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<noinclude>{{Trail|Races}} [[Category:Lore-All Terms]]
:''"From fire, life; from light, magic."'' — Ayleid phrase{{ref|name=ART|{{Cite book|Ayleid Reference Text}}}}
[[File:ON-npc-King Laloriaran Dynar.jpg|thumb|{{Lore Link|Laloriaran Dynar}}, the Last King of the Ayleids]]{{TOCright}}</noinclude>
The {{Lore Link|Ayleid}}s, also known as the '''Wild Elves''' or '''Heartland High Elves''', were the first race to establish an empire in [[Lore:Tamriel|Tamriel]],{{ref|name=TWE|{{Cite book|The Wild Elves}}}} and had ruled modern-day {{Lore Link|Cyrodiil}} for countless years dating back to before recorded history.{{ref|name=TLKOTA|{{Cite book|The Last King of the Ayleids}}}} {{Lore Link|Ayleidoon}}, their language,{{ref|name=TVC|{{Cite book|The Vanishing Crux}}}}{{ref|name=TSOP|{{Cite book|The Song of Pelinal}}}} is similar to {{Lore Link|Aldmeris}}, the ancient language of the {{Lore Link|Aldmer}}.{{ref|name=ART}}{{ref|name=BJ2|{{Cite book|Butcher Journal 2|ns=Skyrim}}}} The Ayleids were the original founders of the {{Lore Link|Imperial City}}, which they called the "Temple of the Ancestors".{{ref|name=OBUmbacano|[[OB:Umbacano|Umbacano's]] dialogue in [[OB:Oblivion|Oblivion]].}} However, their empire collapsed in the early {{Lore Link|First Era}}.{{ref|name=TLKOTA}} While it's believed that the Ayleids remain in the wilds of every province on Tamriel, sightings have been few.{{ref|name=TWE}} There have been no known sightings in the {{Lore Link|Third Era|Third}} or {{Lore Link|Fourth Era}}s.
Much like how the {{Lore Link|Dwemer Ruins|ruins}} of the lost [[Lore:Dwemer|Dwemer]] dot [[Lore:Hammerfell|Hammerfell]], [[Lore:Skyrim|Skyrim]], and [[Lore:Morrowind|Morrowind]], the Ayleids have left {{Lore Link|Ayleid Ruins|ruins}} scattered around [[Lore:Cyrodiil|Cyrodiil]] and other regions which were once under the dominion of their Empire. These underground cities can prove deadly for adventurers, hiding such dangers as traps, monsters, undead, and criminals. Their cities were amazing feats of architecture ranging from small settlements to gigantic, labyrinth-like metropolises shaped out of whitish rock.{{ref|name=Oblivion|Events of [[OB:Oblivion|Oblivion]]}}{{ref|name=GJ|{{Cite book|Gelebourne's Journal}}}} They also seem to have had a firm grasp of the {{Lore Link|Magic|magical arts}}, as many of their ruins contain stones filled with magicka essences harvested from the sky. They also developed what came to be called the school of {{Lore Link|Alteration}}, as they were skilled in magics such as shapeshifting and levitation.{{ref|name=GAL|{{Cite book|Glories and Laments}}}}{{ref|name=MFTS|{{Cite book|Magic from the Sky}}}}{{ref|name=DOTN|{{Cite book|Daughter of the Niben}}}}{{ref|name=2920L5|{{Cite book|2920, Second Seed (v5)}}}} As for their appearance, like all elves, they were most likely thin and lean with pointed ears and angular facial features. Their complexion was lighter than that of the {{Lore Link|Dunmer}}, but they were darker than {{Lore Link|Altmer}}.{{ref|name=2920L5}} They preserved many of the ancient runes and {{Lore Link|Dawn Era}} magics of the {{Lore Link|Ehlnofey}} that other elves had forgotten.{{ref|name=BTAOM|{{Cite book|Before the Ages of Man}}}}{{ref|name=AD|{{Cite book|Ahzidal's Descent}}}} The prophecies of the {{Lore Link|Cult of the Ancestor Moth|moth-eyed}} foretold that Ayleidic hubris would "bear bitter fruit",{{ref|name=AE4TET|{{Cite book|Aurbic Enigma 4: The Elden Tree}}}} a warning that many, apparently, failed to heed. It would be their undoing.{{FMI|dummy=}}<noinclude>
[[File:OB-place-Nornal.jpg|right|thumb|Ayleid ruins, as seen in [[Oblivion:Oblivion|Oblivion]]]]
==History==
:''"Wear lore as your armor."''{{ref|name=ART}}
The Ayleids began as groups of {{Lore Link|mer}} who left the {{Lore Link|Summerset Isles}} to create splinter cultures in central and southwest Tamriel.{{ref|name=DWTA|{{Cite book|Daedra Worship: The Ayleids}}}} They left in the Middle {{Lore Link|Merethic Era}}, after the area had been charted by {{Lore Link|Topal the Pilot}} and others.{{ref|name=BTAOM}}{{ref|name=PGE3C|{{Cite book|PGE|3|Cyrodiil}}}}{{ref|name=PGE3Sum|{{Cite book|PGE|3|Summerset}}}} In some cases, they left specifically to evade the strictures of Aldmeri regulation, which forbade (among many other things) the worship of {{Lore Link|Daedra}}.{{ref|name=DWTA}} Though they settled predominantly in Cyrodiil, the "Barsaebic Ayleids" also had settlements in modern-day {{Lore Link|Black Marsh}}. The cities {{Lore Link|Gideon}} and {{Lore Link|Stormhold}} were originally Ayleid settlements whose names have been lost to history.{{ref|name=PGE3A|{{Cite book|PGE|3|Argonia}}}} The earliest Aldmeri account of the {{Lore Link|Heartlands}} of Cyrodiil from Topal the Pilot speaks of friendly feathered bird men who resided there,{{ref|name=FOTN|{{Cite book|Father Of The Niben}}}} but these natives disappeared from history, only to be replaced by the Ayleids.
