Breton Description

Bretons (from the Ehlnofex "beratu" meaning half, and once known as the Manmeri) are a human race of elven ancestry that inhabits High Rock. They are united in culture and language, but divided politically. Bretons are known for proficiency in abstract thinking and have a quick and perceptive grasp of spellcraft, enchantment, and alchemy. This natural affinity for the magical arts is attributed to their Elven blood. Bretons, by and large, are pale-skinned and slight humans, less muscular than Nords and Yokudans, and possess more defined features such as high cheekbones. Despite their politically fractious society, the Bretons are unified by language, bardic traditions, and heroic tales. Due to their mixed heritage, they are sometimes disparagingly termed a "mongrel race". Due to the innate magical ability of Bretons, children are tested for their magical potential at an early age, and those who pass enter apprenticeship programs funded by mages guilds or independent sponsorships. People of the northern regions of High Rock cremate their dead without exception, while burial remains common in the south. The Breton tradition of cremating the dead dates back to the days of High Rock's witch kings.[BK 48] Cremated remains are commonly kept in urns. The Bretons of the south build stone cemeteries to house their dead, and the nobility has always been interred in ornate mausoleums.
There is evidence of human settlements in High Rock dating back at least a thousand years before recorded history. Archaeological excavations have dated the ruins of Nedic habitation to as early as ME 1000, predating Ysgramor by centuries. According to legend, Bretons are descended from a group known as the Druids of Galen.
In the Middle Merethic Era, the Aldmer of Clan Direnni came to High Rock from the Summerset Isles. Circa 1E 355, these Mer rose in power in the province, and by the Fifth Century of the First Era, they conquered High Rock. The elves established a system of feudal vassalage over the Nedes and took Nedic concubines, producing half-elven children. The children begat from these unions weren't adopted by their Direnni parents, as they were considered sub-mer. Instead, they were given privileged positions among the Nedes, which eventually lead to a recognizable mixed-blood human caste dubbed "Bretons". These Bretons were only allowed to marry humans. Over time, their elven blood thinned, and their human features became more prominent. While the Aldmer maintained control of Tamriel, the Manmeri lived as lower-class citizens. Clan Direnni coexisted peacefully with their Nedic and half-elven subjects, and the Nedes of High Rock flourished alongside the elves.
As the Direnni Hegemony expanded geographically, the elves, who were few in number, passed increasing powers of administration to the Breton caste. Clan Direnni was inspired to outlaw the religion of the Alessian Reform by Rislav's victory against Emperor Gorieus. The timeframe between 1E 480 and 1E 482 would see a coming conflict with the Alessian Order. Seeing the threat the Order posed, Aiden Direnni signed the Rights Charter out of necessity, in efforts to muster troops for the coming conflict. Ryain Direnni and his Breton Legions were the first to sack the Orc hold of Orsinium at some point in the midst of Direnni's conflicts with the Alessians. Aiden Direnni's army defeated the Alessians at the Battle of Glenumbria Moors in 1E 482 with the assistance of Breton knights and the last Ayleid king. The Bretons of the Glenumbra Moors celebrate the Day of Release to commemorate this victory.
Most of High Rock would be under Breton control by 1E 498, though the elves would be accepted and allowed to remain in the province. Though the province was in Breton hands, it was by no means a cohesive nation. Clan Direnni's retreat to Balfiera left a vacancy in the way of a united government, and High Rock was left with a hundred fiefdoms to squabble over power. The elf-blooded nobility of Greater Bretony took up the mantle Clan Direnni left behind, maintaining the feudal hierarchy their elven predecessors forged and placing their noble families. The new noble class, consisting of highborn Bretons, justified their ascension to aristocracy and the preservation of the peasant class by disassociating themselves from their elven heritage. The Bretons vilified the Direnni, and redefined themselves around the notion that they were not elves. During the late-fifth century, violence against the Direnni began under King Festrien Spenard I. Supported by vassals from House Aurmine, the despot king's Knights of the Pale Order slaughtered the Direnni wholesale during the latter years of their flight from High Rock.
The Bretons' historic enemies, besides each other, include Orcs and various supernatural creatures that roam High Rock.