Lore:Places H

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Haafingar

Haafingar, or Haafingar Hold, is a relatively small, mountainous, coastal hold in northwestern Skyrim. Its capital is the famed city of Solitude, and the two are sometimes treated as one and the same. Solitude is perched atop a large rock outcropping towering high above the end of the Karth River and the massive Karth delta. However, Haafingar is far more than just Solitude. The Karth River allows for a great deal of commerce in Solitude and the town of Dragon Bridge (mostly in timber and fish), and the long coastline with the Sea of Ghosts is littered with frozen shipwrecks and treasures. The mountain ranges are filled with caves and ruins where bandits and creatures make their homes. The hold shares borders with two other holds, the Reach to the south and Hjaalmarch to the southeast, and the province of High Rock borders it to the west. The mountains of Haafingar are only the tapered end of the Druadach Mountains, an enormous range of jagged mountain peaks to the south which rise up among the clouds of the Reach.

The Halls of Colossus

The Halls of Colossus is an ancient structure in southern Elsweyr. The complex, perched on a cliff overlooking the Great Divide, is on annexed land, much of which is now magically polluted. It was built to honor a race of giants, although some say it was built by the giants themselves. Others claim that it was built by Tiber Septim as testing ground for his new weapon, the Numidium. Jagar Tharn used it as a hiding place for a piece of the Staff of Chaos during the Imperial Simulacrum. The Eternal Champion retrieved this piece on his quest to save Emperor Uriel Septim VII.

Hammerfell

Hammerfell is a province in the west of Tamriel, bordering Skyrim, Cyrodiil, and High Rock. This province is dominated by the wasteland of the Alik'r desert. It is inhabited by the human race of Redguards, who fled to Tamriel after their home, Yokuda, was destroyed.

Hammerfell is predominately an urban and maritime province, with most of its population confined to the great port and trade cities. The interior is sparsely populated with small poor farms and beastherds. The Redguards love to travel, adventure, and the high seas have dispersed them as sailors, mercenaries, and adventurers in ports of call throughout the Empire.

Haven

Haven is a major city on the southern coast of Valenwood near the Elsweyr border. Until late in the First Era the city was a simple trading post, but shortly after Valenwood was brought into the Cyrodilic Empire in 1E 2714, it was given local independence and grew into a major power. The city was once home to a gladiatorial team called the Red Spears.

Havoc Wellhead

The Havoc Wellhead is a realm of Oblivion controlled by many Daedric clans in the service of Mehrunes Dagon. It was accessible from the Battlespire, but the connection was lost after its destruction during the Imperial Simulacrum. The Chimera of Desolation links to this realm via teleportation from the Temple of the Daedric Rites in the walled town of Granvellusa. The castle of Daedra Lord Imago Storm is found here, which houses the gate to Dagon's Hunting Lodge. To activate the portal, the three gatekeys must be inserted into the gate lantern. The realm is the site of many Daedric affairs. An Arena stages honorable fights between clans, and "Preliminary Intelligence" tests take place for unknown reasons.

The forces of Mehrunes Dagon used the realm as a headquarters during the invasion of the Battlespire. An apprentice from the Spire arrived in the Wellhead to save a fellow apprentice. The hero became an ally of Imago Storm of Clan Dremora, who was opposed to Dagon's invasion. Imago wanted Dagon and his lieutenants banished to the Void, so that he could restore Clan Dagon to stability in their absence. Imago promised the hero aid from his Dremora vassals and gave him the neonymics of Dagon, Xivilai and Faydra, powerful relics which would allow him to banish those Daedra.

The hero tracked down the two other Daedra Lords of the realm, Xivilai Moath of Clan Xivilai and Faydra Shardai of Clan Shardai, tricking and banishing them respectively to get their keys. Before the hero could leave, Jagar Tharn's servant Sirran Angada appeared and revealed Tharn's false reign and Dagon's role in it. The hero slew him as a traitor to the Empire and used the keys to depart from the Havoc Wellhead.

Heartlands

The Heartlands are a lowland area in Cyrodiil consisting of the central areas of the province. The Red Ring Road forms the border on most sides but its eastern border stretches roughly half way to Cheydinhal and its southern border extends down the Niben River to the end of Niben Bay.

The region is dominated by Lake Rumare and the City Isle on which stands the Imperial City.

Hegathe

Hegathe (also Old Hegathe) is a town in southwestern Hammerfell, to the south of Sentinel. The name is an Aldmeris word meaning "Deathlands" and was originally given by the Aldmer to the entire region later known as Hammerfell. After the Ra Gada arrived in Hammerfell, they made Hegathe the capital of their new realm. It held this status until the Interregnum, when the capital was moved to Sentinel as the result of a power struggle between the Crowns and the Forebears.

Helgen

Helgen was a "backwater hovel" called the "Gateway to the North" due to the many travelers who visited while going to or from nearby Cyrodiil. It is northeast of the town of Falkreath and southwest of the Throat of the World. In 4E 201 during the Stormcloak Rebellion, Ulfric Stormcloak was captured nearby and transported to Helgen to be executed, only to be spared in the chaos following the surprise reappearance and attack by Alduin. Helgen was devastated, and its ruins were abandoned to bandits.

Helstrom

Helstrom was an Argonian settlement located in the center of Black Marsh. It was once home to a gladiatorial team called the Pit Daemons.

Herne

Herne is an island off the west coast of Hammerfell. It is most notable for acting as the temporary refuge for the bulk of what would eventually become the Redguards, after they had fled their homeland of Yokuda. It was uninhabited before their arrival. It is unknown whether any Redguards remained on the island after they moved on or whether any other inhabitants moved onto it later.

