“On Alien Soil”

The Province of Eton-Cka

By Allunarimil Jill-Eyed

Archivist of Mythic Cartography

University of Al-Gemha

Since the days of Dominion-and-Before, little has been made of Eton-Cka, the now-enigmatic Province of the Illymer, or “Outland High Elves,” who left Alinor at the dawn of the Second era over spiritual conflicts with the Wise caste, settling the long-untamed wilds between southern Colovia and Valenwood. Unfortunately, only two written records of the region are currently in our hands; the accounts of the retired Mananaut Walks-In-Void, and the last words of Ythoyinel, the Solar-Vizier of the Bismuth Court. Below, I have catalogued the two for further study.

Journals of Walks-In-Void

“To the north and west is mosseaten jungle, where the oldest cities, built in open emulation of Alinor and Crystal-Law, lie. The east is endless salt flats, broken up by narrow canyons and strange crevices; few live there, save for mistrusted ascetics and half-Nibenese salt miners. The south, toward Arenthia, is a twisted maze of ivy and kudzu, choking the once-verdant graht-oaks in the region.

“The Illymer are quiet, aloof, haunted. Their appearance is not unlike their Altmer ancestors, but with hair and skin in varied shades of grey-brown. Like the Bosmer, their eyes tend to be uniformly black, though exceptions are common. They dress in stylized, drably colored robes and crystalline headdresses, which usually leave briasts and genitalia uncovered. Jewelry is commonplace, usually made from animal-bone, wood, and the myriad of gemstones and crystals that grow in the jungle and saltlands. and They speak an odd mix of Aldmeris, Reman-era Cyrodiilic, and Valenwood-inflected slang.

“Historically, the Illymer tend towards benign isolationism. They remained on uneasily neutral terms with the Alessians, and the Second Empire’s presence in the region never extended beyond scattered military outposts and checkpoints. Trade is common, but usually occurs in border-towns, leaving the deeper cities to their seclusion. Relations with Summerset remain a mystery.

“Their temperament is queer, even by Merrish standards. Humor and merriment are foreign emotions to them, replaced by a constant sense of quiet awe. The more I watch them, the more they seem permanently displaced, as if everything in this world is “wrong” to them.

"They subsist on a diet of rice and raw moss, grown and distributed by a deeply revered caste of edaphomancers and priests of Y'ffre. They eat surprisingly little, usually no more than one meal a day. Oddly, I’ve never seen one sleep; they do take rest at night, but most lie on rooftops or in the grass, silently watching the stars until dawn comes. The sight of a thousand still figures staring at the sky for hours is one of the most eerie I’ve seen in all my travels.

“According to the handful of priests I’ve spoked with, the Illymer worship Merid, a Daedra they claim lead them from Alinor in the shape of a “guiding star,” beckoning them onward to a better world, only for them to find themselves alone on alien soil. They also revere Y’ffre, a loan-god from their Bosmeri neighbors, who they call “the longing for home.” They seem to have all but abandoned the Altmeri tradition of ancestor worship, for reasons I’ve yet to discern. Many of their carvings and sunk-reliefs depict Masser and Secunda, for reasons unknown to me (are you sensing a pattern?) Other than this, the Illymer rarely speak of religion, though they insist it permeates every aspect of their lives.

“The capital of Eton-Cka is the temple-city of Mithyinicil, which the Illymer claim was built on the “landing point” of the first settlers from Alinor. An odd claim, given that the city is landlocked; more evidence for the Council’s theory, I believe. The city is made from chiseled quartz and naturally-occurring bismuth, which the Illymer allow to grow wild in their cities. The outer buildings are mostly stout, loosely packed longhouses, gradually rising into twisted spires and mountainous step pyramids as you approach the heart of the city, all connected by a complicated network of skywalks and bridges. Atop the highest pyramid in the city is a massive, avian skeleton that reflects and distorts the sunlight around it, castings its own image onto every tree and building beneath it. Perhaps it’s best I go into no further detail, should this journal fall into the wrong hands.”

Last Words of Solar-Vizier Ythoyinel

“The one in the black robes is not one of us. I saw his true face last night, when he thought he was alone. His skin flickered, and for a just a moment, I perceived his true nature: he is a [progenitor/biologist], come to take our home from us. But I am too late, I know this; he has destroyed the Sun-Bird’s remain, and the Distant-Sky Tower lies broken. Even now, I see our world convulsing and converging. The earth is swallowing the saltlands, taking every life with them. The Reaper’s March is reclaiming the south, biting into with the jaw of Y’ffre. Color and sound have drained from the world, and each remaining sense follows in their wake.The stars have vanished from Mithyinicil, and the void grows closer with each passing second. I know this now, without a shade of doubt: we do not exist, cannot exist, must not exist.”

█╪1100001110011111111;xxx?-/>-cka-...................1. Subsleev//e 00-108:00Timeframe:?/?/?/?/?

Archive Breached. Signal Source: TEM.

“Misbegotten lies, spread by purveyors of impossibility. Project Designate I-L-Y, or the “Illymer,” as they called themselves, were a failed experiment from a previous age, a doomed attempt at recreating the purestrain-Aldmer from memory alone. Aided by a wayward traitor-goddess, some of the subjects escaped, fleeing their holding-facility for the Starry Heart. From belief alone, they created a home for themselves, between your domain and ours, forcing their parasitic visage into the Pattern of Possibility, inserting themselves into the histories of Man and Mer, though they knew, knew, this world was not their own, and they had no place in it. Consider it a favor and a warning, Sons of Talos, that we removed them. Killing an idea is no different than killing a man. It was not the first time, and it will not be the last.”