by Brother Mikhael Karkuxor of the Imperial College

The Dunmer are descended from the Chimer, who were apostates of the Aldmeri’s Aedra worship. As the Alessian Reforms never took hold in Morrowind, their pantheon bears little resemblance to the rest of Tamriel. The Dark Elves’ original religion was worship of several Daedric Princes, the so-called "Good Daedra," but that has been largely superseded by reverence for the "Living Gods" of the Tribunal.

The Tribunal

Almalexia (Mother Morrowind):

Most traces of Auri-El disappeared from ancient Chimer legends during their so-called "exodus," primarily due to that god’s association and esteem with the Altmeri. However, most aspects of Auri-El that seem so important to the mortal races—namely immortality, historicity, and genealogy—have conveniently resurfaced in Almalexia, the most popular of Morrowind’s divine Tribunal.

Vivec (Master of Morrowind):

Warrior-poet god of the Dunmer. Vivec is the invisible keeper of the holy land, ever vigilant against the dark gods of the Volcano. He/she has saved the Dunmeri people from certain death on numerous occasions.

Sotha Sil (Mystery of Morrowind):

God of the Dunmer, Sotha Sil is the least known of the divine Tribunal. He is said to be reshaping the world from his hidden, clockwork city.

The "Good" Daedra

Boethiah (Prince of Plots):

Heralded by the Prophet Veloth, Boethiah is the original god-ancestor of the Dark Elves. Through his/her illuminations, the eventual "Chimer," or Changed Folk, renounced all ties to the Aldmer and founded a new nation based on Daedric principles. All manner of Dark Elven cultural "advances" are attributed to Boethiah, from philosophy to magic to "responsible" architecture. Ancient Velothi allegories are uniformly heroic successes of Boethiah over enemies of every type, serving as foundation stories of Chimeri struggle. Also known as the Anticipation of Almalexia.

Mephala (Androgyne):

Mephala is the Webspinner or Spider God. In Morrowind, he/she was the ancestor who taught the Chimer the skills they would need to evade their enemies or murder them in secret. Enemies were numerous in those days, since the Chimer were a small faction. He/she, along with Boethiah, organized the clan systems that eventually became the basis for the Great Houses. He/she founded the Morag Tong. Also called the Anticipation of Vivec.

Azura (Goddess of Dusk and Dawn):

Azura was the god-ancestor who taught the Chimer the mysteries needed to be different than the Altmer. Some of her more conventional teachings are sometimes attributed to Boethiah. In the stories, Azura is often more a communal cosmic force for the race as a whole than an ancestor or a god. Also known as the Anticipation of Sotha Sil.

The Missing God

Lorkhan (The Missing God):

This Creator-Trickster-Tester deity is in every Tamrielic mythic tradition. His most popular name is the Aldmeri "Lorkhan" or Doom Drum. He convinced or contrived the Original Spirits to bring about the creation of the mortal plane. This upset the status quo, much like his father, Padomay, who introduced instability into the universe in the Beginning Place. After the world is materialized, Lorkhan is separated from his divine center, sometimes involuntarily, and eventually wanders the creation of the et’Ada. He and his metaphysical placement in the "scheme of things" is interpreted a variety of ways. In Morrowind, he is a being related to the Psijic Endeavor, a process by which mortals are charged with transcending the gods that created them.

Four Corners of the House of Troubles, "Testing Gods"

Enemy gods, more to be placated and appeased than worshiped.

Molag Bal (God of Schemes, Lord of Brutality):

Daedric power of much importance in Morrowind. There, he is always the archenemy of Boethiah, the Prince of Plots. He is the main source of the obstacles to the Dunmer (and preceding Chimer) people. In legends, Molag Bal always tries to upset the bloodlines of Great Houses or otherwise ruin Dunmeri "purity." A race of supermonsters, said to live in Molag Amur, are the result of his seduction of Vivec during the previous era.

Malacath (God of Curses):

In Dunmer myth, Boethiah swallowed Aldmer hero-god Trinimac and excreted him as Malacath. A somewhat weak but vengeful Daedra, the Dark Elves say he is also Malak, the god-king of the Orcs. He always tests the Dunmer for physical weakness.

Sheogorath (The Mad God):

The fearful obeisance of Sheogorath is widespread, and it is found in most Tamrielic quarters. Contemporary sources indicate that his roots are in Aldmeri creation stories; therein, he is "born" when Lorkhan’s divine spark is removed. One crucial myth calls him the "Sithis-shaped hole" of the world. He tests the Dunmer for mental weakness and tempts the Great Houses into treachery against each other.

