Is Cralgorn part of the Hammerfell province during ESO?

RenTheCat · October 13

I was having a very heated discussion with a Khajiit from Rimmen who insisted Cralgorn was not part of Hammerfell, that it was a borderline zone and due to the presence of things like the Falkreath entrance, the Skyrim house "Hakkvild High Hall" and Imperials, Orcs, etc. fighitng over the zone it made it not part of Hammerfell as it is during the third era. It being described as a "No man's land" also led to this Khajiit to insist the place is independent and not officially part of Hammerfell.
I insisted that it is part of Hammerfell, as the very loading screen says "it's a region of northeastern Hammerfell", the UESP wiki says is part of Hammerfell and even though Elnihir and Dragonstar are destroyed and their city appearence Imperial/Nordic they are still Hammerfell cities shown in the Tamriel map we all know of.

So which one is it?
During ESO Cralgorn is its own region with no ties to Hammerfell? Is it a mix of 3 provinces due to the presence of houses and groups like the Iron Orcs? Or is it fully part of the Hammerfell province?

Aliyavana · October 13

Its part of hammerfell geographically, but it is neutral

Iriidius · October 14

There is no Falkreath open world zone so entrance of falkreath dungeon and hakvilds hall had to be moved to another zone. Western Skyrim and the Reach did get released 2 years later so were not possible location so the nearest basegame zones are rift, eastmarch and claglorn and it seems like cralgorn was nearer since falkreath is located in southwest skyrim at border to hammerfell and seperated from eastmarch and rift by whiterun.

Heren · October 14

There's multiple ways to answer this question, depending on what do you mean exactly by 'being part of the Hammerfell province' : geographicaly or politicaly ? Among other things, you could also mention culturaly, even if it's less important for the debate.

Geographicaly, you can say that Craglorn maybe extend a bit outside Craglorn ( well, just a little bit ), with the northern highlands being kinda accessible ( Falkreath and Hakkvild high hall, as you mentionned ); but you can also say that there is only ways to get in there in Craglorn, and that these instances are situated in a different region.

Politicaly, I frankly don't know, but some things to consider - like Hammerfell unity right now, or in other words, how much control do king Fahara'jad and, by extension, the Daggerfall Covenant, exerce on the diverse parts of Hammerfell ? Hard to say since, well, there is a lack of political context in much of the dlc zones ( Orsinium, sadly, is really an exception ), but one can express serious doubt about the hold of king Fahara'jad and the Daggerfall Covenant in all of Hammerfell, and thus on Craglorn.

I don't remember if there is evidences of that but I think that Dragonstar, Elihnir and, to a lesser extent, Belkarth are de facto independant cities; and ( obviously ), the part of Craglorn controlled by Iron Orcs and other factions of the Scaled Court are, well, also independant from any ( possible ) central power in Hammerfell.

That being said, it's obvious the Daggerfall Covenant control parts of Craglorn ( the access to Bangkorai and the one to Cyrodiil ), and to some extent it make sense that they ( at least try ) to control the road between these two points, or at least that their caravans are heavily guarded, because Craglorn really seems to be the principal ( only now that we have West Weald extending all the way to Craglorn ? ) way for the Covenant to supply their actions in Cyrodiil.

So, mostly the same answer as Aliyavana, and to specify : I don't think that Craglorn is part of Hammerfell as a politicaly unified nation. So I guess, the cat was mostly right ! But in the same time, you can't entirely rid the Covenant off Craglorn.

WhiteCoatSyndrome · October 14

Per High King Emeric:

"Your Majesty, I ask this question on behalf of the citizens of Belkarth and Dragonstar, loyal subjects of the once-great Second Empire, but apparently second-class to the Daggerfall Covenant. Craglorn in eastern Hammerfell is under severe threat from the so-called Scaled Court and these beings they call Celestials. Is Hammerfell not part of the Covenant? Why has there been no aid from Wayrest to combat the Celestial threat in these Covenant homelands?" – Enodoc Dumnonii, Savant of the United Explorers of Scholarly Pursuits
King Emeric says, "So far, only the parts of Hammerfell that owe fealty to the noble King Fahara'jad have joined the Daggerfall Covenant. Belkarth and Dragonstar are home to many brave and accomplished citizens with admirable aspirations, but until Northeast Hammerfell is represented by some kind of centralized authority, there is no one for the Covenant to sign a treaty with, and no one for the citizens of Craglorn to hold accountable for their protection. It is time for the people of Craglorn to band together and find a leader they can stand behind. The Daggerfall Covenant needs to use the east-west caravan road to supply our troops in Cyrodiil, so naturally we try to maintain order along that corridor, but we cannot commit to more than that under current circumstances. I'm sure a scholar such as yourself will understand."

Supreme_Atromancer · October 16

Craglorn loading screen wrote:

Though crossed by caravans and Covenant troops going to and from Cyrodiil, this wild region of eastern Hammerfell is a virtual no-man's-land. It's anchored on the east and west by the towns of Elinhir and Dragonstar.

There's not much that I could find in the game itself to definitively say, but based on @WhiteCoatSyndrome 's insightful UOL quote, and the Craglorn loading screen, it must be recognised by characters in the game as part of the Hammerfell region. It's probably historically Hammerfell as well.

It is culturally a melting pot, with outcasts and pioneers from High Rock, Skyrim, Colovia and other parts of Hammerfell.

It's politically a no-man's land; the Dragonstar Caravan Company comes the closest to being an authority in Belkarth https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Merchants,_Scoundrels,_Thieves, (presumably in Dragonstar, too), while the Blackcasters became mayors of Elinhir. https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:The_Flourishing_of_Elinhir The Daggerfall Covenant exercises control of the east-west road between High Rock and Cyrodiil- and they are not interested in anything unless it directly threatens their supply route.

While we're on the topic of Craglorn geography, I'd dearly love to know:

Lieutenant Maelys wrote:

The Reach is full of Nord militants. Luckily, they rarely come in force

- The DC covenant at the Bangkorai gate.

Who are these Reach-dwelling Nord Militants? Are they aligned with Western Skyrim?

Sai Sahan wrote:

The twins of sword and spear, Ra Hasa and Ra Huzar, and their mother, Ansei Satameh the Tigress of Dragonstar.

Surely not the ramshackle little mining town settled by nords from Skyrim? Dragonstar- the name, at least, must be associated with a fascinating Redguard history, which- much like that of neighbouring EPHESUS in Bangkorai- is obliterated.

Although we've already been to these two regions, I'd love for ZOS to one day explore the Redguard history and heritage of the Dragonstar/Ephesus region.