The Valley of Broken Oaths

My dear Brenuis,

I write to share with you a macabre, but interesting, historical anecdote I was given while traveling back to Solitude, via Whiterun. As one sets out west from the village of Rorikstead, the road to Solitude takes you into a deep river valley, as the river Hjaal spills over the Orotheim Falls and flows onward to the Karth. Despite the mountain-fed, nutrient-rich soil, this valley is devoid of settlement; the only evidence of habitation is a series of earthworks by the bridge at the eastern entrance. Curious, I asked around the caravan guards, and this is what I have pieced together.

As one might expect, any amount of fertile land is a source of conflict in a land where what isn't mountains is permafrost, and the Hjaal river valley is no different; scholars from the Solitude Historical Society have uncovered caches of ancient Hjaalic weapons, and the remains of Reachmen camps dating back to the late First Era. Since the beginning of the Third Era, the valley has served as the loose border between Haafingar, Hjaalmarch, and the Reach, and each Hold saw periodic clashes of small bands of men throughout the rule of the Septims. Tensions, dormant for a time, rose to a head in 3E 396 during the Imperial Simulacrum, but upon Uriel VII's return to power, Imperial agents were dispatched to negotiate a beneficial truce.

Thus began the Valley of Peace experiment; the lands between the falls of Orotheim and the falls of Dragonbridge were declared untithed to Jarl or Hold, to be administered by a council of three thanes, one from each of the claimants. The council would only be answerable to the High King, who, it is important to note, was still the Jarl of Solitude. This appeared to be an amenable solution to all, as each Hold was allowed to send settlers in equal measure, and each recieved a generous cut from trade. However, in 3E 433, in response to reports of strange nocturnal raids, each Hold began to step up "security forces", and tensions began to rise once more.

On the 27th of Last Seed, three warbands began to march on the chief settlement of Dalurann-Pax, built at the eastern end of the gorge, and as they began to form lines outside the small-holding, the skies began to darken. At that moment, an Oblivion Gate- purportedly the first to open in Skyrim- opened directly over the hamlet, and hordes of daedra began to spill out. Accounts of the carnage vary, but Dalurann-Pax was destroyed to it's bare earthworks, and the warbands were slain almost to a man. In the chaotic aftermath of the Oblivion Crisis, no formal resettlement attempts were made; the wholesale destruction of the Hjaalic capitol of Snowhawk, and later Reachmen risings around Markarth, have harried attempts to establish new farmsteads.

Increasing over the past few years have also been claims of noctural assaults not typical of Skyrim’s bandit population. Travellers, traders, and the occasional enterprising farmer have returned with tales of harrowing night-battles with seemingly invisible foes, striking with savagery in total darkness, seemingly uninterested in taking valuables, but driven to take bloodshed. Burnt out caravans, their lanterns smashed, occupants dead, but strong boxes intact, found left on the wayside, confirm these reports.

The ill-named, ill fated Valley of Peace remains scarred with conflict, and it appears that will remain so. The locals whisper that it is cursed, that the broken oaths to respect and cooperate, shattered by greedy Jarls have doomed the valley to an eternity of turmoil. Perhaps they are not wrong.

Yours,

Caoran Fiascian