Far away from {{Lore Link|Alinor (city)|Alinor}}, Ayleidic culture flourished. In the last millennium of the Merethic Era, Daedric worship took hold and spread among the Heartland High Elves. The cults devoted to the various {{Lore Link|Daedric Princes}} which had sprung up across Cyrodiil, once merely tolerated, became celebrated.{{ref|name=DWTA}} Unlike the {{Lore Link|Chimer}} who left Summerset in the Late Middle Merethic Era,{{ref|name=BTAOM}}{{ref|name=LOTS|{{Cite book|Lives of the Saints}}}} the Ayleids made no distinction between "good and bad" Daedra. Even some of the more heinous Princes received mass veneration, especially when their worship was adopted and endorsed by Ayleid kings and aristocrats.{{ref|name=DWTA}}
The Ayleids made deals with Daedra for more power, blessings, and other advantages.{{ref|name=Oblivion}}{{ref|name=TOAC|{{Cite book|Treatise on Ayleidic Cities}}}} They employed entire armies of Daedra to conquer, subjugate, and enforce their rule.{{ref|name=TAOK|{{Cite book|The Amulet of Kings}}}}{{ref|name=COTF|{{Cite book|Cleansing of the Fane}}}} In the earliest Cyro-Nordic stories, {{Lore Link|Shezarr}} fought against the Ayleids on mankind's behalf, then vanished, presumably to go help humans elsewhere. Without his leadership, the Ayleids dominated and enslaved the men of Cyrodiil.{{ref|name=SATD|{{Cite book|Shezarr and the Divines}}}} At first this enslavement of the {{Lore Link|Nede|Nedic peoples}} was occasional, but eventually became a systematic, widespread institution of their society.{{ref|name=DWTA}} They eventually controlled the entirety of modern-day Cyrodiil, and kept the Nedic peoples there enslaved for generations.{{ref|name=TA|{{Cite book|The Adabal-a}}}} The Ayleids are also said to have enslaved beastfolk.{{ref|name=OBDecentius|[[OB:Decentius Opsius|Decentius Opsius']] dialogue in [[OB:Oblivion|Oblivion]].}}
The example of the {{Lore Link|Nord}}s to the north inspired the {{Lore Link|Alessian Slave Rebellion}} of {{Year|1E 242}}.{{ref|name=PGE3All|{{Cite book|PGE|3|All the Eras of Man}}}} Alessia's rebellion coincided with a civil war within the Ayleid Empire which led to many rebel Ayleid lords joining forces with Alessia and aiding her rebellion.{{ref|name=TLKOTA}}{{ref|name=OBHerminia|[[OB:Herminia Cinna|Herminia Cinna's]] dialogue in [[OB:Oblivion|Oblivion]].}} These allies of Alessia were largely Aedra-worshippers,{{ref|name=DWTA}} indicating that the schism among the Ayleids was likely related to religious differences.
[[Lore:Skyrim|Skyrim]], of course, lent help to their enslaved relatives under the Ayleid Empire, which also played a part in the Ayleids being overthrown.{{ref|name=FC|{{Cite book|Frontier, Conquest}}}}{{ref|name=PGE3Sky|{{Cite book|PGE|3|Skyrim}}}} In only a year, the Slave Queen [[Lore:Alessia|Alessia]] and her supporters had taken the {{Lore Link|White-Gold Tower}}, founded the {{Lore Link|Alessian Empire}}, and secured the subsequent shift in power from mer to men on Tamriel.{{ref|name=FC}}{{ref|name=PGE3C}}
===The Late Ayleid Period===
:''"Our exiled Elven ancestors heard the welcoming gifts of peace in the streams and beech trees and stars."''{{ref|name=ART}}
The Alessian Slave Rebellion was devastating to the Ayleids. Legend says entire settlements were slaughtered at the hands of Alessia's champion, {{Lore Link|Pelinal Whitestrake}}.{{ref|name=TSOP}} Though the Ayleids would continue to have a presence in Cyrodiil for several hundred years, the fall of the White-Gold Tower in 1E 243 signaled the beginning of the Late Ayleid Period. The tower was turned into the Imperial Palace by Alessia and her descendants, and it remains so to this day. The {{Lore Link|Bravil}} region was one of the very last areas to be liberated by the Alessian army. It took Alessia's forces, led by Bravillius Tasus, four attempts to finally defeat them.{{ref|name=DOTN}} In these early years, the Alessian Empire forbade the worship of the Daedric Princes and focused on hunting down and exterminating Daedra-worshipping Ayleids.{{ref|name=DWTA}}
Ayleidic culture lingered in the Aedra-worshipping city-states that survived as client kingdoms of Alessian Cyrodiil, but resentment at the continued presence of Ayleid nobles within the Empire was a contributing factor to the rise of the so-called {{Lore Link|Alessian Order}} founded by {{Lore Link|Marukh}}. In {{Year|1E 361}}, the Alessians gained control of the Empire and enforced the Alessian Doctrines throughout its domain. The Ayleid lordships were abolished. Enforcement of this decree does not appear to have required much direct violence — it seems that by this point the balance of power was so overwhelmingly against them, and their fate so long foreshadowed, that most of the remaining Ayleids simply left Cyrodiil, eventually being absorbed into the elven populations of {{Lore Link|Valenwood}} and {{Lore Link|High Rock}}.{{ref|name=TLKOTA}}{{ref|name=PGE3V|{{Cite book|PGE|3|Valenwood}}}} It's speculated that the exodus of the Ayleids from Cyrodiil may have vastly strengthened the {{Lore Link|Direnni|Direnni Hegemony}} in High Rock - in which case, the Ayleids had their revenge, as the war with the Direnni eventually crippled the Alessian Empire and brought about its fall.{{ref|name=TLKOTA}}{{ref|name=DRD|{{Cite book|De Rerum Dirennis}}}}
The only known Ayleids who remained in Cyrodiil served as mentors and tutors for the new human nobility.{{ref|name=RTR|{{Cite book|Rislav The Righteous}}}} The last remaining kingdom of the Ayleids, {{Lore Link|Nenalata}}, was last heard of in {{Year|1E 482}} at the {{Lore Link|Battle of Glenumbria Moors}}. Following the battle, the so-called last king of the Ayleids, {{Lore Link|Laloriaran Dynar}}, was lured back to Nenalata and tricked by {{Lore Link|Molag Bal}} to henceforth serve as a prisoner in {{Lore Link|Coldharbour}}.{{Ref|name=LSS|{{Cite book|A Life of Strife and Struggle}}}} Whether Laloriaran Dynar's people made it through the next few centuries is unknown, but this was a significant event: the Late Ayleid Period was ended, and the Ayleids would never again be seen as a military or political power.{{ref|name=TLKOTA}}
It is possible that some tribes of Ayleids may continue to live deep within the forests of Cyrodiil even into modernity, yet the most recent reported sightings are more than 1000 years old.{{ref|name=TWE}}{{ref|name=2920L5}} These Ayleids, or Wild Elves, are at best a rarity and may not have actually survived into modern times.
