The Elder Scrolls Feats and Discussion

[Stocking Anarchy]

The dremora Kynval Zzedenkathik recounts being summoned by a mortal from Coldharbour. Between Coldharbour and Nirn, he enters an endless black void, which is something that happens to all summoned daedra.

Lore:I was Summoned by a Mortal - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

en.uesp.net

I was lurking behind a Dark Anchor chain link, preparing to terrify an approaching Soul Shriven by suddenly knocking her down and sneering, "No match at all," when I suddenly felt a strange tingling all over, from my horns down to my toes. I grew dizzy as the plane spun around me, nearly fell into a pool of blue plasm, and then suddenly felt myself hurled into an endless black void.

I wasn't alarmed at first, because who hasn't been hurled into an endless black void? It wasn't until I began to materialize at my destination and got a taste of the air that I had my first misgivings. "I smell … weakness," I said to myself—and I couldn't have been more right.

He wonders who summoned him across the infinites to Nirn (take note of multiple infinities), and is shocked to see an Altmer (none other than master mage Vanus Galerion). Although he tries to resist, the summoners bindings are too strong, and he kills his own allies in the Worm Cultists.

I turned, aghast, to see who had dared summon me across the infinities to Nirn, and found myself faced with a tall Elf of Summerset. Oh, I recognized the type: I'd abused more than a few Altmeri Soul Shriven in my time, and with gusto, for they evince a haughty arrogance entirely inappropriate in mere mortals. This one gave me a brief, appraising look, and then turned away, saying, "Follow and fight. There are Worm Cultists that need slaying."

Worm Cultists. Can you imagine the ignominy, fellow kyn? Not only had I been conjured away from my duty by one of the hated Elven mortals, but I must serve him by slaying the minions of Mannimarco, our Dread Lord's lieutenant and viceroy-to-be! I tried to resist, flexing my indomitable will, but the mortal mage's binding spell was too strong—all I could do was say, "No one escapes!" and follow him past a pair of torches into a subterranean maze of tunnels.

The dremora is horrified as he's forced to kill his own allies, and Vanus Galerion's magic incinerates other Worm Cultists.

The next minute passed in the red fury that all true Dremora feel when they enter battle. But my usual enjoyment of bloody slaughter was tainted by the knowledge that I was killing those my Dread Lord would prefer I didn't, and frankly, that just ruined the whole experience for me. As I lopped off the limbs and heads of the Worm Cultists, I was aware of the energies of the Elf's powerful magics crackling past me, incinerating the more distant enemies, but I was too mortified to enjoy the orgy of destruction. The Elf came striding up as I subdivided the final Worm Anchorite, gloating, "So much for them. Take that, Mannimarco!"

Zzedenkathik manages to take one step towards his summoner as the summoning is finished, but before he can he is flung back into the endless black void and back into Coldharbour

"There could be no other end," I replied sourly, then felt the strange tingling again as the conjuration that had brought me to Nirn began to weaken. As the bonds dissolved I took one menacing step toward the Elf, but then the plane spun around me again, and it was back into the endless black void.

When I came to my senses I was lying in a pool of turquoise slime, looking up at the smiling face of my superior, Kynreeve Xalxorkig. "So, Zzedenkathik," he snarled, "straying from your post when on duty, eh? It's the scathe-rings for you, my lad!"

 

[Stocking Anarchy]

The Coldharbour Compact was an agreement between Sotha Sil and the eight strongest Princes (or the eight Princes who are said to be the strongest, if anyone wants to argue it) to only intervene on Nirn via intermediaries (worshippers, witches, cultists and so forth), following Molag Bal destroying the town of Gil-Var-Delle. These Princes are Azura, Boethia, Hermaeus Mora, Hircine, Malacath, Mehrunes Dagon, Molag Bal and Sheogorath. This Compact was made in the plane of Coldharbour itself. Also of note, the initiates of the Psijic Order are able to move a boulder out of the way of the Dreaming Caves door.

Lore:2920, Rain's Hand (v4) - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

en.uesp.net

3 Rain's Hand, 2920
Coldharbour, Oblivion
Sotha Sil proceeded as quickly as he could through the blackened halls of the palace, half-submerged in brackish water. All around him, nasty gelatinous creatures scurried into the reeds, bursts of white fire lit up the upper arches of the hall before disappearing, and smells assaulted him, rancid death one moment, sweet flowered perfume the next. Several times he had visited the Daedra princes in their Oblivion, but every time, something different awaited him.

He knew his purpose, and refused to be distracted.

Eight of the more prominent Daedra princes were awaiting him in the half-melted, domed room. Azura, Prince of Dusk and Dawn; Boethiah, Prince of Plots; Herma-Mora, Daedra of Knowledge; Hircine, the Hunter; Malacath, God of Curses; Mehrunes Dagon, Prince of Disaster; Molag Bal, Prince of Rage; Sheogorath, the Mad One.

Above them, the sky cast tormented shadows upon the meeting.

5 Rain's Hand, 2920
The Isle of Artaeum, Summurset
Sotha Sil's voice cried out, echoing from the cave, "Move the rock!"

Immediately, the initiates obeyed, rolling aside the great boulder that blocked the entrance to the Dreaming Cavern. Sotha Sil emerged, his face smeared with ash, weary. He felt he had been away for months, years, but only a few days had transpired. Lilatha took his arm to help him walk, but he refused her help with a kind smile and a shake of his head.

"Were you ... successful?" she asked.

"The Daedra princes I spoke with have agreed to our terms," he said flatly. "Disasters such as befell Gilverdale should be averted. Only through certain intermediaries such as witches or sorcerers will they answer the call of man and mer."

"And what did you promise them in return?" asked the Nord boy Welleg.

"The deals we make with Daedra," said Sotha Sil, continuing on to Iachesis' palace to meet with the Master of the Psijic Order. "Should not be discussed with the innocent."

Azura herself comments on this, and how each of the Princes in the Pact excel in their sphere, although she goes on to say that the supposed weakness of other Princes could hide power. How Seht bound the Princes is unknown. Azura's prophets have also been trapped in pocket dimensions hidden even from her, and you must use void keys powered by daedric essence to save them.

8:57

Azura: Rejoice, mortal. You stand in the presence of beauty and terror, between pale light and long shadows. I am Azura, Queen of Dusk and Dawn.

You served me before - cleansing my shrine near the Weeping Giant. Now, the time has come to serve me again.

Vestige: Rhea told me that Daedric forces abducted your oracles.

Azura: She speaks the truth. The halls of Oblivion fill with whispers. Collusion. Conspiracy. I believe some of my fellow Princes seek to bind me.

They know how much I treasure my servants. They would steal what I hold most dear.

Vestige: Can't you just rescue them?

Azura: I cannot. The Princes' compact with Sotha Sil binds my hands. You must be the vessel of my wrath.

I sense my oracles, adrift in the void. Imprisoned in pockets of Oblivion - hidden dimensions, only accessable through Nirn. You will rescue them.

Vestige: How can I open these pockets of Oblivion?

Azura: My enemies' servants likely use Void Keys. Powerful charms, capable of tearing small holes in the veil of Oblivion. They require Daedric essence to function.

Slay any Daedra you find and claim their essence. A charged Void Key will open any pocket.

Vestige: You mentioned a compact with Sotha Sil?

Azura: Long ago, my vulgar peer, Molag Bal, manifested himself in the town of Gil-Var-Delle and destroyed it utterly.

In response, the Dark Elf magus, Sotha Sil, gathered eight of the most powerful Princes to a summit in Coldharbour.

Vestige: What was the purpose of the summit?

Azura: The Tribune persuaded us, through a private bargain, to cease meddling in mortal affairs directly. An amusing request from someone who fancies himself a god.

Now, we exert our will through...intermediaries. In truth, I prefer it this way.

Vestige: What about the other Daedric Princes? Aren't there more than eight?

Azura: Many more, but the Princes bound by the Coldharbour Compact stand above their lesser kith. None can match my beauty or Molag Bal's horrors. Dagon makes an art of destruction. On it goes.

Of course, outward weakness often shrouds hidden power.

Vestige: If you're so powerful, how did Sotha Sil convince you to join the compact?

Azura: Such matters are better left undiscussed. Perhaps you can ask Sotha Sil about it. If you can find him, of course.

Vestige: How do I collect Daedric essence?

Azura: Daedra cannot be killed, only banished. When you strike a mortal blow, their essence returns to Oblivion.

Online:Azura - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

en.uesp.net

After Dagon broke the Pact by attacking Mournhold, Sotha Sil punished him by closing all the sealing from Nirn to the Deadlands. As such, Dagon plans to invade through Fargrave instead with an army of living disasters.

Online:Lyranth - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

en.uesp.net

Vestige: What can you tell us about Sister Celdina?
Lyranth: She's smart and ruthless. A powerful combination in a mortal. She commands the Dagonists here in Fargrave and oversaw the creation of the cataclyst. With that device, she plans to create an army of living disasters to unleash upon Nirn.
Vestige: Living disasters?
Lyranth: Daedra empowered to unleash destruction upon the mortal realm and make it easier for Mehrunes Dagon to conquer Nirn. Did you know he's tried before? Dagon broke an agreement and the doors between the Deadlands and Nirn were sealed. He can't use them.
Vestige: What agreement did Mehrunes Dagon break?
Lyranth: Sotha Sil, one of the so-called Living Gods of the Dark Elves, supposedly made a pact with various Daedric Princes to protect Nirn. I don't know the details, but Dagon broke the pact.
Sotha Sil slammed the doors and closed off Dagon's connections.
Vestige: So Sister Celdina wants to conquer Fargrave so Dagon can use its portals?
Lyranth: Everything about Sotha Sil's pact is rumor and speculation, so that is what I hope to determine. And I want to examine the cataclyst.
The attack on Fargrave could begin at any moment. Shall we enter the next area and see what Celdina is up to?

By this binding, the eight Princes of the pact may never set foot upon Tamriel again, although Princes who weren't a part of the Pact can.

Online:Sotha Sil - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

en.uesp.net

Sotha Sil: I instructed Divayth to run from the battle that is to come. Now, I urge you to run toward it.Long ago, I brokered a truce with the Princes of Oblivion. This pact bound eight Princes to an oath - that they would never again set foot on Tamriel.
Vestige: If that's true, how did Nocturnal attack us in the Cogitum?
Sotha Sil: Nocturnal was not present when the Princes signed the Coldharbour Compact. Thus she flouts its restrictions. Now, this is important - Nocturnal does not act alone. Two other Princes lie in wait. Clavicus Vile and Mephala.

After the Daedric Triads attacks on Morrowind, Clockwork City and Summerset, there was a second Compact between Sotha Sil and Clavicus Vile & Mephala to similar effects.

Sotha Sil: The time has come for my departure. I've always felt a sense of peace in Artaeum, but also... discomfort. A consistent dilemma within me, which seems to have only grown.
I'll be glad to get back to the Clockwork City. There's much to do.
Vestige: Much to do?
Sotha Sil: While you confronted Nocturnal, I worked within the shadow of your efforts. Negotiations with both Clavicus Vile and Mephala were held, and a compromise was decided upon.
The two have agreed to a compact. An end to their direct meddling.
Vestige: So does this mean they won't make trouble for us anymore?
Sotha Sil: Knowing the nature of Daedra, I doubt that shall be the case. However, any direct interference within Nirn should cease. While the terms are met, of course.
As for Nocturnal, it seems she's returned to the shadows.
Vestige: Do you think Nocturnal will strike again?
Sotha Sil: Perhaps. She likely contemplates her next course of action even now, given such a defeat. It may be centuries before she makes another attempt. Then again, could be days.
Such is the chaotic nature of the Daedric Princes.

