Lore talk:Dark Brotherhood

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[edit] Mephala

I'm confused about the discrepencies betwene Maphala and Sithis. on this page it states that the brotherhood Worshiped Mephala and that the Night mother could be male or female. i'm so confused Tnu 19:53, 19 February 2008 (EST)

Here's how I understand it...

Originally, there was only the Morag Tong. This was an assassination cult dedicated to Mephala. As Mephala was usually identified as female, the leader of the Morag Tong became known as the Night Mother, regardless of whether they were male or female. Eventually, some members of the Morag Tong came to believe that the organisation should be set up more like a business than a cult, with an emphasis on making money. This didn't go down well with Mephala's devotees, so these members split off and formed a splinter group called the Dark Brotherhood. This group followed Sithis, the void, rather than Mephala.

Now the term Night Mother came to identify the leader of the Dark Brotherhood, rather than the leader of the Morag Tong. Meanwhile, the activities of the Morag Tong came to be restricted to Morrowind, where their activities enjoy a certain degree of legal protection. The Dark Brotherhood exists throughout Tamriel, but their activities do not receive any legal protection (although they have been employed by various political leaders, such engagements are not officially sanctioned). As the Morag Tong are still set up as a cult dedicated to Mephala, they hate the more business-oriented Dark Brotherhood (and the feeling appears to be mutual).

Oblivion has clouded the issue by identifying the Night Mother as an ancient 'spirit' effectively worshiped by the members of the Brotherhood, rather than their current leader. During the Morag Tong quest line in Morrowind, you assassinated the current Night Mother (Severa Magia), suggesting that this was simply the title of the leader of the Brotherhood. Of course, it is possible that the Night Mother in Oblivion is Severa Magia.

--Gaebrial 03:25, 20 February 2008 (EST)

The only problem with that is that Severa Magia is Imperial while the Night Mother in Oblivion is clearly Dunmer Tnu 23:51, 21 February 2008 (EST)