The Alessian Order

[Pilaf The Defiler]

We've learned a lot of new information about the infamous Alessians since ESO was released, and the UESP article has expanded nicely, but there are still some puzzling holes in our knowledge of them. Even I'm stumped, and there's not a lot of hard date to go off, but I'm making this thread to speculate on the gaps in our knowledge.

In lore, the Alessian Order and First Empire are distinct, with the latter being a Nordic empire based in Skyrim and containing parts of Morrowind and High Rock. However, what's less clear is the relationship between the First Cyrodiilic Empire and the Alessian Order. King Dynar's memoirs (as well as established lore like the Pocket Guides) suggests the Order started off as a minority priesthood popular among the lower Nibenese classes and it eventually spread and took over the Empire. What isn't clear in other texts is whether or not the Alessian Order and the Empire became indistinguishable or if they were still considered two entities. The famous Battle of Glenumbria Moors mentions the Alessians being led by abbots and priests. Other sources like Rislav the Righteous mention Emperors like Gorieus and their Legions. We're left with incomplete and conflicting information about the setup of this Empire.

Another interesting inconsistency would be just when the Alessian Order was destroyed. We're given several dates that are really far apart from one another. More than one source fingers the aforementioned defeat at Glenumbra as the crushing blow of the Order, from which it never recovered. However, the War of Righteousness was nearly two thousand years later, and the Dragon Break ended several decades before that. One new book from ESO even mentions that Bendu Olo's fleet sailed on Thras under the blessings of the Emperor, implying there was still an Empire in Cyrodiil at this stage in the First Era.

The third head-scratcher would be the lore on Empress Hestra, who added High Rock to the Empire in 1E 1029 after helping the Knights of Saint Pelin crush the vampire lord Verkarth and his Gray Host. It's mentioned that after joining the Empire the Bretons quickly adopted the Divines, which is weird for two reasons - Hestra would have been from the First Empire, which I assume was still under control of the Alessians, and the Bretons would already have been following the Direnni version of the Divines, which was pretty similar but had a more Elven tint. (I'm assuming slight differences like Jephre instead of Kynareth, or Z'en in place of Zenithar.) To further complicate matters, it's said the Bretons left around a thousand years later due to the excesses of the Alessian Priesthood, who we were told were crushed centuries before Hestra arrived!

Overall ESO does more good than harm when it comes to completing our knowledge of the First Era, but the nature and history of Alessia's Empire itself still has these and probably other big gaps. We only know the names of four or five of the Monarchs in this Dynasty, and judging on the length of time it existed there would have been at least fifty if we use the Septim and Reman dynasties as models. We're left with not only the absence of the very names of most of the rulers of Cyrodiil in the longest lasting dynasty that ever was, but the particulars of just how powerful the Priesthood remained after losing at Glenumbra, and whether or not the Empire remained under their control. Any insights or input you guys might have either from playing ESO or reading the books would be helpful. As far as the Covenant content goes I've only completed Glenumbra as far as actual gameplay, so there might be relevant dialogue or quests in the High Rock zones that mention more Alessian lore, since there was some in Glenumbra. If you've got anything that helps address my problems let me know.

[legoless]

I haven't found any more Alessian information outside Glenumbra. Strange that the Order had a werewolf general, I always imagined they were too single-minded to accept someone like that.

[Pilaf The Defiler]

Apparently Falchou and his lieutenants still believed the Direnni and Bretons were godless mongrels who should be punished. Their hypocrisy on this subject is staggering, but they were not a self-aware group of people.

In a way I like it and in a way I don't. I kinda like how that particular character and his story shows how hypocritical zealots of any stripe can be sometimes, but in a way I'm hoping to see some Alessians whose hatred and racism is - well, justified is not the right word because such feelings and actions can't ever truly be justified but - maybe more eloquently put? And without the glaring personal issues that make them impossible to take seriously?

[Minor Edits]

High King Borgas was heading to Cyrodiil to advocate a joint war against the elves when he was killed, which says to me that the First Empire of the Nords and the Alessian Empire remained distinct.

I think that after the Battle of Glenumbria Moors, the power of the Alessian Empire was shattered. However, the Empire continued puttering along, much like how the Empire "survived" the fall of the Akaviri Potentates in the Second Era. You could hardly call it an Empire, but the ego-trippers did anyway. There were some better times for them (like presumably under the rule of Hestra), but I think, as ESO has corroborated, that any fool who controls of the White Gold Tower will call himself an emperor.

My best guess is that an Alessian dynasty continued to hold the throne until the War of Righteousness, and scholars (generously) correlated the beginning and end of the Empire with the rise and fall of this dynasty. Although I imagine there was more than one point in the First Era when the authority of the Alessian Empire didn't extend far beyond the Imperial City.

[Pilaf The Defiler]

We could really use more sources on this specific topic. ESO adds a few juicy tidbits about the Alessians, but mostly concerning Maruhk's doctrines and life, and the infamous Middle Dawn. Aside from the Falchou stuff in Glenumbra I haven't found very much new information about the Alessians. There's a pretty good book about how High Rock began to war with them to begin with. (Or was it the second time, when High Rock left the Empire? Maybe this book is about that, as it focuses heavily on Breton towns and people.)

In either event there's a scarcity of good lore that ties together the Alessian Order and the Empire in a concise history or timeline. We're left with more gaps than lore to fill the gaps, currently, and we're stretching the speculation pretty thin. Does anybody have a piece of data I've overlooked or forgotten about? (It actually does happen from time to time - though I can assure you my mental powers are quite potent, and these events are rare and quickly amended.)