Recently installed, started playing and started a new life as a Stormcloud fighter. I progressed fairly far and then decided to see what it would be like if I had chosen the Empire instead. So, firing up a new character, a mage this time, and picking the empire as my chosen faction I progressed some ways in and exited the game. When I returned, the new character, the mage, was all that remained. It seemed to have overwritten my previous character entirely.

All saves listed my new character's name (not the old one) and included auto-saves and quicksaves I had made.

Are they lost for all time? If not, how can I retrieve them. If they are lost, is there any way to have multiple characters without causing this problem?

Thanks in advance for any assistance.