History and Historical Context

In the past, the High Elves of Alinor had created the Sun Birds to explore the void of Oblivion and attempt to reach Aetherius (the plane of the Divines). Under King Reman's reign, the Empire had also funded similar expeditions. These attempts were abandoned due to the exorbitant magical cost they required.

These expeditions left behind a mysterious legacy: the Imperial Mananauts, a corps of void explorers serving the Elder Council, active at the end of the 1^st Era and during the Second Era. These Mananauts discovered that an unprepared mortal mind risked madness when traveling in the void of Oblivion, and had to use intermediate "slip realms" to acclimate their minds to the Void. Despite these feats, the project was dissolved, for lack of magicka and sufficient resources.

Obscure legends circulate about ancient journeys in the heavens: it is told, for example, that the Redguard hero Cyrus once sailed to the moon Masser aboard his ship, the Carrick, propelled by bags filled with Sload gas. Ancient Dwemer airships would have also existed.

Certain apocalyptic prophecies – tolerated only in very esoteric circles – evoke a catastrophic future where the iron giant Numidium would resurface to annihilate Nirn during an event called Landfall. According to these apocryphal accounts, Nirn would be destroyed at the end of the 5^th Era and Khajiit and Dunmer refugees would flee aboard a ship named Wonderweir to the moon Masser, where they would found underground colonies to survive.