Silgrad Tower from the Ashes

This short book is an account of a "Council of Mournhold" held after the destruction of Dagoth Ur, to discuss how the Tribunal Temple would proceed after Alamalexia and Sotha Sil's deaths, as well as Vivec's loss of immortality. It's the beginning of what Vivec called a "rebuilding of the Temple."

Transcribed by Archcanon Tholer Saryoni of Vivec.

Prologue
On this day 21st of First Seed in the 432nd year of the Third Era of Tamriel, Lord Archcanon Gravis Drin under the guidance His Majesty King Hlaalu Helseth, has summoned all of the head clergy in Morrowind province to discuss the appropriate response by the Temple regarding:

The destruction of the evil Dagoth Ur, and the subsequent destruction of the Heart of Lorkhan;

The recent events surrounding the apparent loss of immortality of the Tribunal, and the subsequent disappearance of the goddess Almalexia and the god Sotha Sil from our mortal plane;

The Hortator: also known as the Nerevarine, the Incarnate of Nerevar Indoril, the Protector of Morrowind;

The Daedra, Aedra, and the Ancestors of the Dunmer people: regarding their proper veneration;

The absolution of all those formerly known as "Dissident Prists;"

The refutation of the beliefs of the End Times Cult.

The Destruction of Dagoth Ur
Dagoth Ur, thanks to our illustrious Hortator, has been destroyed. The blight that has so long affected the people of Vvardenfell has been ended, and Red Mountain is once again silent. Prior to the demise of Dagoth Ur, the Hortator, in a great show of his strength smashed the Heart of Lorkhan--this Heart was the source of Dagoth Ur's power. Let it be known that the Heart of Lorkhan had to be destroyed by our great Hortator before the evil Dagoth Ur could be slain.

The Tribunal and Their Apparent Loss of Immortality
With this having been said, the destruction of the Heart had an unfortunate and unforseen effect. It would appear that this Heart was, mysteriously, also the source of immortality for our beloved Tribunal.

So that our people do not rise up in protest against our great Incarnate, let it be known that our beloved Vivec has given the Temple complete authority to absolve the Hortator of any negative consequences resulting from the destruction of the Heart of Lorkhan, and of the evil Dagoth Ur. Let it be also said that our beloved Vivec knew with his divine omniscience that the destruction of the Heart would ultimately lead to the loss of his immortality.

However, given the choice between the enslavement of his people to evil and the loss of his divine power, our beloved Poet willingly shed his immortality in order that we might be saved. Let us, therefore, extol the name of our beloved Vivec, and laud the courage of our Hortator, who destroyed the Heart with Vivec's blessing.

With great sadness, however, the Dunmer people mourn the apparent waning of the Tribunal's power. While our beloved Vivec is still with us after the renunciation of his divine powers, the goddess Almalexia and the god Sotha Sill were not so fortunate. Sotha Sil was the first to leave our mortal plane to join the ancestors, and his departure allowed malevolent creatures to attack Mournhold. With the blessings of Almalexia, the Hortator defeated these creatures in the bowels of the City of Light, but alas found that Sotha Sil had already fallen prey to them. Upon the Hortator's return, Almalexia too, had departed.

Our beloved Poet, Lord Vivec, will be honored as the Rebuilder of Morrowind who will lead us into this new era; he who gave up his godhead for our sakes. Without his sacrifice, Dagoth Ur could not have been destroyed, and we would all have certainly perished.

The Hortator
Our great Hortator, slayer of Dagoth Ur, Soldier of Azura, and Protector of the Dunmer people will be honored by all. The Temple recognizes the Hortator as the reincarnation of St. Nerevar Indoril, and encourages the faithful to honor the Hortator as Nerevar Reborn, Incarnate. In the words of the great Daedroth Azura, "All fates have been sealed, and all sins redeemed. Hail savior, Hortator, and Nerevarine!"

The Aedra, Daedra, and the Ancestors
The worship of the Daedra: Azura, Memphala, Boethiah, Molag Bal, Malacath, Sheogorath, and Mehrunes Dagon; now will be encouraged by the Temple to all the Dunmer faithful. They will be honored as the Refiners of Tamriel, changing each of us as gold is tested in fire. Especially that of Azura, the Queen of the Night Sky, Moonshadow, Mother of the Rose; Helper of the Prophet Veloth, the Sustainer of the Dunmer people; the Patroness, Guide, and Protector of Lord Nerevar.

