Dragon War (Worldes Blysse)

The Dragon War is a Merethic Era conflict that ensued between the Dragons and mankind in northern Tamriel and spanned a period of 92 years, lasting from ME 168 until Alduin's banishment in ME 76.

Background
"In the Merethic Era, when Ysgramor first set foot on Tamriel, his people brought with them a faith that worshipped animal gods. Certain scholars believe these primitive people actually worshipped the divines as we know them, just in the form of these totem animals. They deified the hawk, wolf, snake, moth, owl, whale, bear, fox, and the dragon."

- Torhal Bjorik

After Ysgramor and his followers settled in Skyrim during the Merethic Era, they brought the religion of Atmora with them. Known as the Dragon Cult, the followers of this religion worshipped numerous animal totems, namely the hawk, wolf, snake, moth, owl, whale, bear, fox and, most importantly, the Dragon, as avatars of the gods. It is believed these totems were in fact early Atmoran interpretations of the Divines.

The Atmorans regarded the Dragon as head of their pantheon, and considering Dragons existed in vast numbers across Tamriel and Atmora, it would eventually change into outright worship of living Dragons, Alduin being chief among them.

The Dragons themselves were only too happy to encourage this practice. They believed that as children of Akatosh, they were naturally superior to both Man and Mer. The fact that they held immense power over mortals led them to the conclusion that power equals truth. This gave them the justification that their rule over mortals was only natural.

Dragons embraced their role as god-kings over men, but rather than deal with the actual ruling itself, they granted power to Dragon Priests in exchange for absolute obedience. In turn, the priests ruled men as equals to kings. The priests set down laws and codes of living that kept peace between Dragons and men, but to do so they demanded tribute. Their system of rule was corrupted, however, and the priests began to rule with an iron fist, making slaves of the rest of the population and effectively executing the tyrannical system of ruling over them after Ysgramor's death in ME 312, 144 years prior to the Dragon War.

History
According to historical accounts, the earliest uprisings by the Proto-Nords of the Fatherland date back to ME 237, all of them eventually put down by the superior government. It was not until ME 168 that the Atmorans gained the upper hand in the conflict and were ready to launch an all-out war against the Dragon masters. "Dragon War Explained: Alduin's Reign and Undoing", a book by Fatherland historian Jannik Obenhoff, outlines three stages of the war:
 * ME 168-143 - A period known as the Intervention of Kyne and Kyne's Boon, when Paarthurnax, one of Alduin's lieutentants and his brother, was sent to assist mankind. Following Paarthurnax's betrayal and subsequent teachings of the Voice, several Tongues were created and used their power as the main driving force that eventually helped the war gain momentum in their favor.
 * ME 143-95 - the so-called Age of Strife, a period known for its bloodiest and fiercest battles that ensued between the armies of the Tongues and Dragonkind.
 * ME 95-76 - Alduin's Demise, the weakening of the World-Eater's, and subsequently the Dragon Cult's, powers. This period is known for the deeds of the mighty Tongues Hakon One-Eye, Felldir the Old and Gormlaith Golden-Hilt, responsible for Alduin's banishment with the use of an Elder Scroll atop the Throat of the World. This stage also marks the birth and unofficial establishment of the Atmoran Kingdom under Baldr Hallvardsen, who retook most of eastern Fatherland and gained control over Windhelm, the future capital of the Kingdom.

Aftermath
"The dragon cult itself adapted and survived. They built the dragon mounds, entombing the remains of dragons that fell in the war. They believed that one day the dragons would rise again and reward the faithful."

- Torhal Bjorik

The remains of the once-dominant Dragon Cult, greatly weakened, withdrew from the Atmoran Kindgom to bury their masters and rebuild the strongholds once dedicated to servitude. However, the Cult has gained enough power in ME 54, when the horrors of the war were echoing across the crippled Kingdom.

The Atmorans, having lived in slavery and turmoil for several generations since Ysgramor's death, faced a yet another threat and had to adapt to a relatively peaceful lifestyle following the Atmoran Kingdom's official establishment in ME 75, alongside a still-ongoing, if dormant, conflict with the neighboring Falmer that overlapped with Alduin's Crisis.

The Mystery of the Dwarves
It is speculated that over the course of the Dragon War, Alduin and his generals may have been indirectly aided by the seclusive Dwemer, prompting the Atmorans to antagonize the race. The last recorded assembly of the Dwemer and the Atmorans dates back to Ysgramor's reign during the early Nordic-Falmer War.

The Falmer Problem
Since the beginning of the Nordic-Falmer War years before Dragon Cult's tyranny, numerous clashes had occurred between the opposing forces. The conflict was believed to be dormant when Dragon War started, and its status is yet undisclosed. While the two races seemed to be at peace or merely unable to gather their strength following Alduin's reign, no official peace treaties have been signed by either party, leading both sides to assume the opposing force is plotting a calamity.