Pinging @ZOS_GinaBruno, @ZOS_Kevin, @ZOS_RichLambert and @ZOS_LeamonTuttle in the hopes that they might see this thread and pass it on!

INTRODUCTION:
With the upcoming chapter, me and my Breton-loving friends are hyped! This year presents an opportunity for Zenimax to not just do a deep dive into the Bretons’ lore, but to properly flesh it out and give it a unique identity that stands out from the typical generic medieval fantasy.

One of the most common complaints about Bretons is that they are bland and generic, and though my friends and I sometimes gripe about this reputation, we are hoping that the planned deep dive will do the Bretons justice, even with the focus on their feudal aspects.

These are the hopes and expectations of four avid Breton nerds for what we will see explored and expanded on this year. While we understand that storylines are often set in stone, we hope ZOS’ writing team will take a moment to read this thread and consider sneaking in some of what is noted, if it is not already planned. A special thanks to @Aliyavana, @frozen290 and @Varus92 (the latter two in-game) for giving their input on this post!

THE RIGHTS CHARTER:
High Rock has a Rights Charter, and it would be awesome to see it added as a lorebook to learn what rights it grants its citizens. It would be fantastic if it was inspired by the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen from the French Revolution or Magna Carta from the Middle Ages, as this would reflect the Bretons’ reputation as creative and intelligent thinkers.

BRETON CULTURE:
The Bretons' tavern songs, Emeric’s autobiography and the Covenant’s propaganda strongly imply that the Bretons value freedom, and according to Daedric myth, Darius Shano mocked commoners, nobility, the gods, clergymen and even royalty with impunity, only being executed once he ridiculed Tiber Septim. That Darius could freely criticize so many people might imply the Bretons value freedom of expression, and it would be great to have this stated outright.

Because the Bretons are described as thinkers, it would also be cool to see dialectic, philosophy and rhetoric be common Breton pastimes. Not to mention showing the Bretons’ questing culture and focus on upward mobility! Diversifying High Rock’s regions with lorebooks on different Breton subcultures as in Glenumbra would also be welcomed, as would adding NPCs reflecting these subcultures. It would also be cool to learn how the Bretons try to justify scheming as honorable.

For the Bretons’ Medieval vibes, it would be interesting to see some focus on the conflicts that could arise from having a Rights Charter in a feudal society. It would also be good to diversify the Bretons’ various knightly orders with distinct flairs, like with the spell knights and merchant knights. It would be awesome to see new flairs like “painter knights,” and for them all to have different traditions and codes of chivalry.

In ESO’s pre-release material, Bretons were described as flamboyant, intelligent, inventive and passionate, and Breton children were noted to play with spells in the streets. As a race of naturally talented spellcasters, we think the Bretons should flaunt their abilities more by having magic take a more prominent role in their society. Having the Bretons engineer revolutionary items such as refrigerators using cold flame and making them commonplace would absolutely suit their pre-release description!

EXPANDING ON WYRD LORE:
The Beldama and Glenmoril Wyrd Covens are witches with a mostly Breton population and an aversion to city people, but we know little about their history and what customs make them different from Reachmen. Perhaps they could be connected to the Druids of Galen mentioned in TES1, as Bretons who preserved their Nedic traditions?

BRETON-DIRENNI RELATIONS:
Phrastus and Cinnabar claim the Bretons vilified or resisted Clan Direnni after the rout of the Alessians in the First Era, but this seems misleading, since the Bretons of Glenumbra celebrate the Direnni with the Day of Release and the song of the Battle of Glenumbria Moors, which explicitly says they fought the Alessians in Direnni’s name. Gabrielle claims the Direnni fled High Rock in the First Era, but the Covenant’s propaganda says they have accepted and live with the Direnni in peace in the Second Era. High King Emeric called Direnni rule oppressive, but a notable amount of Bretons emphasize their Elven heritage. The only Bretons known to have targeted Clan Direnni are the vampiric House Spenard and their vassals, but they were despots that starved their own population. Contrary to Phrastus’ and Cinnabar’s claims that the Bretons tell stories about resisting Direnni rule, only northern Bangkorai has one story like that.

