About khajiits and the land of Elsweyr
When it comes to describing khajiits, there is no better word than "Cat people".
Take a male or female body, replace its head with that of a feline, imagine its skin covered with short fur, grow a long feline tail at the base of its back, change its fingernails and toenails to claws, and you get a khajiit.
As with humans, there is a wide variety of khajiits. Some are smaller than humans. Others have the physical traits of a particular feline; cat, lynx, tiger, puma, lion... Some are much taller than humans, up to height feet! Some of them look like big domestic cats while others are real tigers or lions walking on four legs. They are all endowed with intelligence and speech and there are, in total, no less than fifteen different breeds of khajiits.
The appearance and race of a khajiit is determined by the position and cycle of Tamriel's two moons, Masser and Secunda, rather than by the genes of its parents. Thus, two parents of the same race can give birth to a khajiit of a completely different race.
The origin of the Khajiit race is still a matter of debate among the scholars of Tamriel. The most common legend, and the one put forth by the Khajiit themselves, describes how the goddess Azura created the Khajiit to fulfill the last wishes of her mother, Fadomai, by siring the best of all races. While many deny this divine origin, it is clear that the Khajiits are a unique race when compared to other races of Tamriel, such as the elves and humans.
The Khajiits live in the desert region of Elsweyr, located south of Cyrodiil. It is an arid land, covered with savannahs, rocky deserts and sparse jungles. The climate is warm and mild, at least for the Khajiits when asked. Originally, there were sixteen independent kingdoms clustered around the main cities of the province. But the Thrasian plague that occurred at the beginning of the First Era reduced their number to two, Anequina in the north and Pellitine in the south. The two domains were unified in the year 309 of the second era to form the Confederation of Elsweyr, which still exists to this day.
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With little fertile land at their disposal, the Khajiits are best known for being skilled merchants and their itinerant caravans travel the continent in search of profit. It is mainly through these nomadic traders that the inhabitants of the other regions of Tamriel know about the Khajiits, which has led to many prejudices against this race.
Over time, they have earned a reputation as liars, thieves and skilled smugglers. While other races would be insulted by such allegations, the Khajiits seem to take great pride in it. Boasting is a common trait among them and the greatest heroes of Khajiit folklore are often known, and admired, for being great liars and clever tricksters. The Khajiits are also a people that could be described as simple and frivolous, succumbing without moderation to all possible pleasures: food, art, music, drugs, flesh... They are spontaneous, passionate and impulsive in accordance with their animal instincts and lifestyle.
To put it in more complimentary terms, Khajiits hold the laws of hospitality in high regard and are welcoming, intelligent, creative and fiercely independent individuals. Blood ties are also very important to them and siblings are always very loyal to each other.
Due to their feline nature, Khajiits are extremely agile and graceful in their movements. They can move silently, hence their inclination for thievery, have excellent night vision and are excellent acrobats. They also have a much better sense of smell and hearing than any other race and can easily recognize an individual by the smell of its flesh.
The Khajiit culture is ancient and rich. Their cities have many markets and bazaars, they dress in brightly colored fabrics and their architecture includes large temples carved from stone and marble. They also have their own language, Ta'Agra, although they are quite capable of conversing in the common tongue when dealing with foreigners. When they do, they speak with a warm and amazing accent, cooing and purring the words that come out of their mouths. They are always very, some would say too, polite to strangers, using affable and pleasant words, even when delivering bad news or when they are about to stab you in the back.
It is a lively and very exotic culture in the eyes of the other races of Tamriel who often perceive the khajiits as atypical individuals with a dubious reputation.
It is in this warm and strange land that our story begins...