The next Elder Scrolls Online Chapter, titled High Isle, takes players far away from the mainland of Tamriel to explore a never-before-seen island chain inhabited mainly by Bretons. In an interview with Game Rant, Loremaster Leamon Tuttle and Lead Writer Bill Slavicsek went over the lore and naval traditions of High Isle. As a part of the Systres Archipelago, the society of High Isle is dependent on the ocean and will have lots of seafaring features like a House of Shipbuilders, Pirates, and more.
During the interview, Slavicsek let slip a small detail on something fans have been wanting to see more of in the world of Elder Scrolls Online: the Maormer. Known more commonly as the Sea Elves, the Maormer and their homeland of Pyandonea were theorized by many players to be the focus of the 2022 Chapter. While High Isle brings Bretons into the spotlight, that doesn’t mean the Sea Elves won’t have a presence in the next Elder Scrolls Online adventure.
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“It’s an archipelago, so you’re gonna run into Pirates of all stripes, but maybe even some Sea Elves – maybe I said that, or maybe I didn’t,” Slavicsek said. Tuttle then went on to elaborate and said, “we always want the place to feel authentic to what it is, so anything that you would imagine you would find southwest of the Abecean Sea is gonna be there – including Sea Elves.”
The Maormer are seen in several other places throughout Tamriel as seen in Elder Scrolls Online, like in the Aldmeri Dominion starting zone Khenarthi’s Roost and the more recently added Blackwood zone. Their history is intricately connected with grand Elven lore. Much like the Dunmer, the Sea Elves were exiles from Aldmeris and founded Pyandonea long ago, and have been at odds with Summerset ever since – their leader, King Orgnum, is a nigh-immortal Elf who could be compared to a member of the Dunmer Tribunal.
According to Tuttle and Slavicsek, the Sea Elves will be more significantly featured in the High Isle Chapter than in previous ESO iterations, which was corroborated during the post-reveal stream on the Ascending Tide DLC, which features Maormer Pirates throughout the DLC’s included Trial. While the Loremaster and Lead Writer each confirmed that Maormer will return to Elder Scrolls Online in 2022, they did not say whether the Sea Elves would become a new playable race or not.
There have not been any playable races added to Elder Scrolls Online since the Imperials were included as a separate Crown Store purchase soon after the MMO’s release. The likelihood of the Sea Elves being added to ESO is slim, considering they weren’t revealed during the High Isle announcement stream, but fans can rest assured that more Maormer lore is on the way in 2022.
Elder Scrolls Online: High Isle releases on June 6, 2022 for PC and Mac, and on June 22 for PlayStation and Xbox players.
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