Part III: The Great Merran Empire (Asylon Supplement)

The Second Era, lasting some 8,000 years and known most commonly as the Age of the Great Merran Empire, begins with the tale of Goht.

Goht was, of course, the being who unwittingly sacrificed his life to lift the veil between our world and Aether, unleashing the power of magic on Irte for better or worse. His apprentice, Acharyai, raised an army and culture of fierce, magic-wielding beings who were eventually transformed into the Merrans, the forerunners of all Mer in Aina today.

This band led by Acharyai swept across the lands of Aina, subjugating all that it encountered. The legends relate that when the People of Acharyai came upon another tribe, they immediately killed the chieftan and demanded obediance. Those tribes that submitted became slaves, while those that resisted were utterly obliterated. In this way, over the course of a handful of generations the People of Acharyai came to both unite a vast portion of the land under a common rule, as well as eradicate all races and peoples not seen in the lands of Aina today. It is unknown whether each of the names mentioned in the legends of the rise of the People of Acharyai refer to tribes or whole races (because of how many fledgling races existed at the time, it is suspected that it could be both), but as the list numbers well over two hundred, modern historians regard this period as one of the greatest tragedies in the history of existence.

After some 80 years of conquest, an aged Acharyai settled in the southern lands of Aina and--with the power of magic and his suspected millions of slaves--crafted a worthy seat for his empire. This great fortress was named "Adabal av Acharyaie" or "The God Stone of Acharyai," and is recounted in legends as a veritable mountain of strength and power. Containing level upon level of ramparts, towers, gardens, and courtyards, it is described as a "great land of paradise" in nearly all of the legends. It's ruins make up the entirety of the island of Hala'ini in Southern Hikipale, and--if Bosmeri reports are to be believed--a vast expanse of the surrounding ocean floor.

Acharyai's last act as leader of The Chosen--the Merrans--was to appoint his successor. Records indicate only that his name was Haromir, found in Astius Duro's work Great Ancestors: a Census of The Peoples of Legend. In Haromir's time, he furthered the dream of Acharyai, building lavish palaces and temples all over the land of Aina, paving incredible roadways on the backs of his vast slave empire. The Great Merran Empire was a beautiful paradise for the Merrans, and a hellish life of labor for their slaves. Haromir was also the first of the Merran kings to notice another of the benefits of access to magic: longevity. Whereas Acharyai lived to the age of 93--venerable but not unheard of for his tribe--Haromir lived for 213 years, and his descendants continued to live longer and longer.

The most interesting conflict in this age is between the Merrans and the Ra Gada, a fierce kingdom of warriors from the Northwest of Aina. Originally they had settled in the plains of central Aina, but were driven into the northern mountains by constant attacks from the Merrans. They are notable in that they are the only recorded group during this age to neither succumb to nor be destroyed by the Merrans. On the contrary, they are said to be a race as adept and passionate about defense and protection as the Merrans were about magic and expansion. Throughout the 8,000 years of the Second Era, countless legends regale us tales of incredible heroism and bravery on behalf of the Ra Gada: first to protect other, less powerful races, then to protect their homelands, and finally to protect themselves, locked within their great Northern fortresses. No matter how dire things became for the Ra Gada, their collective will never faltered, and they always managed to break the siege of the Merran Empire, even if only for a time.

While all of this was going on in the North of Aina, the Merran Empire was busy with their magical experiments in the Southern reaches of the land. Dhaunayne Diamondeye recounts in her book Fallen: Magic Then and Now that while the Merrans had magical knowledge and ability far greater than our own, their undisputed greatest ability was with transmutation. It is said that they created several races, of which the Hressh and Ra'Virr still survive to this day. These races were created no doubt as more powerful slaves, and it many scholars believe that the only reason why the Hressh and Ra'Virr survive is because they were more powerful than the Merran Empire expected, and broke free of their bonds.

It is also suspected that these two races were created last, just before the time of the Great Cataclysm, and that they might have survived merely by chance. In the collapse of their entire world, the Merrans would have had little time to look after slave races that had no yet been subjugated and conditioned as servants, giving the Hressh and the Ra'virr time to escape into the wide world. Regardless, it is commonly believed that most of the slave races of the Merran Empire were destroyed in the Cataclysm, and that these are the only two that remain.

DMs Only:

The Ra Gada are the ancestors of the Kronians, which explains modern tensions between Kronians and Altmer. Not only this, but part of the power of transmutational mastery of the Altmer allowed them not only to turn into, but to _create_ the race of Dragons. Dragons--unknown to anyone living today--Merrans that went through an elaborate transformation ritual, sacrificing much of their magical power for physical prowess and immortality. The physiology of modern dragons changes with their emotions, and chromatic dragons are classically "evil" because their alignment toward the actions of the Great Merran Empire have _changed_ them into chromatic dragons. Metallic dragons are similar: the incredible burden of regret they feel has caused their skin to turn metallic. Perhaps the least-known event from the time of the Great Merran Empire is that Griffons--similar to dragons--are the transformation of another race: the Ra Gada. Seemingly without magical means (perhaps the most incredible event since the descent of magic itself) the Ra Gada somehow found a way to turn themselves into Griffons, most likely as a countermeasure against Merran Dragons. This explains not only the similar levels of power and might between Dragons and Griffons, but also their inability to reproduce AND their long emnity. P.S. - Griffons and Dragons HATE EACH OTHER. Those Ra Gada who became Griffons actually sacrificed themselves to the service of Unitsirte, and she turned them into the first Griffons.

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