The lore of the Elder Scrolls games has always been impressive. From the disappearance of the dwarves to the corruption of the snow elves, Bethesda has done a wonderful job of weaving together a lush history that rivals that of any other fantasy setting. This leads in to one of my biggest gripes about Skyrim.

If you aren’t one to read companion books that accompany the newest Bethesda releases, then the events after the end of the Third Era are left largely unknown to you. To fix that, user redphoenix over at gamefaqs has written up a wonderful summary of the events leading up to the current situation in Skyrim. In his opening sentences, he perfectly summarized exactly what i was thinking:

The game references many very important events that the player is never allowed to ask about or learn more about via dialog. We’re tossed into the game with no knowledge of current international events, yet are expected to understand local politics are part of the main quest? Impossible.

To fully understand the civil war in Skyrim, it is absolutely necessary to understand the what, exactly, has transpired in the 200 years since the last gates to Oblivion were closed. When we last left Tamriel, the continent was at peace: fully united, as it always had been, by the Septim Empire with its capital in the Cyrodiil Imperial city. But in Skyrim, Tamriel is a much different place.

His post hits on a little bit of everything: The creation of the Aldmeri Dominion, The split of Hammerfell, The mass exodus of the Dark Elves, and the decline of the empire.

The most impressive thing to note is the amount of time her spent scouring over in-game lore to discover the truth of what happened. There’s no way I could do it. I started out reading every book I came across, but eventually that ended, and soon i was only opening books to see what kind of stat bonus they might hold inside.

You can read his full write-up here

stay tuned for more of the best technology rekated articles