Then where do all the Legions that are in Cyrodiil stay?

as well as garrisoned at smaller towns for the purpose of patrol.

Because they decided not having many factions nor many choices and replaced the legion forts with underground dungeons, maybe? :shakehead:

Before just simply assuming that the various fort ruins were and are gaffs on the part of gamesas, let us explore another, more lore-friendly, explanation.

First, we must remember that Cyrodiil itself is a mesh of two culturally distinct regions, Colovia and Nibenay, each of which had their own governments and dislike of the other. In fact, the two regions had warred with one another on more than one occasion.

Colovia, in particular, was known as "The Colovian Estates", which was a patchwork of petty kings. (Yes, I know that there are similar fort ruins in the Nibenay region, but just hear me out on this end.) In fact, Cuhlecain, Emperor Zero, was one of these petty kings. One can assume that each king, warring with his neighbors, especially during the dark times between the Second and Third Empire, known as The Interregnum, would lead one to believe that forts such as those found in ruins now would have been popular.

Now that we have explained how the ruins could have likely come about, now we must explain why they lie in ruin and not in upkeep. For this explanation, I will point to High Rock and how the Septim Empire dealt with their forts.

"This bucolic landscape is marred by the grim fortifications that perch atop every hill and crag, a reminder of the constant warfare that has been the scourge of the province. In the past, each petty lord, secure in his castle, enriched himself with tribute from all who traversed his domain, a circumstance clearly incompatible with the free flow of commerce. Now Tiber Septim has begun a program of demolition of these myriad fortresses, a wise policy that should facilitate prosperity while removing a potential refuge for subversives." (PGE 1st ed.: High Rock)

Now couple the quote above with this statement regarding a certain action taken by Tiber Septim during his initial conquest of Tamriel: "After the complete and total defeat of all his opponents, Septim began using Numidium to crush the neutral royal families of Tamriel so that he could enthrone only persons he knew to be loyal." (The Story of Daggerfall: The Numidium)

I would, therefore, conclude that the reason that the forts lie in ruins is due to their being controlled by the various royal households that made up the Colovian Estates and the Nibenay Region during the Interregnum and Septim Conquest. Tiber Septim had them destroyed to remove them as refuges for his enemies, encourage free trade throughout his new Empire, enthrone new people for the regions that he could trust, forbidding their resurrection and/or upkeep to prevent the same from rising in the future.



Yours in the Scrolls,


___The Word Merchant of Julianos

Which of the cyrodiilic empires are the forts from?

I will repost http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?s=&showtopic=846081&view=findpost&p=12314906 on the fate of the forts herein for your convenience, for my thoughts on the subject have not changed.

I like it. In fact, I believe my mind will be pretty much at peace now regarding this detail.

So fine - let the old forts fall into disrepair. But having at least some fortifications functional would make the whole deal a lot more believable.

Thanks for the info, everyone.

I like it. In fact, I believe my mind will be pretty much at peace now regarding this detail.

However, the lack of Legion fortifications in Cyrodiil remains absurd. With all the insinuations about how unstable the Empire really is and the seriousness of military presence we witnessed in Morrowind (and can extrapolate to Black Marsh and possibly other "problematic" provinces), Cyrodiil would house Legion reserves at least. Consider that only six years prior to the Oblivion Crisis there was an acute threat from the rise of Dagoth Ur.

So fine - let the old forts fall into disrepair. But having at least some fortifications functional would make the whole deal a lot more believable.

and besides, didnt we heard troughout Morrowind that the Legion was recalled to Cyrodiil because of unrest? Beth forgot about their own lore.

Sutch would have had an active fort had the city not been cancelled, the only clue to its existence in game being a dialogue error in the fighters guild and an old map. Bizarrely, the quest where a group of imperial legionaires ask you to defend the fort remains, despite the fact that it is now a ruin filled with marauders who would do a better job of defense than the legion anyway.