Lore:Topal the Pilot

Saint Topal the Pilot
A statue of Topal the Pilot
Race	Aldmer	Gender	Male
Born		Merethic Era
Died		Merethic Era
Resided in		Summerset Isles

Topal the Pilot(also known asTopal the ExplorerandTorval the Pilot)was anAldmerexplorer and poet. He was the first known Aldmer to explore Tamriel, charting Tamriel's sea lanes in theMerethic Eraon his ship theNiben,after which theNiben Riverwas named.Topal sailed intoTopal Bay(which was subsequently named after him) and up through the Niben River until he was deep inCyrodiil.Here he taught the nativeBird Menhow to read and write in exchange for theEight Islands,the future site of theImperial CityandWhite-Gold Tower.

He made wide-ranging voyages, penetrating even into hostile environments such as Black Marsh, where he made some of the first recorded observations of Argonians: "manlike reptiles, fleet of foot and running the length of this great mire".TheUdhendra Nibenu(Aldmerisfor"Father of the Niben") is an epic describing Topal's voyages, but only fragments of the poem have survived.He supposedly also kept a record of his voyages namedThe Southern Coast as Far as the Eastern Sea,which were later kept in the Library of Dusk inColdharbour.By the lateThird Erahe was recognized as thepatron saintofLeyawiin,wherea statue of himcould be found in the southwest corner of town.

Gallery

• 

  A nestingeagleton Topal's statue

• 

  Topal Bay

• 

  Map of the Eight Islands

Notes

• Topal is the namesake ofTopal Bay,and likely alsoTopal IslandandGrand Topal Hideaway.
  • As Topal is also known as Torval,it is possible that theElsweyrcity ofTorvalis named after him. Indeed, Topal once documented in his journal so-called "cat demons", which are speculated to be the ancient ancestors of theKhajiit,the modern-day inhabitants of Elsweyr.