Ted Peterson on High Rock and Summerset - Culture
by Ted Peterson
This interview with Ted Peterson was conducted in 2021 by Atharaon on behalf of The Eltheriad, a fan project to write and illustrate a primer on Aldmeri/Western Tamrielic religious and cosmogonic beliefs from the Early Merethic Era onwards. He notes that, "The following answers aren't meant to constrain present and future writers, but give a clearer understanding of the older lore and Ted's thoughts on how it could be presented.". These comments were originally archived by The Imperial Library.
- Atharaon:
- "In TES1, it was said the Bretons descended from the "Druids of Galen". Can you tell us anything about them?"
- Ted:
- "I don't know anything about them, sorry."
- Atharaon:
- "The Daggerfall Chronicles only list dates from the First Era onwards. Was the "Merethic Era" a thing back then or was it only invented after TES2?"
- Ted:
- "I'm sure the Merethic Era was around back then. Did we not mention it in Daggerfall? I think I possibly made up the word, so I'd be surprised if it wasn't. But we did have an idea of it, yes."
- Atharaon:
- "Later lore told us the original people in the land were Aldmer. Was that something that was planned? Do you have any opinions on that?"
- Ted:
- "Yeah that's about right. I mean, it wouldn't surprise me if some of the Breton history was actually elven and it's being reclaimed by them now. It's a big topic currently."
- Atharaon:
- "I know that the name Direnni came from Julien's roleplaying campaign, and that you had originally said they were a noble family that came to power for a time in the First Era. Later lore says they actually discovered the Tower in the middle Merethic Era and subsequently mixed with Nedes to create the Bretons. So we end up with this weird discrepancy about when they arrived. You also portrayed them as Bretons in TES2. Did you ever imagine Direnni elves in High Rock at that time predating Bretons?"
- Ted:
- "Well, the Bretons were always intended to be semi-elves, right? And the Direnni are Bretons in that sense. Just older and with more elven heritage. I like the idea that they were actually the original Bretons, but their history is mixed up. They were always meant to be this backwards noble family, impoverished now, but with a lot of influence in the past. They're on the decline. I see them like the Medicis of the First Era - doing a lot of good, sponsoring artists and so on, but also kind of... 'fascist' bastards. They're supershady, claiming stuff they didn't do. They've claimed the history of the elves who came before them."
- Atharaon:
- "So you mean whatever Aldmer discovered the Tower and settled the lands in the Merethic weren't necessarily Direnni, but the Direnni are claiming that they were?"
- Ted:
- "Yes. It's shady."
- Atharaon:
- "Do you think the Aldmer of ancient High Rock came from Summerset or were they always there?"
Ted:
- "I think they came from Summerset a long, long time ago. Way back at the start."
- Atharaon:
- "How do you pronounce Kambria?"
- Ted:
- "I'm from the midwest and we pronounce all sorts of stuff weird. Don't ask me!"
- Atharaon:
- "Well I'm keen to know how you personally would pronounce it."
- Ted:
"KAYM-bria."
- Atharaon:
- "Did you develop any background information on any of the city-states of the Iliac Bay, like their history and culture, when they were founded? If so, is any of this still possible to access? Particularly the areas of Kambria and Dwynnen."
- Ted:
- "There was some on Dwynnen (pronounced to rhyme with "linen") since we had a D&D campaign based around Baron Othrok, but not a lot of lore for anywhere else. I don't know when they were founded."
- Atharaon:
- "A number of factions didn't make it into the game. Do you remember anything about the intentions for the Gryphon Knights faction? What about the Knights of the Isle?"
- Ted:
- "I'm not sure about the Gryphon Knights. Usually, the knights were the protectors of a particular faction or kingdom, so they'd take their name from the symbol that represents it. If there's a territory or faction with a gryphon symbol, that's where they'd belong. Not sure about the Knights of the Isle, but I'd imagine they represent Balfiera. Betony is too small to have its own order."
- Atharaon:
- "What was the story behind the Horn of Summoning? How did it work?"
- Ted:
- "I have no recollection of that, sorry."
- Atharaon:
- "Broken Diamonds has a song in Old Bretic which mentions the "Sephavre Souls of our fathers" - can you tell us what that means?"
- Ted:
- "I don't recall."
- Atharaon:
- "You've said there were Ayleids in almost every province of Tamriel. Did you envision them as having extensive territories even outside of Cyrodiil or was this due to their later exile?"
- Ted:
- "They were based in Cyrodiil, but spread outside that province after the collapse of their civilisation (1E 243)."
- Atharaon:
- "When did the Orcs first come to High Rock? You've said in The Pig Children that they've been terrorising the lands of the Bjoulsae since at least the early years of the First Era. What do you make of ESO suggesting Orcs existed there since the Dawn and may have a claim to all of the northeast?"
- Ted:
- "There's something about the Wrothgarian Mountains that draws the orcs to them. If they weren't always there, they definitely wanted to be. They're like a diaspora that wants to return home. Without being political about it, it's a bit like the situation with Israel. They feel compelled to return to the Mountains. I don't know what the reason is but that was the idea."