As for the Planemeld, Molag Bal found loopholes in the Pact, and never actually set foot on Nirn (instead taking advantage of intermediaries and the Planemeld itself to draw Nirn into Coldharbour. Dagon however, has broken it at least twice (interestingly enough, the second time was after Sotha Sil died).

 

[Stocking Anarchy]

The story of Return to Clockwork City.

0:22

Laaneth: It's said Sotha Sil, the god of this place, died centuries ago. But the machines he built may still be active.

16:36

Laaneth: Remarkable! Those creatures were putting themselves together. If all the machines can do that, there's no telling what we'll find here.

23:43

Galyn: We thought you were with the other outlanders. They raided our settlement, and stole our most precious artifact: A star crystal containing Sotha Sil's last memory.

34:59

Sotha Sil: This day has appeared in all my simulations. The end. My dear friend Almalexia has come to kill me. Now, everything depends on my calculations being correct. My machines need 22 minutes to seal the Chamber of Lorkhan. So that is how long I must live.

36:17

Almalexia: Your time has come, Sotha Sil! All these years you've looked down on me. Have you any last words?

39:46

Sotha Sil: I have done it. I die, but what is death? A natural function. The chamber is sealed, the work begun. It will take approximately 207 years, but what is that? A rounding error.

The new Heart of Lorkhan will be completed. And it will power my city for all eternity.

Laaneth: The Heart of Lorkhan! Azura protect us.

Swims-At-Night: What are you talking about?

Laaneth: The Heart of Lorkhan is one of the most powerful and dangerous artifacts in history. It's what Sotha Sil and the others used to become gods.

Dagoth Ur nearly used it to take over Tamriel - before the Nereverine destroyed it. But if this memory is true...

...then somehow, somewhere in this city, the machines have built a new one.

1:09:22

Sotha Sil: A dark day. Our annual pilgramige to the Heart of Lorkhan ended in disaster. It was only through a cunning trick that we escaped with our lives.

1:10:13

Dagoth Ur: Behold, arrogant tribunal! The power of the Heart flows through me and my minions. We are the gods now, growing stronger as you grow weaker. It is time to pay for your betrayal!

1:11:28

Dagoth Ur: You think you've won? I still hold the Heart. Escape while you can, Sotha Sil. I am patient. My victory will come.

1:12:20

Sotha Sil: I have learned. The Heart is too important. A backup must be created. But where to store such a thing? I shall build a new chamber, beyond the Inner Curiousity.

0:22

Galyn: Sotha Sil stored much of his thoughts and notes in this machine. But it is deadly for a mortal to access it.

5:48

Galyn: Excellent work! It seems that when he foresaw his coming death, Sotha Sil hid his tools around the world. But using the Doors of Egress, we can transport you to each of them.

39:50

Kellen: The hero's next step took them high into the Jerall mountains. But they found the tool had an unwitting guardian: A dragon who had in ages past learned to master the Thu'um from Paarthunax himself.

1:01:02

Kellen: With the dragon slain, the hero found the hiding place of Sotha Sil's replica of Keening, the sword so sharp it could slice through and shape the Heart's power.

1:01:19

Swims-At-Night: That's the last of the tools. Now let's go find Mecinar and destroy the Heart.

Galyn: What? You can't destroy it. I believe its power is what has alloed our crops to grow, our machinery to run. There must be another way. Perhaps you can use the Heart instead.

1:09:41

Galyn: Now, use the tools to harness the Heart's power! Fight Mecinar as a fellow god!

Swims-At-Night: Look around you! That thing is unstable! If you use it, it just might kill you.

Galyn: That's a risk we have to take. Without the Heart, my people will die!

You have a choice between using the Heart of destroying it (the player chooses the latter). Using it gives this option;
1:10:00

Use the Heart - Battle of the Gods: You have infinite magicka and your hand refills every turn.

1:29:25

Kellen: Mecinar was defeated, and the mechanical Heart shattered beyond repair. Neither would again threaten Tamriel.

But Galyn was right. The Heart had been what kept the city's vegetation alive, and it's gears turning.

Sotha Sil's last worshippers were forced to leave the city behind, and start a new life elsewhere.

What happens if the hero chooses to use the Heart;

2:12:00

Kellen: Mecinar was defeated. But the hero paid a heavy price. The energy of the heart proved to much to hold within their physical form.

The hero's body disintergrated.

But the Clockwork City lived on, powered by the heart, and Galyn believed that the hero's conciousness lived on there, a whisper in the still-churning machinery.

37:16

Alfe Fyr: You got all those things? Oblivion take me. Well leave them out back, I guess.

Laaneth: You don't need them to get into the city?

Alfe Fyr: What? No! I just assumed the troll, the falmer, or the dragon would kill you like they did the other three, and I wouldn't have to bother. But ah well, a deal's a deal...

 

[Stocking Anarchy]

Telekenisis spells and Storm Atronachs can be used to lift boulders.

Lore:Where Magical Paths Meet - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

en.uesp.net

—Do you lack a telekinesis spell to move a boulder out of your way? Conjure a Storm Atronach to lift it for you.

 

[Stocking Anarchy]

In the Origin of Cyrus (the only TES comic so far), a nameless slaver mage casts spells powerful enough to blow up an insect much bigger than a horse. The spell still fires even after his hand's cut off.

The Origin of Cyrus! — The Imperial Library

A comic that tells the origin of Cyrus and Iszara, and why they've got bad blood

www.imperial-library.info

Spoiler

 

[Stocking Anarchy]

More from The Origin of Cyrus! The Ashlander slavers ride giant bugs.

The Origin of Cyrus! — The Imperial Library

A comic that tells the origin of Cyrus and Iszara, and why they've got bad blood

www.imperial-library.info

Spoiler

Spoiler

Spoiler

A large creature is (partially) seen in the waters of Black Marsh.

Spoiler

 

[Stocking Anarchy]

From the out of game text Imperial Census of Daedra Lords. Hermaeus Mora claims that he is one of the oldest Princes, born of unused ideas during the creation of mortality and the Mundus. Mananauts have confirmed his influence over time and fate, with implications that tie him directly to Akatosh.

Imperial Census of Daedra Lords — The Imperial Library

Descriptions of the Daedra and their realms

www.imperial-library.info

Hermaeus Mora, “the Gardener of Men”, claims that he is one of the oldest Princes, born of thrown-away ideas used during the creation of mortality in the Mundus. Imperial Mananauts have verified that his influence on fate and time is real and unfeigned, implications of which tie this Prince directly with Akatosh, chief of the Nine Divines. Since Akatosh is the prime temporal spirit whose appearance led to the formation of the world, perhaps Hermaeus Mora speaks the truth. Nevertheless, it is the will of His Majesty Uriel VII that only on the official holiday of 5th First Seed should any propitiation to this Daedric Prince be delivered. “All else is mutation.”

Mephala has multiple domains of Oblivion connected by magical strands of ghostweb, all devoted to her spheres of sex and secret murder.

Mephala’s domains in Oblivion are numerous and obscured, collected together by vast strands of magical ghostweb. All of them are devoted to her spheres of sex and secret murder. Echoing this same structure are the various esoteric cults devoted to her across Tamriel, many of which are forbidden by Imperial law. Her aspect is shrouded and manifold, even when she appears in the crowds that gather within her temples during Frost Fall.

Meridia's realms of Oblivion are collectively known as the Coloured Rooms. Originally a Magne-Ge called Merid-nunda, she was cast down for consorting with illicit spectra.

Meridia’s holdings in Oblivion are collectively known as “The Colored Rooms”. Another Prince whose origins may not entirely be outside of the aetherial, Meridia has at several times been linked to Magnus the Sun. The most famous account of this association is the Tract of Merid-nunda, which overtly casts Meridia in the role of a wayward solar daughter, cast from the heavens for consorting with illicit spectra.

Nocturnal is accorded the title of Urdra by almost all the Royalty of Oblivion, and as the mother of night claims to be an aspect of the original Void itself.

Nocturnal is accorded the title Ur-dra by nearly all the Royalty of Oblivion. As the mother of night, she claims to be an aspect of the original Void itself, and it is generally deemed best to fortify this declaration in one’s evening prayers.

Sanguine rules over 100,000 pocket realms of Oblivion.

Sanguine, Prince of Hedonism, lords over no less than ten times ten thousand pleasure pockets of the Void. As revelry and drunken stupor fall under this Prince’s influence, he has been a favorite of many Emperors since the first foundation. Records even indicate that he resided in White-Gold Tower during the reign of Reman Cyrodiil and helped in the somewhat dubious draftsmanship of the Crendali Festivals, whose vulgarities did little to help Imperial expansion into Alinor and the other Summersets.

Vaermina shares a mageographic connection with the Mundus, and mortal sleepers often slip into her realm with no aid.

Vaernima, Prince of Omen and Dream, shares a special mageographic connection with the Mundus, since mortal sleepers often slip into her realm without any help at all. Traditional sacrifice to Vaernima is held on the 10th of Suns Height, but as with most luck spirits, prayers to this Daedric Prince occur quite frequently, and not always before bedtime

 

[Stocking Anarchy]

I've been meaning to make this for a long, long time, and that time is now! I give you a masterpost of loading screens across The Elder Scrolls games! As always, if I find more of note I'll add them In Time.

Spoiler: Mages & magic

Magicka is the energy used to power spells. The higher the magicka, the more spells that can be cast. (Skyrim)

The School of Alteration focuses on the manipulation of the physical world, and is used to cast spells like Waterbreathing, Magical Armor and Magelight. (Skyrim)

The School of Illusion focuses on the manipulation of an enemy's mind, and is used to cast spells like Fear, Charm and Invisibility. (Skyrim)

The School of Restoration focuses on the mastery over life forces, and is used to cast spells like Healing, Turn Undead, and Lesser Ward. (Skyrim)

Tougher creatures have larger souls, which need larger soul gems to hold them. Larger souls make better enchantments and recharge weapons more completely. (Skyrim)

The Labyrinth for which Labyrinthian is known was built by Archmage Shalidor in the First Era, though the ruins themselves are much older. (Skyrim)

Most of Winterhold was lost to the sea in the Great Collapse of 4E 122, but the College was left mysteriously unharmed. (Skyrim)

Once a source of pride for the people of Winterhold, the College is now shunned and feared. (Skyrim) Frost enchantments are more potent when placed on Stalhrim weapons or armor. (Skyrim: Dragonborn)

Spoiler: Dragons & Thu'um

When a dragon uses a breath attack like fire or frost, it is speaking in an ancient and powerful language. A battle between two dragons is actually a deadly verbal debate. (Skyrim)

While all dragons are fearsome, some are more powerful than others. Brown and green-skinned dragons are generally weaker than their white or bronze-skinned cousins. (Skyrim)

Revered and legendary dragons are more deadly than ancient dragons. They use a shout that can drain health, magicka and stamina from its victims. (Skyrim: Dawnguard)

Some tales tell of ancient Nord heroes whose Voices were powerful enough to tame and ride dragons. (Skyrim: Dragonborn)

Legend holds that the highest ranking Dragon Priests were granted magical masks - strange artifacts that defy the laws of time, and grant their wearers powerful enchantments. (Skyrim)

In days of old, when dragons ruled the earth, there lived mortal men who worshipped the beasts as gods. These Dragon Priests are long since dead... but something has awoken them from their ancient slumber. (Skyrim)

Dragonsreach earned its name when the ancient Nord hero Olaf One-Eye imprisoned his foe, the great dragon Numinex, within the palace. (Skyrim)
The High King of Skyrim, Torygg, was recently killed by Ulfric Stormcloak, who used the ancient power of the Thu'um to nearly shout Torygg to pieces. (Skyrim)

The Greybeards of High Hrothgar follow the teachings of Jurgen Windcaller, who believed the power of the Voice was a means of attaining enlightenment. (Skyrim)

