aldudagga

[aldudagga]

Early mockups for the island of Stros M'kai. Much has changed for this place since the late Second Era. Following the Battle of Hunding Bay, the island became the point of orchestration for a hasty rebellion against Imperial occupation after the deposition of the interim governor Amiel Richton. Prince A'tor, in sword form, would assume his seat as High King with the assistance of Queen-Regent Iszara, and together they mended the generations-long land affairs that divided the Redguards. With the Treaty of Stros M'kai, Hammerfell would enter the Empire willingly as respected allies, not exploited subjects. Ceremonially, the capital was returned to its traditional seat in Hegathe, however Stros M'kai remained under the administrative purview of the Crown as the location of the Imperial Consulate. Today, the city has grown to become one of the busiest maritime ports in western Tamriel. Throughout the Simulacrum, the Imperial West Navy's decline in influence across the Abecean resulted in a resurgence of piracy and lawlessness marring the islander colonies along the perimeter. Commodore Naffir of the Abecean Red Armada has been anointed all the authorities necessary to crack down on smuggling, which he has employed generously much to the protest of local merchants.

[aldudagga]

A passage on the relationship between truth & myth from the perspective of the Redguards

That which resonates becomes inseparable from personal truth, and a personal truth shared among many is mightier than an absolute truth imposed upon all. In a world where gods and heroes are tangibly empowered through faith and ritual alone, the Redguards weave histories into legends to manipulate common dogma and distort the boundary between the mundane and divine. Historical recordkeeping is therefore the performative tradition of shamans, theologians, and poets, indifferent to their own credibility, for it is customary to innovate on the past with new knowledge and embellish it with modern trends. 

Kissed with the telltale candor of a tired nanny or emblazoned with rebel righteousness, myth is the language of truth, and it is only the nature of man that many truths may take the place of one. This is made most apparent when unraveling the web of mythology surrounding the first leader of the Redguards Diagna: at once a king who dealt the final blow against the Lefthanders and led the Redguards to their new homeland, a sword-singer who cut the skin of the world open and walked his companions into heaven, and an asteroid from which the Yokudans received divine knowledge to overcome their oppressors. Despite the conflicting depictions of an otherwise well-accounted and widely acknowledged figure in Redguard history, the contradictions contained therein are insignificant to them, for truth may take many forms.

[aldudagga]

Skin Riddle Cult: The peripatetic god-guiser cultists of Ruptga speak not except through elaborate displays of color and motion, acting out prophecies unraveled from star equations in intricate dance ensembles. They travel in troupes from city to city reading fortunes and reenacting foundational myths through pantomime, accompanied by witty interpreters who narrate their exaggerated physical gestures into unempathetic comedies. The Skin Riddle Cult has no formal hierarchy, instead resembling that of a traveling theater, and their performances often communicate open-ended or abstract messages meant to invoke intuition and inspire personal meaning on the part of the audience. Their Elinhir temple is a grand theater-like cathedral and is the destination of paupers, aristocrats, and tourists alike attending their biannual Rainbow Choir; a sensational chorus in which their god-guisers project streams of chromatic light and smoke from their mouths to puppet visages of the Yokudan gods.

(Art made by Pound for Tamriel Rebuilt)

[aldudagga]

Project Hammerfell concept art for the Abecean Red Armada - a state-sanctioned privateer militia chartered by the Crown to oversee his direct domains of Old Hegathe, Stros M'kai, and Gilane. They were founded during the Simulacrum in response to the decline of the Imperial West Navy and the increasing instability following the War of the Blue Divide. The coronation of Commodore Naffir as Constable of Stros M'kai has invariably given the outfit more power and tighter responsibilities, and the Constable still remains ever vigilant in his war on smuggling.