So... About the Jungle Cyrodiil

FabresFour · April 7

Yeah, I know, this topic is already well covered but... Considering that we're seeing a jungle spreading across Cyrodiil (West Weald) this year, I thought it would be cool to speculate before the release of Gold Road!

Well, as you well know, something similar to a cyrodiil jungle appears during Sanctum Ophidia.

I remember that this brought up many theories for the entire history of Jungle Cyrodiil, which left me fascinated. I don't remember exactly the story of Sanctum Ophidia, but according to this reddit: "Part of the Celestial Serpent's plan is to create a dragon break in Craglorn in order to return Tamriel to the Dawn Era and restart civilization." /// In other words, Cyrodiil's jungle is simply what happens to Tamriel during dragon breaks/the Dawn Era, when the land undergoes a Wild-Hunt-like transformation.

And now, with Ithelia's return, could Tamriel be revisiting past memories, and that's why the jungle is advancing towards Cyrodiil?

(Look at the name of the new Forest... DAWNWOOD.... Dawn Era.... I don't know but... well xD)

I don't know, I thought about it in the shower and it seemed too intriguing to ignore LOL

Vinterskald · April 9

That's a really cool idea!

I thought (and I haven't played the prologue quest yet, because I haven't finished Necrom yet, so I may be missing some key information) that perhaps what's happening to Cyrodiil in Gold Road might be more of a blending of timelines.

One of the "why is Cyrodiil not presently a jungle?" theories I like the most (that makes about as little sense as others, but I like it, still) is that it was only one while the Ayleids reigned over Cyrodiil, and as soon as the White-Gold Tower became seat of a Nedic government, it slowly turned into what we see in Oblivion and ESO. So, say there's a timeline where the Ayleids continued to rule Cyrodiil - then, in this theory, Cyrodiil would never have become temperate!

So I thought, hey, what if Ithelia is a regular Prince in another timeline? (Maybe one where Hermaeus Mora was locked away?) What if in that timeline, Cyrodiil is still a jungle, but because they're melding now (because of weird Daedra shenanigans, for lack of a better idea - since the Daedra can transcend time and reality), Ithelia's existence is seeping into our timeline, and so are other circumstances of her reality?

I'm not sure it would make much sense with what we already know about the next chapter, but there was one thing I remember them saying in the livestream, that even the Bosmer themselves that are there aren't quite sure what's happening, and if I'm not misremembering, they said that they don't feel like they're invading anything, they've been there all this time. Which to me sounded a lot like "well maybe in your reality this is not our territory, but in ours it sure is!"

Then there's the whole possibility of Ithelia being a Magna-Ge that clearly puts her into the same weird "time and the construction of the world" realm as Meridia and Magnus, which could certainly be incorporated into my theory, but... I don't know, we'll just have to wait and see what they do with that, I suppose

Either way I'm really excited they're playing more into the jungle-Cyrodiil idea!

TX12001rwb17_ESO · April 12

Didn't one of them say in the stream the whole "Cyrodiil Jungle" thing was a metaphor for "It's a Jungle Out there" implying it is crazy and not literally having trees everywhere, an Empire like that would not be sustainable in a Jungle.

FabresFour · April 12

TX12001rwb17_ESO wrote: »

Didn't one of them say in the stream the whole "Cyrodiil Jungle" thing was a metaphor for "It's a Jungle Out there" implying it is crazy and not literally having trees everywhere, an Empire like that would not be sustainable in a Jungle.

Yes, but that was before, then they put several books in the game itself contradicting that. For example, Lady Cinnabar herself:

According to "The Heartland of Cyrodiil," by that old fraud Phrastus of Elinhir, the Nibenese valley and the Colovian hills have always enjoyed the temperate climate they have today, and early references to Cyrodiil as a subtropical jungle were merely errors on the part of one of the Heimskrs.

Really? What, then, of the "waving fronds" of Vahtacen mentioned in the Hosiric Lays? What of Khosey's "dense-jungl'd shore of Rumare" in the Tamrilean Tractates? Are these, as well, the mistakes of errant copyists?

jaekobcaed · April 13

Dude, if that's what ZOS is doing, massive props to the lore team. As someone currently writing a massive series with loads of lore and backstory, I know from personal experience how difficult it is to work out how to explain away contradictions without making major changes. I really hope that's the route they're going here!

ThelerisTelvanni · April 14

Well they made Ithelia the prince of paths and mistress of the untraveled road.

As far as I recall it she can choose by will if she wants to change fate and alternative timelines that did not happen fall into her domain.

So maybe they will make her the prince of dragon breaks as well.

We will see I assume. But it is an interesting lore topic.