After eight years, The Elder Scrolls 6 finally has more information about it, with the moniker “Sentinel” being attached to the title alongside multiple clues about the game itself. Alongside an unofficial confirmation that the game will be taking place in the region of Hammerfell within The Elder Scrolls‘ world of Tamriel, the teaser showed an anecdote that may give players their first idea of what the long anticipated game’s story will entail. From sprawling deserts and jeweled coastal cities to a tale of conflicting traditions, the teaser arguably gave players everything they need to piece together what The Elder Scrolls 6: Sentinel‘s story will be about.
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The region of Hammerfell is the last Elder Scrolls region developer Bethesda has not explored in a traditional open-world RPG setting, even though it was somewhat explorable in The Elder Scrolls: Online. Previous games have focused on the Tamriel capital of Cyrodiil in Oblivion, Morrowind and Skyrim in the titles of the same name, and even High Rock in the series’ earliest iterations. Although Hammerfell has been featured in at least one spin-off of the franchise, the name “Sentinel” refers to the capital of that nation, fully confirming player suspicions about Hammerfell being at the center of The Elder Scrolls 6‘s setting.
The Elder Scrolls 6: Sentinel Could Explore the Tense Politics of Hammerfell Through Its Founders
Simply by calling The Elder Scrolls 6 by its “Sentinel” name, the game is almost setting itself up to have a story revolving around the tense political state of Hammerfell in the series’ lore. Hammerfell is a region of Tamriel that is unified on paper, but deeply embroiled in internal conflicts between its northern and southern regions. According to The Elder Scrolls history from past games, Hammerfell is home to two major factions — the Crowns and Forebears, who once engaged in civil war before the larger Empire (which you may remember from Skyrim) was forced to step in and end the conflict. The Empire’s involvement left deep scars in Hammerfell, which could be explored in this new game’s story.
The Crowns are traditionalist people among the Redguards, who themselves are famous warrior people of Hammerfell that make the region famous. Some quests in The Elder Scrolls: Online and Skyrim involve Redguards, but The Elder Scrolls 6 has a chance to dive fully into this group’s origins, motivations, history, and culture. The Crowns valued the traditions left behind by one of Hammerfell’s founders, a ancient ruling class noble named Na-Totambu. That founder’s philosophies were centered around preserving ancient customs from the sunken nation of Yokuda, where strict social structures and lineages dominate the course of people’s lives. Meanwhile, the Forebears are descended from the warrior invader of Hammerfell known as Ra Gada, with very different customs compared to the Crowns.
Forebears tend to be more open to breaking tradition, rejecting ideas of isolation in favor of widespread trade, especially with the Empire of Cyrodiil. They are less worried about cultural assimilation with the rest of Tamirel, and more focused on political compromise with other nations. This difference of philosophy culminates in the city of Sentinel itself, where the city was constructed largely by Forebears, but hosts a large Crowns population. The friction here may have stopped when both sides united during the Great War, but huge tensions remain hundreds of years later. Much like the conflict between the Empire and Stormcloaks present in The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim, the Crowns vs Forebears could be something players directly play a part in.
Teasing Text for the Next Elder Scrolls Suggests the Game Takes Place at Least 5 Years After Skyrim
Beyond just the name, the biggest part of The Elder Scrolls 6 trailer was the text at the end of it, which stated “The scroll offered only a shimmer, a veil thinly lifted to my eyes. A future lost. A victory undone. Sands of time scattered by fate.” The scroll in this text clearly refers to the titular Elder Scrolls, perhaps a specific one like the artifact that was so crucial to Skyrim‘s story. Based on this foreboding quote, players have a number of theories about the story of Sentinel, revolving around a prophecy whoever read the Elder Scroll could have seen. From the sound of it, it seems like there is doom ahead for Hammerfell, with some sort of victory being taken away and peace after it being scattered to the nation’s desert winds.
The cryptic message was by far the least interesting part of this tease, though, in comparison to who wrote it. The text is credited to someone named “Yazar,” a Moth Priest of High Queen Iradne of Hammerfell, further confirming the game’s location. Given The Elder Scrolls‘ history with killing Tamriel’s world leaders (RIP Uriel Septim VII), perhaps the doom from the quote is referring to High Queen Iradne herself. According to the message, it was recorded in the era of 4E 206, referencing the timeline where The Elder Scrolls 6 may take place. Based on the canon events of the series, Sentinel could take place at least five years after the events of Skyrim, putting this game incredibly close to the story of the Dragonborn in that northern region.
History Surrounding the Elder Scrolls Themselves Could Be Part of the Story’s Central Conflict
The quote from Yazar might definitively put The Elder Scrolls 6: Sentinel ahead of Skyrim in the series timeline, but it may also look back into the franchise’s world far more than any other game has. From the teaser, we can see one of the Elder Scroll artifacts emerging from buried sand, suggesting that players might finally learn how the signature items were made. Sentinel itself is a city alongside the Iliac Bay of Hammerfell, but another one of its biggest locations is The Adamantine Tower, a structure on a small island in between that country and High Rock above it. According to The Elder Scrolls lore, this is where the gods of Tamriel came together to forge reality itself.
It stands to reason that those same gods may have fashioned the Elder Scrolls in this location too, setting the events of nearly every game in motion. Based on past games, factions like the elves of the Thalmor have been interested in the exploration and control of this area, alongside other groups like the Empire. For the longest time, Hammerfell’s Redguards may have been the only thing standing in the way of this area being occupied by other groups. The Elder Scrolls 6‘s plot could revolve around outside factors manipulating the internal Crowns and Forebears conflict in Hammerfell to eventually gain control over the Adamantine Tower within the region’s domain.
All of this is speculation, but it is interesting to think about what direction the story will go following the events of Skyrim. If the game takes place only five years later, that recent history could influence the narrative, along with all the historical elements that make up Hammerfell as a region. Regardless of the planned story for The Elder Scrolls 6: Sentinel, the exciting pieces that exist in Hammerfell set up a fascinating new tale, that hopefully will arrive sooner rather than later.
What do you believe the story of The Elder Scrolls 6: Sentinel will be about? Let us know in the comments below!
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Courtesy of Wizards of the Coast
