Uutak Mythos Archives: The Echmer [PART II: WHISPERS OF YNESLEA]

#THE ECHMER DOMAIN

Although no official contact between Yneslea and Tamriel ever occurred before 3E 278, the citizens of Dawn’s Beauty have had legends involving it circulating since the First Era – the ‘Fighting Diamond of Cyrodiil’ Uriel Septim V were told these legends at a young age and it is commonly accepted that they were the main inspiration for his failed Invasion of Akavir.

When Reman Cyrodiil united the Colovian Estates and the Nibenay Valley in 1E 2703 to fight – and soundly defeat – the invading Tsaesci at Pale Pass, the aggressors laid down their arms and swore allegiance to Reman, who was named Emperor of the newly founded Second Empire of Men. The Akaviri Dragonguard (formed out of the surviving Tsaesci to serve as Reman’s personal protectors) began to tell the Emperor stories of ‘majestic lands to the east’ inhabited by ‘strange men, entire tribes of primitive elves, and terrifying monsters’. While it is known that the Cyrodiil attempted to explore these reported lands, he and his descendants only succeeded in discovering the almost timeless Roscrea and the utterly strange Cathnoquey.

When remnants of Ada’Soom Dir-Kamal’s army (survivors who had escaped death at the hands of the infamous Ebonheart Pact) resurfaced during the Interregnum and stole the Ruby Throne, one of the first things they did was to destroy all bat iconography found in Cyrodiil and surrounding provinces (for a reason that shall be discussed later on in this volume). Few writings still exist from that dark historical period, but some texts recovered from the Imperial Library make mention of the Snow Demons telling the Elder Council about ‘bat elves’ that fought with ‘metal warriors on atolls of lost melodic impressions’ they were planning on invading once they secured their rule over all of Tamriel and located some relic known as the ‘Ordained Receptacle’. Luckily the Kamal Pretender-Kings were disposed of swiftly, but not before they sparked renewed interest in the lands beyond the eastern provinces; a spark that Uriel V would later transform into a raging inferno.

A common Tamrielic misconception is that Yneslea is one island, but in reality it is an archipelago that consists of seventy-two. Only eight (Yne, Slea, Pasgaviati, Elysia, Morubixaba, and the three islets known together as Hrahn’s Isles) of those islands are considered official main territories of the Echmer Directorate, however. But before we can describe those islands in a better manner let us first discuss the peculiar local waters, for without them the interesting environs of the islands would not be able to exist.

##Sailing The Padomaic: Bodies of Water

The Ynesleaic archipelago lies in-between the Starry Heart and the Dragon Land within the Padomaic Ocean, the largest body of water on Nirn. Sailors have noted that the waves are always in a state of turmoil and are dangerous to navigate, being host to whirlpools and deadly sea creatures. Although the Echmer have never been particularly interested in voyaging to far from their lands they also admit that the majority of the reasoning behind this decision stems from the deadly waters that surround them. According to Echmer mythohistory, the reason why the waters are so anarchic is because their Protoechi ancestors imprisoned a powerful spirit within the Dweech in ancient times, and its rage bestows mystical properties to the seawater. Although this has never been proven, the seas do seem to contain some otherworldly element that confuses both natives and foreigners alike. Hagreger the Calm, a famous Echmer seafarer, was the first individual to sail the waves around Yneslea and named the three bodies of water that surrounded the archipelago: the Bitter Sea, the Chaotic Sea, and the Channel of Tru’Gitet.

The Bitter Sea is the expanse of water that surrounds Yneslea to the north and west, and is filled with jagged rocks (resulting in the natives giving it the ill nickname “The Bites”) and perpetual thunderstorms. It meets the Chaotic Sea to the south and east. According to his preserved journals Hagreger came up with the name due to the taste of the water and the intensely cold winds that swept through the area. In more northern areas icebergs are common alongside a fine frozen mist.

The Chaotic Sea to the south and east is considered much more dangerous than the Bites due to its powerful whirlpools and abundance of violent sea beasts. Because of the volcanic activity of small islands in the sea it is considerably much more hotter than the Bitter and is covered with a thick haze. Because of this haze Akaviri forces are sometimes able to sneak up on the Ynesleaic archipelago, something the Echmer have always hated. Hagreger’s journals state that the seafarer got lost in the Chaotic for a considerable amount of time, and was badly burned when a volcano island erupted and set fire to his ship.

