The Rift

Capital: Riften
Jarl: Lailia Law-giver

The Rift is the most southeastern of the nine Holds of Skyrim. It is one of the four oldest holds in Skyrim, known collectively as Old Holds. Major settlements include Riften, Ivarstead, and Shor's Stone. Its symbol is two crossed daggers. Its capital city, Riften, is home to the Thieves Guild.

The Rift is located around the southeastern corner of Skyrim and borders Morrowind to the east and Cyrodiil to the south. The surrounding holds are Eastmarch to the north, Whiterun to the northwest and Falkreath to the west. Much of the Rift is composed of lush, autumn-colored valleys and rivers, surrounded by mountains to the south, east, and northeast. The Rift itself is located atop an immense plateau that clearly separates it from Eastmarch, and the western mountain range south of Throat of the World goes along its border with Falkreath, making it one of the most isolated holds in Skyrim, even more so perhaps than Winterhold and The Reach.

The Rift is teeming with wildlife, both docile and hostile. It serves as an excellent hunting ground, and as such encounters with hunters and poachers are common. Bears, sabre cats and wolves make a common practice of hiding in the foilage and jumping out at unsuspecting travelers, and the hold is also quite literally crawling with Frostbite Spiders, which seem to enjoy spitting poison at unsuspecting farmers out for a stroll. All these combined can make traversing the Rift very arduous and time-consuming, even potentially dangerous for low-level players.

In addition, the dense forest and uneven terrain make landing spots for dragons few and far between, meaning that even if a dragon were to appear, you may not get a chance to kill it throughout most of the region, as it will just fly away shortly after spawning.