Lore:Rim-Men

"Attrebus, though he lasted no longer than most of the pretender kings of that period, thought he might rid Cyrodiil of the foreigners who had ruled it for the first half of the Common Era, and he drove the Akaviris past the Empire's borders into Elsweyr. The khajiit granted them asylum in the hills and steppes of northwestern Elsweyr, where they dwelt in relative seclusion until remnants of the Dir-Kamal resurfaced in Cyrodiil, seizing the Throne from Attrebus' successors. The Rimmen (literally, the "Rim Men," as the khajiit called them) joined their brothers to try to rebuild the Empire."
—Imperial Geographic Society, "Pocket Guide to the Empire, 1st Edition/The Elsweyr Confederacy"

Rim-Men in Hakoshae

The Rim-Men (also known as the Rimmen) are a group of Imperials that live across the Rim Territories in the province of Elsweyr. The Rim-Men descended from Imperial retainers that worked and later intermingled with the Tsaesci that served the Second Empire of Cyrodiil. These refugees fled the Imperial City following the death of Savirien-Chorak in 2E 431 and the ascension of the warlord Attrebus during the Interregnum. They live in isolation from the rest of Elsweyr and practice the culture that comes from their ancestral homeland of Akavir such as the Proving Festival or the belief that waterways connect to the realm of the dead.

History

In 2E 431, the Emperor-Potentate Savirien-Chorak and all of his heirs were assassinated by the Morag Tong. They lived in the Imperial City for an undisclosed amount of time until the arrival of the warlord, Attrebus, one of the many conqueror-kings of the Interregnum that lived a short reign. One of Attrebus' noteworthy proclamations was the persecution of the remaining Akaviri that lived in Cyrodiil. His forces drove them out of the Imperial Province, where they fled to the region of Anequina, where they were accepted by the monarchy of Rimmen and given the rim territories in the hills. Although there is some indication that there were "Rim-Men" before the Akaviri refugees came to Elsweyr. Not only were they exiled from Cyrodiil, but their people were denied burial in the province, another privilege that the Khajiit granted them. Some of the body counts were larger than the interred Khajiit in a tomb. One such example was the Tomb of the Serpents along the northern provincial border. The Akaviri changed Rimmen's culture forever, bringing their alien Akaviri customs and building the Tonenaka Shrine. Among these refugees was Beloren-Kaie, one of Savirien-Chorak's heirs. His bodyguard, Lein-Barduik took his identity and founded the town of Hakoshae. The Rim-Men tend to distance themselves from Elsweyr and the Empire's politics.

Many years later, remnants of Ada'Soom Dir-Kamal's armies re-surfaced somewhere in Cyrodiil, gathering their Akaviri brethren to reclaim the Imperial City and re-establish the Empire. Before the Rim-Men joined them, they fought in countless bloody wars against the Khajiit, who sought to recover the Rim from them. The Khajiit were victorious, and the remaining Rim-Men joined the Kamali in their attempt to dethrone Attrebus' dynasty. While they managed to acquire the throne, their reign was short-lived and they were overthrown like many other Emperors of the Interregnum that came before them.

Rimmen seceded from the Elsweyr Confederacy in the Fourth Era and was subject to takeover by a ruler bearing the title of potentate.

Gallery

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  Magnate Feina-Darak of Hakoshae (ESO)

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  Hakoshae (ESO)

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  The Tonenaka Shrine (ESO)

Notes

• The Tsaesci left much influence on the Imperials, and because of them, many Imperials can claim some Akaviri descent. Despite this, Akaviri surnames are rare and prized, while trace amounts of Akaviri facial features can be found among many important Cyrodiliic citizens. Colonies of "true Akaviri" (such as Hakoshae) exist in both the Empire and surrounding regions, named as such for keeping to their ancient traditions and customs and not by the purity of their blood. The Tsaesci shared their weapon and armor making dubbed the "Serpentine Ways of Making" with the Imperials during the time of Reman, though this knowledge has been diluted or lost overtime. Today, Imperials are still known to use Tsaesci-style equipment to some extent, especially daikatanas and river dragonscale armor.