Where the two seas meet between the islands of Yne and Slea forms the Channel of Tru’Gitet (‘Channel of Gentle Winds’), the only calm waters in the Ynesleaic archipelago. Ships sailing from the eastern coast of Yne to the western coast of Slea (and vice versa) are able to conduct their business safely and effectively with little to no issue besides from Brigands operating on the water and underwater beasts.

##Classifying Your Domain: Types of Islands

To aid in remembering the sheer number of islands in their domain, the Echmer invented island categories to make the task considerably easier. There are nine types of island categorizations:

Burial Islands are home to massive ossuaries and sepulchers that belong to the Echmeri Sects, and are built partially belowground. It is here that the ashes of cremated Bat Elves are interred within life-size stone replicas of their body in life, which stands ever vigilant amongst their ancestors for the rest of eternity. Usually tended to by fossors (Echmeri grave diggers/builders), who dedicate their lives to constructing the buildings and statues.

Craft Islands are rich in minerals and ore deposits, and are set up to house great factories and foundries for the production of auralmata (automatons), weaponry, and armor for the Echmeri armare.

Cultivation Islands can be seen as massive farming plantations for the growing of fruit and vegetables, usually for the Echmer who dwell within the Dweech and rarely visit the surface, although special plants can be grown within the underground caverns that are similar to surface-growing plants.

Barren Islands are, as the name implies, islands that cannot sustain life and are therefore left largely inhabited by most Echmer, Hyu-Ket, Broh-Kah, and Foreign/Yneslean-Born Tamrielics. Hermits tend to make these places their homes, or the occasional lone fishermer or two.

Shrine Islands were under the domain of the long-since extinct race of Ynesleaic Men known as the Kítapoe, who worshipped esoteric insect gods and constructed the majority of their buildings out of gigantic insects that went in the Merethic Era when they did. These temple-islands seem to be dedicated to their unknowable pantheon, and the very air is laced with arcane magicks.

Radix Islands were ancient researching centers for the Protoechi and were constructed during their strive for racial independence after the Disappearance of the Dwarves in 1E 700. Most of these were dedicated to the Protoechi's necrolatry, and are usually held in contempt when discovered by modern Echmer. The main difference between the Protoechi and the Echmer is that while the former was fearless in death and tried to master it, the latter is fearless in death but passionately accepts it.

Fortress Islands were constructed by the Echmeri military for use as fortifications in case of incoming invasion from the Kamal after the Year of Cold Death in 1E 2920. Most of them have been abandoned overtime, some where rebuilt by the Imperial legion during Yneslea's time as an Imperial territory, and others have been entirely razed to the ground – a few Imperial strongholds are still located on some of the islands.

Raid Islands are usually small landmasses used by either the Brigands or the Broh-Kah for launching unlawful acts against the Echmer Directorate and the peoples it protects.

Feral Islands are few and rare in number, but do indeed exist and are home to isolated groups of Echmer who live tribalistic lives and cultures. Most of these cultures have their own distinct religions, traditions, heroes, and dialects as well. Some evidence indicates that these isolated groups broke either on accident or on purpose from Dweech/Exul/Moru Echmer populations in forgotten times. Morubixaba is an example of a Feral Island that has largely adapted to (yet has not changed their ways to) ‘civilized’ Exul/Dweech Echmer and peacefully coexists with them. Others are largely barbarians armed with savage armor, weapons, and worst, outdated and malfunctioning Protoechi/Echmeri technology.

##Eternal Chimes: The Eight Islands

“When we first stepped onto the island in the region we eventually learned to call the Ambient Littoral, sick to death after the torturous stretch of frozen water we had just came out of and senescence – although the mages our Lord Uriel V had brought were beginning to do their job well – making us weary, I could’ve sworn that I was dreaming. The colors, the smells, the sounds were of a place that was both ancient and new. The beasts that we saw were of an ilk only a child could fathom. I looked at my liege, who smiled a half-smile that told us all he was entranced with this new acquisition of his, and I knew then in my heart that we had discovered a hidden land that signaled our journey was almost at an end. For the first time in months, I was glad.”

