Cultured and Arrogant

The Altmer (meaning “old” or “high/noble people” in their own tongue), or High Elves, as they are primarily known outside of the elven provinces (in this case, “high” doesn’t necessarily denote noble or civilized, and is mostly used to refer to the arrogant and snobby attitude that some of them express towards the other races of Tamriel), are a tall and gold-skinned race of elves from the Summerset Isles. They are considered to be the most like the common elven ancestor, the Aldmer (see volume II for notes on this). They are well known for their incredible expertise with magic and their art, sometimes regarded as the height of culture.

The Altmer are easily distinguishable, even for the untrained eye, as they are easily the tallest people in Tamriel, surpassing even the Nords of Skyrim, towering over the other races, and having a yellow/golden skin colour. Along these remarkable traits, they also share the more common elven traits, namely pointed ears, a slender build, a respectable longevity, and a very strong affinity towards magicka. This affinity is, however, so strong, that they not only are better spell casters and mages, but are also more vulnerable to it. An other interesting characteristic is that, even though they keep their gene pool small on purpose (to appear more like their ancestors), they still have a heightened resistance to most diseases.

Historically, the Altmer have long resented the Empire, as they see the other races as inferior, and find themselves isolated of the matters of the mainland on their own islands. Even though they did not take part in most of the early conflicts and problems of Tamriel, they weren’t completely untroubled. Indeed, the Altmer have more than one time saved Tamriel from invasions (not out of care for the other species, but out of the fact that they were the first target), like the Sloads and the Maormer, along with some internal conflicts. During these wars, the Altmer grew tired of the attacks, and formed an alliance with the Bosmer of Valenwood, called the Aldmeri Dominion. This helped defend the Summerset Isles, but could not stand against the armies of Tiber Septim. In 2E 896, the Summerset Isles were incorporated into the Empire, after the Numidium was used to crush the Altmeri armies. They remained part of the Empire until 4E 29, when, some years after taking power of the Summerset Isles and renaming it Alinor (after the capital), the Thalmor, a political, Altmeri supremacist, group, seized control of Valenwood, severed all ties with the Empire, and renamed the two united provinces to “The Aldmeri Dominion”, after the historical union. During the next 150 years, the Aldmeri Dominion accepts the remains of Elsweyr, and invades Cyrodiil and Hammerfell, which leads to the sacking of the Imperial City and the signing of the White-Gold Concordat, further sundering the already waning power of the Empire. After the Concordat, the Thalmor could be found throughout the remains of the Empire, fortifying their power and trying to destroy any form of Talos worship.

The Altmer culture is noted for its focus on Magicka and art. Like mentioned beforehand, their art is regarded at the height of culture, and they are known to even ornate their armour and weapons (mostly with avian themes).Alongside the strong artistic traditions, they are known as some of the best mages and magickal researchers on Tamriel. Indeed, some of the most well known magickal organisation find their origin on the Summerset Isles, including the Psijic order and the Mages Guild. Alongside this, some of the Archmages of the Mages Guild and Imperial Battlemages were Altmer, most notably Ocato of Firsthold, Battlemage, trusted advisor of Uriel Septim VII, High Chancellor of the Elder Council and Potentate of the Empire.

Despite their supposed selective breeding, Altmer are known to carefully pick their partners, and it is common for couples to spend as much time together as possible.

Their culture is also known as being very structured and hierarchical, and it has occurred more than once that the higher casts decided on personal aspects of the lower castes’ lives. A notable example is the institution of the Altmeri pantheon, which replaced some Aedra with ones seen as “higher” by the nobles, and their supposed selective breeding. This focus on Altmeri supremacy, in recent years advocated by the Thalmor, has met with resentment by the younger generations of Altmer, who express the desire of more peaceful relations with the other parts of Tamriel. Even though this new movement exists, most people of Tamriel are still more familiar with the Thalmor and their predecessors, and as such still regard the Altmer as being arrogant.Their pantheon is vast, and includes the eight divines also worshipped by the Imperials, alongside other et’Ada, mostly related to magic (i.e. Magnus, Syrabane). Because of their et’Ada heritage, they deeply hate Lorkhan, who they take responsible for making them mortal, along with any men-made additions to the different religions, most notably the Cyro-Nordic god-hero Talos (it is rumoured that the ban on the Talos-worship by the Thalmor is to further destroy the Towers, which would result in the collapse of Mundus and ending the Kalpa, in the hope of regaining their divinity).