Lore talk:Colovia

Colovian History in 1E/with the Alessian Empire

I think Lore:Colovia, and as an extension any Colovian lore on other pages, needs an overhaul when it comes to early Colovian history (1E 200s - 1E 2000s). That is mostly centered around the relation of the Colovian West with the Alessian Empire. Some pages try to avoid this problem, some try to be coy with details, some assume Colovia was a part of the Empire from the start and throughout its existence, some present Colovia as independent at times.

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I am here to present research into Colovian History with the Alessian Empire: - It would seem Colovia was originally part of the Empire, but seceded when the Alessian Doctrines went into effect in the 1E 360s. As much is said by: PGE1 establishes that the Colovian West gained independence sometime after the Alessian Doctrines went into effect and remained so until the War of the Rigteousness. By the time of the Alessian Reformation, the Westerners were firmly in a position, both geographically and socially, to resist its doctrines. Hammerfell, its northern border state, was now protected by its own holy-avenging order, the Ra Gada, whose bloody intolerance for foreigners acted as West Cyrodiil's buffer against the Alessian priesthood. The pantheon of Eight Divines, therefore, survived unchecked in Western Cyrodiil, and relations with the increasingly Alessian East became strained. Ultimately, the West isolated itself from the theocratic hegemony of the Nibenay Valley, establishing an autonomous government, the Colovian Estates. Things persisted in this vein until the Thrassian Plague of 1E2200 [...] The Colovian Estates began to overshadow the richer, more populous East then, which eventually lead to the War of Righteousness that ended Alessian rule. https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Pocket_Guide_to_the_Empire,_1st_Edition/Cyrodiil

It would however seem that Kvatch (and possibly the rest of Colovia) was still shortly under effect of the Doctrines and thus under Imperial Rule as per Lost Fort Faleria. Legend has it that in the early days of Cyrodiil, in the wake of the Alessian Doctrines, there were three lords that formed a regency council over the Kingdom of Kvatch. The name of that king and two of the lords are lost to history. The Empire was at his gate within days, with charges ranging from treason to giving aid to the enemy. For these crimes against the Empire, he had no defense.https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:The_Lost_Fort_Faleria

By the 1E 400s this however changed. This would place the sesession mentioned in PGE1 within a range of 1E 360s to 1E 470s. As is evident by:

• Rislav being born in 1E 448
• Rislav Larich having Ayleid tutors, when Ayleids were actively killed in the Empire at the time, and described as being the standard for colovian princes at the time
• Colovian West is described as independent in 1E 478
• Once Rislav's Brother becomes king, his first action is to join the Empire
• Rislav famously gets help from Kvatch to take back Skingrad and drives back the Alessian Empire
• afterwards the colovian west collectively resisted any imperial incursions.

This brings us to the year 478, when a great plague swept through all of Cyrodiil and seemed particularly concentrated in the independent Colovian West. Among the victims were King Mhorus and the rest of the entire royal family in Skingrad. Rislav's only surviving elder brother, Dorald, survived, being in the Imperial City as a priest of Marukh. He returned to his homeland to assume the throne. His first edict, on his very first day, was to cede the kingdom to the Empire. The reaction throughout the Colovian Estates was shock and outrage, nowhere more so than in the court of Kvatch. The Kings of the Colovian West joined with Kvatch and Skingrad to resist Imperial incursions.https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Rislav_The_Righteous

In the 1E 1000s, Empress Herda (who is Hestra, c'mon guys) improved relations with the colovian west, who then help with Valenwood. Implying they are an independent force too. Though something about this part is off, as it somewhat emplies that Herda is a post-Alessian Empress Even with the eventual dissolution of the Alessian Reform of Marukh, battles continued to be waged along the Cyrodiil and Valenwood border lands. When the Empress Herda improved relations with the Colovian West, the attacks only intensified [...]https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Pocket_Guide_to_the_Empire,_3rd_Edition/Valenwood

Now for the complicated bit: In 1E 2321 the War of the Rigtheous supposedly started with Colovia seceeding from the Empire. At least when it comes to UESP sources. However the source quoted here is PGE1, who never speaks about Colovia becoming part of the Empire - nay, even outright states that it was independent from the early days up until 2321. But then there's the Alessian Order Textbox on the same page: With the severance of the territories of West Cyrodiil from the Empire, too much money and land had been lost. Which kinda implies that Colovia gained independence. Which is weird, but something to work with, considering newer lore around Bendu Olo might help us here.

When Olo petitions the Alessians for the All-Flags Navy, it is presented as a petition of a colovian king to the alessians. it is presented as if he is, until then, not an integrated part of the empires structure. If he was, that would be a rather weird thing considering Anvil would be the Empire's only harbour on the Gold Coast/Abecean Sea. This source is also presented by a Nibenese, who shows that he dislikes the War of Righteousness. So him going into detail that a colovian king petitioned the alessian seems even more so noteworthy. This new text from ESO would also finally explain why Bendu Olo is both a King and a Baron. He was a Colovian King, but granted the title of (Admiral-)Baron in the Empire so he could act within the structures of the Empire to use the Navy. In 1E 2241, the Colovian Sailor-King of Anvil, Bendu Olo, loudly proclaimed his intent to punish Thras for their offense. He petitioned the Alessians for commission and received it in short order. With the blessing of the emperor, Olo claimed the title of baron-admiral of the Imperial fleet and began assembling an armada of retaliation. Neither Olo nor any member of the Alessian Counci [sic] had any illusions about the fleet discovering a cure for the plague. https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Systres_History:_Volume_3

However, following the All-Flags Navy action it would seem that the Systres, and thus Colovia, became a part of the Empire: After signing the Concordat of Fraternity, the remaining captains and crews of the All Flags Navy returned to their own lands, save for a few from High Rock and Colovia. Despite the increasing Breton influence on the island, it remained an Imperial holding—claimed by Bendu Olo himself as an extension of Colovia. Relations between the Bretons and the Alessian Empire turned sour in the years leading up to High Rock's secession in 1E 2305, throwing the archipelago's future into doubt. Rather than casting the Bretons out as the emperor demanded, the Colovians demurred, insisting that the costs of removal were prohibitive. In truth, the Colovians were simply biding their time—preparing for their own chance to assert their independence. Emboldened by the Legion of Faith and Piety's failure to recapture High Rock, and the continued encroachment of Alessian clergy into western affairs, the Colovian Estates finally revolted in 1E 2321, initiating the War of Righteousness. https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Systres_History:_Volume_4

So Colovia might have been a somewhat independent acting member of the Empire by 1E 2200s, or still a completely independent entity which got under imperial control following the All Flags Navy.

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So here's my proposal on presenting early Colovian Lore going forward:

• Colovia was initially part of the Alessian Empire, which formed in 1E 243 (PGE1/Cyrodiil, Rislav the Righteous, Fort Faleria)
• Colovia seceeded from the Alessian Empire sometime between 1E 360 and 1E 478 (Rislav the Righteous)
• Colovia remained independent following the events of Rislav Larich 478/479 (Rislav the Righteous)
• Empress Herda improved relations with a (supposedly) independent Colovia (PGE3/Valenwood)
• Colovia became a part of the Empire at an unknown point before the 1E 2260s (Systres History 4)
• Colovia seceeded from the Alessian Empire sometime following the All Flags Navy in 1E 2260, culminating in the beginning of the War of the Righteous in 1E 2321 (PGE1/Cyrodiil, Systres History 4)

P.S. I know my way of quoting in this post is unorthodox, i was just lazy.

TheynT (talk) 10:26, 14 January 2023 (UTC)