A study of mixed heritage

by Cectyda

Introduction. The subject of phylogenetics is little studied and full of misconceptions. A widespread myth that circulates Tamriel is the idea that a individual of mixed heritage always inherits the race of his mother. This, no doubt a misinterpretation of the splendid but slightly outdated “Notes on Racial Phylogeny” by the brilliant Council of Healers at the Imperial Library, is an example of the everyday ignorance concerning genetics. It is not true. As we shall see below, the person tends to inherit most of its trait from its mother, while practically always inheriting atleast some of its father’s genes. Another imagination, is the wrong belief that mixed people (or mongrels, as they tend to be called) are disturbed and degenerated as a result of the “unholy” union between two races. This is not true. They are often healthier, dare I say, than so called “pureblooded”. The last of the big myths is the most harmful and unfortunately most common of them. It is the belief that people themselves are pureblooded. This is very often wrong. Few citizens of Tamriel have perfectly pure family trees, though some more than others. While this might be no shock to a Breton, an Altmer or a proud Nord tends to have a hard time accepting the fact. The only exeption to this are the Saxhleel, whose tampering by the Hist has rendered them unable to produce offspring with other races. Since mixed ancestry between different races of men is well known, I have decided to not include these.

Specimen 1

Heritage: Breton (Altmer/Nede)

Gender: male

Age: 61

Height: 172 cm

Weight: 62 kg

Occupation: Farmer

Notes: This is a classic example of a Breton with a large meric ancestry. While our subject is not himself a hybrid of two races, he is overwhelmingly descended from such unions. He is of slender physique, has slighly pointed ears, and is well-aged. He can expect to see his 110th birthday if he keeps himself in good condition.

Specimen 2

Heritage: Colovian father, Altmer mother

Gender: Male

Age: 28

Height: 188 cm

Weight: 91 kg

Occupation: Sailor

Notes: This specimen doesn’t reach up to the full length of his mother’s race, but is in general quite similar to her. His features are not as jagged as the Altmer, but the ears are still pointed. The body is robust and broad. He has a Colovian surname, and reports no special feelings for Summerset, stating that Colovia has always been his home.

Specimen 3

Heritage: Khajiit mother, Imperial father

Gender: Female

Age: 24

Height: 158 cm

Weight: 55 kg

Occupation: Hunter

Notes: Can be passed for a Bosmer, Ohmes, or an Ohmes-Raht. Half-Khajiits seldom possess any feline traits, since they are from the beginning elves, changed by the lunar latice. The mixed offsprings are not bound by this, and instead have a Bosmer-like look, such as this specimen.

Specimen 4

Heritage: Dunmer/Orc

Gender: Female

Age: Unknown, adult

Height: around 2 m

Weight: Unknown

Occupation: Cultist

Notes: Specimen 4 was found in the Molkadh mountains of Morrowind. She was initally violent and hostile, but gave up as she was heavily outnumbered. I am sure that had she not been alone, she would have killed us. She told us she belonged to a band of Malacath cultists that dwelled in a cave a pair of miles from where we found her. The community included both Orsimer, Dunmer and those like her, hybrids of the two. I was struck by her immense beauty, as she was busty and curvaceous, yet full of power and strength. Her skin was greenish gray, and her features resembled a Dunmer, but rougher and not as elegant as other “pureblood” Dunmer.

Specimen 5

Heritage: Bosmer/Redguard

Gender: Male

Age: around 55

Height: 162 cm

Weight: 59 kg

Occupation: Smith

Notes: Specimen 5 descends on both sides from a Bosmer named Thaur that had lost his way in the Alik’r Desert. Thaur had stumbled across a tribe of Satakal worshippers which he stayed at, eventually marrying a daughter of the tribe and settling with them. The subjects maternal grandfather and his paternal grandmother were second cousins, and had Thaur as common great-grandfather. Specimen 5 does not seem to exhibit any meric influences at first. His skin is dark like ebony, and his hair is curly like other Redguards. But closer inspection reveals small nubs on his forehead, undoubtable Bosmer influence, and big rust-coloured eyes . Most of his tribe share his characteristics.

Specimen 6

Heritage: Nord/Falmer?

Gender: Female

Age: Deceased

Height: Hard to measure, around 180 cm

Weight: Unknown

Occupation: Unknown

Notes: Specimen 6 is a interesting case, and a warning reminder of what happens when prejudices overrule reason. The body was found encased in a grotto in Eastmarch. It had been washed in ice salts and so managed to preserve its appearance intact. She had probably been dead since the early First Era. The face was gaunt and her skin was pale, even for a Nord. The ears were chopped off when I arrived (the local Nords did not fancy the implications), but my local contact assured me that the woman had "knife ears". This could be an explanation behind Nords' infamous resistance to cold, although the Nords themselves vigorously deny this.

Conclusion: There are several groups of people in Tamriel that are in fact of mixed ancestry. The coastal population of the Summerset Isles descend in many cases from Redguard sailors that visited the Isles to trade and barter. In turn, Altmeri sailors have spread their genes along much of the western coasts. The Gold Coast of Cyrodiil was a bastion for Altmeri refugees, fleeing political persecution. The lower classes of Sentinel are the children of its first inhabitants, elves and manmer, that were spared from Yoku aggression in exchange for their service as labourers. The elves of Valenwood have always been welcoming, taking in Nedes fleeing from Ayleid rule, and later Ayleid fleeing from Cyrod rule. The Bretons may be famous for their ancestry, but the Imperials have an even more mixed past. The ancestors of the Nibenese include Nedes, Ayleids, Minotaurs, and even Akaviri. Unions between mer or men and beast races such as lamias, harpies and giants have been reported, though I have never seen one for myself. The Reachmen of High Rock are said to have Daedric blood. This is hard to verify, since the Reachmen are seldom cooperative. Nevertheless do I not doubt these reports. Suffice to say, the idea that Tamriel is divided into stonecut races that rarely interbreed and if they do, the offspring will be copies of their mothers, is false. Our world is patchwork of many different cultures, all rich and beautiful in their own a ways, that blend and intersect with each other to create the wonderful mosaic that is Tamriel.