User:Vordur Steel-Hammer/Fiction/On the Diversity of Tamrielic Climate

On the Diversity of Tamrielic Climate

by Vordur Steel-Hammer, geographer of the United Explorers of Scholarly Pursuits

An overview of theories explaining the diversity of the climate of Tamriel

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Every experienced traveler, such as myself, knows how diverse the Tamrielic environment is. Our continent offers every type of terrain and vegetation one can imagine: from the frozen wasters of Winterhold, the Pale, Haafingar and upper Wrothgar, through arid deserts of the Alik'r, Fallen Wastes or Anequina and temperate areas such as Cyrodiil and southern High Rock, to the humid jungles of Valenwood and Pellitine, and steamy marshes of Blackwood and Black Marsh. A scholar's curiosity immediately generates numerous questions: what governs the climate of various parts of Tamriel? Why, for example, isn't Alik'r a frozen wasteland full of glaciers, and why are there no jungles in Skyrim? Has it always been so? Is the climate constant, or can it change?

At first glance, the climate seems to depend mainly on latitude, which suggests that the relative position of the sun may be involved. The chronicles of Ysgramor's Five Hundred Companions, "Songs of the Return", mention the "chilling shores" and glaciers of Atmora, suggesting that the northern continent's climate might be similar to that of northern Skyrim and northern Solstheim (although one can only guess, since no one has seen Atmora for hundreds, if not thousands, of years). Conversely, the southern realms of Tamriel are hot and humid, as is the island kingdom of Pyandonea, located deep in the southern ocean. That might lead one to a conclusion that the more north one goes, the colder it gets. However, while this statement is true for many regions, it is not for many others. While some cases of those anomalies can be easily explained, like the volcanic activity in Morrowind being responsible for it being warmer than areas of the same latitude in Skyrim, other cases exist with no obvious answer. There are several different theories on this matter.

Some scholars are inclined to believe that anomalies like the hot deserts of Hammerfell and the lack of snow in the Rivenspire region of northern High Rock is caused by natural phenomena, like ocean currents, warming the air over the shores of the Abecean Sea, or the isolation of the Topal Bay being the cause of the lack of jungle vegetation in the Blackwood area of Cyrodiil. Others try to explain this with mystical or religious reasons, arguing that, for example, different Aedra were involved in creating different regions of Tamriel (which, of course, can't be confirmed by any means), and the climate of a given region is a reflection of an Aedric entity which put the greatest effort in shaping it. But perhaps the most interesting theory I heard came from the Doyen, and it employed a very mysterious concept known as the Tower Lore.

In short, the Tower Lore assumes existence of several mystical joint-points in Tamriel, known as "the Towers". Some of these points are said to be tied to environmental features, like the Snow Throat, the Red Tower or the Green-Sap. At other points, artificial structures have been constructed, usually literal towers, including the Adamantine Tower, and then the White-Gold and Crystal-Like-Law after it.

One of the most important properties of a Tower is its alleged ability to "shape the reality" around it to suit the needs of its "masters". A well-known theory by Lady Cinnabar of Taneth tries to explain mentions about jungles in Cyrodiil by claiming that it was a jungle when the Ayleid were the masters of the White-Gold Tower, and then, when the Ayleid empire was overthrown by the Cyro-Nords, who preferred cooler environments, the tower changed the climate to better suit its new masters.

This theory can be further extended: it is not hard to imagine the jungles of southern Tamriel as a result of the influence of the Green-Sap, or the paradisiacal Summerset Isles being shaped by the Crystal-Like-Law. Likewise, the Red Tower would respond to the needs of the ash-skinned, struggle-loving Dunmer, by giving them a realm which would constantly test their survival skills, and the Snow Tower would shape the climate Skyrim to remind the Nords of the lost Atmora. An interesting conclusion that may be drawn from this theory is that the gloomy landscape of Rivenspire might be a result of the Ayleid's failed attempt to create the Tower of Doomcrag.

Thus, there are many theories explaining the diversity of Tamrielic climate, but we do not know which one of them is true. And perhaps we never will.