On the Origin of the Moron

Volk Rosander: On the Origin of the Moron

	The border between the provinces of Cyrodiil and Valenwood is easy to define: beginning on the Abecean coast at the estuary of the Strid river, it runs in the middle of the main river channel until reaching its end at the point where the Northern Xylo flows into Strid's stream. This very point serves as the meeting point of the two provinces and their neighbour, Elsweyr. But although the river proved a very practical barrier to base a border on, the reality is far less simple. The waterway proved a simple obstacle for many migratory waves, both from the north and the south. Bosmer and Imga tribes (let’s not forget that Marukh himself was a Colovian Imga) thrive north of the river to this day, just as scattered communities of Cyrodils continue their existence in Valenwood, primarily on the Abecean Coast. Nevertheless, the situation throughout history was not always amicable and just like old forts lie scattered all along the border with Elsweyr, so can they be found here.
	The region just east of the Kvetchi Pass and east to the West Weald was for a long time a wild land, only truly settled by Men once the early kingdoms in the region realised the need for a military frontier to the south. The land came to be known as the Moranian (or Moranic) March - an apt name for a land where the forests of Valenwood spill into the Colovian South considering the name’s origin in Altmeris. With time, the military frontier became more civilized; once the Bosmer returned to their disunited, chaotic existence and the population in the frontier region grew enough to accommodate whole cities, the name of the old march retreated from official use. Morania would go on to live among the populace, some of whom saw the label as a badge of honour, in true southern Colovian passion.

	According to the Scriptum Origina, the term "Moron" (also; Maran, Moran, as well as several other forms) is a Cyrodiilic word commonly used colloquially to refer to a dimwitted individual. Alternatively, it is a term used in a number of dialects to refer to anyone from the woods (Ald.: Mora). To many societies, the people of the woods, whether it was the Deep Nibeneans to their more civilised kin in the east or the Crescent Heartlanders to the Colovians of Chorrol, or any other such odd pairings, seemed off in some way; bizzare, strange, perhaps even dimwitted – true Morons. For a long time, ancient maps would mark vast wildlands with warnings of “Ai Morones” – “Here be the Morons”, the use of the label existing as long as those lands were not properly charted and their people brought under civilised rule.