Cyrodiil was a lot different before Oblivion was released in 2006. The Pocket Guide to the Empire described it as an "endless jungle", with the Eastern socialites adorned in "garish costumes, bizarre tapestries, tattoos, branding, and elaborate ceremonies", while the Colovians of the West were said to "prefer immaculate uniforms".
The heart of the Empire was supposedly home to cults "too numerous to mention", among them worshipping the Ancestor-Moth, Heroes, Tiber Septim, and Emperor Zero. Villagers would "wing their dead down the rivers" in paper hako skiffs, while homes were decorated with Akavari motifs. Dragons were even said to "circle overhead" at the Imperial City while the Emperor looked down on his people from the spires dotted along the walls.
Thousands of workers ply the rice fields after the flooding, or clear the foliage of the surrounding jungle in the alternate seasons.
However, when Oblivion finally reared its head and we stepped foot into the Emperor's domain after 12 years, we saw none of this. Cyrodiil was made up of vast plains and mountainous crags, drawing on Roman culture and other high fantasy tropes; the "endless jungle" had been stripped away completely, and the only cult of note was...
