An Introductory Guide to Roscrea

Very little is known about Roscrea, and I aim to change that. I give credit for a lot of inspiration to the Roscrea team of the Beyond Skyrim project (and I give them complete credit for coming up with the Roscrean dialect) though this is separate from that project. Anyway, this is the first of what I hope to be a bigger project, and can act as a teaser/intro to some things I'm going to explore further in the future. Also, if I'm mistaken in any of my Atmoran lore or anything, let me know.

Roscrea is one of the lesser-known former holdings of the Third Era Empire, an island in the far northeast of the Sea of Ghosts, last visited by more than a few mithril traders or anthropologists centuries ago during the reign of Uriel Septim V. It was annexed peacefully as a stepping-stone on the road to Uriel's failed invasion of Akavir to the east, but being primarily an expedition outpost, little Imperialization took place. Even now, as traders make only a couple of sojourns to the island a year, the Roscreans are mostly untouched beyond the adoption of Cyrodiilic as a second language by some.

Roscrea was originally settled by a group of Atmorans who, as the generations went on, shrunk from their original giant forms to almost the statute of an average man today; the Roscreans are a distinct race of men who stand generally half a foot taller than the average Altmer, tending toward chestnut skin and hair that runs the spectrum from pale blonde to a ruddy hazelnut. Other than these unique features preserved by limited breeding with outsiders, the Roscreans share many facial features with the Nords of Skyrim.

As the Roscreans are very insular and in some cases aloof, little is known of the history of the Roscreans beyond the fact that they left Atmora when it began to freeze; unlike many of their brethren, the Roscreans' ancestors sailed southeast until they came to Roscrea. These Atmorans brought with them the ancient totemic system of their home, the Animal Cults of the Hawk, Wolf, Snake, Moth, Owl, Whale, Bear, and Fox, as well as the unfamiliar Cults of the Octopus, Worm, Troll, and Deer; but unlike in Skyrim, the Dragon is absent, for reasons I have yet to discover.

Another cultural feature brought by the Cults and shaped by isolation was the Roscrean dialect. The original settlers spoke Draconic, but over time the language shifted in its pronunciation. The Roscreans speak more fluidly than their originators, pronouncing their "Ds" as "Th," their "Zs" as "Sh," and their "Ks" as "C" or "Ch," as well as shortening some words. Influence from outsiders has been minimal enough to ensure that most Roscreans speak their native tongue, and even those in the former Imperial port often speak a mixture of Roscrean and Cyrodiilic. The Roscreans write in a script similar to that of the Dragon language, but some of their runes are differentiated, and the style overall is much smoother and often includes swirls and flourishes. The name "Roscrea" has disputed origins, coming from either "Rah-S'lek-Ah," which is approximately "Hunter with the Gods' Power" (the Roscreans do not farm) or "Rii-Sil-Chrutschii" for "Ancient Soul of the Animals."

Roscrean society is structured largely around the different Animal Cults and their influence. Throughout the island's various steadings, the influence of these ancient hierarchies and traditions hold weight, and nearly every Roscrean is a member of a Cult, and within that Cult, a Clan. All other loyalties are limited in comparison to Cult and Clan devotion, but the only thing preventing unending war is that many of the settlements consist primarily of one or a few Cults, and the Cults share some sort of mutual respect despite their deep-seated differences. This may have something to do with the absence of the Dragon Cult, but at this point I have no way to find out for sure. There also appears to be some kind of system of merit and rank, but I cannot decipher much of the Roscreans' dialect; it seems that the islanders' peculiar system of ritual decorative scarring has something to do with this.

Roscrea is an island that appears deceptively small but can be wandered for days, consisting largely of mountains and hills. It has a climate that ranges from snowy and frozen as one would expect from an island so far into the Sea of Ghosts, to as mild as the Rift, the former describing much of the mountains and the latter applying to the hilly, forested coast. Volcanic activity in the form of geysers and hot springs is common across the island, though where these features surface has little rhyme or reason.

There is one port, the former Imperial colony of Southmoor, which the natives call "Nalochstrun," or "Fiercest Storm," for the harsh storms the Sea of Ghosts brings in. Speaking of harsh storms, there are wrecks all around the unexplored coastline of Roscrea, purportedly converted into shrines by the Whale Cult. The remnants of the Imperial occupation are few, and the city looks like a strange ancestor of Nordic architecture. The rest of the settlements are huge citadels of the ancient Atmoran settlers, built originally to house men the size of giants. The few that I know of are Thu'ulokash (Crown of the Sea), Iishind (Ice Triumph), and Chodavchol (Bear Crag), but there are doubtless more.

Finally, there is the single staple of Roscrean trade and economy: Mithril. It is hardly a big business to the Roscreans, as they only export a small amount of the metal, though just how little is decided yearly by the inscrutable whim of some sort of council. Most of the exported Mithril is traded for items unavailable on the island, often arcane scrolls to bolster the Roscreans' unique but limited magical tradition, and the rest is used as the basis for Roscrea's currency. The Roscreans do not like to export much of the metal, as they seem to have some sort of historic affinity to it.