Spoiler: Gods & Aedra

...So long as you and your descendants shall wear the Amulet of Kings, then shall this Dragonfire burn -- an eternal flame -- as a sign to all men and gods of our faithfulness... (Oblivion)

Akatosh is the god of time and the chief deity of the Nine Divines. He is depicted as a dragon, and chose that form to battle Mehrunes Dagon in the Oblivion Crisis. (Skyrim)

Some theological scholars hold that the two moons orbiting Nirn are representations of the "Cloven Duality" of the Aedric trickster-god Lorkhan, who connived at the creation of the world and was punished for it. (Online)

Others (it is always Others) contend that the Moons are literally the rotting corpses of Lorkhan himself, spinning in eternal dual ellipses above but ever beyond that creation for which he gave his Heart. But the War of Manifest Metaphors has rendered this (and all narratives) absurd. (Online)

There are trickster spirits in many of Tamriel's cultures. The Khajiit and Wood Elves have raised one to the level of a major Divine. To them, Baan Dar represents genius, sly innovation, and agile wits. He is the nimble escape when trapped in a tight spot. (Online)

Trickster god Rajhin the Footpad, known as the Purring Liar, is much beloved of Khajiiti storytellers. He sends his Seven Shadows into the world to accomplish amazing feats of larceny and stealth. (Online)

According to the "Speluncus Tamrielicum," the reason Nirn is seemingly riddled with natural caverns is that, like a living body, the world is veined with a system of nodes and capillaries that once pulsed with the divine essence of the Aedra who created it. (Online)

Julianos is the god of wisdom and logic. Usually associated with magic, he is often revered by wizards. He has a shrine in the Temple of the Divines in Solitude. (Skyrim)

The large tree in Whiterun's Wind District is called the Gildergreen, and is considered sacred by worshippers of Kynareth. (Skyrim)

Spoiler: Talos

The most famous hero of Skyrim is Tiber Septim, who conquered all of Tamriel and founded the Septim dynasty of emperors. (Skyrim)

Tiber Septim brought peace to Tamriel in 2E 896, by conquering all of the known world. Thus began the Third Era. (Skyrim)

Talos is the hero-god of mankind. His worship is currently banned by the Empire, but that hasn't stopped the Nords of Skyrim from revering him. (Skyrim)

Spoiler: Daedra & Oblivion

Daedric princes are god-like beings that inhabit the plane of Oblivion. Most are considered evil, forcing their worshippers to build their shrines far from civilized places. (Skyrim)
In addition to the major planes of Oblivion, there is an almost unlimited number of so-called "pocket planes," small self-contained realities where the ordinary rules of nature may or may not apply. (Online)

This uncanny pocket realm of Oblivion is a nightmarish forest ruled by the mysterious Crow Mother. It's like Tamriel, yet unlike—for the Daedra cannot create, only imitate, and their simulacra of mortal realms are always twisted and exaggerated. (Online)

The myriad pocket realms of Oblivion can take forms alien or familiar, or in rare cases, both at the same time. (Online)

The School of Conjuration is used to raise the dead, summon creatures from one of the planes of Oblivion, and soul trap opponents killed in combat. (Skyrim)

You'll find rare ingredients in the planes of Oblivion that may prove useful when performing Alchemy. (Oblivion)

Peryite is the daedric prince of tasks, order and pestilence. He is considered one of the weakest of the princes, despite being depicted as a dragon. (Skyrim)

Boethiah is the daedric prince of deceit, conspiracy, and secret plots of murder. Many dark elves consider him to be their god-ancestor. (Skyrim)

Azura is the daedric prince of dusk and dawn, and one of the few not considered to be inherently evil. (Skyrim)

Namira is the daedric prince of darkness and revulsion, and is frequently associated with disease, spiders, insects, slugs and other repulsive creatures. (Skyrim)

But above all others they did venerate the Lady of Light, building for Merid-Nunda a chapel of colored rays and beams, which was for glory like a piece of Aetherius brought down to the mortal world. (Online)

Meridia despises undead in any form, and is one of the few daedric princes not considered to be wholly evil. (Skyrim)

Mephala is the daedric prince of lies, secrets and plots... and thoroughly enjoys meddling in the affairs of mortals. (Skyrim)

Malacath is the daedric prince of curses and the spurned. Many orcs worship him as their god-king. (Skyrim)

Sanguine is the daedric prince of hedonism, debauchery and dark indulgences. He is more likely than most princes to take an interest in mortal affairs. (Skyrim)

Save often. The planes of Oblivion are a dangerous realm. (Oblivion)

Spoiler: Molag Bal & Coldharbour

The dreadful Oblivion plane of Coldharbour is a place of death, despair, and infinite cruelty. It is ruled by Molag Bal, the Lord of Brutality and Domination, a Daedric Prince dedicated to enslaving all the mortals of Nirn. (Online)

There are whispers among the Soul Shriven that the Planar Vortex and the Endless Stair were built for Molag Bal by the Mad Architect himself. (Online)

For the Dunmer, Molag Bal is one corner of the House of Troubles, and the arch-enemy of the "Good Daedra" Boethiah. For the Bosmer, he is the terrible demon who consumed Gil-Var-Delle. To some Ayleid clans he was Mola Gbal, and worthy of veneration. (Online)

Molag Bal is a master of all forms of domination over mortals, including the arts of illusion. As a matter of course the Lord of Brutality prefers lies to the truth—except when the truth is more cruel. (Online)

None of the denizens of Coldharbour can actually "die"—all of them, Daedra and Soul Shriven, merely discorporate until they can form new bodies. Why, then, are there so many tombs and graveyards? Because Coldharbour is Molag Bal's plane, and he likes them. (Online)

Molag Grunda is acknowledged in Coldharbour as Molag Bal's daughter—though it's not clear what that relationship means to a Daedric Prince. The Soul Shriven whisper that those Dremora posted to Molag Grunda's court are never happy about the assignment. (Online)

Molag Bal is fascinated by the metamagical technology of Soul Gems, and has several mystical research efforts under way to develop new and more efficient methods of stealing and imprisoning the souls of mortals. (Online)

In the mortal realms, libraries are known as places of learning and scholarship, where those who seek truth may be able to find it. A library in Coldharbour is a place of indoctrination, where one will find only the truth according to Molag Bal. (Online)

Spoiler: Hermaeus Mora

Hermaeus Mora is the daedric prince of fate, knowledge and memory. In his rare dealings with mortals, he often chooses to appear as a grotesque mass of tentacles. (Skyrim)

Apocrypha is the realm of Hermaeus Mora, the Daedric Prince of Fate and Knowledge. Many who come here seeking forbidden knowledge remain forever. (Skyrim: Dragonborn)

Reading one of Hermaeus Mora's Black Books may transport you into his realm. Read it again to escape. (Skyrim: Dragonborn)

"...the people of Solstheim, the heirs of the Guardian, must remain wary, lest the dark influence of Herma-Mora, or even the Traitor himself, return someday." --excerpt from "The Guardian and the Traitor" (Skyrim: Dragonborn)

"Devotees of Daedric Princes maintain hidden places of worship across Tamriel. One such site is the Shrine of the Golden Eye, dedicated to Hermaeus Mora. It was built by Khajiiti followers near water to be closer to his library under the sea."—Morian Zenas (Online)

Spoiler: Hircine

The daedric prince Hircine is also known as the Huntsman of the Princes, and the Father of Manbeasts. He can call upon the Wild Hunt to punish those who defy him. (Skyrim)

The Oblivion realm of Hircine is an endless forest where the Master of Beasts and his Huntsmen pursue great beasts, people, and even their own kind. (Online)

Spoiler: Mehrunes Dagon

Mehrunes Dagon is the daedric prince of destruction, revolution and ambition. He caused the Oblivion Crisis when he attempted to enter Tamriel in his true, and terrible, form. (Skyrim)

Mournhold was badly damaged at the end of the First Era when it was attacked by Mehrunes Dagon. The Daedric Prince was defeated by Almalexia and Sotha Sil, and the city has been entirely rebuilt. The Tribunal Temple looms over Mournhold from an eminence to the north. (Online)

Spoiler: Sheogorath

Originally an island in the Summerset archipelago, Eyevea disappeared from Tamriel thousands of years ago, spirited away by Sheogorath into his realm of the Shivering Isles. (Online)

Sheogorath is the daedric prince of madness. He is utterly unpredictable, and may hinder or help any mortal unlucky enough to cross his path. (Skyrim)

Spoiler: Nocturnal

The dark Oblivion realm of the Daedric Prince Nocturnal is known to consist of a primary plane and a number of sub-realms, but these are thought to be constantly shifting, and different mortals perceive them in different ways. (Online: Clockwork City)

"The Withering Hermit says the Shadow Cleft is just a gloom-dusk echo cast by Nocturnal's Evergloam," whispered the voice from the darkness. "But her wandering star fell long, long ago." (Online: Clockwork City)

Spoiler: Sithis

Mortals often represent Sithis as a skeletal being, to signify His relationship to death. In truth, the Dread Lord is formless, and infinite as the Void. (Skyrim)

The name of this place translates from Jel as "Snake-Means-Death City," and it's known to be an ancient center of reverence for Sithis, the Dread Father whose other names are Chaos and Change. (Online: Murkmire)

As Sithis is Change, there are naturally no standards for Sithis altars or chapels—but in Murkmire, there is certainly no larger temple to the Dread Father than the Teeth of Sithis. (Online: Murkmire)

Spoiler: The Dwemer

The Dwemer sought to quantify mystical absolutes so as to enable them to manipulate the substance of reality without employing the intercession of divinities. (Online)

The location of the entrance to the Dwarven city of Nchu Duabthar has long been known, but so far its gates have defied all attempts, physical or magical, to open them. (Online) Of all the automatons left behind by the ancient Dwemer, the Dwarven Centurions are among the most technologically impressive... and deadly. They guard Dwemer ruins as if their masters still walked the halls. (Skyrim) Many Steam Animunculi remain active, making the exploration of dwarven ruins a dangerous prospect. (Skyrim)

The ancient and long-dead Dwemer built many devices and automatons that continue to function even today, thanks to their advanced magic and technology. The Dwarven Spider is one such construct. (Skyrim)

Dwarven ruins are dangerous to explore because of devious traps and hazardous machinery, to say nothing of the denizens that may dwell within... (Skryim)

The brazen doors of this Dwarven site slide open smoothly and without hesitation, mute testimony to the uncanny skill of the Dwemeri engineers who built them ages ago. Perhaps the rest of the site will be in good repair as well. (Online)

Blackreach, a legendary and long-forgotten realm that stretches beneath Skyrim, hides terrible creatures and even more terrible secrets. The caverns beneath Western Skyrim include Greymoor, the Lightless Hollow, Dark Moon Grotto, and Dusktown. (Online: Greymoor)

There have been reports of Dreugh infesting the Dwarven ruins of Rkhardahrk. Impossible: how could a colony of Dreugh survive so far from the sea? (Online)

Spoiler: The Towers

The Imperial Throne Room at the base of White-Gold Tower is one of the most important metaphysical foci in all the Mundus, so much so that it can almost be said to exist adjacent to all time and space in Aedric Creation. (Online)

According to Camilonwe of Alinor, the Sapiarch of Transliminal Arts in the Crystal Tower, an artifact that could physically bind disparate planes together would have to be fabricated so as to exist simultaneously in multiple locations. (Online)

The ashfall from Red Mountain has driven much of Solstheim's native wildlife into the northern half of the island. (Skyrim: Dragonborn)

Most of Raven Rock's original structures were leveled when the Red Mountain erupted in 4E 5. The Dunmer have largely rebuilt the town over the past two hundred years. (Skyrim: Dragonborn)

The highest mountain in all of Tamriel is Skyrim's Throat of the World. The reclusive Greybeards live near the top, in the ancient monastery of High Hrothgar. (Skyrim)

