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Return of the Ayleids?

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Joined: 06/21/2012

Since so many people are rooting for Dwemer to return, I thought about something more feasible: what if some of the Ayleids started reappearing around Cyrodiil, High  Rock and/or Valenwood (or even Argonia?)? I won't lie that I've been an Ayleid-phile since Oblivion. However, since we have had some Merish races resurfacing (like a few surviving uncorrupted Falmer), I think it would be really nice to have some more Mer start to reappear.

Perhaps if a game took place in Valenwood, we could get some quest or quest line that would lead us to a secret that a Bosmer clan(s) kept: a hidden Ayleid village/settlement. Or maybe we could get some new books in future games reporting more and more frequent sitings of Ayleids in the previously mentioned provinces.

What is your opinion?

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Joined: 07/06/2010

Didn't you play Oblivion? That was it.

Pilaf The Defiler's picture
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Joined: 11/27/2010

Nu-Hatta warned us and it has come to pass. The Ayleids did attempt to return. Through Umaril. Through Camoran. Through Umbacano.

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Joined: 06/21/2012

I did play Oblivion  but wait... I thought Camoran was an Altmer? They used the same models and when I used to read the wiki, it said they were. But they're actually Ayleids? I didn't really feel them attempting a return in Oblivion though; it felt more like a doomsday sort of cult, rather than the Ayleids trying to return.

What I'm talking about is not a huge effort to completely retake all of Cyrodiil, but as a sort of 'coming out of hiding'.

Does anyone know of any mods that would make it possible for one to side with Umaril, though? I'd find it really fascinating to see it from that side.

Pilaf The Defiler's picture
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Joined: 11/27/2010

I'm not entirely certain Umaril represents a typical Ayleid mindset. He's an unstable mutant. I'm not sure if he even had a plan beyond the desecration of human gods and the slaughter of their priests.

 

And like I said, the Ayleids are already out of hiding. The Camorans' and other aristocracy from Valenwood have been widely known to be more than a little bit Ayleid for a long time now. Like the Falmer, many of their refugees successfully integrated into other Mer societies and intermarried.

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Joined: 06/21/2012

Pilaf The Defiler wrote:
And like I said, the Ayleids are already out of hiding. The Camorans' and other aristocracy from Valenwood have been widely known to be more than a little bit Ayleid for a long time now. Like the Falmer, many of their refugees successfully integrated into other Mer societies and intermarried.

That's never actually been proven true. In Bloodmoon, when that theory came about, it was just a theory about why the Falmer disappeared. It was proven that with the whole Betrayed thing or those that stayed at chantries to Auri-El.

Dargor's picture
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Joined: 07/11/2012

There were probably other sects of Falmer that fled to the arms of their cousins and assimilated among their people. Keep in mind that a good chunk of the Alyeid population sought out the Direnni when the Alessian order came knocking, so others doing something similar wouldn't surprise me.

As far as I'm aware, the physical differences between the Alyeids and the Altmer are minimal at best anyway, and there really wouldn't be too many distinguishing features that would separate the two. 

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Joined: 06/21/2012

That's true too, but really, I'm not sure how much they would have intermarried. Only time will tell, I suppose.

Dargor's picture
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Joined: 07/11/2012

Like anyone else? The Bosmer aren't exactly known for being picky as far as I know, and the Direnni are seemingly more relaxed compared to the Altmer of Summerset. Beyond that,  there doesn't seem to be too many problems associated with two Mer  hooking up as opposed to Man and Mer, especially if they have close ties to one another.

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Joined: 06/21/2012

Well, maybe not for the Bosmer, but the Altmer are extremely strict on keeping their bloodlines pure to the point of eugenics (implied).

Dargor's picture
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Joined: 07/11/2012

The Direnni line of Altmer  were originally a clan of farmers, and eventually left Summerset itself for Highrock. That to me says that they aren't as conservative as their island dwelling counterparts. Interracial relationships would probably be more commonplace there due to their close proximity and relations with the Breton's. 

Proweler's picture
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Joined: 06/14/2010

I'd reckon that Summerset has about the same view on the Direnni and their relations with Bretons as we see hillbillies and their cattle.

Pilaf The Defiler's picture
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Joined: 11/27/2010

The Ayleids are purblooded Altmer, though. Umaril was so proud of the purity of his heritage that he proudly read off a list of his ancestors as he strode into battle with Pelinal. I doubt the Altmer would look down on them at a genetic level.

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Joined: 06/21/2012

Well, there was the distinction that the Ayleids had slightly darker skin that the Altmer, if that means much (which, knowing the Altmer of Summurset, it probably does).

Pilaf The Defiler's picture
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Joined: 11/27/2010

Why would  you assume they'd associate darker skin color with inferiority?

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Joined: 06/21/2012

I didn't say that, I said that as more of a racial distinction. It was a noted distinction that was written down.

Pilaf The Defiler's picture
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Joined: 11/27/2010

It was, but our racial description of Ayleids is a bit choppy and inconsistent. The darker coloration may have been tans or tribal markings.  In any event this was all pre-Thalmor. We don't know how widely the Aldmeri beliefs about interbreeding differed back then. The sources lamenting Bosmeri "mannish wives" are all Second and Third Era. The Direnni certainly had no aversion to mating with humans, nor did the Ayleids.

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Joined: 06/21/2012

The fact that the Altmer pre-Thalmor refused to let almost anyone in a significant portion of SSI, even past the docks of Alinor, kind of supports what I'm saying. Not to mention the writings of them breeding to perfectly keep the appearance of the Aldmer (which I'm holding onto my theory that they are the same thing, really). Also, their old racial ability due to their pure blood? Even the Aldmer who stayed on SSI were those very conservative ones.

We can pretty much tell that the other Mer aren't fond of interracial breeding just by how they treat non Mer, especially the Dunmer who view anyone who isn't a Mer as slave material.

Dagoth Relnav's picture
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Joined: 04/01/2013

Well, to be fair, the Dunmer will enslave anyone, including other Dunmer. They do have a special sense of superiority towards non-mer, though. Especially beastfolk.

Pilaf The Defiler's picture
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Joined: 11/27/2010

It's worth noting, though, that they don't look down on humans nearly as much as they used to back before Tiber's time. Sources mentioning them viewing humans as animals are outdated. Didn't keep them from keeping human slaves - even Imperials - before Helseth outlawed it though.