The above paragraph, written by Commander Hung-tat Torpal in his book “Eyelid to Power, the Eastern Fleet Futility”, is still considered an excellent and truthful (although antiquated in wording) statement in regards to the islands of Yneslea – isolated realms that each have their own wonders and dangers, practically untouched by Tamrielic hands.

The Ynesleaic Archipelago is officially condensed of seventy-two landmasses that were conquered by the Echmer during the First Era, but only eight are considered under the true authority of the Echmeri Directorate. The two largest islands of Yne and Slea (which were condensed into ‘Yneslea’ by Uriel Septim V as a name for the entire archipelago) are the ancestral homes of the bat elves and is where their vast underground cities are partially located. The other five islands of Morubixaba, Pasgaviati, Elysia, and Hrahn’s Isles (which consists of three small islands) are less strategically important, but are home to notable settlements that are considered invaluable to the Echmer people as a whole.

###Yne

Yne (which means ‘Reverberate’ in the Echmer tongue) is the largest of the Ynesleaic islands and lies in the Bitter Sea. The Echmer claimed the land as theirs in 1E 709. Unlike it’s sister-island of Slea, the island has always been considered more ‘tame’ and ‘peaceful’ than the other islands that make up the Ynesleaic archipelago. It was the first landmass in the archipelago discovered by the Empire and is thus more ‘imperialized’ than any other island, except for perhaps Pasgaviati. Most foreign settlers live on this island peacefully, rivaling the native Exul in terms of population. Because of the wealth of information concerning this island, please read the timeline chapter to learn more about it’s history.

The island is split into three geological regions: the Hae’macrin Mountain Range in the north, the Opal Coast to the west and center, and the Ambient Littoral to the south and east.

The Hae’macrin Mountains is the coldest place on the island, covered in snow and ice. Little vegetation grows in this wasteland and trees are practically nonexistent in the area. Violent creatures tend to live in caves high up in the mountain. Freezing rain, snowfall, and blizzards happen frequently in the region, but the mountains are rich in mineral deposits like iron, steel, solarite, and various gemstones.

The Opal Coast combines a rolling sandy beach and a grassy prairie together, resulting in an unique environment unlike anywhere else. The region is protected by the frigid weather in the north by a wall of mountains, also protecting it from the creatures found there. The soil here is very good for crops due to the heavy amounts of sunlight and frequent rainfall. Considered the most beautiful area on the island, the wildlife here is mainly insects and prey animals, but a few predators also roam the Opal.

The Ambient Littoral is a coastal taiga that thrives on saltwater. Ferns, lily pads, and other swampy plants can be found here. Although the slightly muddy ground isn’t as good for farming like the Opal’s, it’s soil is much more ‘allowing’ of the growing of foreign plants and because of that it has always been the most ‘Tamriel-like’ area in the entire island archipelago. Natives and foreign settlers also use it as a general area for fishing.

###Slea

Lying in the Chaotic Sea across from Yne, Slea (‘Reflection’ in the Echmer tongue) is the second largest island in the Ynesleaic archipelago and lies in the Chaotic Sea. The Echmer claimed the land as theirs in 1E 710. The island’s environments are much more wilder and dangerous than that of its sister-island of Yne, resulting in the hardiness of those that settle it. It is not as imperialized as Yne as well, and has always resisted Imperial doctrine. Because of that it is much more traditionally Echmer even into modern times, although a few Tamrielics do call the island home. Because of the wealth of information concerning this island, please read the timeline chapter to learn more about it’s history.

Slea, like Yne, is also split into three geological regions: Gtutur’s Arids in the north, the Melodic Forest in the east and west, and Urroal that encompasses the entirety of the south.

Gtutur’s Arids are a vast and hot desert of pure whitish-orange sand, with few oases and vegetation. It is easy to become lost here with the large dunes and rocks jutting out of the ground looking practically the same with almost no landmarks whatsoever. Animals like desert scorpions, harmless jerboa, and giant carnivorous chameleons live in the area. It is also abundant in solarite ore veins like the Hae’macrin Mountains.

The Melodic Forest is a great expanse of woodland protected from the desert to the north by a natural bulwark of solid rock. The trees here grow very close together, with vines and giant plants (some even being dangerous and capable of devouring travelers) making it almost seem labyrinthine. A towering mountain, once an active volcano, is the main point of interest in the region. Many different types of animals – too many to list here – call the Melodic home.