Spoiler: The Psijic Order

"Misty hollows filled with gregarious nixads. Hidden lagoons containing singing waters, clear as fresh-blown glass. Flowers that whispered secrets when the wind blew, and stones with names too long for mortal tongues to speak. Such was the island of Artaeum."—Vanus Galerion. (Online: Summerset)

These forsaken and echoing halls once housed the Eldbur Monastery for Mystic Inquiry, which thrived until the Hyperagonal Collapse Incident in 1E 1306 converted twenty-seven Psijic Monks into thin films of glistening liminal particles. (Online: Summerset)

Based on the quantity of moldering ruins on Artaeum, once there must have been many more monks of the Psijic Order than are present today. This hall looks to have been more recently than most. (Online: Summerset)

Spoiler: Ysgramor & the Companions

The Companions trace their legacy back to the original Five Hundred Companions of Ysgramor, who led the first humans to Skyrim and eventually settled all of Tamriel. (Skyrim)

Among the Companions' most treasured artifacts are the fragments of Wuuthrad, the axe that Ysgramor himself wielded when leading the Five Hundred. (Skyrim)

Nobody knows who built the Skyforge, where the Companions' weapons are made. Its discovery led to the building of Jorrvaskr and the Companions as we know them today. (Skyrim)

Spoiler: Flora & Fauna

Little is known of the mysterious Spriggans, save that they revere Skyrim's forested regions, and will defend these regions with their lives. (Skyrim)

Trolls regenerate health when wounded, but are susceptible to fire. (Skyrim)

The Dawnguard has armored battle trolls that they use when fighting vampires. (Skyrim: Dawnguard)

The best-known example of the bizarre land-coral found along the coasts of Morrowind's Inner Sea is the strange conglomeration in Stonefalls known as Vivec's Antlers. Sensitive Dark Elves claim that the land-coral is both self-aware and thoughtful. (Online)

Strange flora native to Morrowind have sprouted up in the ash that blankets the southern reaches of Solstheim. (Skyrim: Dragonborn)

Spoiler: Smithing

You can make Dragonbone weapons at a forge that are more deadly than daedric weapons, but weigh more. (Skyrim: Dawnguard)

The ancient Nords of Solstheim sealed their tombs with Stalhrim, a form of enchanted ice as hard as stone. The Skaal are the only ones who know the secret of crafting armor and weapons out of Stalhrim. (Skyrim: Dragonborn)

Spoiler: Other

In 3E 389 Emperor Uriel VII was imprisoned by his Imperial Battlemage, Jagar Tharn, who then impersonated him for years. (Skyrim)

A Master of Acrobatics can jump off the surface of water. (Oblivion)

A spacious and well-watered cave system in Murkmire would normally be used or inhabited by some of the local Argonians, but Tsofeer Cavern is avoided even by the aggressive Dead-Water tribe, all because of one dread word: "Wuju-Ka." (Online: Murkmire)

"The reach of Thras has been felt far beyond its own land. The Thrassian Plague, which decimated Tamriel's population in the year 2260 of the First Era, was their most egregious attack against the mainland, but other, subtle predations have also been recorded." (Online: Summerset)

The shrine of Jode's Light just outside Pa'alat was founded by Moon-Bishop Thizzrini in the mid-First Era as a place of safe contemplation for all moon-monks, no matter when they were born on the ja'Kha'jay. It was abandoned during the mass mortality of the Thrassian Plague. (Online)

Cold posesses this place. It strikes to the heart, a freezing chill not just of the world, but of the soul. (Online)

This offshore island feels like it's from another, better world. It radiates an almost palpable aura of magicka. It's wonderful … and somehow very, very wrong. (Online)

"We Argonians love warmth, but those who say we worship the sun are wrong. Trees, of course, also love sunlight, and it's said there once was a Hist who had its tribe build a stone edifice to collect it. Is that true? Who knows?"—Desh-Wulm the Blind (Online: Murkmire)

For a more complete list of loading screens, refer to UESP and the TES wiki linked below (a big thank you to the good people who wrote those original pages too)!

Oblivion:Loading Screens - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

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Skyrim:Loading Screens - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

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Online:Loading Screens - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

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Loading Screens (Online)

For other uses, see Loading Screens. Loading Screens appear when a new area is loaded. Along with concept art related to the area and name of the area, a message is displayed that can often be of help, especially to new players. Some loading screen messages can only be seen by going into certain...

elderscrolls.fandom.com

 

[Stocking Anarchy]

Fargrave connects to multiple planes of existence.

Online:Hewlet Hexos - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

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Hewlet Hexos: Fargrave connects to multiple planes of existence, but that just means more work for me. I'll never get everything done.

Fargrave is a multidimensional city, and is said to exist on the edge of all reality.

Vestige: You said you work for House Hexos?
Hewlet Hexos: Yes, I'm a member of House Hexos. Since you made it to Fargrave, I'll let you in on a little secret. My house gave up its claims in Tamriel centuries ago for a lucrative position in the Celestial Palanquin.
But even I'm not privy to all our secrets."
Vestige: It sounds like House Hexos has a lot of secrets.
Hewlet Hexos: Well, you don't get to be the foremost mortal family in a multidimensional Daedric city without being betrayed a few times over the centuries.
We thrive because my ancestors were cautious, and that's still a family trait to the current day.
Vestige: Why tell me any of this?
Hewlet Hexos: Consider it a test. House Hexos serves as a bridge between Fargrave's mortals and Daedra. If you can't keep a minor secret, then we can't recommend you to other organizations.
It's a little out of line, but that's life on the edge of all reality.

House Hexos is a mercantile empire that expands far into the myriad realms of Oblivion, with the emporium in Fargrave arranging for the delivery of goods from a dozen worlds to buyers in Tamriel.

Lore:Crafting Motif 98: House Hexos Style - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

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---

Welcome to the service of House Hexos! You now are part of a mercantile empire that extends far into the myriad realms of Oblivion. From our emporium in Fargrave, our agents pursue the goods of a dozen worlds and arrange for their delivery to discerning buyers throughout Tamriel.

Weapons issued by House Hexos remain useful in ash storms, corrosive swamps and bitter icefields.

Since we venture into hostile environments, House Hexos issues weapons treated to remain useful in storms of ash, corrosive swamps, or bitter icefields. And we expect mercenaries in our service to proudly wear the colors of our house: olive green, brown leather, emblems of deep red. In many planes, our safe-passage agreements require us to identify ourselves. Discard our colors at your peril!

Hexos axes can split the hide of monsters such as Daedroth and Inferniums, and have a metal haft as wood would split or rot in certain planes.

AXES​

Many of the creatures we encounter are ill-tempered beasts armored in thick carapaces or scales. It takes a heavy blade to cut through the hide of a monster such as a Daedroth or an Infernium. A Hexos axe also features a haft of steel alloy, since wooden hafts often split or rot in the harsher planes.

Hexos gloves can protect the wearer from sharp rocks, gouts of flame and acid rain.

GLOVES​

Strong but supple vambraces of reinforced leather (and plates of browned iron, in the case of heavier suits) protect wearer's hands against both battle injuries and dangerous terrain such as knife-edged rock, spined plants, and gouts of flame or acidic rain.

Hexos blades are forged from steel and tempered with rare reagents from the planes of Oblivion.

SWORDS​

Swords have always been versatile weapons, suited for both cutting and thrusting (and bashing as well, if you're not above a pommel-strike). This proves useful in dealing with the wide variety of Daedric creatures we encounter. Hexos blades are forged from steel tempered with rare reagents from the planes of Oblivion.

 

[Stocking Anarchy]

Inferniums are massive and powerful daedra. There are 10 to 15 morphotypes of daedra popular among summoners on Tamriel, which does a disservice to the literally countless kinds of daedra who live among the planes of Oblivion. Some are just the size of insects, others are far bigger.

Lore:On Inferniums - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

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Daedrologists rarely summon Daedra. Mostly because the majority of us have no real magical aptitude. Those brave—or foolhardy—mages who do invite beings from Oblivion into Nirn tend to focus on humanoid Daedra like Xivilai and Dremora, or more bestial creatures like clannfears and daedroths. This focus on ten to fifteen morphotypes regrettably blinds many sorcerers to the true measure of Oblivion's inhabitants. Countless beings roam the planes of Oblivion—some the size of fleshflies and others far, far larger.

An Infernium of them can easily eat a horse.

Take the Infernium, for instance. According to a well-regarded Dremora diplomat, mortals cannot pronounce the creature's true name, as it is spoken at a pitch too low for our ears to hear. The creature dwarfs most known Daedra in both size and hideousness, resembling a great fanged leech or monstrous caterpillar. It can easily devour beasts as large as horses and displays no great preference in what it consumes.

Despite their beastly forms, Inferniums are actually deceptively smart, and is keenly away of where political and cultural power rests (for example, it would attack high-ranking Dremora far more than low-ranking Varlets. Inferniums also devour powerful items such as grand soul gems, master lucents and valuable extraplanar relics.

While these facts should be more than enough to frighten most people, I find myself even more disturbed by its alien motivations. Like all Daedra with Dagonic allegiances, the Infernium seems obsessed with upheaval and revolution. But unlike other bestial Daedra, it doesn't pursue these ends in a crude, general sense. It seems keenly aware of where political and cultural power rests, and acts to check it with frightening results. High-ranking Dremora routinely fall prey to Infernium attacks—far more often than low-ranking Varlets who enjoy fewer defenses. Inferniums also consume powerful items such as grand soul gems, master lucents, and valuable extraplanar relics. Wherever there is potential, or prestige, or authority, you can be sure that an Infernium lurks nearby with eagerly chittering jaws.

The author concludes that although mortal see power as abstract, perhaps in Oblivion it is something more tangible, maybe even physical.

This raises all sorts of ontological questions about essence of power—something we mortals have always regarded as an abstract concept. We must consider the possibility that in Oblivion, abstract power may exist as a quantifiable, material force that can be detected, measured, and perhaps even collected in physical form. We will likely never learn the truth of it in my lifetime, but I trust that future Daedrologists will unlock this mystery eventually.

One Infernium, Ozezan the Inferno, can burrow through the ground and come up again fast, creating large pools of lava as it does.

https://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/news/post/63775

As you make your way to the Itinerant Staff and venture between realms, in addition to the Scribes, you’ll need to contend with bloodthirsty Dremora and hulking Daedric monsters, such as one of the dungeon’s bosses, Ozezan.

“All of the dungeon’s bosses have unique mechanics that players haven't seen before,” says Finnigan. “But I think Ozezan the Inferno is worth highlighting as we have not used an Infernium in a dungeon before. Monster placement is key in this battle, and it will test players’ positioning to ensure the boss doesn’t fill the entire space with lava.”

A sense of scale of how big Inferniums can grow.

Spoiler

32:53

During a fight with another Infernium called the Unmaker, we see a named Havocrel (either the Havocrel Tormentor‎‎ or the Havocrel Legionary) perform a superhuman jump attack. Take note of the Havocrels size too; easily twice as tall as the Vestige if not taller.

0:27

Havocrel stand as tall as frost giants, and twice as wide (all of them are blind).

Lore:Havocrel: Strangers from Oblivion - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

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A Daedric cultist agreed to summon one of these solitary entities for their own purposes, but agreed to allow me to question the creature—for an outlandish contribution to their "order." Xeacus, as the entity referred to itself, named itself to be one of the Havocrel. It stood as tall as a Frost Giant and twice as broad, with crimson skin and eyes blind as a Leyawiin beggar. His form was perfectly sculpted, and strange tattoos decorated his mostly naked body. I asked him why we've never seen vast armies of his kind, as we do with Dremora and Skaafin. He laughed. "We prefer isolation and detest the company of our own kind. Gather two in a room and watch the tension build. Bring three of us together and blood will flow. Four Havocrel in the same location and you might as well call it a war."