Mehrunes Dagon (God of Destruction):

Popular Daedric power. He is associated with natural dangers like fire, earthquakes, and floods. In some cultures, Dagon is merely a god of bloodshed and betrayal. He is an especially important deity in Morrowind, where he represents its near-inhospitable terrain.

The Ebonheart Pact has forged an unlikely alliance between the far-flung nations of Morrowind, Skyrim, and Black Marsh, bringing together the Dark Elves, the Nords, and free Argonians for their mutual defense. Thanks to the size of its allied nations and the distances involved, the Pact remains relatively free of inner strife and discord. The Nords and Dark Elves have so much of their own territory to deal with that they have little time to spare for meddling in each other’s affairs.

The Ebonheart Pact came about in 2E 572 in response to the Second Akaviri Invasion of northern Tamriel. The Nords, Dark Elves, and free Argonians joined forces to save the rest of Tamriel from slaughter and subjugation. Forged in war, the alliance brought a sudden new power to the continent. At first, few believed the Dark Elves would be able to maintain an alliance with their ancient blood enemies and former slaves, but after a troubled decade, the Pact remains strong and intact.

A Great Moot governs the Pact. This council of equals from each of the member races is not only known for hot tempers and loud voices, but also for mutual respect and an amazing will to hold the Pact together against all odds. Only as equals can the allies hope to mollify the pride of the Nords and the Dark Elves while addressing the injuries suffered by the once-enslaved Argonians.

Serving as an integral, perhaps even critical, part of the alliance, the Dark Elves of Morrowind are aloof, proud, and profoundly strange. They work hard to conceal their disdain for their "inferior" allies, but the current crisis requires the strong arms of Nords and wily resourcefulness of Argonians to keep rival alliances at bay. Wizardly craft and a deep well of experience serve the Dark Elves well, providing the Pact with the vital ability to react and adapt — something neither the Aldmeri Dominion nor the Daggerfall Covenant can claim to do as well. The Pact fields superior warriors and sorcerers. And they possess an asset that no other race can match: three living gods — Almalexia, Vivec, and Sotha Sil — abide among them.

The Nords of Eastern Skyrim are fearless and aggressive, industrious and enterprising. They excel at war and prosper in trade, and they are without equal as explorers and trailblazers. Strong, stubborn, and hardy, they customarily solve problems through combat. Nords cheerfully rush into battle with a ferocity that frightens and appalls their enemies. They accept and even revel in their role as shock troops for the Ebonheart Pact. Nords are direct, not subtle: they champion simple solutions in the meetings of the Great Moot, though they are often outvoted by shrewd Argonians and sagacious Dark Elves. On the field of battle, however, they have no equals. Pact generals tend to be Nords, as are most of the soldiers in the field. The Nords don’t mind. This means they also get first choice of the spoils of war.

By their decisive intervention against the Akaviri, the Argonians of Black Marsh won their freedom from Dark Elf enslavement, and the lessons they learned have made them a valuable member of the Pact. Reserved and alien, their expressionless faces and flat intonations make it difficult for other races to interpret their true motives. Nevertheless, the Argonians possess a cool intelligence. Slow to trust and hard to know, their natural agility makes them as comfortable employing magic as they are using stealth and steel. Years of defending their borders have made them experts in waging war against stronger, more traditionally organized armies. Equally at home on land or in water, they serve as scouts and skirmishers among the Pact forces. Other aspects of Argonian culture are nearly incomprehensible to outsiders, including their social hierarchy and collective decision making. Their representatives present strange proposals without explanation, but their allies have learned that there’s always a reason for everything they do.

Today, the young Jorunn the Skald-King serves as the acting High King of the Moot, but not all in the alliance support him. As the members of the Pact struggle to maintain and solidify their alliance, they must also deal with internal threats to each of their nations. Unsolved, these threats could destroy them before they ever face the Dominion or Covenant in open battle.

by Brother Mikhael Karkuxor of the Imperial College

The Eight

Kyne (Kiss at the End):

Nord Goddess of the Storm. Widow of Shor and favored god of warriors, she is often called the Mother of Men. Her daughters taught the first Nords the use of the Thu’um or "Storm Voice."

Mara (Goddess of Love):

For the Nords, Mara is a handmaiden of Kyne and concubine of Shor. As the goddess of fertility and agriculture, she’s sometimes associated with Nir of the "Anuad," the female principle of the cosmos that gave birth to creation.

Dibella (Goddess of Beauty):

Popular god of the Eight Divines. She has nearly a dozen different cults, some devoted to women, some to artists and aesthetics, and others to erotic instruction.

