Lore of 'ab potentiā'
Races
The races themselves are identical as they are in Oblivion. I have however added 'sub-races' as it were, kind of like 'ethnic groups'. Think of it like the fact Semitic peoples cover a huge ethnic group range, and Arabs are a specific kind of Semitic people, like Assyrians or Amharics. I've made it so 'Imperial' is a wide ranging term and there are specific types. However some of these have been largely bred out over time. The two main kinds of Imperial are:
Centrials, who inhabit most Cyrodilic land, with the exception of Chorrol and Kvatch. These people are most like Mediterranean peoples, such as Italians or Greeks, with olive skin and a dark hair. Originally they were separate between 'Etaleans' from Nibenay and 'Ellanites' from Anvil (in other words, Italians and Greeks) but they had mostly merged together by the time of Reman Cyrodiil. Some people however still exist as totally Ellanite, such as Alexander, commander of the Imperial Palace Guard.
Burmo-Ayleidics, who natively inhabit Colovia. These are basically the English, a mix between Cyrodilic natives from Bruma (Germanic peoples) and the Ayleids, forming a manmer breed much like the Bretons, however it is much less distinct than with Bretons as the magical abilities of the Ayleids have not passed down and the only discerning factor between Burmo-Ayleidics and Centrials is skin tone and architecture.
Also, Akaviri human races are mentioned briefly, but I wish to incorporate them in to later stories so I will explain them here. These races are actually separate races, not just ethnic groups:
Hanmen: The most populous race of Akavir. They controlled the nation of 'Han', now known as Tsaeci, and were the main force fighting the Tsaeci invaders from Black Marsh. They now make up the bulk of slaves of the Tsaeci, as the other human races are much better used as soldiers. Their armour was adopted as the standard armour of the Tsaeci army. They are a matriarchal society, but largely égaliterian, and are very much 'jack of all trades,' but are best at diplomacy rather than fighting. They are based off the Han Chinese and the Manchus.
Nihanese: Inhabitants of Nihan Island, one of the islands of the Tang Mo. When the Tsaeci invaded they moved to Han to aid the humans, only for them to be enslaved as with the other humans. They are fiercely patriarchal and they society is rigid and based on honourable battles. They make up the messengers and elite troops of the Tsaeci army, and their swords were adopted as the standard Tsaeci army weapons. They're based off the Japanese.
Kulkas: Inhabitants of Kamal and north Tsaeci. The Kulkas are a steppe race of tribal warriors, whose fighting prowess are unmatched across Akavir, perhaps across Nirn. They can be likened to the Nords, however are much more vicious fighters. They once conquered Han and Po'Tun in an empire which lasted only 100 years before falling apart. They joined the humans to fight off the Tsaeci but were also defeated and enslaved. They make up the bulk of the Tsaeci army. They are based off the Mongols.
Language
Cyrodilic (English) is derived from Burmo-Ayleidic speech and most Imperials speak this language. The language of the Etaleans is known as 'Empirical' and is essentially Latin, and the language of the Ellanites is known as 'Ellanic' which is essentially Athenian Ancient Greek. Empirical was used as a court language until the time of Reman Cyrodiil who instead used Burmo-Ayleidic as most commoners could not speak Empirical, and it is used as a religious and royal language currently. Ellanic is not used at all, and there are only a few speakers left in Cyrodiil.