The Havocrel lives in a palace of frozen magicka when he's not fulfilling a bargain for a summoner (such as a Prince or another powerful entity.)

For a creature that prefers isolation, I am surprised by how willing Xeacus was to talk to me. He did keep glancing at the cultist who summoned and bound him within the circle, but that was no matter to me. I paid a lot of gold for this opportunity, and I did not plan to waste it. For example, Xeacus told me that he lived in a palace of frozen magicka when he was not fulfilling a bargain for a Daedric Prince or other powerful entity. I asked him to explain what he meant. He shook his head and said, "No."

 

[Stocking Anarchy]

Inferniums are actually really smart, and managed to take down one of the Xivilai clans in the First Era.

Online:Mazandi - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

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Mazandi: Look at that Infernium, it's just trying to protect the sarcophagus. Or maybe it's trying to break the sarcophagus?
Either way, it'll probably try to bite us if we get closer. It might even try to bite us if we don't.
Vestige: What's an Infernium?
Mazandi: That big insect-like Daedra. Don't underestimate them. Inferniums are really smart. We have a book about them back in the hall. If I remember correctly, they managed to take down one of the Xivilai clans back in the First Era. Caused quite a fuss.

 

[Stocking Anarchy]

A nameless volcanic realm drifts through Oblivion, and from this realm the Iron Atronachs originate.

https://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-gb/news/post/60245

A volcanic realm drifts silently through the void of Oblivion. Impossibly dense and boiling with malice, this molten hellscape produces only one thing in abundance: Iron Atronachs—towering behemoths driven by a relentless appetite for destruction. While few conjurers dare to call upon these titans, those that do gain powerful servants… or a grisly death.

Do you have the strength to tame these colossi? Summon up your iron will and claim these spoils of Oblivion for your own!

 

[Stocking Anarchy]

Tsofeer Cavern is ideal for living with plenty of space and water, but it's avoided by even the Dead-Water tribe because of the dreaded monster Wuju-Ka,

Online:Tsofeer Cavern - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

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A spacious and well-watered cave system in Murkmire would normally be used or inhabited by some of the local Argonians, but Tsofeer Cavern is avoided even by the aggressive Dead-Water tribe, all because of one dread word: "Wuju-Ka."

Wuju-Ka is responsible for the disapearence of the Ninth Legion.

Lore:Legion Officer's Notebook - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

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The Argonian scout we hired has been a blessing. Gin-Rajul seems to know this swamp like the back of his scaly hand. As a matter of fact, it was the scout who suggested we camp in this cavern. In addition to offering protection from the elements and a secure location from which we could defend ourselves, he told me that, according to the legends of his tribe, a powerful weapon was hidden here long ago. It would be a great benefit to the Empire if we were to acquire this weapon.
* * *
The Ninth Legion isn't alone in this cavern. Something or someone has picked off our perimeter guards and scavenger parties. Our Argonian scout contends that there is nothing here but the Legion, suggesting that my soldiers decided to desert and flee the area. That's ridiculous! The Ninth Legion never abandons its responsibilities! I don't think Gin-Rajul is being completely honest, but I'm not sure why he would lie to me.

Wuju-Ka consumed over half of a Legion Officer's troops and grew even bigger and stronger. The Officer decides to seal the cavern shut so it can't escape to threaten the Empire (this, however, intefers with the local Argonians sealing ritual for the monster).

Online:Legion Officer's Journal - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

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Damn that Gin-Rajul! I think he led the Ninth Legion into this cavern on purpose! Now everything has gone wrong. That thing consumed more than half of my troops! Now it's bigger and stronger than ever!

While I still have enough able bodies to do any good, we're going to seal the entrance and make sure this thing can't get out to threaten the Empire's interests in this disgusting patch of stinking mud.

Wuju-Ka is a gigantic voriplasm, or appears to be a voriplasm; it's bigger, more resiliant and stronger.

Online:Note from the Last Legionnaire - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

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I might be the last surviving member of the Imperial Ninth Legion. At the very least, I'm the last surviving member that I know about.

I have some small amount of skill at spellcasting, which could be what has kept me alive up to this point. More importantly, my arcane training might help me understand the creature that has destroyed us. The treacherous Argonian called it a voriplasm, but it's unlike any of the specimens we encountered outside the cavern. This one is stronger, larger, more resilient. Gin-Rajul called it the Wuju-Ka, and I think he purposely led us in here so the creature could devour us!

There's a table or altar of some sort. I think it holds the key to stopping the Wuju-Ka. If only I could—

Damn! The creature sends bits of itself against me—

Wuju-Ka is no ordinary voriplasm; other voriplasms in the Tsofeer Cavernsact as extensions of its being, and are it's connection to the world outside its spawning pool.

Lore:Dradeiva's Journal - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

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I have listened to all the stories, talked to all the tale-tellers and elders. After many seasons of searching and investigation, I have come to the conclusion that the ancestor of my egg family led the Imperial Ninth Legion to the Tsofeer Caverns. That's where they all disappeared into history and became the Lost Legion.
* * *
Many of the stories involving the Tsofeer Caverns mention a massive and powerful voriplasm known as the Wuju-Ka. From what I could ascertain, this huge pool of malevolent slime behaves unlike other voriplasms. It creates extensions of itself, mobile puddles of ooze that remain connected to it in some manner, serving as its eyes, ears, and appendages—its connection to the world outside its spawning pool. The elders I spoke to talked about the Wuju-Ka in reverent terms, but they were also clearly afraid of the creature. They said that in ancient seasons, elders from nearby tribes would go to the Tsofeer Caverns and perform a binding ritual to trap the massive voriplasm and its extensions inside the caves.
The binding ritual hasn't been performed in many, many seasons. Not since a rock slide sealed the entrance to the Tsofeer Caverns. I wonder if that was when the Ninth Legion was lost? Were they somehow trapped inside the caves?
* * *
Here's what I learned about voriplasms. These slime creatures slither through the swamp, consuming whatever gets in their way. To spawn, they either split apart and form new voriplasms, or they turn consumed flesh into voriplasmic corpses. Voriplasmic corpses appear as skeletal bodies, the flesh melted from their bones and replaced with voriplasmic slime. These disgusting, shambling creatures have some connection to the voriplasm that spawned them, but not to the degree associated with the Wuju-Ka.
* * *
One elder was willing to teach me the binding ritual for the Wuju-Ka. At least, she taught me what the elders before her told her. I hope the Wuju-Ka no longer exists, but if it still occupies the Tsofeer Caverns, then I must perform the binding ritual before I leave the caves. I just hope I can also find proof of the Lost Legion and some evidence to exonerate my ancestor and clear the mark of traitor that has sullied my egg-family's name.

Online:The Lost Legion - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

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Dradeiva: I have suffered shame for the actions of my ancestor. When the Imperial Ninth Legion marched into Murkmire, my distant relative agreed to serve as their scout, and ever since my egg-family has carried the mark of traitors.
I want to erase that mark.
Vestige: How do we clear your egg-family's name?
Dradeiva: After my egg-relative joined them, the Legion vanished. At long last, I believe I know where they disappeared to—Tsofeer Cavern. However, the cavern is rumored to be the home of the Wuju-Ka. I can't face that monster on my own. Will you go with me?

Dradeiva's ancestor Gin-Rajul led the Ninth Legion to Tsofeer Cave where the Wuju-Ka was sealed. He saved their tribe, but made Wuju-Ka more powerful.

Dradeiva: Another note? It talks about the altar where the elders prepared the ritual to bind the Wuju-Ka.Hmm. I think my ancestor led the Imperials into this cavern and fed them to the Wuju-Ka! He saved our tribe, but made the voriplasm more powerful.

Wuju-Ka is so powerful it needed to be sealed to prevent it from spreading out across Murkmire.

Dradeiva: As long as the cavern was sealed, the Wuju-Ka was trapped. It couldn't spread across Murkmire. But now that the caves are open ….
There's no one else my friend. We need to find the altar and perform the ritual to bind it to this cavern!
Vestige: You know how to perform the binding ritual?
Dradeiva: I tried to learn as much as I could when I came across the stories of the Wuju-Ka. I'm no expert, but with the dagger we found, I can replicate the ritual. I think.
Let's go find the altar.

The Wuju-Ka is not only much more powerful than ordinary voriplasm, it's far more intelligent, and possesses a hunger unlike ordinary voriplasms. All the smaller voriplasms in the Tsofeer Caverns act as its eyes and ears, and are extentions of the beast, including the Wuju-Ka Guardian. If the sealing ritual fails, the Wuju-Ka would consume all of Murkmire.

Dradeiva: From what we learned, my ancestor only pretended to help the Legion. He led them here to save Murkmire. When the Legionnaires sealed the cave, they interrupted the cycle. No one has come to bind the Wuju-Ka in centuries.
I guess it's up to us.
Vestige: How do we bind the Wuju-Ka?
Dradeiva: I will prepare the dagger and the sacred altar according to the stories the elders told me.
In the meantime, I need you to weaken the Wuju-Ka. Only then can we perform the ritual.
Vestige: How do I weaken the Wuju-Ka?
Dradeiva: The Wuju-Ka is a massive pool of voriplasm that interacts with the world through extensions of itself. The smaller voriplasms that prowl these caverns are all just part of a greater whole.
Vestige: A massive pool of evil slime that creates extensions of itself, got it.
Dradeiva: According to the stories, the Wuju-Ka creates an extension of itself to guard the pool. Find this large voriplasm guardian and destroy it. That should weaken the Wuju-Ka and make it more susceptible to the binding ritual.
Vestige: What happens if we can't bind the Wuju-Ka?
Dradeiva: The Wuju-Ka isn't like other voriplasms. It has an intelligence and a hunger different from the simple creatures seen in the swamp. Once it emerges from the cavern, it will spread and consume all of Murkmire.
We can't allow that to happen!

With the ritual a success, Dradeiva goes on to tell the local elders of several villages, and is happy you saved Murkmire together (and cleared her ancestors of treason).

Dradeiva: The journal and letters we found prove that the Lost Legion met its doom in Tsofeer Cavern. They also reveal that my ancestor led them there in order to protect Murkmire.
And more importantly, we used the rite of binding to trap the Wuju-Ka!
Vestige: How long will the rite of binding hold the Wuju-Ka?
Dradeiva: For seasons and seasons, my friend! And I shall inform the elders of the nearest tribes. They will once again take up the responsibility of maintaining the ritual.
I couldn't have accomplished any of these things without your help. Thank you!"
Vestige: You really think your ancestor led the Ninth Legion here on purpose?
Dradeiva: I do, I do! He knew the tribes weren't strong enough to oppose the Ninth Legion, so he sacrificed his own life to lead them to the Wuju-Ka.
I feel very proud to be part of his egg-family, my friend.
Vestige: So will this clear the traitor's mark from your egg-family?
Dradeiva: Not only will this evidence restore the honor of my egg-family, our actions have helped save all of Murkmire. And I couldn't have done any of this without you!
Please, accept this small gift as a token of my appreciation.

The Wuju-Ka portal after being sealed.

Spoiler

Very curiously, the Wuju-Ka Guardian has a chance of dropping the artifact Charm of the Shapeless, which is connected to the Wild Hunt Connection. As such, this entity may be more than a mere very powerfulvoriplasm, but a shapeless primordial horror.

