The Provinces of Dawn's Beauty

The Provinces of Dawn's Beauty is a book by the author Decentius Al-Achel, written 4E 198-201. It has a brief summary of each province in Tamriel and gained popularity quickly after it's release.

Foreword
As a child, I never stopped moving. My mother was an Imperial, though I rarely saw her, and my father a Redguard and I’ve always blamed this for my constant desire to see more of the world. As a child, I never stayed still for very long. I lived with my father, who owned two horses and a carriage and we would travel all across the continent, stopping for a few days at a time - rarely more. As a child, I always just assumed that my father wanted to see the world, but in hindsight I think it more likely that he travelled to keep himself busy. He had been a soldier before I was born, and I think he found it far easier to rest after a long day's work. I rarely saw my mother - her and my father had a short relationship of a few years, but my father left, with me, when I was only a few years old. I do not know why - my father would only tell me that he had itchy feet and had never seen Valenwood.

Since I spent most of my days travelling, I started to enjoy two things most. Watching the landscape and reading. Having never been one for words, my father brought me the five volumes of ‘the Modern Cyrodilic Dictionary for 4E 173’ for my 8th birthday. It was, by then, already 4E 182, but I used it to its full extent, looking up any new words I found while reading and sometimes even spending my time just looking through it for any words I didn’t already know. Whenever I talked to other children with similar lives to me, I often found myself surprised by their talk of loneliness. For me, the quiet companionship with my father as I read and he drove the carriage was enough.

When we arrived at our destination for the time being, we would stop the caravan and put up a tent which normally led into the carriage, though there were a few places where we chose to stay in a local inn instead. My father would find work, harvesting crops, chopping wood, mining or anything else which would make money. Stopped, I spent my time admiring the local landscape, making friends with the locals or, if I was in the middle of a particularly interesting or exciting book, curling up by the inn’s fire or relaxing in the sun with a book. Occasionally I found time to help my father or get paid for some menial task, but my father normally let me relax alone.

At the age of fourteen, my father died and it was only then that I realised precisely how much money he had stored away. We had lived cheaply and my father had worked hard, but most of the money was from his life as a soldier of Hammerfell. He had always avoided talking about it, so while I knew he had been a high ranking soldier, I never found out how high ranking. I spent over a month in Chorrol, where we had been staying when the Divines claimed him. Eventually, the innkeeper, who had grown fond of me, told me that he would pay for travel to a variety of places or help me join a guild. If needs be, he offered to hire me as an assistant, though I knew he didn’t need one. I considered joining the Fighters Guild, or perhaps the Mages Guild, but in the end, I decided to spend a few years in the Imperial University, studying writing and choreography - though I insisted on paying for it myself. I found my studies mildly interesting, but, while I thought I would enjoy it, hated staying in the same place for so long, despite taking every chance to travel, and left after three years there. I had left one of my father’s horses and most of his possessions with the innkeeper in Chorrol. Returning there, I sold what I did not need nor want, and set off, after promising I would return when I could. I now felt the loneliness I had heard other children speak of, and I felt it painfully. My father’s death and my years living in the busiest city in Tamriel made the long days alone sting bitterly, and though I still enjoyed travelling, I found myself stopping much more frequently and for longer than before. Returning often to the innkeeper and occasionally staying for up to a month in some cities, the years passed quickly. For a while, I had had an idea to write a guide to the provinces of Tamriel, and over time that idea grew until I decided that was indeed how I would spend any spare time I had.

High Rock
High Rock is often first to be brought to mind at the mention of fine food. Having tried many of the foods there, I can agree that the food there includes some of the best. It is rumoured that this is the home of the Gourmet, and I would not be surprised were this true. High Rock is also home to the finest vineyards and wines in Tamriel, now common all through the Empire.

Marriage and romance in High Rock has always been astounding. While most cultures have fairly quiet wedding traditions, however complex they are, Breton culture around marriage is extravagant - and becoming increasingly common in Cyrodiil. The white dress and veil that is now commonly worn in ceremonies all over Tamriel originated in High Rock. While other traditions, like giving each other something worthless but invaluable in Cyrodiil, forging an Amethyst ring in Black Marsh, throwing a bucket of water over the front door in Hammerfell and countless others, hold much worth, in High Rock everyone that the couple knows is invited for a whole day of partying. The celebrations start, and end, at midnight, with the guests getting increasingly drunk as the day continues. For each meal, two family members, one of each of the couple, cooks half of it. Between the huge and heavy lunch and the all-sweet dinner, the entire party sleeps.

Lords and knights are common, and important, in High Rock, a province rich with chivalry. The Fighters Guild is probably most popular in High Rock, countless battlemages and skilled warriors having joined up. Becoming a knight is a great honour, that can only be granted by a Lord or Lady - men and women of power the King chooses, whom he respects and trusts. The greatest knights are the Knights of the Dragon. These Knights have been handpicked by the King (also known as the Dragon in High Rock) for their courage and bravery.

