Southern Colovian History - 1. Introduction

(As always, English is not my native language, so there are probably many grammar mistakes in the text.)

1. Introduction

For the brave Nords I met during my education and work at Winterhold College, all Cyrodiilians are the same. Chorrol, Cheydinhal, or Skingrad - it does not matter. They are all seen as Imperials and as such either, paradoxically, regarded as traitors or, less common nowadays, admired. However, if you go to Cyrodiil you will soon learn that this province is as diverse as any in the empire. Go to Leyawiin or Bravil, and you won't find many people overly fond of their Colovian brothers and sisters at Skingrad, Anvil or Sutch. If you ask for the reasons, you don't need to be very persistent; people at the Niben will speak freely not only about their heartfelt feeling of supremacy, or the traditional competition between the port cities Anvil and Leyawiin, but also about a so-called Colovian collaboration with the Aldmeri dominion during the Great War.

A lot of people in Nibenay today are convinced that Colovia made it way too easy for the Aldmeri forces under Lady Arannelya to take control of the Gold Coast and the Gold Road, leading to the invasion of Hammerfell, facilitating the sack of the Imperial City in 4E174 and, as end result of the war, leading to the White-Gold Concordate in 4E175 that restored belief in the eight true divines. Some of the Nibenase critics tend to exaggerate their own heroic efforts during the defense of Leyawiin and Bravil; two cities which were sieged by or even fell to the Aldmeri forces in 4E171. "At least we fought" told me a Bravilian trader and war veteran whom I met last year at a tavern in the Imperial City. This trader, who asked me to not mention his name publicly, told me that "the deep cowardice we all know from the Colovians could not have been put to better use than the Aldmer did." When I told him of the hard battles the brave men and women fought at Anvil, which sadly could not prevent the catastrophic events that led to the destruction of Anvil harbor [1], and even mentioned the lesser-known efforts of the Imperial Navy at Anvil [2], he just frowned. "Try harder next time", he told me, with a not very subtle reference to my own roots in Colovia. Clearly, he was convinced that Colovians did not fight hard enough in the Great War, now blaming them, or us, for the political state of the Empire today. As many others he sees the White-Gold Concordate as mistake, is very upset about the restoration of the true belief, and still does not trust Aldmeri people and Thalmor representatives, despite their constant economic and moral support of the Empire which led to a clear improvement in living conditions.

"Food, Tamika wine, and arena battles are not everything", the well-known imperial historian Antonius Lucius wrote many years ago in a leaflet that soon got confiscated: "What we seem to have re-gained in prosperity, we had only lost to an unprovoked war in the first place. And prosperity can not replace freedom. We got stability again, but we lost our freedom. We therefore will never accept that puppet regime of the Mede dynasty. I urge every free citizen to join our brothers and sisters who are currently fighting in Skyrim for their freedom".[3]

It shows the Aldmeri's patient understanding of human emotion and their willingness for mutual respect that they only confiscated that leaflet and let its author live so he could continue to become a respected member of the historian's guild. Still, such kindness is rejected. Instead of recognizing the chances of working together for a peaceful Tamriel that could put an end to the thousands of years of nearly constant fighting, men and unfortunately even mer stick to their old habits, like little children fighting over a piece of cake, and just crying "But HE has begun" when their parents stop them for some minutes.

Unfortunately, most historians aren't better. Depending on their own point of view, either the Empire or the Aldmeri Dominion is presented either as the ultimate evil or at least as incompetent. Both extremes don't present the truth.[4] Therefore the goal of my work, which you are holding in your hands, is to offer a third perspective.

On the following pages, I dare to present long-overlooked facts and new discoveries on some of the most important events that led to the Great War and its end. As I am Colovian myself, and as Colovians receive so much criticism, I dare to focus on Colovia. I say "dare" because I was called a traitor the moment I started my studies. Apparently there is only one accepted opinion on the Aldmeri's influence on the Empire, and that is hate and thirst for revenge and Thalmor blood. I hope my study shows that, despite what bad things were done by both the Empire and the Dominion, we now have the chance to a long-lasting era of peace and freedom.

References:

[1] Mikuel Aurelius: The Fall of Anvil: The Day the Docks Burned

[2] Captain Arsenius Silvanus: Naval Battles of the Great War, Volume 1

[3] Antonius Lucius, political leaflet, 4E201.

[4] A rare exception is Rivalen Mothril's comprehensive work "Through Eastern Eyes: The Great War and the Fourth Era from the Perspective of the Eastern Provinces"