Urroal is nothing more than a rocky wasteland of constant rain, cool breezes, and perpetual hurricanes. Peine stalk the land and the sky is almost always dark, resulting in a dreary environment. Crops are almost impossible to grow in the area, although some vegetation fights to exist in the region.

###Elysia

Established as an Echmer territory in 1E 735 and named after Hagreger the Calm’s beloved, Elysia is a southeastern island in the Chaotic Sea. Noted for its beauty, the Echmer seem to mostly use it as a resort for their workers due to its relaxing atmosphere.

According to hieroglyphics analyzed from Ynesleaic Men temple ruins seem to state that the island was the capital of their civilization before it died out before the end of the Merethic Era. Exul researchers have since excavated and studied the architecture left behind immensely, seeking to uncover more secrets about the Ynesleaic Men that called the archipelago their home before the Dwemer and Hyu-Ket arrived and the Echmer came into existence.

After it’s incorporation into the growing Echmer realm a great deal of Exul and Hyu-Ket traveled there to live. Because of its isolation from the Council of Dull Chimes, the Elemental Sodality and its Mustikos’arcere, and the strange Echmer of Morubixaba Elysia stays largely untouched from the events of those islands. The most eventful thing that has ever happened to the isle was it being captured by the Kamal in the early Third Era, which adds testimony to it being perhaps the most peaceful place in the Ynesleaic archipelago.

Unlike the other islands Elysia doesn’t have different regions, instead being tropical throughout its entire landscape. Palm trees grow in abundance and peaceful animals dot the countryside. However giant snakes, Bruorl, and Peine also make their home here, resulting in the islanders having to be careful when wandering the countryside.

###Pasgaviati

The large island of Pasgaviati is to the northwest of Yne, right on the edge of Echmer territory in the middle of the Bitter Sea. It was officially discovered in 1E 738 by Echmer explorers, but they were driven away by the horrifying amount of Peine beasts that called the island home. During the Merethic Era the island seemed to be a major holding of the Ynesleaic Men, with their ancient temples and ruins being found here in abundance. It is believed that the island was much more temperate in those times as well, for the Ynesleaic Men built their buildings out of the carapaces of now extinct giant insects that were hardened to withstand the test of time.

Eventually the Ynesleaic Men went extinct and the Peine soon came to claim the island as a breeding ground. Some scholars believe that the men were wiped out by these migrations, which happened at a pace so slow that the men didn’t even realize that their island was being overrun by monsters. For the next few centuries it would remain abandoned, allowing the monster population to grow well into the thousands.

Magus-Premier Aarōn destroyed the entire Peine population on the island when he came to establish his magic academy of Mustikos’arcere in 1E 1045. Since then the island has remained mostly isolated, although Nekros the Lord of the Rotting Darkness waged war with the Elemental Sodality on it in 2E 261. In the Third Era the island was transformed into a Legionary outpost during Uriel V’s invasion of Akavir, but was abandoned after Yneslea seceded from the Empire in the Fourth Era. Because of its location so far north the climate of Pasgaviati is similar to the clime of the Hae’macrin Mountain Range on Yne, and is separated into three regions – the Verglas Lowlands in the north, the Black Mountains in the center, and the Fro’sai Highlands in the south.

The Verglas Lowlands is a tundra dotted with sparse vegetation and home to caves that were once inhabited by Peine before Aarōn Peine-Killer came and eradicated the creatures permanently from the island. Since then the caverns have become dens for the creatures once hunted by the Peine, like snow bears and frost trolls. Ynesleaic Men ruins are all over the place in this region, joining themselves in elaborate ways with the ice and rock before becoming fewer in number as one goes farther north.

Separating the north and south regions is the Black Mountain Range, named so due to its abundance of black diamonds the Echmer use to forge jewelry and armor. In ancient times the Black Mountains were once active volcanoes, now dormant for more than a few millennia. Long-since dried out foyadas have become filled with frozen water, resulting in long-stretches of “ice-rivers” that weave throughout the landscape.

