Smoking Traditions of Tamriel: The Colovian West

The smoking traditions in the west of the Cyrod reflect its people: Stout and strong, yet surprisingly cosmopolitan, with strong influences from Skyrim and Resdaynia in the north and east, and exotic imports from Hammerfell, High Rock, and Elseweyr in the west. Indeed, around County Anvil, the tobacco aficionado can find smokable pleasures to fit nearly any taste, however tastes become more conservative as one travels closer Skingrad and Bruma. For the purposes of this treatise, we will avoid discussion of the vast number of imports, and focus on the local favorites.

Local favorites, however, are misleadingly cosmopolitan as well: From Anvil to the Jeralls, the preferred favorite way of smoking is in massive, freehand-carved pipes. These pipes are made of Briarwood from High Rock, carved by master carvers in Skyrim, and loaded with tobacco grown and processed in Argonia, High Rock, Topal Bay, and Hammerfell.

Among the poor working class and farmers, smaller, simpler pipes are favored. The cheapest of these are semi-disposal and carved from corncob or Morrowind Corkbulb. Individuals with slightly more money to spend in the pursuit of nicotine pleasures may carry more permanent, simple pipes made of low-grade briarwood.

The tobacco favored in Colovian pipe-smoking varies widely: Cavendish is a variety of tobacco produced in High Rock from fine Topal or Blacklight leaf tobacco, pressure-cooked with added sugars to lend it a sweet, mellow, aromatic flavor. Others may favor the smoky, full-bodied flavor of tobaccos produced in Hammerfell, with Rihad and Taneth being the primary producers, these tobaccos are cured by hanging the leaves over fire-pits stoked with aromatic hardwoods and exotic spice. The number and character of these blends is far to vast to list here, but suffice it to say, pipe tobaccos in Colovia can be found to suit any taste.

Nargile water-pipes, imported from Morrowind, are popular among the higher-class individuals throughout the Jeralls and as far east as Cheydinhal. The Jurak paste smoked in these pipes is a high-septim item, the finest varieties imported directly from Vvardenfell, although cheaper, locally-produced inferior varieties are available. The most popular, a blend called Ald Bal Mora, is produced by a House Hlaalu subsidiary in Balmora and features Argonian blackleaf ground into a paste, then treated with attar of roses, minced comberries, pomegranate juice, and Cardomom pods, then pressed between cedar boards. This aromatic blend is as quintessentially Dunmer as jurak can be, yet enjoys tremendous popularity in the Cyrod, among both the common peoples and the landed elite. It is said that Uriel Septim VII himself has quite a fondness for this brand, importing large quantities for his own personal use. Perhaps more than any other product, this brand has become something of a symbol of Dunmeri-Cyrodiilic cultural exchange.

Cigars enjoy a degree of popularity in Colovia, particularly among sailors and legionaries, likely owing much to the ease of keeping. A soldier has little room in his kit for such elaborate luxuries as loose tobacco and smoking apparatuses. These are produced largely in the Topal bay area, of locally-grown leaf, and bear little similarity to the crude Cheapees popular in that region, rather, these are expensive, artisan-rolled smokes. Indeed, a box of cigars is considered a high-value gift through Colovia, and a mark of class. Even more expensive cigars are produced in coastal Argonia, and are considered the highest quality available in all of Tamriel. Stros M’Kai has gained a foothold in the market as well, producing cigars that rival the Nibenese in quality, but with a unique, light and spicy leaf that packs a lot of flavor.