Altbaliche, Their Origin, Ascension and Consolidation

	Much has been written about one of Tamriel’s most famous, if not truly the most famous dynasty. Clan Direnni’s rise from its humble beginnings in Summerset to its eventual takeover of High Rock, where even today the members of the dynasty hold important positions of power, represents one of Tamriel’s most ambitious stories, as well as a major influence on the historical development of Tamriel. Nevertheless, one must not forget that the history of Altmer in High Rock did not begin with the famous dynasty, nor did the dynasty truly enter the political stage until later on.
	The oldest structure in Tamriel, the Adamantine Tower, appears to have been constructed around two and a half millennia before the founding of Valenwood according to archaeologists, when High Rock was said to have still been populated by various beastfolk. After it was left abandoned, the imposing structure remained without an owner for a long time, with the beasts of High Rock avoiding the Tower’s location, the isle of Balfiera. After Topal’s first voyage, the island, along with the other, smaller isles in the Dellese Archipelago, soon became an attractive location for the first settlers who congregated around the Tower.
	An important factor in the growth of Altbaliche estates, as well as the consolidation of power under Clan Direnni, were undoubtedly the many Ayleid and Falmer migration waves that provided Altbal with an important in-flow of Mer. Southern Mer had been moving to Altbal to a limited extent for centuries in search of economic opportunities or space to establish colonies where they could practice their religious beliefs, but it was in the third century of the First Era when the flow of Ayleids truly picked up. The first of these flows, commonly known as the First Great Migration, occurred during the Alessian Slave Rebellion. Although several notable slave rebellions had erupted before 242, it was the open revolt of the Slave Queen that forced many Ayleids to seek refuge in the far-away Altbal.

	When the Ayleids started arriving in Altbal en-masse due to troubles in Cyrodiil, the migration from the east had already come to an end. In Skyrim, the long-lasting conflict between the native Falmer and the colonising Nords that had begun sometime in the late Merethic era was long over. Ever since the arrival of Ysgramor and the Five Hundred Companions in Skyrim, the Falmer were on a constant defensive, relocating west- and southwards due to the onslaught of Atmoran bands. Thousands poured into High Rock as Atmoran, later Nordic, armies lay ruin to their cities and by the time of the reign of High King Harald, Skyrim – save for isolated parts of the Reach – was all but Mer-free. During the initial stages of Nordic expansion, the displaced Falmer population primarily relocated to other sites inside Skyrim, with an ever-increasing flow into Cyrodiil. As the northerners continued their conquest, the route to Cyrodiil only became more crowded and in the west, a new route opened westwards. After all lands east of Hrothgar and north of the Jerall Mountains came under Nordic control, the eastern part of the southern route died down, but traffic into Cyrodiil continued across the Falkreath-Elinhir-Sancre Tor corridor.
	As violent as the Alessian rebellion may have been in certain parts of the Heartlands, it was nevertheless nowhere near as chaotic as the Great Terror, enacted by the fanatical Alessian Order after Alessia’s death, grew to be. The fanatical fervour with which the Alessians forced thousands of Ayleids to flee, first to the sympathetic parts of Cyrodiil, then across the seas, led to whole towns becoming deserted. Considering the mass of Mer that had made Altbal their new home, it is no wonder, then, that by 1E477, Clan Direnni, which had spent more than a century securing power over Altbal, was able to bring most of the peninsula, as well as sizeable portions of the surrounding regions in Hammerfell and Skyrim, under its control.

	By the time of the Direnni Hegemony, one may already speak of a Bretic civilisation; after centuries of intermingling and integration, the landowning elite of Altbal were already composed of a rich mix of pure Altbaliche on one and heavily Nedic Manmer on the other side of the spectrum. Although such order was considered an insult to everything holy among the Altmer of Summerset, the Altbaliche considered it preferable; by embedding and integrating the native Nedic population into their hierarchy, they had established an order based on blood, and bringing some of the Men closer to Mer meant recruiting dynasties loyal to the Hegemony.