Lore:Morrowind
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| Morrowind | |
|---|---|
| Type | Province |
| Continent | Tamriel |
| Appears in | Arena, Morrowind, Dragonborn |
Capital: Mournhold (until 4E 5),
Blacklight (as of 4E 201)
Native Populace: Dunmer
Founded: circa 1E 700
Head-of-State: Tribunal
Official Language: Dunmeris
Currency: Septim
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Morrowind is the province in the northeast corner of Tamriel. It is dominated by the large island of Vvardenfell, but also includes territory on the continental mainland. The Sea of Ghosts lies northeast of Morrowind. Modern Morrowind is home to the Dunmer (Dark Elves).
[edit] History
[edit] Dwemereth
Historically, Vvardenfell was inhabited by the Dwemer for long ages before the Aldmer arrived in Tamriel. When the Aldmer inhabited Cyrodiil, a group of them were exiled for their choice to worship the Daedra. These exiled Aldmer were led by the prophet Veloth over a mountain range to Morrowind, where they became known as the Chimer and settled with the Dwemer.
However, the two would not live in peace, as disputes over land and religion led to conflict. "While the Dwemer were an agnostic people, preferring reason to faith, the Chimer were staunch Daedra-worshippers, and considered the Dwemer's lack of belief an affront to their gods."[1] They would however unite against a common enemy following two hundred years of suppression by the Nords of Skyrim, who invaded the area in 1E 240. Due to the efforts and budding personal friendship between Indoril Nerevar of the Chimer and Dumac of the Dwemer, an alliance was formed between them in 1E 401, and the Nords were pushed out by 1E 416. This alliance born out of need formed the First Council and lasted for some time.
[edit] Resdayn
The First Council founded the independent nation of Resdayn, with Nerevar and Dumac becoming joint leaders. Resdayn flourished under the leadership of Dumac and Nerevar, and the peace between the Dwemer and Chimer brought unprecedented prosperity to both cultures for a time. This peace, though, came to an end following the scheming of the Chimer Tribunal, who wanted to claim Resdayn for their own, and the trickery of the Dwemer tonal architect Kagrenac, who sought to build a new god called Anumidum using the Heart of Lorkhan without his king's knowledge.[2]
The escalating mistrust between Nerevar and Dumac resulted in the War of the First Council. The war climaxed around 1E 700 with the Battle of Red Mountain at the Dwemer main fortress, and ended abruptly when Kagrenac used his tools on the Heart and all Dwemer vanished in an instant. Nerevar died following the battle, either from his wounds,[3] or at the hands of his former counsel, the Tribunal.[2] Gaining access to Kagrenac's tools, Almalexia, Sotha Sil, Vivec, and Dagoth Ur used them to achieve god-like powers. The Tribunal had sworn with Nerevar to Daedric Prince Azura that they would not use the profane tools in such a manner,[4] and so the daedra cursed the Chimer, turning their skin ashen and their eyes a fiery red, hence becoming known as Dunmer. Red Mountain's massive eruption accompanied the climax of the war, drastically reordering the landscape of the province. From this point on, the land was known as Morrowind.
[edit] Tribunal Morrowind
The Tribunal consolidated their power and succeeded in turning their people from Ancestor and Daedra worship to the fold of the Tribunal Temple; until recently, the three had great influence over Morrowind. Cyrodiil sought to incorporate Morrowind into the budding Empire of the Reman Dynasty, perpetrating the bloody Four-Score War. No such conflict occurred at the rise of the Third Empire, and Tiber Septim's ambitions of conquest were fulfilled through diplomacy. Vivec and Tiber Septim reached an agreement in the Armistice of 2E 896. The Dunmer became Imperial citizens and submitted to Imperial occupation and the incursion of Cyrodilic institutions and business interests, but retained formal self-rule, house traditions such as slavery, and religious practices. Vivec secretly supplied the Emperor's agents with the golem Numidium.
[edit] The Fourth Era
After the Oblivion Crisis, the Nords and Orcs launched attacks from the north.[5] Then, the disappearance of Vivec caused the Ministry of Truth to become unstable. Engineers in Morrowind, led by Vuhon, constructed a machine called the Ingenium, powered by living souls, to keep the ministry aloft. When one Dunmer named Ilzheven was chosen to power the machine, her lover Ezhmaar, also known as Sul, destroyed the machine to save her life. The plan backfired, however, as the Ministry completed its fall, destroying Vivec City and causing Red Mountain to erupt, covering the rest of Vvardenfell in ash and lava in an event since known as the Red Year. An invasion by the Argonians of Black Marsh saw the sacking of many cities, including Mournhold, in southern Morrowind. However, the invasion was repelled by the army of House Redoran, saving Morrowind from being successfully conquered by Black Marsh.
[edit] Geography
The ecology of Morrowind as it is today is influenced by several features of the environment. The mountain ranges to the west have isolated the creatures of Morrowind from those of the other provinces, and this has allowed the unique environment created by Red Mountain to shape the flora and fauna to the point where some species depend on the ashfall for survival. Throughout history the eastern lands have been subject to great volcanic activity, and Morrowind shows the signs of this clearly. [6]
Morrowind has predominantly upper level southerly winds, as shown from the direction of cloud movement above the region, resulting in a very mild, and in the south extremely warm, climate, so all of Morrowind apart from Solstheim, is free from snow and ice unlike Skyrim and the far north of Cyrodiil which is at the same latitude.
Vvardenfell is the setting for the game The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Vvardenfell is mostly a volcanic wasteland, but is swampy near the channel between itself and the mainland, and is slowly recovering after the death of Dagoth Ur. It is littered with Daedric shrines, Dwemer ruins and a dozen of ancient Dunmer strongholds. The focal point of the province is Red Mountain, the great volcano and former Dwemer capital.