==Society==
:''"In the caverns of lore, ugly and obscure, shines the gold of truth."''{{ref|name=ART}}
[[File:OB-place-White Gold Tower.jpg|thumb|right|The Temple of the Ancestors]]
Ayleidic society was an alliance of kingdoms united under one empire, which ultimately ended in 1E 243 with the death of their champion, {{Lore Link|Umaril the Unfeathered}}, and the fall of the White-Gold Tower.{{ref|name=TWE}}
The impact of the loss of the Ayleids' tower, what they called the "Temple of the Ancestors", should not be underestimated. They had built it in emulation of the {{Lore Link|Adamantine Tower}}, and made the {{Lore Link|Chim-el-Adabal}}, which they believed to be the crystallized blood of the {{Lore Link|Heart of Lorkhan}}, into the tower's Founding-Stone.{{ref|name=AE4TET}} It is the site where the Ten Ancestors, statues sacred to the Ayleids, were traditionally held. They were spread to various other settlements during the siege of the White-Gold Tower for safekeeping, but were not reunited again until the late Third Era, long after the fall of the Ayleids.{{ref|name=OBUmbacano}}{{ref|name=Oblivion}}
Ayleids frequently adorned themselves with feathers and magic beads.{{ref|name=TSOP}} They are said to have been "obsessed" with the number eight (which may have been why the pantheon Saint Alessia created was made up of {{Lore Link|Eight Divines}}).{{ref|name=TA}}
Most humans, at least, agree that the Ayleids' fall from power, if not their extinction, is for the better, as the portrayals of them passed down by their former slaves are not kind. Their scholars label the Ayleids as bellicose and arrogant, and point to this being the ultimate reason for their downfall.{{ref|name=TOAC}}{{ref|name=PGE3All}}{{ref|name=OBHerminia}} Slaves were utilized by the Ayleids for a variety of purposes, including agricultural work, entertainment, and the building and maintenance of their empire's infrastructure. According to legend, the Ayleids literally turned cruelty into an art form, and many Daedra-worshipping Ayleids across Cyrodiil derived strange pleasures from "art-tortures".{{ref|name=TA}}{{ref|name=DWTA}}
Typically, Ayleid kingdoms where the most malevolent Daedric Princes were worshipped also proved to exhibit the worst treatment of their slaves.{{ref|name=DWTA}} Various settlements became famous for their particular, elaborate method of torturing their slaves, such as "wailing wheels", "gut gardens", "flesh-sculptures", and forced ingestion of hallucinogenic {{Lore Link|drugs}}, as well as nighttime "tiger sport", which involved the immolation of human children.{{ref|name=TA}}
Magic was an enormous part of their society. In accordance with High Elf religion, they believed {{Lore Link|Nirn}} was composed of four basic elements: earth, water, air, and light (as opposed to the four elements of modern natural philosophy: earth, water, air, and fire).{{ref|name=GAL}}{{ref|name=MFTS}} The most sublime form was starlight, as the stars were the link between {{Lore Link|Mundus}} and {{Lore Link|Aetherius}}. Some of their magic tapped into the power of the weather.{{ref|name=Oblivion}} They used aetherial fragments which fell from the heavens, particularly {{Lore Link|Meteoric Iron|meteoric iron}}, to construct receptacles which are believed to harness energy from starlight. These "Ayleid Wells" are scattered all over Cyrodiil, and can still be used by mages to replenish their energy. The logic used in their placement is a mystery, and none are known to be associated with any particular Ayleid settlements. They kept specially cut pieces of {{Lore Link|Meteoric Glass|meteoric glass}} known as Welkynd Stones (meaning literally "sky children") as storage containers for magical energy, as well what are called Varla Stones (or "star stones"),.{{ref|name=MFTS}} This was still an emerging technology when the Alessian Slave Rebellion brought about the decline and disappearance of their society.{{ref|name=LRN|{{Cite book|Lithnilian's Research Notes}}}} Some of these crystals had the capacity to store and release memories directly to the reader; overuse of these crystals can cause a 'problem of capacity' for mortals.{{ref|name=ESOFlooded|[[Online:The Flooded Grove|Events]] of [[Online:Online|ESO]]}}
As the kingdoms of the Ayleids dwindled, they apparently adapted to a more rural, elusive, and possibly nomadic lifestyle. Any remaining Ayleids are unknown; if they continue to exist, they are likely living in hiding. The Ayleid Sage [[Lore:Tjurhane Fyrre|Tjurhane Fyrre]] ({{Year|1E 2790}} - {{Year|2E 227}}) talked and wrote extensively of the state of the Ayleids' culture. According to Fyrre, the Ayleids of his time lived in a tribal society, with each "tribe" being substantially different from the next.{{ref|name=TWE}} The Ayleid settlements in modern-day {{Lore Link|Black Marsh}} were particularly far removed from the culture of the heartlands, and were never attacked by the Alessian armies.{{ref|name=PGE3A}} It's not clear how these settlements met their fate.
