Lore:Dusk

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This article is about the city. For the Daedra, see Lord Warden Dusk.

Dusk
Type Settlement
Continent Tamriel
Province Summerset Isles
Region Summerset Isle
Appears in Arena, ESO
Dusk (Arena)
Map of the Summerset Isles
"You have entered the gates of Dusk, the High Elven city of Summurset. All who journey here know that we stand ready to meet you in friendship..." —In-game description in Arena

Dusk is one of the eight major cities in the province of the Summerset Isles and is located on the southeast corner of Summerset Isle. The city acquired its name because the cliffs behind it leave it in shadows as the sun sets in the west.[1] Before it was settled, Dusk was the site of a lonely tower called Dusk Keep (also called the Tower of Dusk),[2] whose origins are a complete mystery.[1]

Layout and Geography[edit]

The Pale-Plume Gryphon
Colossal Aldmeri Grotto

What the layout of Dusk city is like is currently unknown, but it does contain a port.[3][4] As stated earlier, it is located on the southeast corner of Summerset Isle, right on the Padomaic Ocean and next to steep, nameless bluffs. This area is the home of the Pale-Plume Gryphon, an otherwise uncommon variant of gryphon that can be identified by their white feather heads and their black feather bodies.[2]

A large, hidden grotto to the west of Dusk contains ancient Altmer ruins and ruined shipwrecks.[5] Dusk is neighbored by several settlements, including Archen Grangrove to the west, Silver Wood to the northeast, and Thorheim Guard to the northwest, though no road connects the two places.[6]

Dusk Keep was hidden from the mainland and mostly inaccessible by foot. Southeast of Sil-Var-Woad is an island dense with a forest, and a beach on its east flank that one can easily trek through to access the bay. Between it and the mainland is a short river valley that leads directly to Dusk Keep's shore. While the base of the tower is lower on the cliff, the actual entrance was accessible high above the water and across a bridge. The path to the entrance was a scaleable trail that zig-zags up the cliffside and ends directly across the bridge.[7]

Notable Locales[edit]

History[edit]

Dusk Keep ca. 2E 582

The Dusk Keep was designed by Lady Ahnora of Rellenthil, who, in crafting Dusk Keep, sought to emphasize its role as an overlook. She envisioned it as a forward-facing structure that faces the future boldly, while also protecting the past. It was a duty she believed every Altmer should strive to fulfill.[7]

The bay and its surrounding areas have been visited before by other people. The Atmoran explorer, Gjadil the Keel-Hauler buried her treasure after she raided King Orgnum's palace in distant Pyandonea. It was re-discovered years later by her descendants in the Second Era.[9] Colossal Aldmeri Grotto, a large cavern inside the cliffs and west of Dusk has been used by the Altmeri navy as a watering stop and now contains ancient ruins.[5]

Even though the settlement was built years later, references to Dusk appeared in the mid-Second Era. Doctor Alfidia Lupus writes in her series of racial motifs that Professor Morian Zenas was the only member of the Arcane University at the time to visit the Summerset Isles, namely Artaeum with a brief stop in Dusk.[3] Pluribel of Dusk was a scholar that wrote the magisterial, the Collapse of the Ayleids, which was referenced in a report commissioned by the Thalmor Committee of Alliance Relations.[10]

In 2E 582 the Dusk Keep served as the headquarters for Ceythalmor during their plot to assassinate Proxy Queen Alwinarwe.[11][12] The scheme was investigated by agents of the Garland Ring, who ultimately foiled the attempt.[13][14]

Dusk Keep stood alone in the bav for many years until the late Second Era, when the Second Aldmeri Dominion built a port there. By the Third Era, Dusk had grown into a town and a fully-fledged city.[1] Dusk became a primary stop in the East Empire Trading Company's shipping lines and connected to other cities like Alinor, Lillandril, Southpoint, and Woodhearth.[4]