The city of Mournhold, the capital at the time, is the setting for Morrowind's expansion, The Elder Scrolls III: Tribunal.
Morrowind is divided into seven districts:
- Redoran, in the west, bordering Cyrodiil and Skyrim. Traditionally administrated by House Redoran.
- Hlaalu, in the central-western part of the mainland. Traditionally administrated by House Hlaalu.
- Indoril, making up the central-eastern part of the mainland. Traditionally administrated by House Indoril.
- Dres, in the south, forming the border with the Black Marsh/Argonia. Traditionally administrated by House Dres.
- Telvanni, the eastern region of the province. Traditionally administrated by House Telvanni.
- Vvardenfell, the large volcanic island in the north-center of the province. Traditionally administrated by House Telvanni in the east, House Hlaalu in the central and southwest, and House Redoran in the remaining areas.
- Solstheim, A small island to the far north which was gifted to the Dunmer after the Red Year. Currently administrated by House Redoran.
[edit] Politics
With the coming of the Nerevarine, all was not well. "Dagoth Ur and two members of the Tribunal, Almalexia and Sotha Sil, were killed in the subterfuge surrounding the Nerevarine. Vivec too may have been killed, but his fate is currently undetermined."[1] Queen Barenziah also returned from Wayrest around this time. The coronation of her son Helseth may have been a cause of this. "As one famous Nord diplomat famously put it, "The new king is manipulative, ruthless, and calculating. He is exactly what Morrowind needs.""[1] He seemed to be particularly interested in dismantling the traditional power structures of the Dunmer. He even went as far as outlawing slavery in Morrowind, which led to bloodshed, as the Dunmer had been using slaves for centuries. Some would think of him as an Imperial figurehead, however he has also reformatted the Grand Council, (which includes heads for each Great House), that was a step toward traditional Dunmer ways. Some Great Houses, such as House Dres and House Hlaalu are on the rise, and embrace the new traditions. However, some Houses, such as House Indoril, and House Redoran, are waning because of their resistance to the new traditions, and the Redoran are at war with the Nords of Skyrim and their Orcish mercenaries. In the Fourth Era, after much of southern Morrowind was sacked by Argonians, the city of Mournhold was destroyed and the capital was moved to Blacklight.
[edit] Notable Places
[edit] Vvardenfell
- Ald'ruhn
- A Redoran city in western Vvardenfell, southwest of Red Mountain.
- Balmora
- A Hlaalu city in the southwest area of Vvardenfell, on the Odai river.
- Ebonheart
- The seat of Imperial authority in Vvardenfell. Houses Vvardenfell's ruling Duke and Grand Council, as well the headquarters of the Imperial Cult and East Empire Company.
- Red Mountain
- The volcano in the center of Vvardenfell, and the former capital of the Dwemer. Houses the Heart of Lorkhan.
- Sadrith Mora
- A Telvanni city on an island in the archipelago off the eastern coast of Vvardenfell.
- Seyda Neen
- A small Imperial city in southwest Vvardenfell, home to the Imperial Census and Excise Office.
- Vivec
- A major city off the southern coast of Vvardenfell. It consists of nine Velothi cantons built in the water. It is controlled by the Tribunal Temple, but each great House with holdings on Vvardenfell (Hlaalu, Redoran, and Telvanni) controls one canton. Destroyed by the fall of the Ministry of Truth.
[edit] Mainland Morrowind
- Almalexia
- A major Indoril city in east-central Morrowind.
- Blacklight
- A Redoran city in the Redoran district in northwest Morrowind. Became the capital after Almalexia was sacked.
- Firewatch
- An Imperial-controlled fort in the northern Telvanni district in northeastern Morrowind.
- Kragenmoor
- A Hlaalu city in western Morrowind, in the Hlaalu district.
- Mournhold
- An Indoril city in the central Indoril district in east-central Morrowind. The capital of Morrowind until 4E 5.
- Narsis
- A Hlaalu city in the Hlaalu district, in southwestern Morrowind.
- Necrom
- A Tribunal Temple-controlled city on the eastern coast of Morrowind, in the Indoril district.
- Old Ebonheart
- A city located south of Vvardenfell, on the southern coast of the Inner Sea.
- Port Telvannis
- A Telvanni city on an island in the far northeast of Morrowind, in the Telvanni district.
- Raven Rock
- Formerly an Imperial mining colony in southern Solstheim, the town became a major Redoran settlement in 4E 16.
- Tear
- A Dres city on the eastern coast of the Dres district, in southeast Morrowind.
[edit] See Also
- Featured in:
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Pocket Guide to the Empire, 3rd Edition: The Temple: Morrowind — Imperial Geographical Society, 3E 432
- ^ a b Nerevar at Red Mountain — Tribunal Temple
- ^ The War of the First Council — Agrippa Fundilius
- ^ The Battle of Red Mountain, and the Rise and Fall of the Tribunal — Vivec
- ^ The Infernal City — Greg Keyes
- ^ The ecology of Morrowind has been influenced heavily by two factors -- the high mountain range to the west and the Vvardenfell geologic zone. The mountains have served to isolate the indigenous creatures of Morrowind from the rest of Tamriel, while the pervasive ash-fall from Vvardenfell has served to twist the ecology of Morrowind to those forms of life which can survive in its unique environment. Excavation has shown that, even before the major eruption which created the Vvardenfell we know today, the northern highlands were a region of constant volcanic and geologic activity. Its various flora and fauna not only have adapted to survive the resulting ashfall, they have come to depend on it. This is why, for example, the sand kwoom or long-legged velks are an extreme rarity outside of the province -- only a very wealthy man could afford to import enough kresh-weed to keep one alive outside its native land.
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