With The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered bringing players back to Cyrodiil and the Oblivion Crisis, it reintroduces the most pivotal event in Tamriel's Third Era, something that shakes the entire continent and leads to the many wars talked about in Skyrim. While the game itself only takes place in Cyrodiil, the capital of Tiber Septim's Empire, the Oblivion Crisis affected the entire continent. It was meant to be an invasion on all fronts with different places in Tamriel reacting differently, and while it can be argued Cyrodiil bore the brunt of the invasion, other countries suffered greatly.

During the events of Oblivion, Cyrodiil's Empire was the largest the continent had seen, being at the head of a fully unified Tamriel. This makes it larger than both the Alessian (first) Empire and the Reman (second) Empire; however, the Daedric invasion across the continent was not one the Empire was able to deal with. Elves and men effectively suffered in equal amounts, and although many countries aren't spoken about in detail by Bethesda, key battles in the Oblivion Crisis are mentioned to have occurred in Cyrodiil, obviously, Morrowind, The Summerset Isles, and Black Marsh.

Cyrodiil Isn't The Only Country Invaded During Oblivion

All Of Tamriel Fell Prey To The Invasion

It is assumed that Oblivion Gates opened all across Tamriel. Although it isn't mentioned, Skyrim must have suffered in some form by growing greatly distrustful of magic thereafter, despite being a country known for its tradition of the arcane arts. Kvatch was not the only city to fall, with the Dunmer of Morrowind suffering a similar loss with the city of Ald'ruhn, which fell when attacked by the Daedra. This is despite the revival of the Ald Skar Emperor Crab (essentially just a massive crab), and it seemed that even the Dunmer's fire resistance was of little aid.

The Dunmer were not the only elves to suffer at the hands of the Daedra. Further south, in the Summerset Isles, a battle is detailed in which the Crystal Tower fell. The Crystal Tower is essentially the high elf equivalent of the Arcane University or the College of Winterhold, acting as a learning ground for many mages, and existing prior to the Arcane University. Despite all the powerful mages attempting to defend the Crystal Tower, it eventually fell, being destroyed by Mehrunes Dagon's Daedra, despite the Altmer thinking it impenetrable and pouring its refugees into the tower.

Mer means elf in Elder Scrolls, with Dunmer meaning dark elf and Altmer meaning high elf.

This later led to the prominence of the Thalmor. While a small faction before the Oblivion Crisis, during the invasion, the Thalmor were largely responsible for the Summerset Isles organizing itself, unable to rely on the aid of the Empire. This was a theme in Tamriel, with the death of the Emperor meaning that the Empire itself was slow to offer aid to its many countries, which began the growing distrust seen in Skyrim. Still, not everyone suffered equally, and some countries benefited from the Oblivion Crisis, at least in of relative power growth.

Argonians Counter-Invaded Oblivion With Super Soldiers

The Hist Gave Black Marsh A Unique Edge

The Argonians of Black Marsh were able to prepare for and counter the Daedric invasion because of the Hist, sentient spore trees that are found all across the country and can communicate with the local population. Somehow, the Hist was able to predict the Oblivion Crisis shortly before the first Oblivion Gate opened, summoning most of the Argonian population back to the country to prepare. Argonians have a close relationship with the Hist, with their eggs being incubated in Hist Sap. This connection was repaid when the Hist began creating Daedra-killing super soldiers.

It isn't explained in detail anywhere, but the Argonians were able to enter the Hist trees and found themselves genetically enhanced, with strength far beyond their normal means. After receiving the Captain America treatment, the Argonians gained the edge against the Daedra, and, according to the An-Xileel, a political party formed during the crisis and later ruled the country, they drove them back. While others had cities fall, or almost fall, as was Bruma's case, the Argonians were winning battles all across Black Marsh, to the point where they decided to launch a counter-invasion of their own.

Despite using a new engine, Oblivion Remastered shares many console commands with the original.

Argonian armies drove the Daedra from the country en masse, and to ensure they wouldn't come back, they started to invade Oblivion, flooding the Deadlands and taking territory in Mehrunes Dagon's backyard. This became enough of a problem that the Daedric Prince had to shut the Oblivion Gates in Black Marsh and stop the invasion there. It isn't clear if the invading Argonians were stuck in the Deadlands, since a Sigil Stone wasn't removed and the gates were simply shut by Mehrunes Dagon, but what mattered was that the Argonians effectively won their part of the war.

The Oblivion Crisis Devastated Most Of Tamriel

It Ended The Third Age And Shattered The Empire

The events of the Oblivion Crisis completely devastate Tamriel and cause the power of the content to shift. With the loss of the Septim dynasty after Martin Septim's sacrifice, the Empire was greatly weakened and began to fracture. Tamriel was no longer unified, with the Thalmor growing in prominence in the Summerset Isles and were able to form the Aldmeri Dominion, becoming the next superpower on the continent. This led to the Thalmor being the ever-present threat they are in Skyrim, outlawing Talos worship and causing chaos around the continent.

After growing in power since the Oblivion Crisis and seeing the Empire's weakness, Black Marsh, under the leadership of the An-Xileel, became independent, changing the country's name to Argonia. While the Aldmeri Dominion became a rival to the Empire, Argonia was largely neutral, avoiding conflict with either faction. They once again demonstrated their martial prowess by invading Morrowind during the Red Year, causing all the Dunmer refugees seen in Skyrim and its Dragonborn expansion on the island of Solstheim. The Oblivion Crisis also led to widespread fear of the Daedra, and for good reason.

The of the Mythic Dawn were hunted across Tamriel to near extinction and the Vigilant of Stendarr was founded to track down Daedra Worshipers in the hopes that something like the Oblivion Crisis would never happen again. The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion brings the events of the Oblivion Crisis to a new generation, with a shocking level of detail and a full dive into the uncanny valley, but it shouldn't be forgotten how large-scale the invasion was. It affected all of Tamriel, unlike Aldiun and his dragons, who could only affect Skyrim before being stopped by the Dragonborn.