High Hrothgar

High Hrothgar is a settlement high atop the highest peak in Skyrim, the Throat of the World. Sitting atop seven thousand stone steps, here dwell the ancient Greybeards who endeavor to become more attuned to the voice of the sky. The Nords believe that they were created by Kyne when the sky breathed onto the peak of the mountain, and many journey up the 7,000 steps on pilgrimages.

High Rock

High Rock is a province in the northwest section of Tamriel. The coastal region is temperate and covered in loose forests; inland, it becomes more rocky and mountainous. Most of the province is inhabited by the Bretons, who have divided the province into multiple Breton city states and minor kingdoms. The southern tip of central High Rock also contains Orsinium, the City-State of the Orcs. High Rock encompasses the many lands and clans of Greater Betony, the Deselle Isles, the Bjoulsae River tribes, and, by tradition, the Western Reach. The rugged highland strongholds and isolated valley settlements have encouraged the fierce independence of the various local Breton clans, resisting integration into a formal province or Imperial identity. Nonetheless, their language, bardic traditions, and heroic legends are a unifying legacy.

Hirstaang Forest

The Hirstaang Forest covers most of the southern half of Solstheim, south of the Isinfier Plains. Bloodskal Barrow and Brodir Grove form the northern border. The west, south and eastern borders end at the northern waters of the Inner Sea.

The Hirstaang Forest is home to numerous barrows and ice caves. There are only two Imperial settlements on the island: Fort Frostmoth and the mining town of Raven Rock. Barrows like Bloodskal Barrow, Himmelhost Barrow, Frosselmane Barrow, Kolbjorn Barrow, Skogsdrake Barrow and Valbrandr Barrow make the Hirstaang Forest the largest concentration of barrows anywhere on Solstheim. The few ice caves in the region like the Halls of Penumbra, Ulfgar the Unending's Dwelling and Kolfinna's Dwelling make the Hirstaang Forest as extensive underground as it is above ground.

Hjaalmarch

Hjaalmarch, or Hjaalmarch Hold, is a lowland coastal hold in Skyrim. Roughly half the hold is a foul-smelling marsh, south of which is the capital and only settlement Morthal (although some farms dot the tundra). The region is veined with waterways that empty into the Sea of Ghosts, and the southern and eastern mountains near its borders further isolate the area.

Hjaalmarch is home to the "Karth delta", also called the "Mouths of the Karth, where the mighty Karth River and the smaller River Hjaal empty into the Sea of Ghosts through a variety of intricate channels. The Deathbell flower is known to be abundant throughout the swamps. Many ruins dot the hold, including the legendary Labyrinthian. Combined with the fog that surrounds the marshes and the creatures that stalk the land (Wispmothers purportedly originated here), Hjaalmarch is considered one of the more mysterious holds in Skyrim.

Hla Oad

Hla Oad was a tiny fishing village at the southern end of the Bitter Coast region, southwest of Balmora on Vvardenfell. It offered few services, and was rumored to be a major stopover for smugglers.

Lake Honrich

Lake Honrich is a lake in the eastern Rift. Riften is located on the shores of Lake Honrich. The lake is drained by the Treva River. In the early First Era, the lake, then called Lake Honnith, was possibly the last hold out of the Dragon Cult before it was exterminated.

Howling Halls

Emperor Pelagius Septim III died on the 2nd of Sun's Dawn, 3E 153 in the Temple of Kynareth on the Isle of Betony. This Temple was destroyed promptly after the Emperor's death. Not long after, residents of the Shivering Isles came to Tamriel, stole the stones of the ruined Temple, brought them to the Isles, and rebuilt the Temple in exact detail. This structure became known as the Howling Halls, as it was said that one could still hear Pelagius' screams.

During the second-last Greymarch, a mortal woman named Ciirta came to Sheogorath's throne room for aid, only to find it empty. Deciding that Sheogorath was a false god, Ciirta made it her goal to slay the Madgod. Along with a group of supporters, she attempted to conquer the Shivering Isles and slay Sheogorath by leading a revolution of sorts during the Greymarch. She was the only survivor of the assault. Ciirta then founded the Apostles of Light and plotted to dethrone Sheogorath. Ciirta operated out of the Howling Halls, fooling her Apostles with visions of light to convince them to support her, until she was betrayed in 3E 433 by a splinter group of her Apostles and slain by Sheogorath's Champion. The pelvis bone of Pelagius was also recovered from the ruins.

Hsaarik Head

Hsaarik Head is located at the extreme northern tip of Skyrim's Broken Cape. According to tradition, it is where the last fleet from Atmora, under the command of Ysgramor, made landfall in Tamriel during the late Merethic Era. The resting place of Yngol, the son of Ysgramor, was located far below the the rocky face of Hsaarik Head.

Hunding Bay

Hunding Bay, named after the famed Redguard hero, is a body of water in the Abecean Sea, near the isle of Stros M'Kai, south of Hammerfell.

Hunting Grounds

The Hunting Grounds is a realm of Oblivion created and ruled over by Hircine, the Daedric Prince of the Hunt. It has been described as a realm of dense woodland and vast grasslands populated by werebears and wild cattle. It is full of endless mazes inhabited by vicious creatures such as bears, wolves, werecreatures, and Daedra. These creatures are generally much larger than their counterparts in the mortal realm. Any mortals who deign to enter this realm are hunted down by the inhabitants. The souls of lycanthropes are claimed by Hircine and spend eternity experiencing the thrill of the hunt in his Hunting Grounds. However, it is possible for a soul to transfer to the proper afterlife (such as Sovngarde) if their lycanthropy is cured posthumously. During the daylight hours, werebears and fierce Nords stalk the land in their continual Hunt. When the sun sinks below the horizon, Hircine announces himself with a pack of werewolves to take his turn in the cycle.