[[File:OB-place-Silorn 02.jpg|thumb|right|Ayleid statue]]
===Religion===
Few blanket statements can be made about Ayleidic religion. They began as splinter groups, and they were never totally united in their beliefs.{{ref|name=DWTA}} But while they are most well-known to historians for being "godless" and "{{Lore Link|Daedra}}-loving",{{ref|name=GTTIC|{{Cite book|Guide to the Imperial City}}}} their society was fundamentally dedicated to the veneration of the {{Lore Link|Aedra}}, not the Daedra, until the last millenium of the Merethic Era.{{ref|name=TWoD|{{Cite book|The Whithering of Delodiil}}}} Given the importance of magic in their society, it is unsurprising that at least some city-states are known to have venerated [[Lore:Magnus (god)|Magnus]], the god of magic and the Aedra's absent comrade.{{ref|name=GAL}}{{ref|name=TM|{{Cite book|The Monomyth}}}} Scholars have also concluded, though, that the Daedric Prince {{Lore Link|Meridia}}, who they knew as Merid-Nunda, represented for them the personification of the most-sacred element of light.{{ref|name=EOMN|{{Cite book|Exegesis of Merid-Nunda}}}}{{ref|name=TWoD}}
Even after the Daedric cults rose to power (discussed [[#History|above]]), many Ayleidic kingdoms continued to honor the Aedra.{{ref|name=DWTA}} Many slaves in Cyrodiil became Aedra-worshippers by adopting many of the beliefs of their masters,{{ref|name=TAOK}}{{ref|name=SATD}} and it's suspected that Alessia incorporated elven Aedra into her Eight Divines pantheon in order to appease her Ayleid and Ayleid-influenced vassals.{{ref|name=DWTA}} Ayleids venerated their ancestors,{{ref|name=OBUmbacano}} and Aedra literally means "ancestor".{{ref|name=AAD|{{Cite book|Aedra and Daedra}}}}
Ayleid statues throughout Cyrodiil depict an eagle lifting up a figure carrying a bow and shield from the ensnaring ground.{{ref|name=Oblivion}} The bow and shield are the weapons associated with the Aedra {{Lore Link|Auri-El}}.{{ref|name=TM}} For the Altmer, the eagle represents the Aedra,{{ref|group=OOG|name=ZeniMax|[http://help.elderscrollsonline.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1175 Answers from ZeniMax regarding Elder Scrolls Online].}} and Ayleids presumably inherited this symbolism, as well.
{{Newline}}
==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:OB-quest-The Collector 02.jpg|One of the Ten Ancestors (Oblivion)
File:OB-item-Malada Carving.jpg|An Ayleid carving (Oblivion)
File:OB-quest-Secrets of the Ayleids.jpg|An Ayleid throne room (Oblivion)
File:OB-item-Ayleid Crown of Nenalata.jpg|An Ayleid crown (Oblivion)
File:ON-item-IlmyrisMemoryCrystal.jpg|An Ayleid memory crystal in {{Lore Link|Ilmyris}} (ESO)
File:OB-npc-Ayleid Guardian 01.jpg|An Ayleid guardian statue (Oblivion)
</gallery>
==Notes==
* An NPC in ''[[OB:Oblivion|TES IV: Oblivion]]'' makes reference to the possibility of "Ayleid Revivalists", and the events of the game corroborate that there was at least one fanatic elf at the end of the Third Era who was hell-bent on seeing the Ayleid Empire rise again.
==See Also==
* For game-specific information, see the [[Oblivion:Ayleids|Oblivion]] and [[Online:Ayleid|ESO]] articles.
* For a list of Ayleid ruins which appeared across games, see the [[Oblivion:Ayleid Ruins|Oblivion]] and [[Online:Ayleid Ruins|ESO]] articles.
* For the Ayleid language, see [[Lore:Ayleidoon|their language page]].
