that Cyrodiil was envisioned to have been rainforests and swamps, but “Todd Howard watchedThe Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,” and things changed. Fair enough, Todd.
