I saw a land called Old Ehlnofey referenced in the 1st Edition PGE. Since it's the home of the Aldmer, I'm intrigued. Does it still exist and are there still Aldmer living there?

http://www.imperial-library.info/obscure_text/nu-hatta_nu-mantia.shtml

It's somewhere east of Eden. If you reach Atlantis you've gone too far.

Wow, that was amazing and intrigueing. So the Ayleids are coming back?

Hm? What do you mean? I don't see how the Ayleid's could "Come back" considering that, as a race, they still do exist, just in small numbers, along with being mixed with other elves.

The Ayleids still exist in the same way that the Romans still exist, or the Han Chinese..yes genetically as a people they exist. But as a culture, as a kingdom, as an Empire they long ago ceased to be.

Mankar Camoran. He wanted to rebuild the Ayleid civilization.

No, Ayleid means secret, or in proper context, "conspirators opposing Empire", aka Tharnatos. Consider the warning Nu-Hatta gave, for considering the Ayleids-as-elves return.

Just like the earliest Chimer who orphaned themselves from the Velothi Exodites, but remain Chimer today, large numbers of Ayleids showed more interest in the immediate earthly needs of agriculture rather than the magical needs of concept-farming. This distinction becomes important later, when "Ayleid" begins to designate other, and ofttimes foreign, agencies.
Here, the Mothpriest warns us of the metaphysical threat, not the cultural. Keep that in mind. Tharnatos became Mythic Dawn, so yes, the Ayleid did return and were defeated.

The Underking has other agents!

You can think of Old Ehlnofey/Aldmeris as Nirn before the land was broken up by waters, Nirn at the time when the gods walked it. Looking for Aldmeris would be like looking for Pangea.

This is how I look at it. In a sense, Aldmeris really was physically sundered, in addition to the figurative cultural sundering.

In a more literal sense, the original Ayleids returned via Umaril too. It could be interpreted either way.

Are Aldmeris/Old Elhnofey the same thing? And isn't it a lost language as well? Kinda like how nobody speaks Latin anymore?

I'd actually compare it to the Tower of Babel.

Except in that story all the men were together building one tower..whereas in this story all the Elves came from Aldmeris, the men from Atmora - except for the Ra'Gada from Yokuda. And the Argonians from Black Marsh. The Khajiit's origins are obscure. Were they elves or not?

all men, mer, and beastfolk (for lack of a better term) originated on Tamriel. Tamriel, and its races, diverged afterwards, and then came together again in the 1st era. Khajiit were elves.

betmer's a better term

The Tower of Babel is a good comparison.

Yokudans didn't come from Tamriel, they came to Tamriel, why they're so radically different from "typical" men is a Dawn story we haven't heard yet; much like Hans the Fox and the ten-thousand kingdoms of spirit-strife...come to think of it no ones had the big brass ones to actively go searching around, Colombus style, since Topal...being scared of the sword-edge of the world isn't a very good excuse in my book...

The devs must have been playing one kick-ass DnD game before the GM started laying down the rules...

uhh, what in the hell are you talking about?

What is the last letter talking about? Im afraid Im completely lost... There are nine "towers" and the central, most important one, is White Gold Tower? What do these towers do?

for (re-)reaching the divine

The elves wanted to converge Mundus with Aetherius, where their gods are, and they built towers, modeled after Akatosh's tower, to do so. Each tower is a unique plan to fulfill their ambitions.

Interesting indeed. What is Akatosh's tower though?
Perhaps I could incorporate some reference to this in my mod? (See sig)

Well, if you hadn't already heard, the towers are some of the most important (and in my opinion most interesting) parts of lore. If you decide to search further, you have two options: http://www.imperial-library.info/obscure_text/nu-hatta_nu-mantia.shtml#4http://www.imperial-library.info/mwbooks/lessons.shtml#21http://www.imperial-library.info/fsg/nalionarticle2.shtml, or take the easy way out and ask some of us to explain it clearly. If you want to compromise, search the forum, http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=1065334&hl=towershttp://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=875080&hl=towershttp://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=1041276&hl=towers&st=0http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=848116&hl=towershttp://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=848116&hl=towers;)

Hope that was enough links to keep you busy for a while



EDIT: Oh, and as to the topic discussion, my favorite http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=940797&view=findpost&p=13615150regarding Ehlnofey is from Tarvok:



Of course, there is little official stuff on the details of the creation you are looking for. Other than that it doesn't interest me enough to really continue

It is the Ur-tower, Ada-Mantia. Its at the center of the Isle of Balifera, and consists of the tower itself (A smooth cylinder of shining metal) and the additional add ons that were built by the Direnni.

Oh, the Admantine tower. I just read about that. i thought that was just one of the 9 (?) Aldmer-built towers.

check out the http://imperial-library.info/obscure_text/nu-hatta_nu-mantia.shtml if you haven't already, its the best source on everything tower releated.