Infernal City Lore Notes: Elsweyr

Few Khajiit sail, when they do it is mostly for trade and/or Skooma transport. p.4

As one crosses the border into Elsweyr, “the land had risen, and the tick forest and lush meadows of the West Weald had devolved into scrubby oaks and tall grass. Now, on the southern side of the hill, trees were more like big bushes, except when they came to a stream or pol, and tall grass prevailed in the clearings.” p.143

The hills between Elsweyr and Cyrodiil are filled with trolls. p.143

Riverhold is “swarming with Imperial agents.” p.143

Sheeraln is a small market town a few miles west of Riverhold. p.144

“The plains of Anequina stretched out to the horizon. […]it was green. The tall grass of the upland prairies had been replaced by a short stubble, but that still seemed a far cry form the naked sand he’d been expecting. Streams were visible by the swaying pals, light skinned cottonwood, and delicate tamarisk that lined them. A herd of red cattle grazed in the near distance.

“Riverhold was visible a bit east, spring up at the convergence of three duty-looking roads. The walls were saffron, irregular, and not particularly high. Behind them, domes and towers of faded azure and cream, vermilion and chocolate, gold and jet, crowded together… It was a city that seemed at once tired and exuberant.” p.144

“Earlier that day the short-grass prairie had abruptly dropped off into one of the strangest landscapes Attrebus had ever seen. It looked as if a massive flood had stripped everything away but the dirt, and then cut that up into a labyrinth of arroyos and gullies. …vibrant rust, umber, olive and yellow strata of the soil were exposed…” p 174

As mounts, the Khajiit use their brethren, “monstrous cats that stood as high as a large horse at the shoulder. Their forelimbs were as thick as columns and half again as long as their rears, giving them an apelike appearance. Their coats were tawny, ribboned with stripes the color of dried blood, and their feral yellow eyes seemed to promise evisceration.” p.175

“Two of the riders seemed hardly less bestial, although they wore shirts that covered their torsos and cravats around their necks. Where their fur was visible, it was pale yellowish-green spotted with black. Their faces were altogether more catlike than any Khajiit he’d ever met, and they slouched forward on their mounts.” p. 175

“The third rider was more like what Attrebus was used to, with features that were more manlike, although still unmistakably feline.” p.175

“…the final rider had such fine, delicate features, she might easily have been of merish blood, had her face not been splotched with irregular black rings.” p.175

Eastern Elsweyr, except for Rimmen, is not friendly to men and mer. p.176

Olives, palms, and tamarisk grow along streams in northern Elsweyr. p.176

“She [“a very old female”] knelt in front of Sul, placed a small cloth on the ground, then a cake on the cloth. With a precise movement of her hand, she pinched some sort of powder from a small bowl in the tray and sprinkled it onto the cake. Hen she took the bottle and let exactly four drops of golden liquid drip on it.” The Khajiit eat these cakes, but it is enough for foreigners to simply touch them to their lips. This is some sort of welcoming ceremony. p.177

Khajiit are resistant to moon-sugar because they eat it in some form every day. Skooma however is still addictive. p.178

Je’m’ath is appears to be a custom of doing a favor in exchange for safe passage. In the novel, this meant obtaining moon-sugar. Alternatively, it could be the T’aagra for “moon-sugar.” It could, of course, be both. p.179

Moon-sugar is rare in the northern parts of Elsweyr, but plentiful in Rimmen (and presumably other cities). p.179

Rimmen’s new Potentate dislikes free Khajiit clans and has forbidden them inside the city’s walls. p.179

The Mane has been assassinated. The south is in the midst of a war, and the north, apparently ruled by Rimmen, is in chaos. p.180

The northeast, towards Rimmen, is “a ragged steppe of thorn-scrub. It lifted and rolled in long undulations. Two days on and finally, over a distant hill they could see a golden gleam.” p.181

“Rimmen had elegant bones of ivory-colored stone with few towers but many domes. Soldiers – human soldiers, met them at the gate, searched them, questioned them, and eventually passed them through. For another hundred yards they snaked through the twists and turns of an entry overlooked by platforms for archers, mages, and siege weapons. That brought them to the market, a bustling, colorful plaza empty in the middle but girdled by tents and stalls and bounded by canals. A broad avenue flanked by more expansive waterways continued on to what was clearly the palace, an ancient-looking structure raised up on a high, tiered stone substructure. The tiers held some buildings, and apparently earth, because he could see trees growing there. Surmounting what was a cylindrical building with a large golden dome. Ware cascaded down the sides of the palace, feeding into the pool that encircled it.

“Off to the eastern side of the palace, he could see the odd curly-edged roof of what had to be the Akaviri temple Annaig had mentioned. The only place he’d ever seen with similar architecture was Cloud Ruler Temple…” p.184

“He was surprised that fewer than half of the people he saw were Khajiit, and many of those lolled about with wild of vacant eyes, skooma pipes clutched in their hands. It was a strange sight to see in an open, public square. […]

“They left the plaza, crossing a canal on a footbridge and thence down a narrow street where gently chiming bells were depended between the flat roods of the buildings and verdian moths flittered in the shadows. The addicts there even thicker here, a few watching them and holding out their hands for money; but mods were shivering, lost in their visions.

“They arrived at their destination, a smaller square with a fortified building surrounded by guards in purple surcoats and red sashes. A sign proclaimed the place to be KINGDOM OF RIMMEN STATE STORE.

“Once again they were searched, questioned, and then passed into a low-ceilinged room where twenty of so people stood on line at a counter. Only one person, an Altmer, seemed to be dealing with the customers, but others worked behind him, wrapping paper packages into even larger paper packages.” p.185

The price of moon-sugar is fixed by the office of the potentate. p.186

“If you sell or attempt to sell moon-sugar in the Kingdom of Rimmen… you will be subject to a fine of triple the worth of the sugar. If you sell or attempt to sell more than two pounds, you will be subject to execution.” p.186

Sei’dar is either reaching out “from your interests to embrace ours” or “an important thing.” It could also be both, meaning that empathy is an important part of Khajiiti society. p.221

“East of Rimmen the land rose from the dust in a series of rolling ridges covered in brush and scrub oak, and eventually – as they ascended higher – timber.

“The hills were swarming with Khajiit renegades organized around rough hill fort, but they kept their distance.” p.211

“On Khenarthi’s path” is a Khajiiti way of saying “dead.” p.243

“The Sench are sprinters, not distance runners.” p.243