Online:Wuju-Ka Guardian - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

en.uesp.net

Online:Ring of the Wild Hunt - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

en.uesp.net

UESP:ESO Antiquity Item -- Charm of the Shapeless

esoitem.uesp.net

I'll be honest ... I don't really know what I'm looking at here. I suppose it could be a face? If you squint? Given the bizarre shape and the greenish hue of the metal, I'd say this is a relic of the Wild Hunt. — Verita Numida

If I'm not mistaken, shapeless beings often appear in the hunt. According to this tome of Bosmeri history, Wood Elves transformed by the ritual sometimes take on the aspect of "great writhing tongues, unfettered by lips or teeth." Gross. — Gabrielle Benele

Can you even imagine seeing a giant tongue chasing after you? It's really too bad that the Wild Hunt leaves no survivors—not even those who willingly take part. I guess we'll have to wait until the Wood Elves feel aggrieved enough to summon up another! — Amalien

 

[Stocking Anarchy]

Returning to my Skyrim playthrough. As part of an argument I'm forming for a big post in the future, I'm checking to see how common alchemy is. The first Stormcloak camp I stumble across and what is the first thing I see?

Spoiler

The Stormcloak camp in Hjaalmarch has an alchemy table, and someone using it! Excellent evidence that not only do the magic-wary Nords use alchemy, but it's also quite common.

To back up my argument further, we see alchemy tables in Riverwood in Delphine's inn.

Spoiler

Delphine also has her own secret alchemy table in her secret Blades room. A dragonborn is also the only person who can kill a dragon permanently by devouring its soul.

Spoiler

Lami in Morthal sells strength potions and invisibility potions (as well as lockpicking, resist fire/cold/magic/shock, magicka potions, waterbreathing, health potions, cure disease and skooma).

Spoiler

Talking with her, she says the issue isn't getting the supplies in, but her using them all up when she experiments with alchemy when she's bored.

Spoiler

On her shelves behind her, we see she has ingredients such as void salts, ice wraith teeth, giants toes, lavender, torch bug thoraxs and more.

Spoiler

In Whiterun, Belethors own supply of potions isn't as vast (he's a general seller, not an alchemist like Arcadia just next door), but he still health potions, magicka potions, cure disease and even some poisons).

Spoiler

Belethor also sells soul gems, even grand soul gems.

Spoiler

 

[Stocking Anarchy]

Before I forget, you can also find a strength potion in the Abandoned Prison.

Spoiler

 

[Stocking Anarchy]

The Sload are horrible slug-folk who come from the island of Thras. They unleashed the Thrassian Plague in First Era 2200. In retaliation, the Six Flags Navy (an allied naval force from several nations and kingdoms of Tamriel) destroyed the island of Thras with unknown magicks. Unfortunately, Thras has risen again.

Lore:Pocket Guide to the Empire, 1st Edition/The Wild Region - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

en.uesp.net

Thras​

The coral kingdoms of Thras, a set of islands southwest of the Chain in the Abecean Sea, are home to a godless tribe of beastmen called the Sload. These amphibious slugmen, perhaps the most hated race in all of Tamriel, were long thought to be extinct. After the Sload released the Thrassian Plague in 1E2200, which claimed more than half of the continent's population, the largest allied naval force in Tamrielic history sailed to Thras, slaughtered all the Sload they could find, and, with great unknown magicks, sunk their coral kingdoms into the sea.

Sadly, it has been reported that Thras has risen again, and that its masters, the Sload, have recently been seen in various areas of Tamriel. Citizens are encouraged to avoid these beasts, and contact the nearest Imperial authorities when they learn of one's existence. Much is remembered about the slugmen, and has been collected for you in the nearby sidebar. Be vigilant.

The All-Flags Navy attacks the Sload on Thras. Although the Sload are powerful necromancers, they make poor hand-to-hand warriors, and the races of Tamriel have the upperhand. The Imperial ships bombard the Coral Tower. The Sload themselves destroy the Coral Tower and the island it's on by invoking Molag Bal, who collapses the Coral Tower and destroys Thras, and then causes a huge whirlpool that pulls in nearby ships into Coldharbour.

Lore:Journal of Tsona-Ei - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

en.uesp.net

Part Three​

Other ships followed us through the fog. One by one they emerged. Some were battered, some were missing, but many remained. We formed up and sailed toward the main island.

Through the terrible storms that battered us on our way, the captain stood firm. Many in the crew wished to abandon our cause, but the captain cursed them and would not hear of it. His cabin is directly above mine and at night I swear I could hear demonic whispers and see eerie lights. The captain I knew slipped away in the fog to be replaced by spectre of anger and hate.

A projection of Baron-Admiral Olo appeared on our deck. He spoke as if he could not see us—I assume this was some sort of magical broadcast to the fleet. He ordered us to take boats and men to sack the big island and lay siege to the tower by land as his remaining Imperial ships bombarded it from a distance. We armed ourselves with swords and bows, and the captain ordered us to the longboats.

When we set foot on shore I think we were the first to arrive. We were not the last. The Sloads are powerful necromancers, but they are poor hand-to-hand fighters and our numbers dwarfed theirs. Still, they fought, and they died as we conquered their island. They whispered curses to their Daedric Lord with their dying breaths are we took their gold, their goods, and their lives.

The blue light atop the coral tower began to pulse and bleed energy into the clouded sky. When the ground beneath our feet began to quake and tremble, no one had to tell us to run. The island began to crack and sink. The sea around Thras boiled as we rowed for our lives back to the Golden Era.

We were hauled back on deck in time to watch the Coral Tower collapse into the sea. We noticed too late the current that pulled us towards it. As the eye of blue light atop the tower dipped into the sea it began to spin like a great wheel, and when it met the waves it formed a monstrous whirlpool. Half the fleet was drawn into it, our ship included.

Part Four​

I remember thinking, as we slid into the massive whirlpool, that my mates and I would never see Alten Corimont again. I was right, but not in the way I thought. The truth was even worse.

As we were sucked into the pulsing blue light beneath the maelstrom, I felt water rush over my scales. Before the sea could consume me, a gale of cold wind exploded from below. We were no longer sinking—we were falling! As I clung to the deck, I saw that the whirling wall of water had been replaced by a dark, haunted sky and an infinite expanse of cold, dead earth. And it was rushing to meet us as we fell.

I blacked out, waking up some time later on the deck. I remember seeing the Captain talking to what appeared to be a great beast. I remember the beast handing the Captain something and then I blacked out again.

When I awoke, I was transformed. My scales and skin were gone—I was nought but bones. The Captain was now the Admiral, and whatever he commanded we could not refuse. More ships fell from the sky, and our Lost Fleet grew. We put the Era back together, dug tunnels, and constructed a town from the wreckage of the other ships, all at the Admiral's command.

We hate him, but we cannot disobey him. It's that crown he wears. I pray that one day someone who can resist the Admiral finds this journal. This journal, and the key I have hidden within its pages.

 

[Stocking Anarchy]

The Coral Tower may or may not be an actual Tower (metaphysical focal points of all reality) but it does have power.

Lore:Further Notes on the Sload - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

en.uesp.net

On the Coral Tower: Since the Coral Tower fell during the invasion of Thras by the All-Flags Navy, at this point the best we can do is make educated guesses about it. In their own perverse way, the Sload are very capable sorcerers, and from all accounts the Coral Tower acted as both a focus and a projector of mystical power. I am not a scholar of Tower Lore—my interests tend more toward the practical—but this accords (somewhat) with what the mythohistorians claim is the purpose and practice of the so-called Towers of Nirn. Was the Coral Tower a "real" tower like Lawful Crystal, here on Summerset, or was it a failed imitation, like the Doomspire? I do not think we have the answers based on what little we know.

The Sload are not only powerful necromancers and can use portal spells, but can control command the coral. As such, they could regrow destroyed islands, and potentially even regrow the Coral Tower.

https://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/news/post/25141

Telenger the Artificer says, “So many questions! You Bretons always seem so frenetic to us, trying to cram so much activity into your brief lives. I suppose it's understandable, however.

“Anyway, to your questions: Pillar of Thras? Are you referring to the fallen Coral Tower that sank at the time of the All-Flags Navy, or some new edifice? If it's a new erection, this 'Pillar' of yours may square with certain rumors I have heard that the Sload intend to rebuild their Tower, and indeed may already have commenced. The Thrassians command powerful magics, of course: not just necromancy and portal spells, but the ability to command the coral they live among in a manner analogous to the Wood Elves' communion with the plants of Valenwood. Could they induce the coral to grow rapidly out of the Sea of Pearls, spiraling skyward so as to create their tower anew? This bears further investigation. Perhaps the Sapiarch of Scrying….

 

[Stocking Anarchy]

Incomplete cateloguing for Necrom Online! This is still a new release as of typing this, so beware of spoilers...

Spoiler

Leramil says the tides of fate swirld around you and the future of two worlds (Nirn & Apocrypha) hangs in balance. If Apocrypha goes, Nirn goes too.

Online:Leramil the Wise - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

en.uesp.net

Leramil the Wise: The tides of fate swirl around you with glorious fury, proxy. The future of at least two worlds hangs in the balance. You have a talent for changing destiny. It has been noticed.
Hence, I bring you an offer from the One Who Knows.
Vestige: The One Who Knows?
Leramil the Wise: The Prince of Fate, the Guardian of the Unseen, the Lord of Secrets. Perhaps you know him as Hermaeus Mora, the Daedric Prince of Knowledge and Memory.
He has seen many paths forward, but only one where both Nirn and Apocrypha survive.
Vestige: You want me to work for a Daedric Prince?
Leramil the Unseen: I want you to help preserve the realm of Apocrypha to keep the reality of Nirn from unraveling. At this particular moment, in this specific instance, the fates of both realms are inextricably linked. Will you do as the Prince asks and assist me?"

Portal are doorways in space which open to other places, other times and even other realms.

Vestige: Which portal should I use to reach the vault?
Leramil the Wise: Portals. Fascinating fissures in space. They open to other places, other times. Even other realms. Ah, what was the question? Oh, which portal ….
Whichever appeals, proxy. They lead to the Hoarvor Pit, Rootwater Grove, and the Ondil Outskirts.

The fate of multitudes in this world and beyond hangs in the balance.

Vestige: All right, I think I know which portal I'm going to use.
Leramil the Wise: Excellent, proxy. Hermaeus Mora chose well when he selected you for this delicate and important task.
Now go. The fates of multitudes, both in this world and beyond, hang in the balance.

Glyphics are creations of Hermaeus Mora, and contain information or memories. With proper coaxing they can be urged to transform into a tangible concept within. The three glyphics you are sent to obtain will solidify your association with Mora for the length of the oncoming crisis.

Vestige: Why do I need to acquire the Emerald Glyphic? And what exactly is a glyphic, anyway?
Leramil the Wise: Glyphics are creations of Hermaeus Mora. Each one contains knowledge or a memory. With the proper coaxing, they can be urged to transform into a tangible version of the concept within. You need the contents of three glyphics to assist Hermaeus Mora.
Vestige: Three glyphics?
Leramil the Wise: Three glyphics contain the concepts that, once released, shall solidify your association with Hermaeus Mora for the length of this crisis. I have already acquired two of the glyphics. You shall obtain the third.
Vestige: And who's Hermaeus Mora again?
Leramil the Wise: Are you not acquainted with the concept of the Daedric Princes? The most vast and powerful of all the Daedra and the rulers of the realms of Oblivion? Hermaeus Mora is the Prince of Fate and the master of Apocrypha. He sees and knows … everything.

Leramil isn't a follower or worshipper of Mora, but instead someone who seeks knowledge and secrets, who made a bargain with Mora and in return undertakes missions for him from time to time

Vestige: You aren't a follower of Hermaeus Mora?
Leramil the Wise: I am a seeker of knowledge, a chaser of wisdom, and a delver of secrets. Long ago, I made a bargain with the Prince of Fate. In exchange for glimpses into Apocrypha's forbidden tomes, I undertake missions such as this from time to time.
Vestige: So you're not a Daedric cultist?
Leramil the Wise: I leave the supplication and exaltation of the One Who Knows to Dralys, Bassian, and their ilk. My association with Mora is strictly professional.
Now come, proxy. Time is a precious commodity when the fate of two realms hangs in the balance.

