The Ayleids are a Mer/Elven race that lived on Tamriel during the Merethic Era. They were the first race to establish an empire and rule over present-day Cyrodiil before the Imperials. The structure of their buildings, politics, and religion have left a huge impact on the other races of Tamriel.
They are thought to be extinct in present-day Tamriel, but their history has been mentioned a lot throughout The Elder Scrolls series. The ruins of their cities hold many secrets that many historians wish to uncover. Here are things that need to be known about these ancient Elves.
10 Built The White-Gold Tower And The Imperial City
The Ayleids were actually the ones that created the White-Gold Tower and the Imperial City in Cyrodiil. The Ayleids modeled the White-Gold Tower after the Adamantine/Direnni Tower, which is said to have been built by the Aedra themselves. They called the city the Temple of the Ancestors and was a home to the Ten Ancestors. The Ten Ancestors were a set of ten Ayleid statues made of meteoric iron and glass. Very little is known about them, other than that the statues were put on display in the White-Gold Tower.
9 Worshipped Both Aedra And Daedra
Unlike most of the races in Tamriel, the Ayleids were known to worship both the Aedra and the Daedra. Some groups of Ayleids split up and worshipped one or the other. The Ten Ancestors are believed to be Divines that they believe in such as Mara, Y'ffre, Magnus, and Auri-El. Groups that left Cyrodiil are said to have openly worshipped the Daedric Princes Meridia, Mehrunes Dagon, Hermaeus Mora, and Molag Bal.
The main Daedric Prince that is said to be popular among the Ayleids is the Daedric Prince of All Living Things and Light, Meridia. To them, she personified their most sacred element: light. She was also the patron deity of Garlas Malatar, a city in the Gold Coast.
8 Favored By Meridia
Because the Ayleids greatly worshipped her, Meridia was known to shown favor to them. Umaril the Unfeathered was said to be Meridia's favorite warrior and she granted him immortality. Umaril's spirit was bound to her realm, the Colored Rooms, which allowed his spirit to escape death and his body travel between the living and spirit realms.
Another Ayleid that was favored by Meridia was King Narilmor. He had the city of Garlas Malatar built for her and gave up his will to become one of her Meridian Purified. After the Alessian Slave Rebellion, Meridia entrusted Narilmor with the right of the Wrathstone, a powerful artifact. Narilmor would guard this stone for three thousand years until his defeat at the hands of the Undaunted in The Elder Scrolls Online.
7 Mastered A Unique Type Of Magic
Like their other Mer brethren, the Ayleids were known for their magical prowess. They were able to wield a unique type of magic known as Aetherial Magic. This allowed them to manipulate and store starlight. They stored the starlight into Welkynd and Varla Stones. Welkynd Stones were used to store magic or use as lights. Varla Stones were used to restore enchantments. Both stones could also be used to store destruction magic. Other races of Tamriel have attempted to recreate these stones, but none have been proven successful.
6 An Altmer Tried To Revive The Ayleid Civilization
In The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, players can run into a High Elf man named Umbacano. He collects Ayleid artifacts and employs the player character to find the Ten Ancestors. After completing this, he asks the player to find the crown of King Laoriaran Dynar, the last Ayleid king and king of Nenalata. The player can decide whether to steal the crown or accept the crown of Lindai from Umbacano's rival, Herminia Cinna.
Regardless of the choice, Umbacano will hire the player to get him to the throne room of Nenalata. Once there, he will put the crown on and declare himself the new Ayleid king. If given the crown of Nenalata, he will transform into the King of Nenalata and take on a vampire-like appearance. The player will be forced to kill him. If given the crown of Lindai, the dark welkynd stones in the throne room will kill him.
5 Creators Of Alteration Magic
The Ayleids are the creators of Alteration magic. It's sometimes confused with Illusion magic. Alteration magic is bound by the laws of nature whereas Illusion magic isn't. The Ayleids used Alteration magic to capture present-day Bravil and built underground tunnels using this magic. A soldier from the Alessian Army, Teo Bravillus Tasus, fought the Ayleids from the city and they used Levitation and Waterbreathing spells to escape his army.
4 One Ayleid Created Two Dangerous Artifacts
King Anumaril was an Ayleid that created two of some of the most dangerous artifacts on Tamriel. He created the Orrery of Elden Root. This device is used to reveal "the person within" as said by Queen Ayrenn in the The Elder Scrolls Online. When Ayrenn's brother, Naemon entered the device, he saw visions of the White-Gold Tower then was turned into an Orgrim shortly after.
Anumaril is also responsible for creating the Staff of Towers. This staff is said to be able to bend and shape time. It was broken up into eight pieces and seven of the pieces were scattered throughout Tamriel. During the First Era, it was used to cause a Dragon Break, a tear in linear time.
3 A Group Of Ayleids Lived In Black Marsh
One group of Ayleids that is known to have left on their own is the Barsaebic Ayleids. This group had traditionalist views and worshipped the Aedra versus other Ayleids that began worshipping Daedra. A civil war broke out between the two groups and the Aedra-worshipping Ayleids lost and were driven out of Cyrodiil. They fled to northern Black Marsh and built a new life there, becoming the Barsaebic Ayleids. When the Ayleids were at war with the Alessian Army, the Barsaebic Ayleids refused to help their brethren and opted to stay out of the conflict.
By the time of the events in The Elder Scrolls Online, any Barsaebic Ayleid settlements are abandoned have become ruins. It is unknown what happened to them and what their overall fate is.
2 Most Of Them Were Killed During The Alessian Slave Rebellion
During the First Era, Alessia, a slave to the Daedra-worshipping Ayleids, prayed to the Dragon God of Time, Akatosh, to help her free her people. Akatosh answered her prayers and she was given visions. She was joined by the demi-god, Morihaus, who became her champion. Alessia was able to establish Sancre Tor as her holy city, build an army, and the immortal, Pelinal Whitestrake joined her cause and become her second champion. With her champions and army set, the Alessian Slave Rebellion began.
In one year, Alessia and her army killed most of the Ayleids and wiped out their settlements. Most of the Ayleids had turned to Daedra-worshipping, but the few that still worshipped the Aedra joined Alessia and her army. After the war, Alessia had a few Ayleid advisors, but after her death, they were all but exiled. The last known sighting of a living Ayleid was King Laoriaran Dynar in the Second Era during The Elder Scrolls Online. King Laoriaran died defending the Hollow City from Molag Bal's forces.
1 Perhaps The Cruelest Race To Ever Live In Tamriel
The races of Tamriel don't have a clean history and are known to be cruel in their own ways, but the Ayleids are probably the cruelest race. Daedra-worshipping Ayleids were known to have cities that were known for their brutal methods of torture. The city of Vindasel was known it's "Wailing Wheels" where victims were subjected to flesh magic and make sculptures from this. Sercen was another Ayleid city known for its "gut gardens."
One Ayleid that was known for his cruelty was Fire King Hadhuul. He was known to give his slaves tormenting drugs. These drugs were imbued with Daedrons, particles of chaotic creatia that can be deadly for a mortal's form. He is also known to have young victims set on fire and used for nocturnal sport.