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The Rise and Fall of the Ayleid Empire - An Elder Scrolls Lore Deep Dive

Blind Moth

200,009 views

The Ayleids were one of the greatest civilisations in Tamriel's history. If you've played Oblivion, you've almost certainly seen their ruins dotted around Cyrodiil - and you might be wondering why they aren't seen in Skyrim. In their golden age, the Ayleids built the first state in Tamriel worthy of being called on Empire - but it would soon come crashing down around them. Now, all that remains are ruins, and half-remembered myths about this fabled people. But the story of their decline and fall is not as simple as it appears - and is much darker than it seems on the surface.

Was it pride and arrogance that caused the ultimate doom of the Ayleid civilization - or was it something more insidious? Is it simply the case that all civilizations, no matter how mighty, are destined to one day crumble to dust? These are the questions we will seek to answer today, as we explore the rise and fall of the Ayleids - exploring everything from their origins, to their culture, magical prowess, and fearsome sorcerer-kings. Settle in, and enjoy this hour-long deep-dive into one of the Elder Scrolls' most fascinating cultures.

Chapters:
0:00 - Prologue: Shadow of the Fatherwood
03:10 - Origins and Early History
09:07 - The Anuad
11:53 - The Golden Age
18:23 - Magic from the Sky
21:55 - Elder Knowledge
25:28 - Lords of Misrule
35:32 - Schism and Civil War
38:02 - The Alessian Rebellion
43:08 - The Fall of the Citadel
47:21 - The Long Decline
53:02 - The Ayleid Diaspora
58: 32 - The Revivalists
1:02:32 - Umaril’s Return
1:09:02 - A New Merethic Era?
1:12:18 - Outro

All footage taken from The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - Remastered; the Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and the Elder Scrolls Online. The Elder Scrolls Series is the property of Bethesda - I own nothing. Please don't sue me, Todd!

#elderscrolls #oblivion #skyrim #eso #morrowind #lore

20 Comments

@Dr.Richtofen9873 8 months ago

Ready to fall asleep to this and wake up on a cart crossing the border 🙏

@Vehk_of_Vehk 7 months ago

48:06 "Nedic" is a catch all term for all of the various human tribes and cultures of the Merethic and First era

@Donvalerio 4 months ago (edited)

“Dad why is my sister called Rose?”
Because your mother loved roses”
“Thanks for explaining dad”
“No problem Rise and Fall of the Ayleid empire - an elderscrolls lore deep dive”

@rayanderson5797 8 months ago

That intro reminded me strongly of "Fall of Civilizations", which is very appropriate.

@Kill3rballoon 8 months ago

I always like the idea that the Birdfolk never actually existed, and that they were actually just the Elven Ayleids who were actually natives of Tamriel. The reason for the story is that the Altmer wanted to use this Aldmer record to perpetuate the story that all Mer came from Summerset even though there’s a lot of evidence that many Elves did not (Dwemer, Bosmer and Falmer all seem to predate Ald/Altmer arrival). This would explain why the “birdfolk” already spoke the same Ehlnofey language when the Aldmer arrived, they were not parroting it unknowingly, only to make Topal their king as thanks for giving them language (again, that story would suggest they have a concept of rulership but didn’t have a language? Seems unlikely), they spoke Ehlnofey because they were Elves, and it was so close to the Dawn era that the two languages hadn’t diverged much. This would also explain why there is no evidence of them outside the Topal story, and no mention of the kind of mass-migration from Summerset that would be required to make the Ayleid Empire. The whole bird story is not literal, the Ayleids just wore a lot of bird decoration that is common in Cyrodill (the Alessian Empire also having a lot of feathered aesthetics) so the Aldmer were just like “I guess they’re bird people” (as in people who like birds, not literal bird-people) and later Altmer used it as justification for their cultural superiority (probably also why they refer to them as bird “men” as they aren’t keen on humans either)

@Joey-rs7uq 3 months ago

Even though it sounds so horrible. I can't help but wonder what Ayleid gut gardening looks like.

Imagine hedges made of intestines, and flowers that are hearts, organs and eyes of different colors? Then you have to have the slaves clean the organ plants so they don't get infected and dried out, and feed the poor people who were turned inside out to make these gardens. Then have the end of the digestive tract connected to the sewers hopefully. With how twisted the Daedric Ayleids were they'd probably want the person to be aware and feeling the pain for it all.

I wish Ayleid ruins had more oomph, their history alone sounds more interesting than just pretty ruins and glowy stones, which is what you mostly see everywhere. Have one of the Ayleid lichs spend the last 2-3k years perfecting gut gardening for one of the ruins, it would be so interesting! Maybe have it start cause people go missing in the local town, since the lich needed some organ plant replacement parts for his garden.

@mruss381 8 months ago

I never bothered to read up on the Ayleid lore. This was nicely done

@TheCatWithTheGat 7 months ago

Sometimes i just wanna escape this world into Nirn

@jimmygunnz5651 2 months ago

I would kill for a Topal the Pilot exploration game where you can explor, discover and name animals and places across Tamriel.

@bakingdoll 8 months ago

Loving these lore deep dives, they are keeping me invested in the Tamriel world as we wait for TES6

@EpicSOB_ 8 months ago

I had no idea that origin mythology came from this particular culture. Yes I'm avoiding actually saying what either of those things are called because I can't remember how to spell them and I can't check while on mobile

@jip4709 6 months ago

Song of Pelinal should be a movie. The script is already there

@ryankerins361 7 months ago

What I'm really wondering is how did Pelinal tear out anybody's neck with his teeth If he never took off his helmet??

@Gorette66 5 months ago

I would to see a deep-dive video detailing the history the Falmer, from their glory days when were known as Snow Elves, up to their current state as the twisted and malformed creatures that plague Skyrim.