Herma-Mora rarely gets involved in determining the course of fate, and there are forces hidden even from him.

Vestige: Would Hermaeus Mora send one of his followers to kill Mildanor?
Leramil the Wise: No, the One Who Knows rarely gets that involved in determining the course of fate. This was the work of a traitor, one who claims devotion to Hermaeus Mora but works to advance the threat we have been tasked to stop.
Vestige: This scrap of paper suggests someone else is seeking the glyphics in order to assault Apocrypha.
Leramil the Wise: Hermaeus Mora told me that adversaries were gathering against him. I wondered why he never told me who they were. Perhaps he doesn't know. But how is that possible? The One Who Knows … knows everything.
As for the glyphics, we will keep them safe.

The contract you sign with Mora states that Mora will not be able to willingly harm you or Nirn. Leramil has benefitted from such a contract for over a century.

Leramil the Wise: The contract is a standard agreement that protects both parties. I have profited from the benefits of such a contract for more than a century. Signing it will ensure that Mora cannot do anything to knowingly harm you or Nirn.
Sign it, proxy.

Leramil returns to tell you that Mora is in need of a mortal proxy to help deal with the threat to reality, and the fates of Apocrypha and Nirn are linked.

Leramil the Wise: As Hermaeus Mora, the One Who Knows, foretold, we meet again, proxy. Many diverse twists of fate have led us to this nebulous—ah. Too complicated.
I come with a gift. A purpose, dark and heavy. An opportunity to fulfill the contract you signed.
Vestige: Purpose? What purpose?
Leramil the Wise: We are bound together by a common danger. Enemies of Hermaeus Mora threaten his realm of Oblivion—and in so doing, pose a threat to the mortal world as well.
Therefore Mora sent me to meet you here and secure your cooperation.
Vestige: What sort of cooperation?
Leramil the Wise: Only a mortal proxy can deal with the threat and save both Apocrypha and Nirn. The fates of both realms are linked, and you are the key to preserving reality. Without you, everything unravels.
Help avert this disaster and Mora will reward you.
Vestige: All right, I'll help. Where do I start?

Leramil the Wise gives you a 'condensate of planar potentialities' (or ink, perhaps from Apocrypha's black seas), and says there are rival Princes working against Mora.

Leramil the Wise: The One Who Knows instructed me to give you this. A condensate of planar potentialities—ah, you will not understand. It is ink.
Take it to the Redrith Cistern, a ruin near the city. Pour the ink into the water and your path will be made clear.
Vestige: Who exactly are we up against?
Leramil the Wise: One or more of Hermaeus Mora's rival Princes, although they have yet to reveal themselves. They work through agents … such as whoever sought the glyphics when we first met.
A spider lurks at the center of this web. I am sure of it.
Vestige: So this is related to the glyphics I recovered?
Leramil the Wise: Yes and no. We face the same foe who sought the Onyx and Umbral Glyphics, and colluded with Dralys Athren to seize the Emerald Glyphic.
You forced them to change tactics when you stopped them. But they have not abandoned their grander scheme.

Hermaeus Mora is the wisest of the Daedra, and all secrets and all knowledge eventually find their way to Apocrypha. Apocrypha is the seat of power of Mora and his home, and one of the countless realms that drift in Oblivion.

Vestige: Tell me about Hermaeus Mora.
Leramil the Wise: Have you never heard of the Daedric Prince of Forbidden Knowledge? The Lord of Fate? The Riddle Unsolvable? Hermaeus Mora knows everything. He is the wisest of the Daedra. Every secret and all knowledge finds its way to Apocrypha in time.
Vestige: What's Apocrypha?
Leramil: I am astonished how little the mortals of our tiny world comprehend. Apocrypha is the realm of Hermaeus Mora. His home and seat of power, one of the countless realms that drift through Oblivion.
Please, do not ask me about Oblivion.

Mora will Manifest before you in a 'delimited projection.'

Leramil the Wise: Meeting Hermaeus Mora represents a rare honor. The One Who Knows materializes in a delimited projection … ah. He chooses to manifest before few mortals. The threads upon which reality dangles are precarious indeed.

Leramil the Wise knows what actions you will take and when you will do so, but will not tell you, as many possibilities branch from every mortal decission.

Vestige: You know where and when, but not what I need to do?
Leramil the Wise: Many possible futures branch from every mortal choice. If we know the consequences of our choices, it changes the outcome. Therefore, Hermaeus Mora tells us only what he must.
As fate's chosen, the rest is up to you.

Telvanni are formidable wizards.

Vestige: Tell me about Tel Rendys.
Leramil the Wise: Tel Rendys is one of the many mushroom towers that dot this land. They usually serve as domiciles of Telvanni wizards who wield formidable magic, but this tower is abandoned.
Interesting. Fate dictates that when you go there, I shall accompany you.

The Endless Library in Apocrypha contains as many uncountable books as there are stars.

Leramil the Wise: I came as soon as I heard, proxy. I knew what Hermaeus Mora predicted, but I never truly imagined invaders in Apocrypha.
Scruut: Leramil the Wise? You know this mortal, too? Then understand that agents of Vaermina invaded my master's realm.
Leramil the Wise: Ah, one of Hermaeus Mora's examiners of contradictions. Reality is in jeopardy, Watchling. We can use every ally we can get.

Herma-Mora's enemies seek to take from him a dream only he remembers.

Leramil the Wise: I perceive the outline of our adversaries' plan. They require a key to reach a dream which only Hermaeus Mora remembers. And a rite that involves a Black Book. Someone knows a great deal about Apocrypha and this conspiracy of secrets, but who?

Mora says that with one possibility realised, the rest are excluded, and the tree of fate will branch new possibilities. Leramil is able to perceive the threads of Fate, and so Mora has sent her to guide you to thwarts Mora's adversaries who somehow hide from him.

Online:Hermaeus Mora - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

en.uesp.net

Hermaus Mora: Leramil has done well and brought fate's chosen into my unrelenting gaze. All other outcomes are now excluded. From this moment, fate's ever-branching tree begins to grow again. And with it, new possibilities emerge.
Vestige: What's this all about?
Hermaeus Mora: It concerns beginnings and endings, secrets too dangerous to reveal, and the stability of the threads of fate. Hidden rivals threaten my realm, and thereby threaten all of reality. If they succeed, fate will unravel and doom both our worlds.
Vestige: Leramil calls you the One Who Knows. How can your rivals hide from you?
Hermaeus Mora: I am the Golden Eye of Fate and the Keeper of Whispers! Knowledge and memory are my domains! How this threat eludes me, I do not know. But you are the key to preserving Apocrypha. I have foreseen it. And in so doing, you shall save the mortal realm.
Vestige: How can I save Apocrypha and Nirn?
Hermaeus Mora: Let Leramil guide you. She can perceive the threads of fate and lead you to the three tasks that will reveal my hidden adversaries. Meet her in the Necrom Bindery, in the mortal city of the same name. Your journey to preserve reality begins there.
Vestige: Seal our covenant? How?
Hermaeus Mora: The three glyphics before you contain the concepts necessary to create a contract to bind us. I submit to this as a promise of cooperation. You may serve as my proxy without fear of harming your own interests. Now take the glyphics. Combine them.

Apocrypha and Nirn are connected; if Apocrypha is destroyed, so too will Nirn go. Mora also points out that what you see of him is only an aspect of his true self, as the mortal mind cannot contain the whole of him, and your mind needs to be intact to save reality. He also says that he has shaped the plane of Apocrypha to his needs.

Vestige: Tell me more about Apocrypha and its connection to Nirn.
Hermaeus Mora: Do you know so little, mortal? Apocrypha is my domain. A plane of Oblivion I have shaped to my needs. And this plane—the mortal realm—some refer to it as Nirn.
As for the connection, just know that if Apocrypha falls, Nirn will cease to exist.
Vestige: And what exactly are you?
Hermaeus Mora: The scholars and mystics of your world call me a Daedric Prince. What you see is only an aspect of my true self, for the mortal mind cannot contain the whole of me. This form suffices.
Your mind must remain intact for you to be of use to fate.

Although Mora's enemies blind and befuddle him, he knows there is a threat against him, as all threads of fate lead to a calamity he though he had averted long ago.

Vestige: What do you know about the enemy that threatens Apocrypha?
Hermaeus Mora: Precious little. They are shadows that vanish under my scrutiny. Obscure figures that somehow hide from my gaze.
It is … disconcerting. Never have I been so blind.
Vestige: Then how do you know that there's a threat against Apocrypha and Nirn?
Hermaeus Mora: Every possible fate unfolds before me. They all lead to an event I thought erased from chance eons ago. If this course isn't altered, Apocrypha falls, reality unravels, and Nirn is destroyed.
This enemy eludes me, but you are my secret advantage.
Vestige: If you can't determine who they are, how can I?
Hermaeus Mora: That is the reason fate chose you. Your instinctual ability to succeed no matter the obstacles placed before you, no matter the odds.
Follow the threads I selected for Leramil. See where they lead. That is the key to saving both our realms.

Herma-Mora stole secrets from Torvesard, Vaermina and everyone (as in literally everyone). Somehow, Torvesard slipped past him and saw one of the Primordial Glyphics. However, the threads of fate have not yet snapped, so reality will not unravel (not yet at least).

Hermaeus Mora: I erased all evidence of this moment...and of the events that led to the loathsome action I was forced to perform. But I could not strip it from my own memory. And now that misstep has borne bitter fruit.
What did the Dremora tell you, chosen?"
Vestige: Torvesard said you hoard secrets. That you stole memories from him and Vaermina. From everyone.
Hermaeus Mora: Torvesard spoke true. Forbidden knowledge and secrets are my prime concern. Much of what I hoard serves to protect all the realms of existence.
This particular secret, however, must stay forgotten. Even this slight recollection threatens reality.
Vestige: You said this memory changed?
Hermaeus Mora: Torvesard found a way to slip past the eyes that see all and entered a memory he should have had no ability to access. And yet here we are. He restored that which I destroyed and now this recollection is no longer forgotten
Vestige: And this will cause reality to unravel?
Hermaeus Mora: The threads fray, but have not yet snapped. Torvesard and my enemies recall a fraction of the memory, but the most devastating secret remains locked away.
Return to your allies. This situation can still be salvaged, if you and Leramil work together.

Vaermina and Peryite's joint attack on Apocrypha leaves Mora tormented and in pain, and threatens to cut him off from his Realm (Mora's doing everything he can to remain connected to Apocrypha). As Mora's enemies seek out the Primordial Glyphic which contains a memory of Mora's he wished to forget. If all Primordial Glyphics are seen and the knowledge is out, reality would be destroyed by the secret with in.

Hermaeus Mora: I shook off the worst effects of Vaermina's corrupting presence, but not soon enough.
The intruders have fled, but the Vault of the Glyphic. You must determine if the secret remains secure.
Vestige: You hid this dangerous secret in a glyphic?
Hermaeus Mora: Not just any glyphic. One of the three primordial glyphics that in total contain the entirety of the memory I made everyone forget. A memory that, if restored, will destroy reality.
Enter the vault. Check on the glyphic
Vestige: What will I find in there?
Hermaeus Mora: That which I cannot see. The corruption coursing through Apocrypha continues to weaken me. I must do everything I can to maintain a connection to my realm. Enter and examine the glyphic. I give you permission to gaze upon this portion of the memory
Vestige: Isn't that dangerous?
Hermaeus Mora: It cannot be avoided. Fate's chosen must make sure the glyphic is secure and the memory intact. We shall talk again when you are done.
Vestige: What should I do beyond that door?
Hermaeus Mora: Examine the Glyphic of Lost Memories. It will reveal its portion of the secret to you.
Regrettably, there is no other way to determine if the glyphic remains intact. But fate will survive a slight fraying of its fabric. It has to. Now go.