The south of the island gives away to the slightly more temperate Fro’sai Highlands, which is considered the most hospitable region. Trees and other vegetation grow are in abundance here, resulting in much more wildlife. Most Echmer Exul villages, along with the magical academy of Mustikos’arcere, can be found here.

###Morubixaba

Strange and isolated, the island of Morubixaba to the semi-northeast of Slea was incorporated into the Echmeri realms in 1E 753 when Neglectful Acceptance explorers discovered it by accident.

The island is inhabited by an unique Echmeri tribal culture different than the Dweech and Exul cultures that already exist, instead focusing on customs the Echmer haven’t followed since the times of the Protoechi. Many scholars and archaeologists discovered that there was massive cave-in underneath the island that sealed it off from the rest of the Dweech, resulting in the theory that the Echmer on the island are descended from Protoechi that were separated from the rest of the race while performing tasks for the Dwemer. They have a unique language that shares some ties to the modern Echmer language of Echi, but it is vastly different. Morubixaba is also home to an unique tribe of Hyu-Ket that calls themselves the “Hadoridol” that also have customs different to that of the rest of their race. Both groups coexist peacefully on the island. Dweech and Exul Echmer have been able to teach the natives their tongue and are very protective over the small community.

HRAHNDEYL seems to have traveled to the island sometime during his wanderings as a mortal, as the “Moru-Echmer” (as the rest of the Bat Elven population kindly calls them) remember him. They call him Moxoeluxarxe and teach that he was a former slave trader that received a vision from the Hadoridol Ancestor-god Hador (possibly the Hyu-Ketic Spirit-Chief) telling him that if he freed the slaves he would be set on the path of Moxoe (Enlightenment). So he did and became an ally of the Hadoridol. Together with King Hador Gildol Hadol "the Forest Lord" Moxoeluxarxe united Morubixaba before leaving the island for good. As of 4E 200 the island is ruled by Underqueen Vvaravvethri and Overking Hador Gildol Hadol XVIII.

Like Elysia and Pasgaviati, Morubixaba is home to ancient Ynesleaic Men ruins that dot its environment, an unique fusion of a jungle, swamp, and rain forest. Giant insects, arachnids, and reptiles can be found in abundance here, as well as giant plants.

###Hrahn’s Isles The last Echmer territory is the three island chain of Hrahn’s Isles, which was incorporated in 1E 775. North of both Yne and Slea and in area where the Channel of Tru’Gitet meets, it is considerably isolated and largely unsettled by both the Echmer, Hyu-Ket, and Tamrielic colonists.

The islands are famous for being the refuge of mortal Hrahndeyl before he apotheosized into HRAHNDEYL before the whole of the Echmer people. Since then it has been left mostly alone by the rest of the bat elven race. The landscape here is very temperate due to the meeting Bitter and Chaotic Seas, consisting of rolling dirt hills and forests. It contains much of the wildlife that can be found on the main islands of Yne and Slea.

####Other Islands

These islands are only mentioned here due to recent events involving them at the time of this publication; otherwise they would have been omitted from the reading in major detail.

#####The Maelstrom

The island known as the Maelstrom (or just simply the Strom) lies in the southern reaches of the Chaotic Sea, past Elysia and within the more sweltering expanses of water. It has been a rather dark stain in Echmer history, and was discovered and subsequently settled by their Protoechi ancestors during the First Era. The Neglectful Acceptance and the Confined Abyss conjointly used the entirety of the island as a massive research center…until something went disturbingly wrong and the many facilities became inaccessible to the rescue teams by strange magicks. The islands’ trapped inhabitants eventually stop communicating with the rescuers, and began to disappear one by one. Eventually the Echmer redrew from the island and its frightening green-misted sky, but recent events in the Fourth Era – a large ship of both Council of Dull Chimes and East Empire Company prisoners taking control of their vessel and crashing on the island – have resulted in the Echmer government becoming alarmed at the notion of the criminals discovering a way to enter the facilities located there, preserved due to magical sealing, and likewise strengthening their protection at home.