Skyrim
(Author’s note: This was written before the outbreak of Civil War in 4E 201. I have elected not to edit it nor rewrite it, since without visiting Skyrim once more, I cannot be sure of its accuracy, but Skyrim is more dangerous than I would wish to visit currently)

The Nords of Skyrim are a proud people, with a love of honour, mead, fighting and poetry. This is most clearly reflected in their most successful businesses and Guilds. The Bards’ College, the competing Honningbrew and Black-Briar Meaderies and the famous Companions are some of the most loved and most successful institutions of Skyrim.

I have heard the Companions be called ‘the Fighters Guild in Skyrim’, but in my experience this is not a true representation of the millennia old Guild of Skyrim. The Companions are an organisation of honour and glory and the members treat it, not as a job, but as a family. It has changed over the millennia it has existed but has always remained true to itself.

Skyrim was one of the few provinces in which I would rarely sleep outside, usually electing to stay at a local inn for the night. It was the cold which first pushed my father and I to make this decision - the weather is often beautiful, but seldom pleasant - but I am glad I did, for the Nords’ culture is most visible in their inns. Their loves are entwined, mead and song, tales of battles and glory, all found in near every inn each evening in Skyrim. Indeed, as I write this now, a mead in my hand and a roaring fire at my back, the room is loud with song and laughter.

Littering the Northern province are many Dwarven ruins, a remnant of the long-gone Dwemer. These are usually safe outside, but upon entry there are often Dwemer automatons around every corner. The Dwemer ruins in Skyrim are far easier to enter than those in Hammerfell, where sand and wind has made many entrances inaccessible and far more in number than High Rock.

During my time in Skyrim, I fear I noticed a growing tension after the ban of Talos worship. Talos has always held particular popularity in Skyrim and, along with the ban, there seems to be a growing resentment of the Empire and, indeed, all outsiders, particularly among the Eastern Holds. I can only hope that this resentment and anger does not split the province any further.

Elsweyr
I have more memories of discussing Elsweyr than I do of the province itself. It was not rare to encounter a Khajiit caravan on the road, and I would pester my father to travel with it. In recent years, I have regularly ended up going the opposite to my original direction in order to talk with these fascinating people. I have rarely met a Khajiit who did not have an amusing, exciting or emotional story to share with me. The province itself is equally fascinating, with its biomes ranging from huge jungles, filled with bizarre creatures, to large, empty deserts, with hot, white sand as far as the eye can see.

The houses of Elsweyr are among the most beautiful in Tamriel, with white painted walls and the doors, curtains and windows often in a beautiful blue, though many have fallen into disrepair recently. One of the most unique experiences in Elsweyr is the morning marketplace. Most trade and business in Elsweyr is conducted at times to avoid the midday sun, since little work can be done underneath the baking sun and it is too hot to even think. Spending too much time outside at midday can even be dangerous for your health, and requires drinking much more water. So, instead, markets are normally only open in the mornings, and all trade happens simultaneously. The streets are bustling and the noise is incredible - squawking of chickens, shouting vendors and just normal conversation adds up to make a huge amount of noise. It’s important to keep a hand on your coin purse too, especially if you look like a tourist; while most Khajiit are trustworthy, too many Khajiit have quick fingers and no qualms about lightening your pockets.

In my experience, I have found the rumours of Khajiit thievery to be exaggerated far past the truth. While it is true that a Khajiit can be almost silent when they want to be, most Khajiit would no sooner steal from you than a Nord. Stories of widespread skooma addiction hold more truth. Moonsugar is commonly grown in Elsweyr and is a staple of most diets - though extremely bad for the health of non-Khajiit. It is when it is refined into skooma that it becomes far more addictive and dangerous. Due to the abundance of Moonsugar, skooma is all too common in Elsweyr. However, those Khajiit outside of Elsweyr suffer addiction no more than any other race of Tamriel.

In 4E 115, Elsweyr returned to the ancient states of Anequina and Pelletine. While the differences aren’t immediately obvious to an outsider, there are some differences to be spotted. The Northern State of Anequina has more badlands than jungle, which are easy to lose your way in, despite their beauty. The badlands are also home to many bandits and thieves. The South is  supposedly under harsher law and has much more Thalmor influence while the North is home to many more loosely organised tribes. However, in my rare trips to Pelletine, I have found that crime is just as frequent, but is far more organised. In many cities the law enforcement is corrupt and frequently takes bribes. Thalmor influence is common, but I do feel a certain resistance to it in the population, and local law enforcement do not appear to work well with the Thalmor. Khajiit from the North of Elsweyr also generally have much darker fur than those from the South.