Redguards
The Redguards are a race of humans who hail from the lost continent of Yokuda and now reside primarily in the province of Hammerfell.
Due to their swift and decisive conquest of Hammerfell, the Redguards are renowned as the most naturally gifted warriors in Tamriel.
Personality + Traits:
- Their ferocity and versatility is manifested in their personality, which lends itself to why they are most effective as scouts and in small units as opposed to being deployed as rank and file soldiers.
- Their Yokudan heritage left them with advanced seafaring, agricultural, military and even astronomical knowledge that allowed them to thrive in a place where others merely hoped to survive.
- They are a highly disciplined and enterprising people, having centuries of experience with warfare in their homeland before arriving on Tamriel's shores.
- The Redguards' innate agility and high level of endurance allows them to excel in any activity that demands sustained effort.
- They possess above average human strength and agility, and show a remarkable capacity for surviving in hot, dry climates.
- Blessed with a very hardy constitution that allows them to resist poison.
- Redguard skin tone can range from light brown to black and their hair texture ranges from thick and wavy to tightly curled and wiry.
- Tattoos and body piercings are common.
- Many Redguard men show an affinity for beards.
- Redguard society is extremely martial, and nearly everyone is expected to have a grasp of basic weaponry and combat, although only the rulers are generally expected to have detailed knowledge of strategy, formations and tactics.
- Only the strongest, fastest and smartest Redguards are accepted into the demanding military (which consists mainly of various knightly orders; Redguards don't traditionally have a standing army), and they are expected to prove themselves worthy by facing death.
- The practice of magic has generally been frowned upon dating back to the First Era. Many believe that no "true" Redguard would stoop to using magic, considering it a weakness.
- They have a great affinity for horses, and brought many with them to Hammerfell, notably the breed called the Yokudan Charger.
- The constellation of the Warrior and its charges seem to be of great importance in their ancient literature.
- The Redguards are also known for their naval prowess, and their fleets have proved a match for the Empire's best armadas.
- Most of their holidays and traditions seem to revolve around either the celebration of natural phenomena or the commemoration of great battles and warriors.
- When Hammerfell became a province of the Second Empire and demarcated in the Imperial custom, Redguard society was formally divided into two main socio-political groups: the Crowns and the Forebears.
- The Crowns are descended from the High King and the Na-Totambu who ruled in Yokuda; they hold Yokudan tradition in high reverence and greatly dislike foreigners. Their influence has been waning since the last High King perished in 2E 862 and his son, the Crown Prince A'tor, reacted by viciously butchering the Forebear citizenry.
- The Forebears are descended from the Ra Gada warrior class which conquered the province, and in so doing were exposed to many Nedic (and later Breton and Imperial) traditions and ideas, while the ancestors of the Crowns were not. The Forebears seek modernity; they are more cosmopolitan than their Crown counterparts and more welcoming of foreigners and different ways of life.
- Forebears are generally predominant in coastal cities and other major trade centers in the north, while most Crowns live in more secluded regions in the south, notably the deserts and other inhospitable areas.
- In the late Third Era, a third faction emerged. Named the Lhotunics after their founder King Lhotun, they espouse the progressive and cosmopolitan values of the Forebears while maintaining a strong respect for their past, though the specific compromises are not known. The movement is largely political: the Forebear kingdom of Sentinel is uniquely well-suited to forge a compromise between the two Redguard factions because it has been a seat of both Forebear and Crown power, and its economic and military strength has made it one of the most powerful and respected kingdoms in all of Tamriel.
- The events of the Great War (4E 171 – 4E 175) reportedly led to a reconciliation between the the factions.
- Redguards have come to venerate different gods, with the Crowns sticking to the most ancient Yokudan pantheon, while Forebear beliefs have evolved to include many Imperial influences.
- The Crown pantheon includes Satakal and the chieftain Ruptga, or Tall Papa, the first to survive Satakal's destruction. They also venerate Zeht (Yokudan God of Farms), Tall Papa's favorite wife Morwha, Tava (considered equivalent to Kynareth), Onsi (a god of war), and Diagna. Tu'whacca was thought to be the god of "Nobody Really Cares" before the creation of the world, when he became a caretaker and protector of souls (similar to Arkay).
- The Forebear belief system includes several of the Nine Divines recognized by other cultures: Akatosh, Julianos, Dibella, and Stendarr. However, it is often unclear if they have the same understanding of these deities that others possess, as they often use a name of one of the Divines when referring to a Yokudan deity. For instance, they continue to venerate the Bird God Tava, a favorite among many Redguard sailors, but they have been known to call her Kynareth. Similarly, they may refer to Tu'whacca as Arkay, Zeht as Zenithar, and the four-armed fertility goddess Morwha as Mara.
- There are several other deities with significant Redguard cults among both Crowns and Forebears. Leki, the Saint of the Spirit Sword and divine daughter of Tall Papa, is credited with helping the Yokudans before their war against the Lefthanded Elves in the Mythic Era. The HoonDing, the Make Way God, is the Yokudan spirit of perseverance over infidels, and is said to materialize when the Redguard need to "make way" for their people. They believe this spirit appeared twice during the Ra Gada invasion. There is also the "Horde King" Malooc, an enemy of the Ra Gada who led goblins against them in the First Era. And finally, Sep, believed to be the Yokudan variant of Lorkhan.
- The Horsemen tribe of High Rock have substantially different religious beliefs than their brethren. They venerate a divine animist spirit they call the HerdMother. Their tradition holds that they left Yokuda in order to freely worship this equine deity.
- When a Redguard dies, priests typically perform a consecration ritual in the name of Tu'whacca at their funeral. Some also practice mummification of the dead.
- Though the Redguards abhor necromancy, their religion has also led them to abhor any sort of interaction with the undead.
- The Far Shores, also called the Far Dunes, is the afterlife sought by the Redguards.
Redguards and Other Races:
- The Redguards scorned their neighbors initially, and didn't even trade with them until after their worth had been proven in the successful Siege of Orsinium circa 1E 980.
- They were absorbed into the Second Empire sometime during the Reman Dynasty.
- They have never truly been defeated by any invading force since their arrival in Tamriel. From Tiber Septim to the Aldmeri Dominion, none have been able to completely assimilate the Redguards, much less defeat them outright.
- King Camaron of Sentinel would be killed during the War of Betony in 3E 403, a short but vicious land dispute with Daggerfall over the eponymous island of Betony. The aftermath brought a lot of bad blood between the Bretons and Redguards of the Iliac Bay region.
- The Redguards of eastern Hammerfell harbored a fierce grudge against Skyrim, and yearned for a chance to take back land that was seized during the War of the Bend'r-mahk in 3E 396.
- The Redguards refused to accept the White-Gold Concordat and suffered mass devastation all over southern Hammerfell in their long, though successful, repulsion of the Dominion's invasion. Many Redguards remain bitter over the Empire's abandonment and believe that their triumph is proof that the Concordat was a mistake, and the Empire would have succeeded had it fought on.
Comments