DISCLAIMER: I do not own The Elder Scrolls series. Credit for that goes to Bethesda Softworks.
The Second Kingdom of Valenwood
Volume I
by Varnand Faric
3E63
I dedicate this series to my mentor and friend Destri Melarg.
This series, as the name suggests, aspires to shed light on the Aransel of Valetar, more commonly referred to as the Second Kingdom of Valenwood. The first volume, which you are holding now, summarizes the current historical canon, as it is taken from early second-era texts written by various chroniclers from the Colovian Estates and Alinor.
As a result of the anti-intellectualism that dominated the Cyrodilic culture in the early Second Era, many of these records are, to an experienced historian, obviously unreliable works, where the chronicler extols the virtues of their patron while accusing the patron's enemies of various vile acts with little regard for actual truth.
The undisputed facts are as follows.
In 1E2920, Emperor Reman Cyrodiil III and his only heir Juilek Cyrodiil are murdered by the Morag Tong. With the bloodline of Reman emperors eradicated, the Akaviri Potentate assumes rulership of the Empire and announces the beginning of the Second Era.
After four centuries of decline, the Second Empire finally collapses entirely into a number of independent realms around 2E430.
At this time, Valenwood was split between several bosmer tribal kings and lesser chieftans, all of which had previously sworn fealty to the Empire independently of each other. Among these independent rulers was Derlata Welkyn I, a rare (perhaps even unique) example of an independent Ayleid ruler after the fall of the Ayleid Empire in the early First Era.
Through indeterminate means, Derlata I managed to expand her petty kingdom despite being under siege by several neighbouring Bosmer realms and rise to be a contender for the throne of a unified Kingdom of Valenwood. Derlata I crowned herself Aran of Valetar in 2E512, having conquered the entire southern coast of Valenwood and much of its' central and eastern territories.
Derlata the Iron Hand, as she was called in contemporary sources, did not manage to unify Valenwood in her lifetime, however. Derlata died in 2E513, resulting in a succession crisis. Derlata's children (and one grandchild) fought a civil war over the throne. The crown ultimately passed to Derlata's third daughter, Belanda, who emerged victorious from the bloody succession crisis.
Belanda would complete her mother's vision of a unified Valenwood and conquered the remaining Bosmer kingdoms, as well as reclaiming Valenwood territories from the Colovian Estates. By 2E530, all of Valenwood was united under the rule of an Ayleid queen, and contemporary Colovian texts were characterized by dramatic gloom, doom and concerns that the strong line of Ayleid rulers would seek to restore the cruel Ayleid Empire of old. Texts from Alinor view the rise of such a potent rival with equal concern.
This did not come to pass, however. After three decades of relative peace, the second Kingdom of Valenwood collapsed into rebellion. This was, by all accounts, an abrupt and unexpected collapse and I have yet to find any conclusive reason for such a sudden descent into chaos. Bosmer rulers once again became lords of the land after Belanda had been systematically removing Bosmer lords from power and replacing them with more loyal Ayleid supporters. Colovian texts attribute this to divine retribution against the heathen, daedra-worshipping elves. Altmer records suggest there was an ongoing war of espionage and between Alinor and Valetar, but those records explicitly express surprise at the sudden collapse and deny responsibility.
There are, of course, considerable details in written historical texts, describing the resurgent Ayleid rule in Valenwood, but as I explained earlier, written records from the Second Era are notoriously suspect. I do not believe any more truthful information can be gleaned soley from the written records of Valenwood's neighbours. As such, I head to Valenwood to carry out research into the extensive oral history of the Bosmer. In the following volumes, I intend to go over the existing written records and either prove or disprove the numerous myths surrounding the resurgent Ayleid kingdom by corroborating the texts with the oral records of the Bosmer.
Well, here is the first chapter of this story. This story is largely inspired by a very successful game of Elder Kings that I have decided to stop playing on account of The Old Gods expansion coming out and making my old saves incompatible with the new version of Elder Kings. Elder Kings, for those who don't know, is an Elder Scrolls total conversion mod for Crusader Kings 2.