Stuhn (God of Ransom):

Nord precursor to Stendarr, brother of Tsun, shield-thane of Shor. Stuhn was a warrior god who fought against the Aldmeri pantheon. He showed Men how to take (and the benefits of taking) prisoners of war.

Jhunal (Rune God):

God of knowledge and hermetic orders, precursor of Julianos. Never very popular among the mercurial and warlike Nords, his worship is fading.

Shor (God of the Underworld):

The Nord version of Lorkhan, Shor allied with Men after the creation of the world. Foreign gods (that is, Elven ones) conspired against him and brought about his defeat, dooming him to the afterlife, Sovngarde. Atmoran myths depict him as a bloodthirsty warrior king who led the Nords to victory over their Aldmeri oppressors time and again. Before his doom, Shor was the chief of the gods. He is sometimes called the Children’s God (see "Orkey.") Considered a "dead god," Shor has no priesthood and is not actively worshiped, but he is frequently sworn by.

Orkey (Old Knocker):

God of mortality, Orkey combines aspects of Mauloch and Arkay. He is a "loan-god" for the Nords, who seem to have taken up his worship during Aldmeri rule of Atmora. Nords believe they once lived as long as Elves until Orkey appeared; through heathen trickery, he fooled them into a bargain that "bound them to the count of winters." At one time, legends say, Nords only had a lifespan of six years due to Orkey’s foul magic. Then Shor showed up and, through unknown means, removed the curse, throwing most of it onto the nearby Orcs.

Alduin (The World-Eater):

Alduin is the Nord variation of Akatosh. He only superficially resembles his counterpart in the Imperial Eight Divines. For example, Alduin’s sobriquet, "the World Eater," comes from myths that depict him as the horrible, ravaging firestorm that destroyed the last world to begin this one. Nords therefore see the god of time as both creator and harbinger of the apocalypse. He is not the chief of the Nord pantheon (in fact, this pantheon has no chief; see "Shor") but its wellspring, albeit a grim and frightening one.

Alduin destroyed the last world to enable the creation of this one, and he will destroy this one to enable the next. Alduin was once worshiped by the long-dead Dragon Cult, but that has been outlawed for centuries, so Alduin has no admitted worshipers.

Testing Gods

Herma-Mora (The Woodland Man):

Ancient Atmoran "Demon of Knowledge" who nearly seduced the Nords into becoming Aldmer. Most Ysgramor myths are about escaping the wiles of old Herma-Mora. Unlike his Bosmeri adherents, the Nords don’t deny his Daedric nature.

Mauloch (God of Orcs, "Mountain Fart"):

Clearly identified for the Nords with the Daedric Prince Malacath, Mauloch tests them through warfare. Mauloch troubled the heirs of King Harald for a long time. Fleeing east after his defeat at the Battle of Dragon Wall, ca. 1E 660, his rage was said to fill the sky with his sulfurous hatred, earning that year the sobriquet "Year of Winter in Summer."

Dead God

Tsun:

Extinct Nord god of trials against adversity. Died defending Shor from foreign gods.

By High Incunabulist Valaste of the Mages Guild

As a member in high standing, I feel it necessary to explain and extirpate the notion that Kinlord Rilis the XII is somehow a founder of the Mages Guild. The common folk believe that the kinlord, in the days before his cruelty and sadism became well-known, brokered a deal that reigned in "dangerous mages" and somehow put binders in place to keep the commonalty safe. This is simply not the case.

Vanus Galerion, student of Iachesis, did indeed flout prevailing thought when it came to magical experimentation in large cities. He drew together numerous students and artificers to the city of Firsthold. For the first time, he sought to prove the benefit of spellcasters working in close proximity. Not for a mighty ritual, but for study, experimentation, and a sense of camaraderie.

This simple premise so terrified the people of Firsthold that they turned to their ruler, Kinlord Rilis the XII. Now known by many less polite titles, Rilis was first and foremost a political animal. He saw in "Galerion’s Folly," as it was known at the time, a chance to play the mages and common folk off against each other.

The much-speculated-upon "Charter Conclave" brought together Rilis, Iachesis, Galerion, and other notables from across the Isles and the Psijic Order. By common agreement, it is true, no records were kept of that meeting. But mark my words here, adept: Rilis allowed the meeting, allowed Galerion to do what he did, to further his own ends.

In retrospect, of course, the legacy of Artaeum is the proud heritage of the new Mages Guild. We now boldly gather together under the Guild banner, and will no doubt do so for many centuries to come. Just let it be remembered: Rilis the Twelfth was a dangerous mer. Even at the time of the Conclave, he trafficked with dark powers and made pacts with Daedra.

