The Infernal City
2009 novel by Greg Keyes
The Infernal City is a fantasy novel by Greg Keyes. It is the first of two published books based on The Elder Scrolls series of video games. It was published on November 24, 2009, by Titan Books in the UK, and Del Rey Books in the US.
Plot
Set 40 years after the events of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, the story begins as an unknown mass appears on the coast of Black Marsh during a powerful storm, an event witnessed in a nightmare by a Dunmer assassin named Sul.
Annaïg Hoïnart and Mere-Glim are living in Black Marsh when the mass arrives, now identified as the flying city of Umbriel. Once the city arrives, the two fly up to it, through the effects of a magic potion. While at the city, they witness everyone on the land below them dying due to Umbriel. The two are quickly captured, separated, and forced to work by the native of Umbriel, but before that Annaïg is able to send Coo, an enchanted bird that allows her to communicate over long distances, to Attrebus Mede, prince of the Tamrielic Empire.
Attrebus receives Annaïg's bird, and asks his father, the Emperor Titus Mede I, to send an expedition to stop the flying city. When his request is refused, Attrebus gathers his personal guard and attacks the city himself. Soon after embarking on his mission, he is betrayed by one of the newest members of his guard.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “The Infernal City” as 2009 novel by Greg Keyes. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the arts & letters register because the source frames it as 2009 novel by Greg Keyes. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Reception evidence should be dated and situated: later canonical status may differ sharply from the work’s initial circulation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 3, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q948489. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2009.
Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
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Three-step research path
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “The Infernal City” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.