Tamriel:Tribunal Temple

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The Tribunal Temple is the native religion of the Dunmer of Morrowind. They worship Almalexia, Sotha Sil, and Vivec, known together as the Tribunal or Almsivi. Most people usually just call it "the Temple". They accept outlanders as members, but the few outlanders join only for the services provided.

The Temple maintains less than favorable relations with most of the other guilds of Morrowind, being allies only with the House Redoran and on friendly terms with House Hlaalu.

1 About the Temple
2 Temple Structures
3 Fanes
4 Buoyant Armigers
5 Post Dagoth Ur
6 Ghostfence
7 See Also

[edit] About the Temple

The Temple is an organization created for the worship of the Tribunal that is also known as the Almsivi. The three demigods Vivec, Almalexia and Sotha Sil joined their powers to set up the Ghostfence, a magical boundary around Red Mountain on the island of Vvardenfell, to contain the spread of the Blight plague. The history of the Tribunal goes back to The War of the First Council, after which the then mortal Almsivi exploited Kagrenac's Tools to make themselves gods.

Of the Great Houses of Morrowind, House Indoril is the one most deeply rooted in the Temple hierarchy, dominating both the priest caste as well as the Ordinators who serve as guardians of the Temple. House Redoran, is one of the most pious houses; Redoran Buoyant Armigers serve together with Ordinators as guardians of the Ghostfence and the Tribunal Temples. House Hlaalu, being dominated by imperialised Dunmer, prays when it is convenient, maintaining the appearance of piety through lavishly-appointed structures. House Telvanni has little use for the Tribunal Temple, letting its temples become overrun with dust and squatter merchants. House Dres, being the most traditional of the Great Houses, supports the Temple when it is convenient for their slave trade.

[edit] Temple Structures

Tribunal Temples are scattered all around Vvardenfell and most serve as return points for Almsivi Intervention spells. While many of the temples in outlying areas are freestanding structures built of packed mud in the Redoran style, it is not uncommon to see them adapted blend in with local styles, be that built on top of Vivec's cantons, or even integrated into Telvanni mushroom structures.

[edit] Fanes

There are two Fanes on Vvardenfell: the High Fane on Vivec's Temple Canton, which houses the offices of the Temple Patriarch, and the fortress-city of Ghostgate. The latter is the larger of the two structures with a wizard's tower forming each wing, but both feature an elevated central platform which holds an offering pit and one of each type of shrine.

[edit] Buoyant Armigers

The Buoyant Armigers are a small military order of the Temple. They answer only to Lord Vivec. The Buoyant Armigers man the western tower of Ghostgate (Dusk) and possess a stronghold in Molag Mar.

[edit] Post Dagoth Ur

After Dagoth Ur's defeat and demise at the hands of the Nerevarine the temple enters a period of reorganization. As Vivec informs the Nerevarine upon return to Vivec city, the Tribunal "may be honoured no longer as gods, but as saints and heroes". Vivec believes that the Temple will return to the original Dunmer faith -- "the worship of our ancestors and the three good daedra, Azura, Mephala and Boethiah".

[edit] Ghostfence

The Ghostfence is an enormous shield-like wall surrounding the crater of Red Mountain. It is sustained by the Tribunal's combined powers. Its primary purpose is to keep the Blight and Corprus monsters contained within the Red Mountain Region. If it did not exist, it is reasonable to assume that the Blight and Corprus would have reached all areas of Vvardenfell. It was constructed in a similar style to that of standard Temple architecture. Its pillars are able to channel the holy energies of the Tribunal and convert them into a great impenetrable shield. The only ingress point into the Red Mountain Region is at Ghostgate, although it is possible to levitate over it (or jump, although it is probably too high to do so). For more details, see the full article on Ghostfence