EveryElder Scrollsgame to date has taken place on one continent: Tamriel. The games explore so little beyond that land mass' shores that many fans assume Tamriel to be the name for the entire world of Nirn.The Elder Scrolls 6needs to break from tradition and take players to another continent.
The Elder Scrolls 6faces some unique challenges. WithSkyrimapproaching its 10th anniversary and likely to hit its 15th beforeThe Elder Scrolls 6releases, the game will face gargantuan expectations. With that in mind, Tamriel may no longer be the best setting for the nextElder Scrollsgame.
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The Problem With Tamriel
Tamriel has been the setting ofeveryElder Scrollsgameso far, but as a setting, it now faces some problems it didn’t whenSkyrimreleased. Although earlierElder Scrollsgames has taken players to each province in the land, the realization of the continent was hugely limited by the technology of the time.Morrowind,OblivionandSkyrimbrought their worlds to life in a way that simply wasn’t possible when the first game released, making Vvardenfell, Cyrodiil and Skyrim worth revisiting in the more recent games.
The lack of recent direct depictions of these provinces left many of the areas of Tamriel which hadn’t been seen sinceArenacloaked in mystery.Skyrimplayers can hear tell of the greatHist trees of Black Marsh, or the walking cities of Valenwood. Many of the areas beyondSkyrimseem genuinely alien, with races like the Argonians and the Khajiit giving only a small glimpse into some of the mysteries waiting to be uncovered elsewhere on the continent.
The Elder Scrolls Onlinerendered parts of every province in Tamriel.ESOdidn’t render Tamriel as a single seamless world, instead opting to explore pockets of different provinces. Nonetheless,Elder Scrollsfans got a taste of the entire continent. WhileThe Elder Scrolls Onlinehas a huge mapthat dwarfs the last three games in size, it also made the world feel much smaller by revealing so much of Tamriel.
If the franchise is going to make players feel like they’re entering into a truly unexplored world, its best bet is leaving Tamriel behind. The world itself has always been the main aspect ofThe Elder Scrollsgames, which are known for their open world rather than the character-driven narratives found inRPG series likeMass Effect. While the next game could return to a previously-seen province of Tamriel, it should not do so if it wants fans to be struck with the same sense of mystery they felt seeing Tamriel’s provinces for the first time sinceArena.
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The Unexplored Lands Of Nirn
There area few places thatThe Elder Scrolls 6could go if it leaves Tamriel behind. Akavir is a large continent to the east of Tamriel, and there are a few races which have been revealed to live there.The Tsaesciare a supposedly snake-like race that has yet to appear directly in-game. In some sources, it is implied that they may simply be a race of men from Akavir.
Akavir is also known to include a nation called Kamal, which is said to be inhabited by a race of snow demons. The Tang Mo are described as a monkey-like Beastfolk race. The Tang Mo have an alliance withthe Ka Po’Tun, a tiger-like Beastfolk race ruled over by the divine Tosh Raka, also known as the Tiger-Dragon. Once again, however, unambiguous physical descriptions are hard to find, and it’s possible that this is a misunderstanding on the part of writers in Tamriel. In any case, it gives Bethesda a lot of flexibility if Akavir ends up being the setting of the next game
The Elder Scrolls 6could also take players west tothe lost continent of Yokuda, which was originally the home of the Redguard race, who lived there in perpetual war with the Sinistral Elves. The continent also had its own unique pantheon of gods. In 1E 792, a disaster took place which is believed to have destroyed the continent. Its destruction, however, has never been completely confirmed.
Some sources suggest that the Redguards destroyed the continent to travel west, but the lack of elaboration seems suspicious. It seems possible thatthe Sinistral Elvescould have driven the Redguards out before hiding their land with magic. However Bethesda pulls it off, the continent has been the subject of little enough elaboration to allow for its easy reintroduction into the world.
There are other unexplored locations in Nirn which could feature in the next game. Aldmeris is the continent thatthe High Elvesclaim Elves and humans both came from. Atmora is said to be where the Nords originated, though it is also said to be extremely cold and may be too similar to Skyrim. Finally, there’s Pyandonea, the home of the Sea Elves. This island continent is described as a playground for water spirits, but little else is known about it.
Leaving Tamriel
AnElder Scrollsgame set after the events ofSkyrimcould see a group of refugees arrive in any one of these places. They might be fleeing the Aldmeri Dominion. Thelore betweenOblivionandSkyrimcertainly suggests that the Empire’s days are numbered, especially with the Emperor’s assassination by the Dark Brotherhood inSkyrim. If the game is set far enough in the future, players might even arrive in a corner of one of these continents where the familiar races of Tamriel have already etched out a living and begun to build their own towns and cities.
Leaving Tamriel would open up a literal world of possibilities, injecting new life into the series' setting by allowing it to explore totally new kingdoms, races, and conflicts.The Elder Scrolls 6’s settingcould be anywhere in Tamriel, but if it’s going to create a world worth exploring again, it needs to leave the continent behind.
The Elder Scrolls 6is currently in development.
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