Pocket Guide to the Empire, Fourth Edition - Morrowind

The Catacomb Kingdom – Morrowind

Since times immemorial, the Dark Elves of Morrowind have lived a harsh existence, relying on their clans and their religious authorities for guidance and support. The original Elven inhabitants of Morrowind, the Dwemer, were joined by the Chimer, a group of religious exiles led by one Saint Valus. The conflict between the Dwemer and the Chimer was overshadowed by the arrival of the Nordic Empire, forcing the Chimer and the Dwemer to unite under the warlords Nerevar and Dumac. The alliance was broken after meddling from three of Nerevar’s ranks, followed by their assassination of Nerevar himself. For this betrayal, Azura cursed all Chimerfolk, giving the rise to the Dark Elves. The new rulers of Morrowind proved too conceited and comfortable, barely escaping defeat at the hands of the Reman dynasty and surrendering to the Septim dynasty.

For much of the Third Era, Morrowind flourished under Imperial rule, but events prior to the Imperial Crisis signalled that this era of stability was coming to an end. The return of Saint Voryn, followed by the second coming of Nerevar, shook the foundation of the ailing Tribunal rule. What the Septims failed to accomplish in four centuries, the fulfilment of an Ashlander prophecy managed in a fraction of that time. One by one, the Tribunes fell, followed by the pacification of the Blight as Voryn was persuaded by his good friend and commander to cease his destructive activities. While the Imperial centre faced anarchy and conflict, the province of Morrowind was united under the Hortator, faced with the challenges of establishing a new order but thriving nonetheless.

Morrowind’s luck turned during the Red Year, when the Dark Elves were punished by their failing rulers for breaking out of their stupor, cursing them with one last plague. In addition to the chaos of the new Interregnum, the land was cast into darkness by the cataclysmic eruption of the Red Mountain. All along the Inner Sea coast, walls of water swallowed cities whole, and a thick blanket of ash covered all of northern Morrowind. Faced with this predicament, the established structures of Dark Elven society collapsed, the Great Houses largely fell into turmoil and internal conflict. When the dust settled, both literally and figuratively, Morrowind was left a wasteland, kept in rudimentary function only by the Hortator and the few loyal Councillors. When the Empire made its return across the Valus Mountains, the Dark Elves made an easy decision as they renewed the pact, joining the new Empire as loyal citizens yet again.

Among the cursed eastern folk, only those from the Valus Mountains and the Deshaan Plain live in conditions close enough to the Imperial standard to be considered somewhat civil. King Nerevar the Second rules from a rebuilt Mournhold. His wisdom and charisma have kept the Dark Elves unified in the hard times since the Red Year, and his palace is an established landmark on the new pilgrims’ route. The Kragenmoor-Necrom axis remains the primary corridor for the settled House Elves; elsewhere, harsh conditions force the Dark Elves into traditional nomadic lives. This societal shift has seen the rebirth of religious thought. Certain sects forgo all vestments, connecting with ancestral ash in the most personal of ways, their skin carved by the brutal volcanic winds. Others have turned to radical forms of worship for the new saints, particularly Saint Voryn. Their continual raids have scattered the few surviving heretic Tribunal sects, most of whom have found refuge in Cyrod.

The peninsular far north-east remains a lawless wilderness, a land yet to be pacified and brought back into the civilised fold. The magocracy of the Tels live in blissful irreverence, blanketing themselves in expensive perfumes and collecting trans-Tamrielic slaves at their atrophied feet just as they did in the times before the Red Year. Living in the safe confines of their coral towers, the deviant scholars pay little heed to the outside world, preferring to relegate matters of commerce – as minimal as they may be – to their Velothi vassals. There is an understanding among the fishermer and the bug herders to leave their masters beneath the waves undisturbed, just as the mages rarely interfere in their affairs.


Places of interest:

Blacklight-beneath-Ancestor
One of the few northern cities to escape total annihilation, Blacklight came under immense pressure once the ash began settling, covering the city inside its protected bay with such quantities of ancestral dust to effectively turn the city into one big tomb. Protected by their ancestors, the Redoran of Blacklight-beneath-Ancestor took full benefit of their situation and expanded their tunnels to connect isolated outposts all across the northern Valus.

Tear
For over a century, the Dres have waged a war of destruction against the reptilian tribes of Black Marsh. Bolstered by refugees from the north, Tear – like many of the southern cities – grew in size, but the new refugee shanty towns quickly came under threat as bands of escaped slaves and Arnesian tribals began their raids. With the collapse of the slave economy, the capital of the Dres was transformed into a fortress-citadel where brave young warriors prepare for their journey south, to join their kin beyond Arnesia in their crusades to reclaim the plantations of old.

Raven Rock
Through the efforts of the local Imperial administration, the Imperial colony of Solstheim survived the Interregnum unscathed. Integrating the Eastmarch mercantile clans and Redoran refugee councillors into the political and administrative sphere of the city-state, Raven Rock welcomed the return of the Empire as one of the shining beacons of civilisation in the far north.


Sidebar: The New Temple
Following the collapse of Morrowind’s theocracy, the gaping hole where the Tribunal once stood was swiftly filled as the Dark Elves adjusted to the new reality. The masses rallied around Nerevar the Second, who re-organised those parts of the Tribunal Temple that did not follow their idols into death or flee beyond the Valus, reclaiming the old ways while casting the Tribunal aside. With the Tribunal gone, Morrowind under the rule of the Hortator and their faces caressed at all times by the all-encompassing love of the ancestor ash, this proved easier than first thought.  Nevertheless, the now heretical followers of the Tribunal continue their worship in secrecy, hoping that one of their beloved Triunes makes a return yet.

Sidebar: The Great Houses
Tribal Ashlander and ex-underclass Velothi alike thrive in a post-Tribunal Morrowind. Great houses Redoran and Dres remain as guardians of the west and the south, respectively, while the émigré community of the remnant Hlaalu and Indoril makes its living in Nibenay and the Heartlands, rocked by occasional terrorist attacks at the hands of the zealous followers of Saint Voryn the Martyr.  For the most part, Dunmer society has transcended the need for organising along Great House lines, their councils emulating the old Chimer order.