[Much of the journal is faded or burnt, leaving only parts of one entry legible]

… and with that business behind me, my voyage would bring me to the western parts of the Imperial province: Colovia. Called the "breeding pen of Nibenese kings" in jest. Something I knew to keep to myself as I passed through the gates of Chorrol.

[Attached fragment] … while many kings came from the West, they are quickly assimilated by the Nibenese…

Were it not for the temperature and lack of snow, one could be mistaken that one was in a Nordic Hold, rather than a Cyrodilic County. Its people are tall and imposing and every statesman’s uniform consists of some of the finest leather armor Tamriel has to offer(or so they would say). Justice is brutal and swift, barely more civilized than the horrors described in the time of Rislav the Righteus. Duels to first blood, or worse, appear to be common, at least here in the mountain county. I hear them invoke rules for the duels from all the Colovian Counties though. I am glad my companion knows to watch his tongue; I’m not in strict need of another pair of leather boots…

… and at the castle. The heirs to the throne train with the local Legion troops, as if just another soldier in the mix. An officer, clearly annoyed that I dared question him during drills, said all Colovian Counts and Countesses were in the Legion…

[Margin]I don’t think I heard Akatosh’s name uttered once in my visit to Colovia. Shor and Kyne, on the other hand, I swore I could hear all the time.

… as I sat beneath the Great Oak. Y'ffre has surely blessed the city, for His voice can surely be heard by all the faithful who meditate beneath its branches. A local wise(insane?) man said it was nothing like the Gildergreen, once a sapling of…

[Fragmented attachment]… so, behold honorable Olaf One-Eye! For bringing peace to the Land of Man, I gift your city with a sapling! Go forth and tell that I, the Eldest, bless you in Kyne’s name…

The Colovians have a curious relationship to Skyrim, the Fatherland, it seems. There is no secret that they consider themselves the better people, more civilized and the superior soldiers. And perhaps they are right. The Ruby Ranks have long benefited from Colovian discipline and muscle.

But the ways of the Nords, their religion and martial nature, is held in high regard here. More than the Nibenese customs. They see themselves as Children of Skyrim, in a sense. Heirs to the Fatherland. It is only to be expected; Nordic bloods runs deep here, from commoner to the count and his nobles. I wonder if even they can tell the difference, were it not for the accent many Nords have. I’ve noticed they don’t like me much. I think it’s because I am Bosmer…

[Fragmented attachment]… as the Five Year War broke out on the Valenwood/Elseweyr border, the Colovians sealed their own. They did not want refugees flooding into their kingdoms…

… Skingrad is not what it once was. Much of the farmland has been restored since the Great War, but there is an air of unease. Most of the buildings out around the city are temporary, even now, and everyone who can returns in behind the walls of what was once the Jewel of Old Colovia. Only the poorest of the workers live in the provided housing by the fields. The fear of Aldmeri soldiers marching out from the forests of Valenwood to the south is still very real here. The vineyards aren’t what they used to either. Even with the Legion guarding the south…

[Fragmented attachment] To His Honor, Count Adrian Valga, Legate of the West Weald Legion, 4E94.

… the restoration of Kvatch goes well, all things considered, but I fear the city will never be the same…

… seems that there have been many Khajiit coming to this city lately. They are dissatisfied with the Empire. They say the Dominion is slowly pushing its borders into their lands. The cats are afraid they too may be subject to a coup soon and hoped the Empire would do more to protect them…

… hopefully you can spare some men, as we cannot…

… Anvil is strife with fear. Its citizens remember how easy it was for the Dominion to move through their lands and they fear that their city may receive more attention should hostilities break out again. The Count decided to remarry, surely out of a sense of desperation: the daughter of the Count and Countess of Kvatch is fleshy and rumors say she has more hair than a man. But Kvatch is the only city close and the alliance might save…

… and with that, I am glad to see Colovia left behind me. While not as unpleasant as I imagined it would be(as long as I kept to myself. I’ll carry the scar for being too curious for the rest of my life), Colovia is too close to the Dominion to settle down in. It will be on the front lines when the war resumes…