In 3E 110, the kings of the Summerset Isles formed a unified alliance to combat the Maormer[15] in their last-known invasion of the province, the War of the Isle.[16] Despite having assistance from Emperor Antiochus and the Imperial Navy, the Maormer were defeated because of a supernatural storm conjured accredited to the Psijic Order.[15][17] During the Imperial Simulacrum in the late Third Era, the city-state of Dusk was an active settlement. It was ruled by King Saura and had a rivalry with Shimmerene.[8]

Known Rulers[edit]

The Psijic Order have traditionally served as counselors to the rulers of the Summerset Isles since long before Dusk was established. Upon their return sometime in the Third Era, they continued this service for the many kingdoms of Summerset including Dusk[18] until their island Artaeum's second disappearance sometime in the Fourth Era.[19]

  • Third Era
  • Fourth Era — Once the Thalmor came into power, they abolished the monarchy across the Summerset Isles[20]

Gallery[edit]

  • Gjadil the Keel-Hauler's treasure

  • Battlereeve of Dusk (Legends)

Notes[edit]

  • In early cut drafts for ESO's south Summerset zone of Varyllis, Dusk was home to expert smiths (or "Master Metalwrights") known as the Scintillants, and the beaches of the city were subject to a Maormer invasion. The Maormer had also banished Auri-El from his place in the sky, so High Kinlady Astraela of Dusk helped in forging Phynaster's Ring from pieces of the Shattered Crown, which was spread throughout crypts in the city, to return the deity to his rightful place.[UOL 1]
    • The Tower of Dusk is based off the Umbral Tower, found on a lone island immediately south of the Scintilla Kinhouse in the bay to the east. Talrien the Archivist (who ended up becoming Telenger the Artificer) would be studying in the deep underground chambers of the Tower and help free the trapped Ascendant spirits from their reliquaries in the Umbral Tower by touching the Pyxides of Ashes.[UOL 1]
  • Arena was originally conceived as a fighting game featuring a tournament that took the player to each of Tamriel's cities to challenge different gladiatorial teams. According to a file from that stage of development left behind in the final game, Dusk's gladiatorial team would have been called "the Executioners".[UOL 2]

See Also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c ESO Summerfall Event Special Livestream
  2. ^ a b Pale-Plume Fledging Gryphon mount description in ESO
  3. ^ a b c Crafting Motif 1: High Elf Style — Doctor Alfidia Lupus
  4. ^ a b c Map of the East Empire Company – The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
  5. ^ a b Colossal Aldmeri Grotto loading screen text in ESO
  6. ^ Map of the Summurset Isle – The Elder Scrolls: Arena
  7. ^ a b Dusk Keep's appearance and loading screen in ESO: Summerset
  8. ^ a b c Dusk location and rumors in Arena
  9. ^ Igeke Rat-Bite's dialogue in ESO: Summerset
  10. ^ Ayleid Survivals in Valenwood — Cuinur of Cloudrest, 4th Tier Scholar of Tamrielic Minutiae
  11. ^ Wisteria's dialogue in ESO
  12. ^ The Strike on Alinor
  13. ^ Tanlorin's dialogue in ESO
  14. ^ Events of Of Crown and Flowers in ESO
  15. ^ a b Brief History of the Empire v 1 — Stronach k'Thojj III
  16. ^ Pocket Guide to the Empire, 3rd Edition: Other Lands — Imperial Geographical Society, 3E 432
  17. ^ The Wolf Queen, v5 — Waughin Jarth
  18. ^ Fragment: On Artaeum — Taurce il-Anselma, 3E 400
  19. ^ Tolfdir's dialogue in Skyrim
  20. ^ a b Rising Threat, Vol. IV — Lathenil of Sunhold

Note: The following references are considered to be unofficial sources. They are included to round off this article and may not be authoritative or conclusive.

  1. ^ a b ESO Cut Content - Alinor and Ayarynne at the Imperial Library
  2. ^ Original TES: Arena texts at the Imperial Library
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