Lore:Stormhold

This page is currently being redesigned for the Lore Places Project (LPP). The page may need work to meet the standards outlined on the project page.

Stormhold
Type	Settlement
Continent	Tamriel
Province	Black Marsh
Appears in	Arena, Stormhold

Black Marsh

Stormhold is a city in northern Black Marsh located close to the border with Morrowind. It was originally founded by the Ayleids, and was so far from the heart of Ayleid civilization that it was never attacked in the onslaught by forces under Queen Alessia. The original name of the city is now forgotten. The city was once home to a gladiatorial team called the Black Shields, who were considered the deadliest team in all of Tamriel.

In 2E 560, the plague known as the Knahaten Flu began in Stormhold. Spreading quickly to all corners of Black Marsh, the Flu wiped out the entire Kothringi culture, drove foreigners from the land and held the province in its grip for the next forty years.

The Conclave of Baal, an organization based in Stormhold, have the ability to find the current location of Murkwood by reading the Elder Scrolls with the aid of an ancient tablet. The Vaults of Gemin, once belonging to the conclave, are located southwest of town. The vaults sank into the ground when an associate cast a powerful spell with disastrous results, and the vaults are now only crumbling ruins.

The city's prison once held an infamous reputation. The Warden, Quintus Varus, was a reputed lunatic who broke into the old tunnels beneath town in search of valuable Stormhold Crystal. He had certain prisoners, nicknamed Tunnel Rats, dig for them in the haunted passages in return for a moderate amount of freedom. The prison soon became corrupted with evil; the prisoners went mad, slowly turning into horrible beasts. The corruption was kept at bay by storing it in Hollow Crystals. Varus's true goal was to find the location of the Storm Crystal, a powerful artifact made by the priests of a nearly forgotten religion. Varus had planned to remove all evil from the empire and store it in the crystal. However, a prisoner nicknamed the "Master Tunnel Rat" entered the prison, gathered allies and equipment, and tracked down the Storm Crystal. The prisoner and Varus battled over it, and the prisoner was victorious. Although the crystal couldn't hold the evil of the world, the prisoner used it to undo the corruption in the prison, allowing the innocents to go free.

The city was overrun by the undead army of Umbriel circa 4E 40.

References

Note: the following references are not found in game. They are included to provide a rounder background to this article, but may not reflect established lore.