===Books===
* {{Book Link|The Adabal-a}}
* {{Book Link|The Amulet of Kings}}
* {{Book Link|Ayleid Survivals in Valenwood}}
* {{Book Link|Bisnensel: Our Ancient Roots}}
* {{Book Link|Daedra Worship: The Ayleids}}
* {{Book Link|Daughter of the Niben}}
* {{Book Link|Exegesis of Merid-Nunda}}
* {{Book Link|Glories and Laments}}
* {{Book Link|The Last King of the Ayleids}}
* {{Book Link|A Life of Strife and Struggle}}
* {{Book Link|Magic from the Sky}}
* {{Book Link|Pocket Guide to the Empire, 3rd Edition}}
** {{Book Link|Pocket Guide to the Empire, 3rd Edition/All the Eras of Man|All the Eras of Man}}
** {{Book Link|Pocket Guide to the Empire, 3rd Edition/Cyrodiil|Cyrodiil}}
* {{Book Link|Shezarr and the Divines}}
* {{Book Link|The Tale of Princess Anurraame}}
* {{Book Link|Tears of Anurraame}}
* {{Book Link|Treatise on Ayleidic Cities}}
* {{Book Link|The Whithering of Delodiil}}
* {{Book Link|The Wild Elves}}
== References ==
<references/>
{{OOG}}
<references group=OOG/>
{{Races}}</noinclude>
:''"From fire, life; from light, magic."'' — Ayleid phrase{{ref|name=ART|{{Cite book|Ayleid Reference Text}}}}
[[File:ON-npc-King Laloriaran Dynar.jpg|thumb|{{Lore Link|Laloriaran Dynar}}, the Last King of the Ayleids]]{{TOCright}}</noinclude>
The {{Lore Link|Ayleid}}s, also known as the '''Wild Elves''' or '''Heartland High Elves''', were the first race to establish an empire in [[Lore:Tamriel|Tamriel]],{{ref|name=TWE|{{Cite book|The Wild Elves}}}} and had ruled modern-day {{Lore Link|Cyrodiil}} for countless years dating back to before recorded history.{{ref|name=TLKOTA|{{Cite book|The Last King of the Ayleids}}}} {{Lore Link|Ayleidoon}}, their language,{{ref|name=TVC|{{Cite book|The Vanishing Crux}}}}{{ref|name=TSOP|{{Cite book|The Song of Pelinal}}}} is similar to {{Lore Link|Aldmeris}}, the ancient language of the {{Lore Link|Aldmer}}.{{ref|name=ART}}{{ref|name=BJ2|{{Cite book|Butcher Journal 2|ns=Skyrim}}}} The Ayleids were the original founders of the {{Lore Link|Imperial City}}, which they called the "Temple of the Ancestors".{{ref|name=OBUmbacano|[[OB:Umbacano|Umbacano's]] dialogue in [[OB:Oblivion|Oblivion]].}} However, their empire collapsed in the early {{Lore Link|First Era}}.{{ref|name=TLKOTA}} While it's believed that the Ayleids remain in the wilds of every province on Tamriel, sightings have been few.{{ref|name=TWE}} There have been no known sightings in the {{Lore Link|Third Era|Third}} or {{Lore Link|Fourth Era}}s.
Much like how the {{Lore Link|Dwemer Ruins|ruins}} of the lost [[Lore:Dwemer|Dwemer]] dot [[Lore:Hammerfell|Hammerfell]], [[Lore:Skyrim|Skyrim]], and [[Lore:Morrowind|Morrowind]], the Ayleids have left {{Lore Link|Ayleid Ruins|ruins}} scattered around [[Lore:Cyrodiil|Cyrodiil]] and other regions which were once under the dominion of their Empire. These underground cities can prove deadly for adventurers, hiding such dangers as traps, monsters, undead, and criminals. Their cities were amazing feats of architecture ranging from small settlements to gigantic, labyrinth-like metropolises shaped out of whitish rock.{{ref|name=Oblivion|Events of [[OB:Oblivion|Oblivion]]}}{{ref|name=GJ|{{Cite book|Gelebourne's Journal}}}} They also seem to have had a firm grasp of the {{Lore Link|Magic|magical arts}}, as many of their ruins contain stones filled with magicka essences harvested from the sky. They also developed what came to be called the school of {{Lore Link|Alteration}}, as they were skilled in magics such as shapeshifting and levitation.{{ref|name=GAL|{{Cite book|Glories and Laments}}}}{{ref|name=MFTS|{{Cite book|Magic from the Sky}}}}{{ref|name=DOTN|{{Cite book|Daughter of the Niben}}}}{{ref|name=2920L5|{{Cite book|2920, Second Seed (v5)}}}} As for their appearance, like all elves, they were most likely thin and lean with pointed ears and angular facial features. Their complexion was lighter than that of the {{Lore Link|Dunmer}}, but they were darker than {{Lore Link|Altmer}}.{{ref|name=2920L5}} They preserved many of the ancient runes and {{Lore Link|Dawn Era}} magics of the {{Lore Link|Ehlnofey}} that other elves had forgotten.{{ref|name=BTAOM|{{Cite book|Before the Ages of Man}}}}{{ref|name=AD|{{Cite book|Ahzidal's Descent}}}} The prophecies of the {{Lore Link|Cult of the Ancestor Moth|moth-eyed}} foretold that Ayleidic hubris would "bear bitter fruit",{{ref|name=AE4TET|{{Cite book|Aurbic Enigma 4: The Elden Tree}}}} a warning that many, apparently, failed to heed. It would be their undoing.{{FMI|dummy=}}<noinclude>
[[File:OB-place-Nornal.jpg|right|thumb|Ayleid ruins, as seen in [[Oblivion:Oblivion|Oblivion]]]]
==History==
:''"Wear lore as your armor."''{{ref|name=ART}}
The Ayleids began as groups of {{Lore Link|mer}} who left the {{Lore Link|Summerset Isles}} to create splinter cultures in central and southwest Tamriel.{{ref|name=DWTA|{{Cite book|Daedra Worship: The Ayleids}}}} They left in the Middle {{Lore Link|Merethic Era}}, after the area had been charted by {{Lore Link|Topal the Pilot}} and others.{{ref|name=BTAOM}}{{ref|name=PGE3C|{{Cite book|PGE|3|Cyrodiil}}}}{{ref|name=PGE3Sum|{{Cite book|PGE|3|Summerset}}}} In some cases, they left specifically to evade the strictures of Aldmeri regulation, which forbade (among many other things) the worship of {{Lore Link|Daedra}}.{{ref|name=DWTA}} Though they settled predominantly in Cyrodiil, the "Barsaebic Ayleids" also had settlements in modern-day {{Lore Link|Black Marsh}}. The cities {{Lore Link|Gideon}} and {{Lore Link|Stormhold}} were originally Ayleid settlements whose names have been lost to history.{{ref|name=PGE3A|{{Cite book|PGE|3|Argonia}}}} The earliest Aldmeri account of the {{Lore Link|Heartlands}} of Cyrodiil from Topal the Pilot speaks of friendly feathered bird men who resided there,{{ref|name=FOTN|{{Cite book|Father Of The Niben}}}} but these natives disappeared from history, only to be replaced by the Ayleids.
