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Morrowind

Morrowind — named Dwemereth, and later Dunmereth by the Nords, Veloth by the exiled Chimer, and Resdayn by the united Chimer-Dwemer nation — officially The Imperial Province of Morrowind, is the northeastern-most province of the Third Empire of Tamriel. It is bordered to the west by Skyrim, southwest by Cyrodiil — and separated from them by the Velothi Mountains — and south by Argonia (aka Black Marsh) where the low-lying Deshaan plain slopes downwards into the swamps of Shadowfen. “Mainland” Morrowind encompasses the island of Vvardenfell, which is dominated by a massive volcano, the ash-spewing Red Mountain, and is divided from the mainland by the surrounding Inner Sea. The portion of the Padomaic Ocean to the north and east of Morrowind is known as the Sea of Ghosts. Solstheim — a smaller island northwest of Vvardenfell — has historically been a holding of various Kingdoms of Skyrim, but with the construction of Fort Frostmoth and the mining colony of Raven Rock, and its occupation by the Imperial Legion, it became a legal, if contested territory of Morrowind Province. Its capital city is the city of Mournhold-Almalexia.

History

The earliest civilization in the region of present-day Morrowind of which there are records would be that of the Dwemer. Sometimes erroneously (or pejoratively) referred to as “Dwarves,” the Dwemer were a remnant of the early Aldmer, themselves a remnant of the Ehlnofey — mortal descendants of the immortal Aedra, and the progenitors of mer and men. According to legend, the Aldmer set sail from a city-continent, Aldmeris, somewhere in the Eltheric Ocean west of Tamriel, and settled in Auridon of the Summerset Isles. However, a number of sources, including the Elder Scrolls, dispute the existence of Aldmeris, and its existence has yet to be confirmed. Regardless, the early Aldmer soon spread throughout Summerset, and later spread throughout most of Tamriel. The Aldmer — being a technologically sophisticated people — displaced the illiterate, primitive Betmer (“Beastfolk,” such as the Khajiit and Argonians), many of whom suffered enslavement and genocide. As the Aldmer settled Tamriel, they evolved into ethnically and culturally distinct peoples: those who remained in Summerset became the Altmer; emigrants from Summerset settled in Valenwood and became the Bosmer; the Orsimer in High Rock; the Falmer in Skyrim; the Ayleids in Cyrodiil; and the Dwemer in Morrowind and Skyrim, and also High Rock, and Hammerfell.

The initial impetus for the tribalism of the Aldmeri was religious sectarianism. Whereas the Aldmer (i.e., Altmer) worshipped the Aedra and forbid Daedra worship, the Ayleids of Cyrodiil worshipped Daedra Lords, while the Dwemer abandoned worship entirely. The Chimer followed the dissident teachings of the prophet Veloth, who distinguished between the Good Daedra — Azura, Boethiah, and Mephala — and the Bad Daedra — the House of Troubles: Malacath, Mehrunes Dagon, Molag Bal, and Sheogorath. Veloth taught the Chimer to revere the Good Daedra, and revile the Bad Daedra. He later led them on a great exodus across Tamriel, and they settled in their promised land (Morrowind), which they named Veloth. Early relations between the Chimer and Dwemer were antagonistic, and they clashed over land, resources, and the varieties of Chimer faith versus Dwemer science. As the Chimer abandoned their nomadic lifestyle, various Chimer clans consolidated as Great Houses: Indoril, Redoran, Hlaalu, Telvanni, Dres, and Dagoth.

Veloth was conquered by the First Empire of Man, the Nordic Empire, circa 1E 240. By the end of Skyrim's conquests, the First Empire of Man encompassed all of present-day Skyrim, High Rock, and Morrowind — with the exception of the Dwemer Kingdom of Vvardenfell — and a large portion of Cyrodiil's Nibenay Valley. For nearly two centuries, the Nordic Empire dominated Veloth, named Dwemereth by the Nords. The long collapse of the Nordic Empire began during the War of Succession, and the Nord conquerors were eventually driven from Veloth by a unified Chimer-Dwemer people. This union was forged by the First Hortator, Indoril Nerevar, and the Dwemer King Dumac, and would lead to the creation of the First Council and the joint Chimer-Dwemer nation-state, Resdayn.

Peace between the Chimer and the Dwemer brought mutual prosperity, but the War of the First Council ended that peace. The Dwemer uncovered the Heart of Lorkhan, deep in Red Mountain, and their Chief Tonal Architect, Lord Kagrenac, sought to siphon the power via tonal manipulation by the construction of special tools — Sunder, Keening, and Wraithguard — and thereafter, to deposit it into the First Numidium (Anumidium), creating a new god. The Chimer regarded this as blasphemous, and waged war on the Dwemer. The final battle of the war — the Battle of Red Mountain — resulted in the defeat of Dumac, the death of Indoril Nerevar, and the instantaneous and total disappearance of the Dwemer. Thereafter, Dagoth Ur urged the destruction of Kagrenac's Tools. Instead, Nerevar conferred with his wife, Queen Almalexia, and his generals, Vivec and Sotha Sil. The queen and his generals convinced Nerevar not to destroy the tools. In exchange, they swore upon Azura, never to use the tools in a profane manner such as the Dwemer. Initially, Dagoth Ur was loathe to relinquish the tools to the Tribunal. But they were entrusted to Sotha Sil. Nerevar later died.

Sotha Sil, in his study of the tools, presented the Tribunal with his vision of a new world of eternal peace, with boundless wealth for the nobility, boundless health for the commoners, and the Tribunal as new, immortal gods. He convinced

The apotheosis of the Tribunal marks the end of Chimeri history, and the beginning of Dunmeri history.