####The Padomaic Rim

The Padomaic Rim (also known by the names the Dragon’s Spine, Diamond Shard, Havok, the Rim, and the Divide) is unique in that it is technically not a holding of the Echmer by both area (being technically a part of the Esrionet stretch) and governmental control (it being under the command of the Esri and the Mede Dynasty), but is embroiled in their plans all the same. The Bat Elves discovered the Rim in the early Third Era shortly after they discovered and began trading with Esrionet; seeing the crescent-shaped island as a natural outpost and bulwark towards any potential Kamal invasion force, they immediately wanted to seize it…only to discover the Esri considered it part of their realm. Viewing this a perfectly rational yet unfortunate event, the Echmer redrew back to their islands but attempted for many years to negotiate the Rim’s incorporation into the Ynesleaic archipelago without success (and ultimately stopping when the Empire gained control of Esrionet). However, the Echmer military have finally gained admittance to walk the Rim due to Esrionet recuperating from the devastating blow the Akaviri delivered to them just a few years previous, and now maintain outposts in what they fear may be an upcoming invasion. Telling their Council back home to cease naval travel to and from Yneslea, it is unknown how the warriors will act now that one of their greatest wants is now in their grasp.

##To Hear Nirn’s Heartbeat: The Dweech

Connecting the entire archipelago by way of vast underground caverns and chasms, the Dweech (which translates into ‘Deep Echoes’ in the native language of the Echmer) isn’t just the ancestral cradle of Echmer civilization, but also the womb from which their entire race was birthed. Although the Bat Elves have lived within it for millennia it has yet to be fully explored, giving it an air of mystery that enchants both natives and foreigners alike.

In ancient times the Noraken Clan of Dwemer built most of their research facilities, mines, and cities inside the Dweech. Many of these constructions still stand today, outlasting their creators and standing as undeniable testimony into the feats of Dwarven engineering. When the Echmer began to establish more complex civilizations some of these cities were dismantled and reversed-engineered by the bat elves to make room for their dynamic Urbs, or cities in their own tongue. Protoechi constructions were abandoned but not destroyed, resulting in the beautiful yet strange complexes built by their ancestors to continue to surround the Echmer that choose to reside underground.

Although perpetually dark, naturally occurring luminescent sun crystals along with Ge Lamps (fixed glowing balls of energy) and traditional torches light both the settled and unsettled areas of the Dweech, forming boundaries that warn children and young adults from straying to far from the Urbs. Naturally occurring underground freshwater rivers and lakes run unbridled, teeming with fish and other water creatures. Enormous fungi, lichen, and moss of different colors grow everywhere and have been integrated almost artistically into Urbs. The Dweech is also host to unique forms of animal life that can’t be found anywhere on the surface (largely insects, arachnids, and mammals). When taking all of the above into consideration, it is not odd to find foreigners of all walks of life describing the Dweech as an entirely different land altogether from the archipelago in general.

##Of Dead Moons: Chiroptera

Lost but not forgotten, the Echmer moon colony of Chiroptera was once located on the surface of Masser, the largest of Nirn’s two moons. Similar to the old Empire lunar provinces (like Tatterdemalion), it has lost communication with the Echmeri government and its exact status as of this writing is quite unknown.

The moon colony was founded with the purpose of being a vast city of innovation for the Echmer, allowing them to study the flesh divinities of Lorkhan as well as the Planes of Oblivion, the Void, and (although it was not a top priority) Aetherius to their leisure. The grand Urb of Erom’sheolsaz was built as the capital of the lunar realm, but operated outside the jurisdiction of the Council of Dull Chimes, instead being ran by the Auriators that built it. For this reason the Troika and the High Hypothesians of the Penta Wards established ‘embassies’ of sorts in Erom’sheolsaz.

With acoustineers, elementalists, and other fascinating individuals in Chiroptera the moon colony was able to create interesting, yet disturbing inventions. The Council of Dull Chimes were often troubled with the reports the auriators sent back to the Ynesleaic archipelago during the Second Era, with several of the Council members viewing the proposed devices as abominations. This resulted in friction between the two for sometime before the colony disappeared from Masser in 2E 896.

Contact with the colony wouldn’t happen again until 4E 98, when the moons disappeared from the sky (which the Bat Elves themselves view as highly cynical). But when the moons reappeared and the Echmer traveled to Masser to locate their Lunar Urb there was no trace of it. Erom’sheolsaz had vanished – again.

Some Echmer individuals hope that they will be able to relocate their lunar city at some point in the future, but optimism is low amongst the race concerning Chiroptera and most believe it is lost for good with no possibility of returning.