Far away from {{Lore Link|Alinor (city)|Alinor}}, Ayleidic culture flourished. In the last millennium of the Merethic Era, Daedric worship took hold and spread among the Heartland High Elves. The cults devoted to the various {{Lore Link|Daedric Princes}} which had sprung up across Cyrodiil, once merely tolerated, became celebrated.{{ref|name=DWTA}} Unlike the {{Lore Link|Chimer}} who left Summerset in the Late Middle Merethic Era,{{ref|name=BTAOM}}{{ref|name=LOTS|{{Cite book|Lives of the Saints}}}} the Ayleids made no distinction between "good and bad" Daedra. Even some of the more heinous Princes received mass veneration, especially when their worship was adopted and endorsed by Ayleid kings and aristocrats.{{ref|name=DWTA}}
The Ayleids made deals with Daedra for more power, blessings, and other advantages.{{ref|name=Oblivion}}{{ref|name=TOAC|{{Cite book|Treatise on Ayleidic Cities}}}} They employed entire armies of Daedra to conquer, subjugate, and enforce their rule.{{ref|name=TAOK|{{Cite book|The Amulet of Kings}}}}{{ref|name=COTF|{{Cite book|Cleansing of the Fane}}}} In the earliest Cyro-Nordic stories, {{Lore Link|Shezarr}} fought against the Ayleids on mankind's behalf, then vanished, presumably to go help humans elsewhere. Without his leadership, the Ayleids dominated and enslaved the men of Cyrodiil.{{ref|name=SATD|{{Cite book|Shezarr and the Divines}}}} At first this enslavement of the {{Lore Link|Nede|Nedic peoples}} was occasional, but eventually became a systematic, widespread institution of their society.{{ref|name=DWTA}} They eventually controlled the entirety of modern-day Cyrodiil, and kept the Nedic peoples there enslaved for generations.{{ref|name=TA|{{Cite book|The Adabal-a}}}} The Ayleids are also said to have enslaved beastfolk.{{ref|name=OBDecentius|[[OB:Decentius Opsius|Decentius Opsius']] dialogue in [[OB:Oblivion|Oblivion]].}}
The example of the {{Lore Link|Nord}}s to the north inspired the {{Lore Link|Alessian Slave Rebellion}} of {{Year|1E 242}}.{{ref|name=PGE3All|{{Cite book|PGE|3|All the Eras of Man}}}} Alessia's rebellion coincided with a civil war within the Ayleid Empire which led to many rebel Ayleid lords joining forces with Alessia and aiding her rebellion.{{ref|name=TLKOTA}}{{ref|name=OBHerminia|[[OB:Herminia Cinna|Herminia Cinna's]] dialogue in [[OB:Oblivion|Oblivion]].}} These allies of Alessia were largely Aedra-worshippers,{{ref|name=DWTA}} indicating that the schism among the Ayleids was likely related to religious differences.
[[Lore:Skyrim|Skyrim]], of course, lent help to their enslaved relatives under the Ayleid Empire, which also played a part in the Ayleids being overthrown.{{ref|name=FC|{{Cite book|Frontier, Conquest}}}}{{ref|name=PGE3Sky|{{Cite book|PGE|3|Skyrim}}}} In only a year, the Slave Queen [[Lore:Alessia|Alessia]] and her supporters had taken the {{Lore Link|White-Gold Tower}}, founded the {{Lore Link|Alessian Empire}}, and secured the subsequent shift in power from mer to men on Tamriel.{{ref|name=FC}}{{ref|name=PGE3C}}
===The Late Ayleid Period===
:''"Our exiled Elven ancestors heard the welcoming gifts of peace in the streams and beech trees and stars."''{{ref|name=ART}}
The Alessian Slave Rebellion was devastating to the Ayleids. Legend says entire settlements were slaughtered at the hands of Alessia's champion, {{Lore Link|Pelinal Whitestrake}}.{{ref|name=TSOP}} Though the Ayleids would continue to have a presence in Cyrodiil for several hundred years, the fall of the White-Gold Tower in 1E 243 signaled the beginning of the Late Ayleid Period. The tower was turned into the Imperial Palace by Alessia and her descendants, and it remains so to this day. The {{Lore Link|Bravil}} region was one of the very last areas to be liberated by the Alessian army. It took Alessia's forces, led by Bravillius Tasus, four attempts to finally defeat them.{{ref|name=DOTN}} In these early years, the Alessian Empire forbade the worship of the Daedric Princes and focused on hunting down and exterminating Daedra-worshipping Ayleids.{{ref|name=DWTA}}
Ayleidic culture lingered in the Aedra-worshipping city-states that survived as client kingdoms of Alessian Cyrodiil, but resentment at the continued presence of Ayleid nobles within the Empire was a contributing factor to the rise of the so-called {{Lore Link|Alessian Order}} founded by {{Lore Link|Marukh}}. In {{Year|1E 361}}, the Alessians gained control of the Empire and enforced the Alessian Doctrines throughout its domain. The Ayleid lordships were abolished. Enforcement of this decree does not appear to have required much direct violence — it seems that by this point the balance of power was so overwhelmingly against them, and their fate so long foreshadowed, that most of the remaining Ayleids simply left Cyrodiil, eventually being absorbed into the elven populations of {{Lore Link|Valenwood}} and {{Lore Link|High Rock}}.{{ref|name=TLKOTA}}{{ref|name=PGE3V|{{Cite book|PGE|3|Valenwood}}}} It's speculated that the exodus of the Ayleids from Cyrodiil may have vastly strengthened the {{Lore Link|Direnni|Direnni Hegemony}} in High Rock - in which case, the Ayleids had their revenge, as the war with the Direnni eventually crippled the Alessian Empire and brought about its fall.{{ref|name=TLKOTA}}{{ref|name=DRD|{{Cite book|De Rerum Dirennis}}}}
The only known Ayleids who remained in Cyrodiil served as mentors and tutors for the new human nobility.{{ref|name=RTR|{{Cite book|Rislav The Righteous}}}} The last remaining kingdom of the Ayleids, {{Lore Link|Nenalata}}, was last heard of in {{Year|1E 482}} at the {{Lore Link|Battle of Glenumbria Moors}}. Following the battle, the so-called last king of the Ayleids, {{Lore Link|Laloriaran Dynar}}, was lured back to Nenalata and tricked by {{Lore Link|Molag Bal}} to henceforth serve as a prisoner in {{Lore Link|Coldharbour}}.{{Ref|name=LSS|{{Cite book|A Life of Strife and Struggle}}}} Whether Laloriaran Dynar's people made it through the next few centuries is unknown, but this was a significant event: the Late Ayleid Period was ended, and the Ayleids would never again be seen as a military or political power.{{ref|name=TLKOTA}}
It is possible that some tribes of Ayleids may continue to live deep within the forests of Cyrodiil even into modernity, yet the most recent reported sightings are more than 1000 years old.{{ref|name=TWE}}{{ref|name=2920L5}} These Ayleids, or Wild Elves, are at best a rarity and may not have actually survived into modern times.