The veneration of the Aedra, who are worshipped in one form or another by all the peoples of Tamriel; Auri-El, Trinimac, Magnus, Syrabane, Y'ffre, Xarxes, Mara, Stendarr, and Lorkhan should be honored as the Creators of Tamriel. Additionally, Nerevar also shall be venerated as the "God-Killer," who was reborn in the person of the Nerevarine.

The veneration of the Ancestors; both in public at the Temples and Ancestral Tombs, and in private in the hearth of every Dunmer, is also hereby permitted and encouraged.

The veneration of the Saints will continue; especially the great Prophet Veloth, the Crown of the Ancestors, who led our people through the harsh mountains which bear his name.

The Absolution of the Dissident Priests
The clergy of the Temple formerly known as the "Dissident Priests" have been absolved by Lord Vivec himself, as they were instrumental to our Hortator in the destruction of the evil Dagoth Ur. All dissident clergy, and their flocks, are now formerly welcomed back to the Temple with all their former priveliges restored.

The Refutation of the End of Times Cult
The End of Times Cult claims that "the Deadra are not our allies," and that soon they will "descend upon Tamriel from Oblivion." These heretics claim that through what they call "a cleansing," one can join the Honored Ancestors in fighting what they call an "impending invasion." This "cleansing" they speak of is nothing less than ritual suicide. The views of this dangerous group are intolerable and their practices abhorrent. Therefore, the Temple hereby condemns all their doctrines, and considers the followers of the End of Times Cult as heretics. Any cultist who wishes to rejoin the Temple, however, will be accepted back into the fold of the faithful once a member of the Temple clergy counsels the transgressor. The gods are merciful, and the Temple stands ready to welcome back any heretic who wishes to renounce their former way of life.

Epilogue
Praise be to Azura, the Queen of the Night Sky; may she bless and protect the Dunmer! Honor be to Vivec, our Beloved Poet, the Compassionate, the Changed! Honor be to our Hortator, the Great Protector, Nerevar Reborn, the Mighty! Honor and glory to the Ancestors!

Hi Valerius, and welcome to Silgrad Tower!

Thankyou for sharing your excellent short story. This is sure to come in handy when presenting players unaccustomed to the Morrowind Province with this facet of Dunmer culture.

What happened with this passage; did you strike it?
This short book is an account of a "Council of Mournhold" held after the destruction of Dagoth Ur, to discuss how the Tribunal Temple would proceed after Alamalexia and Sotha Sil's deaths, as well as Vivec's loss of immortality. It's the beginning of what Vivec called a "rebuilding of the Temple."

Cor, great stuff. Something really useful. :goodjob:

Sad that Bethsoft have called a moratorium on references in 'Oblivion' to the events of the Game So I think here is the best place for this piece. But there again, maybe that will not be so for mods? In which case...

Still, I hope you have more to contribute, and if you have the time, there is a piece in the General Forum that I am working on called: 'Mara's View.' All useful input ideas, views, pi.. takes can and will be used, so have a go there if you feel like it.

:w: :e: :l: :k: :o: :m: :e:

tha wave: :wave:



have a good time here

Since it wasn't part of the story, I originally left it out--but, I'll put it back in for reference's sake.

Valerius:
Aaaah... now I get it. I though the paragraph was of the same sort as those descriptive preambles in [ brackets ] Bethesda often starts off their books with, giving the player a direct clue as to what the book was about. If it was part of your original forum post then it's a whole other matter.

Regarding Xui'al's post in the other thread; I don't agree with his assessment. That Almalexia and Sotha Sil are dead at the start of Oblivion's timeline is something the devs have confirmed, and trying to come up with reasons why no-one would know about their death just adds unnecessary confusion in my opinion.

