The Elder Scrolls: Lore
Chapter 1, Mythic Era
Creation
Written by Vuhon
In the beginning there where two, brothers, Anu of Light and Padomay of Darkness. As they entered the void time began. Soon after Anu and Padomay entered the void the interplay of light and darkness created a third being. Her name was Nir, the goddess of creation, and Anu and Padomay where amazed by Nir's beauty. Though she only loved Anu. Padomay then retreated into the universe out of jealousy and spite. Then Nir became pregnant with Anu, but before she gave birth, Padomay returned, professing his love for Nir. Again she told him, she only loves Anu, and Padomay viciously beat Nir in a boiling rage. Soon Anu returned, fought his brother Padomay and cast him outside of time. Nir gave birth to 12 worlds of creation, but died from her injuries soon after. Anu, grieving for his love, hid himself in the sun, in the center of the ring of the 12 worlds.
Meanwhile, life appeared on the 12 worlds of creation and flourished. After many ages, Padomay was able to return to time. He glanced upon creation and grew a strong hatred of it. Padomay raised his fist and materialized a weapon depicted as a long blade of shadows, spiting flames as dark as night. He took this weapon and shattered the 12 worlds into small fragments, with just one swing.
Anu awoke from his grieving slumber and fought Padomay again. This battle is said to have lasted thousands of years, ending with Anu barely the victor. Anu cast aside the body of his presumed dead brother, the attempted to save creation by combining the remnants of the 12 worlds into one, the planet of Nirn, the world of Tamriel. As he was doing so, Padomay struck Anu with one final attack through the chest. Knowing he was going to die Anu grappled onto Padomay and pulled them both outside of time forever, or will they return?
The blood of Padomay became the unholy Daedra Princes. The blood of Anu became the stars. The mingled blood of both became the Aedra or Eight Divines, hence their capacity for good and evil and their affinity for earthly affairs. Unlike the Daedra who have no connection to the world of creation. Now on the world of Nirn, all was chaos. The only survivors of the 12 worlds of creation were the Ehlnofey and the Hist. The Ehlnofey are the ancestors of Mer and Men. The Hist are the trees of Argonia. Nirn was originally all land, with interspersed seas, but no oceans.
A large fragment of the Ehlnofey world landed on Nirn relatively intact, and the Ehlnofey living there were the ancestors of Mer. These Ehlnofey fortified their borders from the chaos outside, hid their pocket of calm, and attempted to live on as before. Other Ehlnofey arrived on Nirn scattered amid the confused jumble of the shattered worlds, wandering and finding each other over the years. Eventually, the wandering Ehlnofey found the hidden land of Old Ehlnofey, and were amazed and joyful to find their kin living amid the splendor of ages past. The wandering Ehlnofey expected to be welcomed into the peaceful realm, but the Old Ehlnofey looked upon them as degenerates, fallen from former glory.
For whatever reason, war broke out, and raged across the whole of Nirn.
The Old Ehlnofey retained their ancient and mystic powers of magicka, the power of change created by Padomay, but the Wanderers were more numerous, and toughened by their long struggle to survive on Nirn. This war reshaped the face of Nirn, sinking much of the land beneath new oceans, and leaving the lands as we know today (Tamriel, Akavir, Atmora, and Yokuda). Along with the newly shaped oceans (Padomic Ocean (that surrounds the land masses), Eltheric Ocean (surrounding the Azurian Sea, Sea of Pearls, and Abecean Sea)). The Old Ehlnofey realm, although ruined, became Tamriel. The remnants of the Wanderers were left divided on the other three continents.
Over many, many years, the Ehlnofey of Tamriel became the Mer (Elves):
The Dwemer or Dwarves, the Chimer (who later became Dunmer), the Bosmer also known as Wood Elves, the Dunmer or Cursed Ones, and the Altmer or The High Elves. On the other continents, the Wanderers became the Men: the Nords of Atmora, the Redguards of Yokuda, and the Tsaeci of Akavir.
The Hist were bystanders in the Ehlnofey war, but most of their realm was destroyed as the war passed over it. A small corner of it survived to become Black Marsh in Tamriel, but most of the Hist where sunk beneath the sea.
Eventually, Men returned to Tamriel. The Nords were first, colonizing the norther coast of Tamriel before recorded history, led by the legendary Ysgramor. The 13th of his line, King Harald, was first to appear in history.
And so the Mythic Era has ended
This is the end of Chapter 1