TheCzarsHussar

I have stated several times how Roscrea would have been different had I the experience, knowledge and ideas I have now back when I first joined. This entire post is me being bored and unable to sleep so I've decided to write down some of the major differences that if the slate was wiped would have happened.

The biggest differences would be the population, geography and loyalties/cultures.

BT's wonderful map as always <3

Roscrea would have been a much harsher place, with only three regions fertile enough for any degree of urbanization. The majority would have been infertile rocky tundra, volcanic plateau, vast mountainous pine forests. Supporting nothing more then semi-nomadic societies, think early germanic peoples.

The Old Dowry, Ecoriobriga and the middle of eastern Roscrea southward would have been the only places with any degree of fertile land for agriculture and urbanization. North and east of Old Dowry (minus Ecoriobriga which I'll get into a moment) would have been unable to support anything larger then the smallest of villages all the way to the River Ros. Anything north of the river Ros in eastern Roscrea would have been tundra where semi-nomadic Roscreans roamed. In a similar sense of how Skyrim's high mountains helped keep Riften Hold from freezing, it's a similar situation here. High mountains and the Isle of Long Stones protect the Old Dowry from the northern winds, it's still a very cold place just without much in the way of winter blizzards. In eastern Roscrea, the Myrumbrian Tundra and the northeastern mountain range protects the grasslands and plains of the King's Royal Basin. It's similar to how the geography is now except that from the tundric plains and forests north of the river that's not protected by the mountain range is prone to terrible snowstorms and winter monsoons. Ecoriobriga with it's unique sociocultural standing (which again will be delved into later) exists as one of the most fertile lands in Roscrea nestled within the middland volcanic plateau as it is now. Although it'd be much more isolated being in a basin of it's own within the plateau, the city of Ecoriobriga would be the same seated atop the extinct tuya type of volcano.

Now for another massive change I'm extremely unhappy to never have the balls to go with back then. The native Roscreans themselves would have been Atmoriants. Instead of being portioned to two mountainous regions of Roscrea we have, they'd be the natives. They'd be the same as they are now, kin to the giants and man, with characteristics of both. The history with Uriel would have gone very differently. The Imperials would have found dozens of chiefdoms in the Old Dowry, a great kingdom in Ecoriobriga and several petty kingdoms in eastern Roscrea. The difficulty in subduing the natives would have came from the distance from Tamriel, great strength the natives held and the few politically powerful entities on the island. Ecoriobriga would have been dragon worshipers without dragons to worship, the rest of Roscrea worshiped the ancient Atmoran pantheon with some cultural differences that are closer to what the Nords worshiped after splitting politically from Atmora. The Druids would have been there too as the Cult of Jhunal, the only native arcane institution of the island. They'd be more reclusive and would hardly interact within Roscrean courts. Being wandering judges, wizard-warriors and soothsayers. The Isle of Long Stones being their isle just as it is in current Roscrea. Only natives would be allowed to cross the bridge into their isle, to be inducted into their ritualistic pursuits.

However the situation with Tamriel would also be more realistic and different. There would be a moderate human presence within the island in both east and west. In the Old Dowry, human trade colonies with loyalties to Solitude would be clustered near the coast. The largest settlement in the region would still be Boiliobris. A converted native town to a large trade colony from the annexation of Roscrea. Nearly the entire population would be Nordic. Tariffs, goods and western taxes are collected within the city. It's the de-facto capital of the Old Dowry, it'd have humble beginnings from the time of annexation to being a wondrous stone city (small one) of western Skyrim design. It would be the wealthiest settlement in Roscrea but hard times would have fallen to the city. Unrest with the native Roscreans, isolation with the mainland due to the Stormcloak rebellion and mysterious ailments befalling any ships that try to leave (Cult of Jhunal's doing).

Eastern Roscrea would be extremely different to how it is now. Unlike in the Old Dowry with a small population of humans ruling over native Roscreans with the authority of Solitude, the truest strides of legionary pragmatism would exist in the east. The legionary settler colonies were established post-war with the intent of governing, subduing and beginning Imperialization. Which was a very daunting task when your conquered people held kinship to both men and giants. Colonia Roscaera et Nebbezzar (Colony of Roscrea and Nebbezzar). Nebbezzar was the ancient capital of the strongest eastern petty kingdom (nothing similar to how Nebbezzar is depicted, this would have been true to Atmoran stone masonry). The colonial administration took the most strategic and powerful of the old cities and built upon it. A very successful method of cultural diffusion and integration was employed by the Imperial administration, which would evolve over time into a Rosco-Colovian Kingdom, a kingdom not entirely Imperialized but neither native with an intermixed population of Nordic, Colovian and Roscrean, with pure lineage from all three races as well. The kingdom would have been without an Emperor to hail after the Septim dynasty, Solitude had long annexed the isle and the eastern Rosco-Colovian kingdom would not have recognized the Mede dynasty. Berahthram would have been the Rosco-Colovian king and would be the one to reopen Roscrea to the Tamrielic sphere. With the dynasty his forefather's fought for a distant memory he'd be stuck between choosing declaring an independent kingdom, allying with Solitude or submitting to the current Imperial dynasty that had all but forgotten about them.

Ecoriobriga would be the last native kingdom of Roscrea. It's city atop the tuya volcano being unconquerable in Uriel's day. The fortress-city could be besieged, blockaded and bombarded by all manners of siege craft but never taken. It mirrored the Old Fortress in Tamriel in it's seeming impervious standing. During the three-four year period of conquest the settlement lay besieged, only a few great attempts were made to seize the city. In the end this native kingdom with only it's fortress city would make peace with Uriel and accept the status of a client kingdom. In the fourth era I'd have made it a major plot for Roscrea that the Kingdom of Ecoriobriga would have built up a strong citizen army and allied with the semi-nomadic natives outside the fertile lands and led a rebellion against Solitude's trade colonies. Now isolated and of lessening importance as the trading posts would have been the Nord inhabitants would have called upon Solitude and High King for aid. It would have been a case of ignore this now and have our people slaughtered or enslaved and risk being raided during the Second Great War or nip this in the bud now and defend the trading colonies and defeat Ecoriobriga?

Berahthram's part in that would have been neutral in the beginning and could have gone any way. His kingdom had many alliances with the semi-nomadic tribes in the northeast and a legion military heritage, along with the manpower to back it up. He could have been a much needed ally in the Second Great War, bringing a (archaic) legion quality army of near-giants to the table. 

Roscrea would have been MUCH more lacking in iron. There would still be iron mines but it'd be more like historically realistic amounts. Quilted armor such as gambeson and simple linothoraxes would be the mainstay while iron, bronze and steel would be more expensive and fielded only for elites and their followers. The Rosco-Colovian Kingdom would have a better time managing this with state funded equipment but nowhere near the level of uniformity of the Stormcloak maille. Horses are not native to Roscrea but are somewhat bred for human nobility, Roscreans are too large for such horses.

Theudofrid would still be around as an Archdruid to the Cult of Jhunal and might still have found his way to Skyrim to commission the resurgence of ancient Nordic belief just as it happened in the current story, he'd be a pure Roscrean and be a lot older but still relative to how. Theu would be much more reclusive and weary but also still a wizard-warrior, unlike the current Theu who abandoned that pursuit.

All in all I often think about what could have been more then what has already been.