Are ZO retconning the Ayleids?

Nerouyn · July 2019

I commented recently in the housing forum how it was odd that the newer of the two Summerset architectural styles copies the Ayleid / Imperial style.

Since the Altmer consider Summerset the cradle of civilization, blatantly copying anyone else would seem to be out of character.

But then I was looking up something in the wiki and came across this:

https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Through_a_Veil_Darkly

With the release of Summerset, the journal entry: "Oracle Marieve thinks she's being taken to an Ayleid ruin in Auridon called Bewan. I should go to Bewan and attempt to rescue her." was replaced with a line calling the ruin Aldmeri.

It is an Ayleid ruin. We all know what Ayleid ruins look like. We'd all recognise it as such just from the loading screen.

https://youtu.be/fzY2w8jxn-4?t=51

This change makes no sense.

However, considered together it looks like ZO are trying to retcon the Ayleid style to give it to the Aldmer. Since the Altmer consider themselves the "purest" descendants of the Aldmer, copying their architectural style might make sense.

Ajaxandriel · July 2019

"I commented recently in the housing forum how it was odd that the newer of the two Summerset architectural styles copies the Ayleid / Imperial style.

Since the Altmer consider Summerset the cradle of civilization, blatantly copying anyone else would seem to be out of character."

- What if it's the other way around? The Ayelids did copy the Summerset style, then the Imperials kept/copied the Ayleid style.
- Indeed the devs retro-designed the Summerset style to look like Ayleid-Imperial style, but it's not this causality direction lore-wise.

"With the release of Summerset, the journal entry: "Oracle Marieve thinks she's being taken to an Ayleid ruin in Auridon called Bewan. I should go to Bewan and attempt to rescue her.[/b]" was replaced with a line calling the ruin Aldmeri.

It is an Ayleid ruin. We all know what Ayleid ruins look like. We'd all recognise it as such just from the loading screen.

This change makes no sense."

Maybe the Ayleids had various styles back then: we know they had rival very different countries and customs.
Bewan and Auridon ruins were always meant to be "aldmeri", meaning high-elven, contemporary to Ayleids BUT not-continental.
IIRC Schick (or a NPC he plays) stated one can differentiate both thanks to the type of meteoric stones it uses - yellow ones for Auridon ("Aldmeri") and blue ones for Continental (Ayleid).

Ah, here is your source: https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/410128/[unsll_url_5]
https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eso-rp-interviews-phrastus-elinhir

Bruccius · July 2019

The Ayleids and the Altmer have a very similar architecture. After all, the Ayleids are the Heartland ''High Elves''. As a matter of fact, in their earliest days, the Ayleids even paid tribute to the king of Alinor, implying they even were part of the same common government.

The biggest difference between Ayleid and Altmer ruins are the stones you see in them. Ayleids have the aquamarine-colored Welkynd Stones, and the bright white Varla Stones (though I'm unsure the latter appear in ESO). The Altmer have a distinct yellow and orange colored stone instead.

The Ayleids having lived in Summerset makes sense to me - certainly after the rise of the Alessian Order. I'm sure you are aware that the Ayleids who had remained in Cyrodiil were... persuaded... to relocate after their rise. They traveled to all corners of Tamriel; possibly including Summerset. Of course, this ruin could also belong from an even earlier time period; when the Daedra-loving Ayleids began their policy of relocating the Barsaebic - Aedra-worshipping - Ayleids. Most of the Barsaebic Ayleids settled in Black Marsh, but it would also make sense for them to return to Summerset - where Daedra worship was banned.

Ajaxandriel · July 2019

Ajaxandriel wrote: »

Schick (or a NPC he plays) stated one can differentiate both thanks to the type of meteoric stones it uses - yellow ones for Auridon ("Aldmeri") and blue ones for Continental (Ayleid).

Ah, here is your source: https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/410128/[unsll_url_5]
https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eso-rp-interviews-phrastus-elinhir

To be more precise
- the Malondo and Culanda (yellow-orange) stones are used by contemporary Altmeri and maybe earlier Aldmeri => seen in the ruins on Auridon,
- whereas the Varla and Welkynd (blue) stones are used by Ayleids => the ruins everywhere else

(On the matter here are the theories of a well-know character: https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Aetherial_Fragments
It's only her theory. Phrastus - i linked above - leans always to different conclusions.)

ArchMikem · August 2019

The Hollow City's architecture is simply, a time saving decision. It's supposedly an ancient Ayleid city, but the game doesn't have any Ayleid assets other than ruins. So they just used Imperial/Colovian and called it good enough.

Aliyavana · August 2019

I believe that the ayleid like architecture on Auridon is actually ancient elf, and the ayleids based their designs off of it lore wise. the referral to ancient elf architecture as ayleids is an error, and in the past, any references to Auridon ancient elf architecture as ayleid has been removed. Looks like they have repeated the same mistake.

ghastley · August 2019

Somewhere being "a xxxx city" just means that if you dig down far enough, you might find evidence of xxxx. It was founded by xxxx, but whether any trace still exists is a different matter. Modern replacement buildings may have been constructed to match an older style, even though the current inhabitants would normally build in another - especially if the rebuild uses recycled material from the ruins.

ESO has a few mybrids, such as Bosmer trees grown over older ruins. The Orcsw constructing Orsinium may be using recycled blocks.

Styles may also be cultural, rather than racial, so Azura-worshippers could use common elements (moons, stars) in conjunction with others.