The location for Elder Scrolls 6 has been revealed as Hammerfell, but that doesn't mean that the neighboring region of High Rock has been ruled out completely. This relatively small province often gets overlooked, as it's squeezed between two larger regions with a lot more internal and external drama going on, namely Skyrim and Hammefell. Being one of the most ancient regions in Tamriel, with enough magical influences to match its long past, there's plenty to explore and learn about the region that hosted one of the earliest games in the Elder Scrolls franchise.

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Despite its small size in comparison to other areas in Tamriel, High Rock has an amazing variety of monsters, history, and geography. The towns and culture feature a European, high-fantasy aesthetic with touches like stone towers and thatched-roofed cottages. Players of Elder Scrolls Online might have already noticed this, as there are a couple of quests in the online game that currently include access to the region.

9 The Dawn Era

Iliac Stream between Sadkfron and Helkori, Beyond Skyrim

It's all about location, even in Tamriel. The Aedra themselves were so taken with the beauty of the coastline of Iliac Bay that they chose an island off the coast to gather and decide what should be done about Mundus, the world that they had just been tricked into creating. Other early inhabitants of High Rock included fey creatures and were-beasts of a large variety, and many remain in the region's wild places.

These were followed by the Altmer, who migrated from the Summerset Isles, and this was the race that would shape most of High Rock's future. The only humans that lived in High Rock during this time were the primitive Nedic people, and although they were quickly absorbed into the elven culture they didn't disappear completely.

8 Lost Dwemer Ruins

The ruins of a Dwemer city

Northern and Western Skyrim is known for its vast Dwemer ruins. It stands to reason that the Dwemer could have built tunnels and passages through the northwestern mountains and come out in High Rock. That seems to be the case with the remote ruin Zthenganaz, located near Orsinium and included in an ESO quest called "An Unexpected Fall." It's implied that there is even more to this vast underground ruin that stretches well into High Rock, and an interesting concept that game developers could run with if the franchise continued in these rugged mountains.

7 Found Ayleid Ruins

Erokii_Ruins Ayleid High Rock

Dwemer ruins are difficult to find in High Rock, but Ayleid ruins are another matter. The Altmer were the most advanced race in High Rock for centuries, as the Bretons wouldn't appear as their own dominant faction until much later in the First Age. The Ayleids predate both of them in High Rock. The ruins they left in the region are varied, beautiful, and often terrifying.

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The Ayleids came from the eastern province of Cyrodiil, hence one of their nicknames, Heartland Elves. The magical items they left and the enchanted buildings they crafted no doubt also influenced the magical talents of the Breton people.

6 Orsinium

Orsinium_High Rock Elder Scrolls

There's a DLC for ESO that includes the Orc capital of Orsinium and some parts of the surrounding countryside. If you've played both this content and the second Elder Scrolls stand-alone game, Daggerfall, then you've seen a lot more of High Rock than others. The city has a long history of destruction and reconstruction and is located in a harsh environment that might not be popular, but at least is easy to defend. This part of the Wrothgarian Mountains holds a lot of interesting secrets, including the region's only known Dwemer ruin.

5 The Bretons

The human residents of High Rock are known as the Bretons, and unlike their neighbors in Skyrim and Hammerfell, their conquest came through their skill at trade and magic instead of arms. They are often employed as spies, thieves, and assassins, highly adept at magic and working in small groups to undermine opposing factions and governments instead of taking them by force.

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By the end of the First Age, the Bretons, who traced their ancestry to primitive humans and Aldmer, had established themselves as a political faction in High Rock. However, they were always fractured into various clans, societies, and groups that resisted imperial hegemony but also kept them from uniting under one banner.

4 The Forgotten Vale

The mysteries of the Forgotten Vale include the tragic story of the Snow Elves, but there's much more waiting to be found in this glacial plain, located between the far reaches of High Rock and Skyrim. There's an expansion available for Skyrim that includes parts of this area, The Elder Scrolls V: Dawnguard. This is specifically where the last of the Snow Elves can be found, and since this area is all but cut off from the rest of Tamriel, they're well hidden. There could be a lot more to do in this hidden area that shares a border with Skyrim and an icy arctic shoreline.

3 Direnni Tower

Isle of Balfiera Direnni Tower High Rock

There's a lot of talk of the Aedra and Deadra throughout Skyrim, and here's one of the few places where they actually set foot at the very beginning of Tamriel's story. Legend has it that this is the oldest building that exists in the whole world, even older than the Dwemer ruins, and constructed by the gods themselves. One of the most common names it presently bears refers to the Direnni Clan, the most powerful ruling family of High Rock during the years of Altmeri rule. It's also called the Adamantine Tower, Ada-Mantia, or Ur-Tower, and if Tamriel had one tourist attraction, this would be it.

2 The Doomcrag

Doomcrag High Rock

There are various Ayleid ruins in High Rock, so many that it's easy to lose track. This isn't one of those. The Doomcrag is the most noted Ayleid ruin in the region, and part of its fame comes from not what it is but what it was intended to be. Apparently, the Ayleids were trying to recreate the mysterious power of the Direnni Tower and things didn't quite go as planned.

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The location is home to a few quests in ESO but hasn't appeared in any other Elder Scrolls locations. The other interesting thing about Doomcrag is its location in Rivenspire, a part of High Rock with a more Victorian and Gothic motif, which has a lot of potential for new stories.

1 The Sload

Sload and Dunmer, ESO

This is an enemy that High Rock has in common with Hammerfell because both nations share the western coastline. Although the Sload people don't seem very intimidating at first glance, they are fearsome magic users and tend to dabble in that most horrific of arts, Necromancy. It's possible they were responsible for the destruction of the continent of Yokuda, they have no use or love for the other races of Tamriel, and their underwater empire still endures off the western coast of High Rock. This race has been making a few appearances in DLCs and standalone quests presently, so future games could expand their role.

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