==Society==
:''"In the caverns of lore, ugly and obscure, shines the gold of truth."''{{ref|name=ART}}
[[File:OB-place-White Gold Tower.jpg|thumb|right|The Temple of the Ancestors]]
Ayleidic society was an alliance of kingdoms united under one empire, which ultimately ended in 1E 243 with the death of their champion, {{Lore Link|Umaril the Unfeathered}}, and the fall of the White-Gold Tower.{{ref|name=TWE}}
The impact of the loss of the Ayleids' tower, what they called the "Temple of the Ancestors", should not be underestimated. They had built it in emulation of the {{Lore Link|Adamantine Tower}}, and made the {{Lore Link|Chim-el-Adabal}}, which they believed to be the crystallized blood of the {{Lore Link|Heart of Lorkhan}}, into the tower's Founding-Stone.{{ref|name=AE4TET}} It is the site where the Ten Ancestors, statues sacred to the Ayleids, were traditionally held. They were spread to various other settlements during the siege of the White-Gold Tower for safekeeping, but were not reunited again until the late Third Era, long after the fall of the Ayleids.{{ref|name=OBUmbacano}}{{ref|name=Oblivion}}
Ayleids frequently adorned themselves with feathers and magic beads.{{ref|name=TSOP}} They are said to have been "obsessed" with the number eight (which may have been why the pantheon Saint Alessia created was made up of {{Lore Link|Eight Divines}}).{{ref|name=TA}}
Most humans, at least, agree that the Ayleids' fall from power, if not their extinction, is for the better, as the portrayals of them passed down by their former slaves are not kind. Their scholars label the Ayleids as bellicose and arrogant, and point to this being the ultimate reason for their downfall.{{ref|name=TOAC}}{{ref|name=PGE3All}}{{ref|name=OBHerminia}} Slaves were utilized by the Ayleids for a variety of purposes, including agricultural work, entertainment, and the building and maintenance of their empire's infrastructure. According to legend, the Ayleids literally turned cruelty into an art form, and many Daedra-worshipping Ayleids across Cyrodiil derived strange pleasures from "art-tortures".{{ref|name=TA}}{{ref|name=DWTA}}
Typically, Ayleid kingdoms where the most malevolent Daedric Princes were worshipped also proved to exhibit the worst treatment of their slaves.{{ref|name=DWTA}} Various settlements became famous for their particular, elaborate method of torturing their slaves, such as "wailing wheels", "gut gardens", "flesh-sculptures", and forced ingestion of hallucinogenic {{Lore Link|drugs}}, as well as nighttime "tiger sport", which involved the immolation of human children.{{ref|name=TA}}
Magic was an enormous part of their society. In accordance with High Elf religion, they believed {{Lore Link|Nirn}} was composed of four basic elements: earth, water, air, and light (as opposed to the four elements of modern natural philosophy: earth, water, air, and fire).{{ref|name=GAL}}{{ref|name=MFTS}} The most sublime form was starlight, as the stars were the link between {{Lore Link|Mundus}} and {{Lore Link|Aetherius}}. Some of their magic tapped into the power of the weather.{{ref|name=Oblivion}} They used aetherial fragments which fell from the heavens, particularly {{Lore Link|Meteoric Iron|meteoric iron}}, to construct receptacles which are believed to harness energy from starlight. These "Ayleid Wells" are scattered all over Cyrodiil, and can still be used by mages to replenish their energy. The logic used in their placement is a mystery, and none are known to be associated with any particular Ayleid settlements. They kept specially cut pieces of {{Lore Link|Meteoric Glass|meteoric glass}} known as Welkynd Stones (meaning literally "sky children") as storage containers for magical energy, as well what are called Varla Stones (or "star stones"),.{{ref|name=MFTS}} This was still an emerging technology when the Alessian Slave Rebellion brought about the decline and disappearance of their society.{{ref|name=LRN|{{Cite book|Lithnilian's Research Notes}}}} Some of these crystals had the capacity to store and release memories directly to the reader; overuse of these crystals can cause a 'problem of capacity' for mortals.{{ref|name=ESOFlooded|[[Online:The Flooded Grove|Events]] of [[Online:Online|ESO]]}}
As the kingdoms of the Ayleids dwindled, they apparently adapted to a more rural, elusive, and possibly nomadic lifestyle. Any remaining Ayleids are unknown; if they continue to exist, they are likely living in hiding. The Ayleid Sage [[Lore:Tjurhane Fyrre|Tjurhane Fyrre]] ({{Year|1E 2790}} - {{Year|2E 227}}) talked and wrote extensively of the state of the Ayleids' culture. According to Fyrre, the Ayleids of his time lived in a tribal society, with each "tribe" being substantially different from the next.{{ref|name=TWE}} The Ayleid settlements in modern-day {{Lore Link|Black Marsh}} were particularly far removed from the culture of the heartlands, and were never attacked by the Alessian armies.{{ref|name=PGE3A}} It's not clear how these settlements met their fate.
