Ashlanders

"Ashlander" is a term for those Dunmer who live among the Ashlands and worship the Three Good Daedra instead of the ALMSIVI. These Dunmer, while very different culturally, are not a distinct race from the House Dunmer, one of the most apparent differences being that Ashlanders live in nomadic camps in the more uninhabitable parts of Morrowind. While some Ashlanders are exiled from their tribes, most Ashlanders belong to a distinct tribal group.

History

The Ashlanders can be traced back to the Chimer's nomadic and tribal tradition which they adopted after the fall of High Velothi Culture. Between High Velothi Culture and the emergence of the Great Houses, all Chimer lived in nomadic tribes similar to the Ashlanders of modern day. The Great Houses began emerging from prominent Chimer clans, settling in set places and developing cultures unique to that House. Some Chimer retained their nomadic lifestyle, and these Chimer's descendants would become the modern Ashlanders. The Ashlander Tribes were united by the Hortator Indoril Nerevar during the War of the First Council, in which they fought alongside the Great Houses against the traitorous Dwemer. The Second Battle of Red Mountain would be where a more prominent difference between the Ashlanders and their peers would emerge, as the Ashlanders rejected the Tribunal following the death of Indoril Nerevar and the Battle of Red Mountain. The Ashlanders would live in seclusion in the hostile wastes of Morrowind, barely interacting with their House Dunmer kin aside from trade with the nearby Great Houses.

Tribes

The Ashlander tribes on Morrowind's mainland consist of:

• Ishanuran - A proud and traditionalist tribe living in the Armun Ashlands.
• Kushimmu - A tribe living in the Grey Meadows.
• Obainat - A tribe made up of Ashlanders displaced by the expansion of House Hlaalu.
• Volenfaryon - A tribe living out of the stronghold Volenfaryon ruled by three mabrigash sisters.
• Tirigan - A once-powerful tribe of the Armun Ashlands which has been reduced to only a handful of members.
• Sennahanib - A minor tribe living in Alt Orethan.

The Ashlander tribes on the island of Vvardenfell consist of:

• Urshilaku - A spiritual tribe on the northern coast who also organize the Nerevarine Cult.
• Ahemmusa - A leaderless tribe in the Grazelands.
• Zainab - A tribe in the southern Grazelands with trade relations with the Telvanni.
• Erabenimsun - A xenophobic warrior-tribe who live in the wastes of Molag Amur.