The Redguards — Hammerfell's people

If TES6 is set in Hammerfell, its people are the Redguards — a nation of warriors shaped by a lost homeland and two rival traditions.

Updated 2026-11-03

This page covers series lore established in earlier Elder Scrolls games — background on the people of Hammerfell, not confirmed TES6 characters or factions.

Origins

The Redguards are the people of Hammerfell — but Hammerfell was not their first home. They descend from the Yokudans, who crossed the sea from the continent of Yokuda to the west after it was destroyed in a cataclysm.

Yokuda and the Ra Gada

The Yokudan warrior-waves known as the Ra Gada landed in Hammerfell in 1E 808 and conquered it, carving a new nation out of the desert coast. Redguard society still organizes itself around what came over from Yokuda: its royal lines, its religion, and above all its martial tradition.

Warrior traditions

Redguards are renowned as perhaps the finest natural warriors of Tamriel — a reputation the series has held for them since the earliest games. At its peak stood the sword-singers: warrior-artists whose greatest masters, the Ansei, could form a Shehai — a “spirit sword” manifested from sheer discipline.

Crowns and Forebears

Redguard politics is defined by two traditional factions. The Crowns are the traditionalists, holding to the old Yokudan royal and religious ways. The Forebears descend from earlier waves of settlers and are more open to Imperial culture and trade. In the Fourth Era, Hammerfell rejected the White-Gold Concordat, left the Empire and fought on until the Aldmeri Dominion was forced out.

The Sentinel teaser introduces a High Queen of Hammerfell, Iradne, in 4E 206. How the old Crown and Forebear traditions fit her court is one of the questions the new game will answer.