[[File:OB-place-Silorn 02.jpg|thumb|right|Ayleid statue]]
===Religion===
Few blanket statements can be made about Ayleidic religion. They began as splinter groups, and they were never totally united in their beliefs.{{ref|name=DWTA}} But while they are most well-known to historians for being "godless" and "{{Lore Link|Daedra}}-loving",{{ref|name=GTTIC|{{Cite book|Guide to the Imperial City}}}} their society was fundamentally dedicated to the veneration of the {{Lore Link|Aedra}}, not the Daedra, until the last millenium of the Merethic Era.{{ref|name=TWoD|{{Cite book|The Whithering of Delodiil}}}} Given the importance of magic in their society, it is unsurprising that at least some city-states are known to have venerated [[Lore:Magnus (god)|Magnus]], the god of magic and the Aedra's absent comrade.{{ref|name=GAL}}{{ref|name=TM|{{Cite book|The Monomyth}}}} Scholars have also concluded, though, that the Daedric Prince {{Lore Link|Meridia}}, who they knew as Merid-Nunda, represented for them the personification of the most-sacred element of light.{{ref|name=EOMN|{{Cite book|Exegesis of Merid-Nunda}}}}{{ref|name=TWoD}}
Even after the Daedric cults rose to power (discussed [[#History|above]]), many Ayleidic kingdoms continued to honor the Aedra.{{ref|name=DWTA}} Many slaves in Cyrodiil became Aedra-worshippers by adopting many of the beliefs of their masters,{{ref|name=TAOK}}{{ref|name=SATD}} and it's suspected that Alessia incorporated elven Aedra into her Eight Divines pantheon in order to appease her Ayleid and Ayleid-influenced vassals.{{ref|name=DWTA}} Ayleids venerated their ancestors,{{ref|name=OBUmbacano}} and Aedra literally means "ancestor".{{ref|name=AAD|{{Cite book|Aedra and Daedra}}}}
Ayleid statues throughout Cyrodiil depict an eagle lifting up a figure carrying a bow and shield from the ensnaring ground.{{ref|name=Oblivion}} The bow and shield are the weapons associated with the Aedra {{Lore Link|Auri-El}}.{{ref|name=TM}} For the Altmer, the eagle represents the Aedra,{{ref|group=OOG|name=ZeniMax|[http://help.elderscrollsonline.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1175 Answers from ZeniMax regarding Elder Scrolls Online].}} and Ayleids presumably inherited this symbolism, as well.
{{Newline}}
==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:OB-quest-The Collector 02.jpg|One of the Ten Ancestors (Oblivion)
File:OB-item-Malada Carving.jpg|An Ayleid carving (Oblivion)
File:OB-quest-Secrets of the Ayleids.jpg|An Ayleid throne room (Oblivion)
File:OB-item-Ayleid Crown of Nenalata.jpg|An Ayleid crown (Oblivion)
File:ON-item-IlmyrisMemoryCrystal.jpg|An Ayleid memory crystal in {{Lore Link|Ilmyris}} (ESO)
File:OB-npc-Ayleid Guardian 01.jpg|An Ayleid guardian statue (Oblivion)
</gallery>
==Notes==
* An NPC in ''[[OB:Oblivion|TES IV: Oblivion]]'' makes reference to the possibility of "Ayleid Revivalists", and the events of the game corroborate that there was at least one fanatic elf at the end of the Third Era who was hell-bent on seeing the Ayleid Empire rise again.
==See Also==
* For game-specific information, see the [[Oblivion:Ayleids|Oblivion]] and [[Online:Ayleid|ESO]] articles.
* For a list of Ayleid ruins which appeared across games, see the [[Oblivion:Ayleid Ruins|Oblivion]] and [[Online:Ayleid Ruins|ESO]] articles.
* For the Ayleid language, see [[Lore:Ayleidoon|their language page]].
===Books===
* {{Book Link|The Adabal-a}}
* {{Book Link|The Amulet of Kings}}
* {{Book Link|Ayleid Survivals in Valenwood}}
* {{Book Link|Bisnensel: Our Ancient Roots}}
* {{Book Link|Daedra Worship: The Ayleids}}
* {{Book Link|Daughter of the Niben}}
* {{Book Link|Exegesis of Merid-Nunda}}
* {{Book Link|Glories and Laments}}
* {{Book Link|The Last King of the Ayleids}}
* {{Book Link|A Life of Strife and Struggle}}
* {{Book Link|Magic from the Sky}}
* {{Book Link|Pocket Guide to the Empire, 3rd Edition}}
** {{Book Link|Pocket Guide to the Empire, 3rd Edition/All the Eras of Man|All the Eras of Man}}
** {{Book Link|Pocket Guide to the Empire, 3rd Edition/Cyrodiil|Cyrodiil}}
* {{Book Link|Shezarr and the Divines}}
* {{Book Link|The Tale of Princess Anurraame}}
* {{Book Link|Tears of Anurraame}}
* {{Book Link|Treatise on Ayleidic Cities}}
* {{Book Link|The Whithering of Delodiil}}
* {{Book Link|The Wild Elves}}
== References ==
<references/>
{{OOG}}
<references group=OOG/>
{{Races}}</noinclude>