I don't mind confessing I never finished Tribunal's (or Bloodmoon's) main quest, so I don't know first-hand what happened with Almalexia or Sotha Sil. But if the Nerevarine, or Vivec for that matter, is the only one who knows the truth, then maybe you could speculate a motive that would cause them to reveal what really happened? For instance, Vivec's going to die sooner or later, so maybe he wants to prepare the Dunmer for transitioning to a life without the Tribunal in the picture? Because if the Tribunal would just suddenly vanish I imagine there'd be chaos and upheaval, so his responsibility to his people might urge him to make moves for relinquishing control over Morrowind to the Great Houses and steer the Temple towards the focus you describe in your excellent book. What do you think?

good work....
I think after the Nerevarine's role was over his Hortatorship was taken away as no longer necessary... though he is still respected in Vvardenfell and most of Morrowind.... most hear him as a distant legend I presume...
the Tribunal realized that Daedra worship wasn't the best for the Dunmer/Chimer since it caused a lot of the bad stuff to occur... but the traditional Dunmer worship Daedra over Aedra.... and the Tribunal set up the "Good Daedra", "The Anticipations"... to wean the Dunmer from Daedric worship....
I think they will reintroduce it in a way that will be less extreme, allowing the Dunmer to worship as they did but not to a point where they will again be manipulated by the Daedra...
I think they will only encourage the worship of the 3 "good daedra"...
The End of Times cult... yeah I agree....
...I think instead of ritually suiciding like the Cult... the Tribunal will try to connect with ancestors with Saint reverence... a safer way to honor ancestors... and less fanatical.... uh huh

but besides by little suggestions... there really isn't much I can see that could be differently seen... great job... :applause:


welcome! and "every little thing, ....is gonna be alright..." ~Bob Marley

I think you both make some really good points. I don't think Vivec, the Nerevarine, or King Helseth would want to fool the Dunmer people into thinking that both Almalexia and Sotha Sil are stil alive by simply not mentioning it. Word gets around fast. Two of their three gods are dead, and they would start to notice something was up. But, the Temple would have to present it in a way that would be acceptable for the Dunmer to swallow. They couldn't just come out and say "Well, the Tribunal were really no better than Dagoth Ur...sorry." People just couldn't believe that. They would have to kind of put a spin on the facts, by telling the truth, but in a way that puts their minds at ease.

As far as the Hortator goes, Azura says in her last vision to the Nerevarine, Hail savior, Hortator, and Nerevarine. Your people look to you for protection. Monster and villains great and small still threaten the people of Vvardenfell.

I'm currently working on a book called the "Songs of the Incarnate" which basically outlines all the beliefs of the Dunmer in a sort of abridged fashion. The basic premise is that the Nerevarine in the latter parts of his life (when he gets old and grey) spends a lot of time alone, and he has a small group of followers that follow him around (kinda like a guru) and he tells them the stories of his life and Tamrielic lore in the form of songs. Eventually one of his followers after his death, in the fourth era writes all of the songs down in one volume, and it basically becomes the reformed Temple's holy book (up until then, they hadn't any official text).

Another thing I thought was interesting, is that officially, the Dunmer (Cursed or Dark Elves) were only called such after Azura cursed the people because of the Tribunal's use of the Tools and the Heart (they had vowed to Azura they wouldn't use them). But Azura says the curse is lifted after the Nerevarine slays Dagoth Ur and destroys the Heart. So, perhaps the Temple could be called the Chimer Temple rather than Dunmer Temple, and the "reedemed" Dunmer who follow the Nerevarine's call to return to the Old Ways would also be called Chimer.

hmm... so is the Nerevarien officially dead?
some say yes.... some say no...
i hope not... would add an insteresting aspect to the TES4: Vvardenfell mod...
but who knows...

....we shall wait and see...

Officially, since he was never killed in the main quest, he isn't dead yet; but it could be pretty safe to assume that by the time of Oblivion, he could be at least really old. Vivec would be another story, since he still has some remaining divine power left over from before the Heart was destroyed. Plus, if the Incarnate was with the Ancestors, it would allow him to be revered as a kind of Prophet-King, after the order of Veloth. The story of his life, then, could be the main focus for the new reformed Temple.

It all depends on those who are working on the Vvardenfell mod, whether or not they want the Nerevarine to be dead. He technically wouldn't have to be dead when the Songs of the Incarnate are committed to writing, though--unless he was given premonitions about his own death, the subject of his eventual death probably wouldn't be included. He would have to die at some point, though, whether before or after the time of Oblivion.