Cross-referencing the lore suggests that the Bretons were divided on whether to support the Direnni, with some remaining loyal and others converting to Alessianism. It would be amazing to get lorebooks that say just how widespread the attempts to usurp the Direnni were, and whether they were made by those who sided with the Alessian Order as a last-ditch effort to overthrow the Elves while they were scattered and exhausted after routing them.

It would also be interesting to see support of the Direnni and Mer be a point of contention between the modern-day Bretons, with Glenumbra and perhaps Stormhaven favoring them, and Rivenspire and northern Bangkorai opposing them. If some Bretons had an attitude that “things were better under the Direnni Hegemony,” then that would be a neat way of giving them some extra Renaissance flair.

DIRENNI PRESENCE IN HIGH ROCK:
Expanding on the point above, since the Covenant says they have accepted the Direnni, it would be good to see this actually be represented with a few explicit Direnni NPCs placed around in High Rock, either with a Direnni name or with dialogue declaring them a member of the clan. Though less likely to happen, it would also be good to see some of the Ayleid ruins in High Rock replaced by Direnni ones in the Alinor style found in the Direnni Acropolis, as both the Direnni and the Ayleids have had a presence there.

The Western Reach is also said to have been fashioned into an impregnable bastion by Clan Direnni. It would be nice to see them still have holdings there as part of a Q4 DLC.

BRETON CULTS AND CREATION MYTHS:
Sheor/Lorkhan is considered the Bad Man in Bretonic religion, but the Antiquities in Glenumbra imply that Lorkhan was initially considered a part of the Nedic pantheon in High Rock. It would be nice to explore just how Lorkhan became demonized by them, and since Sheor is said to have been born during the dark years after the fall of Sarthaal, perhaps it could be linked to King Vrage’s invasion of High Rock in the third century of the First Era? It would be nice to see exploration ofthe Bretons’ Elven cults and obscure gods, and for them to perhaps rival the Eight in popularity.

It would also be interesting to expand on the Bretons’ creation myth of the Light and the Dark, as it implies that the Bretons might have a more critical and rationalistic interpretation of how the Aurbis, Daedra and Divines came to be.

FAMOUS BRETONS:
It would be cool to see more lore on famous Bretons such as the immortal Sage, Gyron Vardengroet, the merchant-explorer, Captain Margaux, the renowned Breton holy knight Eleidon, and the founder of the Silver Dawn, Adeliza Silver-Axe.

BRETON CUISINE:
Some of the greatest cooks in Tamriel have been Bretons, and it would be great to see this reflected in their cuisine. Food like chocolate, butter, croissants, eggs, quiche, baguettes, omelets, potage le magnifique, pancakes, pizza (thanks to ESO-RP for suggesting that one), fries, french toast, onion soup, tarts, soufflé, mousse, wine, waffles, pudding, cookies and cakes would be lovely.

ITHGULEOIR:
Since the chapter is sea-based it is the perfect opportunity to explore the Bretons’ folklore on the legendary immortal leviathan, Ithguleoir.

HIGH ROCK FAUNA:
It would be nice to see the Centaurs and Dragonlings from TES2 be brought back, and if Q4 is in the Western Reach, it would be cool to see the Rays from Shadowkey return.

A LOREMASTER Q&A ABOUT BRETONS:
If what was suggested here cannot be included, or just to add frosting on the cake if it is, it would be awesome to get a Loremaster Q&A to get a chance to ask about the Bretons and their lore!

CONCLUSION:
These are just some of the things the four of us want to see in the upcoming content. Of course we have our individual preferences for what we want to see the most, but our hope and expectation is that the writers will flesh out and do the Bretons’ lore justice.

If you folks have your own hopes and wishes for the upcoming lore content, please post them! What kind of Breton-related lore and stories are you hoping to see this year?