The proud order we all now serve is here despite his best intentions. Not because of them.

By Aicantar of Shimmerene, Sapiarch of Indoctrination

Loyal citizen of the Isles, heed the statement of the Thalmor. Bear witness to these words about our new allies, the Khajiit and the Wood Elves.

Integration with our new Wood Elf and Khajiiti allies continues apace. To promote Alliance harmony, loyal Thalmor agents have drawn together this short list of helpful notices. Follow this mandatory guidance with cheer, and our new allies will look on you with favor.

— Do not refer to Khajiit as "cats," "kitties," "fuzzies," or any other derogatory feline-based term.

— Khajiiti delicacies are often very sweet, or spiced with the exotic substance known as moon-sugar. Diners beware.

— Do not touch a Khajiit’s tail without permission.

— Our Khajiiti allies have a unique dialect. Mocking their speech, or imitating it, is considered quite rude and non-Aldmeri.

— When inviting a Wood Elf to dine, know that the resources of the forest are sacred to them. Serve venison, but no salads.

— Do not refer to Wood Elves as "shorties," "runties," or any other derogatory height-based terms.

— Have a care when imbibing Wood Elf brews, as their beverages are very different than our own.

— Do not imply to Wood Elves that they are cannibals, or ask them about how they dispose of their dead.

Eagles, Unite!

Chapter 3: At the Gates of Daggerfall!

For a dozen years after the Battle of Granden Tor, the kingdoms of High Rock were at peace, and the merchant ships of Wayrest, Daggerfall, and Sentinel traded near and far to all the ports of Tamriel. In my father’s hall of business in Wayrest I learned of the tracking of shipments, the balancing of accounts, and the fluctuation of currencies, but Pierric of Cumberland knew the nature of the world, and he was not content to have his son learn only of the ways of peace and trade. Every morning I sparred with the Cumberland Master of Arms, and every afternoon the weather permitted I rode a warhorse, exercising with the Menevia Heavy Dragoons. It wasn’t just practice: for two months every summer, I traveled as lieutenant of the mounted escort of the Evermore Caravan, and a half-dozen times we fought off hill bandits, Goblin raiders, and Reachman war bands.

I was fortunate to have spent so much time with a hilt in my hand, for in 2E 541, when I was but twenty, Durcorach the Black Drake spread his wings in the Reach and mustered his feral tribesmen to war. Erupting from their mountain lairs like ants from a kicked anthill, the Reachmen howled down into Bangkorai, burning and looting. After only three days’ siege, Evermore fell to this horde. The land was pillaged and its people massacred. Hallin’s Stand held out longer, but eventually it was also overrun by the heathen swarm. Within days, they were across the Bjoulsae and bearing down upon Wayrest.

Then all were grateful that King Gardner had built new walls and battlements around Wayrest, for the town had grown so that it had burst the bounds of the old walls. Throngs of people swarmed in from the countryside, and soon it seemed that all Menevia, Gavaudon, and Alcaire were within the city walls. But when the Reachman storm burst upon Wayrest, the crowded conditions seemed a small price to pay for protection from the fury of those Daedra-loving heathens.

Thus began the epic Siege of Wayrest, when for fifty-seven days and nights the Bretons of Stormhaven manned the walls and repulsed the savage assaults of our terrible opponents. The Reachmen, lacking siege engines, were unable to breach our new walls and take the city by storm, and lacking ships they were unable to blockade our harbor and reduce the city by starvation. Stalemate: was Durcorach’s invasion of High Rock at an end?

Indeed, no: your Reachman warrior, though fearless and fierce, is not as a rule very patient. The Black Drake left enough troops in the revetments around our walls to keep us bottled up inside and simply marched off west into Glenumbra. Taken by surprise, the newly-independent city-state of Camlorn fell and was sacked. And then Durcorach turned his eyes south, toward Daggerfall.

Fortunately, King Gardner heeded my advice to use our merchant ships as transports for the Heavy Dragoons. That was how I found myself at the head of the lances of Wayrest’s finest as we charged into the rear of the Reachmen massed before Daggerfall’s city gates. All Bretons know how the Black Drake’s warriors were caught completely by surprise, how I smote Durcorach and tore down his Unholy Banner. They know of the sortie of the Knights of Daggerfall in which King Bergamot finished the work we’d begun, scattering the broken army of heathens like autumn leaves before a gale.

Only one fortnight after that I watched, head bowed, as the kings of Daggerfall, Camlorn, Shornhelm, Evermore, and Wayrest signed the first Daggerfall Covenant.