the City of Daggerfall

On the ancient kingdom of Daggerfall:

Archaeological evidence suggests that life in the concerning region, in the form of settlements, began forming roughly a thousand years before recorded history, possibly even earlier. Not much is known about this time, but we know that the city of Daggerfall was found shortly before the Nord invasion, which brought civilization to the people of the then small village. Records have been found of a census performed by the Nords, which makes clear that the population of Daggerfall was that of two hundred and sixteen people, a great contrast to the now 110,000 civilians, according to the last census which was performed in 3E 401. Although the Nordic rule lasted only for roughly a hundred years, Daggerfall thrived in that short time, outgrowing its neighbors and being an advanced state when the Nords left after the War of Succession.

To explain the Direnni rule that came after, I will copy a paragraph from a book by the Imperial Geographical Society, called: ‘The Sons and Daughter of the Direnni West: High Rock’

> Of all the families of Aldmer who colonized High Rock, none did it so successfully as the Clan Direnni. So dominant were they that by the middle of the First Era, the whole of High Rock was commonly called "The Direnni Hegemony." As an economic and military power, they were formidable enough to pose a continued threat to the battle-hardened Nords and the nascent Alessian Empire of Cyrodiil. Taking advantage of the internal strife in Skyrim, the Hegemony began taking land north and south of High Rock, claiming portions of Skyrim and Hammerfell. At the peak of their power, they controlled nearly a quarter of Tamriel. But they had overextended their reach, and slowly, year by year, they lost all that they had gained, falling back to their fortress in Balfiera, the Adamantine Tower, now called the Direnni Tower.

But even when this great and powerful clan fell into obscurity, Daggerfall kept on growing larger and stronger. During the rule of King Thagore, 1E 609, Daggerfall’s army defeated that of Glenpoint, and the city became the military, economic and cultural superiority of High Rock, and still is to this day. During this time though, two major cities arose: Sentinel and Wayrest. They threatened Daggerfall’s trade monopoly in the Iliac Bay. Their conflicts remained mostly economic, and instead of warring on the field of battle, espionage and assassination were more common acts of dislike towards each other. The kingdoms rarely were allies, yet there are a few exceptions. Those include the unity against the invading Akavari, which some speculate, and that against the Camoran Usurper in the third century of the third Era.

Still Daggerfall continued to rival with Wayrest in trade, and often bandied over who was the superior military power. Nowadays the kingdoms of the Iliac Bay are united under the banner of Akatosh, the rule of the Empire, and form an important trading region for all of Tamriel.

The culture of Daggerfall is a rich one, relying on military force and foul nocturnal activities, but foremost is filled with music and cloaked in the silver-tongued speak of a trader. Daggerfall is after all a city of trade and commerce. Because of this, the city holds a deep hidden underworld of Skooma trade, black markets and of course a strong presence of the notorious Thieves’ Guild. If you’d ask a man from Daggerfall about these things he would tell you that they are lies, because the people of Daggerfall are a proud people, a people that have pride in their rich history of which I have written down just a fraction of. But above all, the people of Daggerfall are persuasive Bretons with a sharp tongue…and an even sharper knife.