Scruut, an apathetic daedra serving Hermaeus Mora, is investigating daedric cultists and contradictions in fate. She says she'd rather wait around for entropy to claim them all, but says that they'd aught to do something about the cultists.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_p40eEGJknc
40:45

Scruut: Mortals. You scurry around obsessed with your petty affairs and then you die. But you bear the mark of Hermaeus Mora. Have you come to replace me in my task? That would be typical.
Wait. Were you sent to help me with these cultists? Before you die?
Vestige: Maybe. Tell me about these cultists.
Scruut: Not much to tell. I just arrived myself. This mortal served the Great Eye, but he died before he could tell me about the other Daedric cultists that scamper about.
They're creating an intolerable contradiction in reality. Makes my tentacles sick.
Vestige: A contradiction in reality?
Scruut: I'd prefer to sit back and wait for entropy to claim us all, but I suppose we must do something. Let's survey the town. See if anyone survived and try to determine what the cultists want here.
Oh, and despite my size, I'm good in a fight. You'll see.
Vestige: What can you tell me about this place?
Scruut: Alavelis? Or this tedious mortal plane? No, don't tell me. My answers the same in either case. It's a dust mote, populated by delusional insects whose meaningless lives seem important to them.
I can't bring myself to care.
Vestige: Then why would Hermaeus Mora care what happens here?
Scruut: I have no clue. When my master exerts his power on this plane, the consequences linger. Footprints in the malleable clay of fate that harden to stone with the passing ages.
I sense that events here run counter to something my master did long ago.

Daedra don't usually dream the way mortals do, which makes how Torvesards dreams even more peculiar.
47:35

Scruut: Glyphics endure for eternity. I've never heard of any erasing themselves before. Very strange. Do you understand the text that remained, mortal? I found the words very disturbing.
Vestige: I'm not sure. What did you make of the three books?
Scruut: One concerned the Pact Primordial. Could they be seeking a way to subvert that ancient restriction? The second mentioned lost dreams, such as the one Torvesard seeks to recover. It told of a place in Apocrypha to find such misplaced memories.
Vestige: But the exact location wasn't in the lines of text that remained.
Scruut: No, but we have to assume Torvesard learned the location before the text faded away. The final book referred to one of Hermaeus Mora's most infamous Black Books - The Tormenting Eye. It is said it contains a rite for unlocking dangerous secrets.
Vestige: Tell me about the Pact Primordial.
Scruut: The pact refers to ancient laws that bind the Daedric Princes. No Prince may physically intrude in anothers realm. Everyone knows that. Well, perhaps not mortals.
That they sought out the tome tells us something important.
Vestige: What does it tell us?
Scruut: The invaders found a way to enter Apocrypha undetected. Perhaps they hope to open a path for one or more of the rival Princes? That would be disasterous!
There's nothing more we can do here. It's time to exist the tranquil catelog.

Twenty years ago, Meln the Mouthless stood in Shelreni's path so she killed him, but with his dying breath he banished her from his tower and set up all the wards so she couldn't intrude. Meln cast a spell of intangibility on the Black Book, which would take time for Shelreni to break on her own (made much more impressive by this being a daedric artifact).

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6N_H475AzY
11:50

Meln the Mouthless: Why does a Telvanni do anything? Ambition. Power. Greed
Twenty years ago, I stood in Shelreni's path. An obstacle to the higher rank she craved. She requested a meeting. Intead of negotiating, she killed me and tried to steal my prized possession.
Vestige: If you were dead, what stopped her from stealing this possession of yours?
Meln the Mouthless: Oh, just all the contingencies I had in place. With my last breath, I banished her from the tower and set up all the wards and defenses. They held perfectly well...until you mucked everything up.
She'll have no trouble stealing my Black Book now.
Vestige: Black Book?
Meln the Mouthless: The Tormenting Eye, A tome of forbidden secrets. I see Hermaeus Mora's mark on you and your companion. If you don't know about the Black Books, she can tell you.
Shelreni Baro is careless in her pursuit of power. She must not posses my book.
Vestige: What are you asking, Meln?
Meln the Mouthless: Two things protect my book. The spell of illegibility I cast upon it and the fact that without my aid, it will take her time to break the spell on her own.
Still, I'd rather she never got her hands on it. Stop her and I'll find a way to reward you.

Black Books contain knowledge of Apocrypha and is a portal to Apocrypha. There is only one of each Black Book.
13:36

Leramil the Wise: The threads of fate are tied to three things - Master Shelreni, Meln the Mouthless and the Black Book.
That was the connection to Apocrypha I sensed here. Black Books are a creation of Hermaeus Mora and his realm.
Vestige: Tell me more about the Black Books.
Leramil the Wise: Black Books are relics of Apocrypha, Each holds a different secret. Most are kept in the vast libraries of Hermaeus Mora's realm, but sometimes he gifts one to a mortal.
In addition to forbidden knowledge, each serves as a gateway to Apocrypha.
Vestige: How many Black Books are there?
Leramil the Wise: That is a secret the One Who Knows has not yet shared with me. I can count the number ofBlack Books I know on one hand. Only one copy of each book exists.
This is the first I have heard of one titled The Tormenting Eye.
Vestige: So what now?
Leramil the Wise: We must free Meln the Mouthless from Master Shelreni's grasp and retrieve the Black Book. But to do that, we need more information.
Look around, proxy. If Mela was indeed murdered here, there might be proof of Shelreni's villainry.

Although Meln the Mouthless was killed and bound to a soul gem by fellow Telvanni mage Shelreni, he can still appear as a spirit if in close proximity to the soul gem he's trapped within. Shelreni seeks the Black Book not for herself, but for the two Princes she's working together with. She will perform a rite from the book for them, and in return they'll give her control of House Telvanni.
26:12

Meln the Mouthless: My spirit is bound to the soul gem Shelreni used to capture me. Disentangling the connection will require more time and expertise than you have, so simply take the gem and leave. Without me, she may never be able to unlock my Black Book.
Vestige: Where is the Black Book?
Meln the Mouthless: Shelreni took the Black Book with her. But without my help, she'll have to unriddle it page by page. The labor of days or weeks, not hours. If she can even accomplish it.
She's too fond of the easy path to power. It will be her undoing one day.
Vestige: What does Master Shelreni need the book for?
Meln the Mouthless: She doesn't need it at all. She's in league with a Dremora, Torvesard, and a pair of Daedric Princes. There's apparently a rite contained within the book they want her to cast. In return, they'll give her what she wants - control of House Telvanni.

Meln's ghost hands you the very soul gem he's trapped in (28:00), and going by his dialogue, he might have summoned the soul gem himself. Meln says that only you will be able to hear him, and that he can lend his own abilities such as ghost sight, which allows one to see the unseeable Certain abilities of Meln are now even more effective after he died. He goes onto say how he's a Telvanni magister, and one of the most powerful mages on the peninsula, and he was once Shelreni's mentor, but he saw an unusual darkness and recklessness in her, and he refused to grant her the rank of beyond master, which is unfair! Outrageous! So she kills him.
27:40

Meln the Mouthless: Being deadand incorporeal isn't how I planned to spend eternity, but being with you is a thousand times better than remaining in Shelreni's clutches. And we delayed her plans for my Black Book.
Now, tell me about your dealings with Hermaeus Mora.
Vestige: Hermaeus Mora chose me to help save Apocrypha and Nirn from opposing Daedric Princes.
Meln the Mouthless: So, end of the world stuff. Well, that's interesting at least. Obviously, you're going to need the help of a Telvanni magister. Luckily, you have me.
Le me conjure up a small reward from my old vault. A stipend for services rendered.
Now, mind you keep my gem on you at all times. I can't help you save the world or advise you on matters of import if I'm not on your person.
Unless I manifest, only you can hear me. Oh, and I can lend you certain abilities, such as my ghost sight.
Vestige: Tell me about ghost sight.
Meln the Mouthless: It's an improvement on the ocular lens you used in my tower. I created a spell to produce the same effect without any need of a crude focus. Turns out, it works even better now that I'm dead.
Vestige: Better? What do you mean?
Meln the Mouthless: My Black Book, The Tormenting Eye, contains many secrets. Ghost sight was one of them. With it, I can expand your senses. Allow you to see the hidden, the imperceivable, the unseen.
I have no doubt it will prove important in the tasks ahead of us.
Vestige: You said you'd advise me. About what?
Meln the Mouthless: Remember, I was a Telvanni magister. Still am, as a matter of fact. One of the most powerful mages in the peninsula. And I've dealt with Hermaeus Mora before. And Shelreni. Don't you think my counsel will be worth listening to?
Well, it is.
Vestige: Why did Master Shelreni murder you again?
Meln the Mouthless: Once, long ago, I was her mentor. But I reckcognised a darkness in her. And not the usual Telvanni traits. She was reckless. Dangerous. I refused to sponser her advancement beyond the rank of master. And she coveted my Black Book.
So, she killed me.

 

[Stocking Anarchy]

The Dwemer built airships, and you can find the remains of their airship plans still.

Morrowind:Dwemer Airship Plans - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

en.uesp.net

Spoiler

Infact, several people throughout history have used these plans to make their own airships, some with more success than others. Louis Beauchamp for example, was successfully able to make an airship of his own and sent a crew to Solstheim to find a special artifact, and although it was shoddily put together, it held...until a huge blizzard hit, and the airship crashed. The airship has an engine with cogworks (there is an entire questline about finding the remains of this airship).

Lore:Airship Captain's Journal - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

en.uesp.net

Journal of Captain Roberto Jodoin
Commander, Beauchamp Expedition

Entry 1: Today is the day! Beauchamp's airship seems sturdy enough, and the crew is ready to set sail. We'll travel north-northwest until we reach the island of Solstheim. According to Beauchamp, the Hrothmund's Bane wolf formation is somewhere near the Moesring Mountains. The barrow we're set to explore is located at the wolf's eye. We'll get Beauchamp's precious magic item and be back at the Guild of Mages in a few days. What could possibly go wrong?

Entry 4: Damn conjurers, sorcerers, inventors, scientists and all they're academic ilk! Beauchamp promised me his airship would hold together, promised me it could be sailed just like a sea-bound craft. All lies! This monstrosity is barely holding together -- we've been trailing bits and pieces of it ever since we left Ald'Ruhn! Just an hour ago we lost one of the Dwemer cogs from the main engine! If this were a frigate or sloop I'd be holding her together just fine, but alas, trying to control an airship is like setting to sea in a barrel with a spoon for an oar.

Entry 6: Land ho!

Entry 7: It's normal for a crewmember to get edgy, but the Argonian finally went berserk. I told him repeatedly before we left Ald'Ruhn that an airship sails in the sky, and not on the water. He told me he understood, but his fear of heights must have finally taken sway. In a frenzied state he grabbed the wheel and almost forced us into the sea. I had no choice but to run him through. Swims-In-Swells was his name, and a good crewmember he was before this unfortunate incident. I would have preferred a burial at sea, but considering our current situation we had no choice but to toss his body overboard. We aimed for the ocean, but by that time the airship had drifted over Solstheim. Alas, I fear we missed, and his corpse landed somewhere on the southeastern shore.

Entry 9: We've located Hrothmund's Bane! At least Beauchamp was right about something. The wolf formation runs from west to east, with the head -- and eye -- toward the eastern end. We'll look for a place to set down and then explore Hrothmund's Barrow -- assuming THAT is where Beauchamp said it would be. I must also note that the going is slower than I'd like. There's a fell chill in the air, and I don't trust the dark clouds that have gathered over the mountains....

Entry 11: We have been assailed by a blizzard, the likes of which I have never seen! I feared a storm, but could never have imagined anything like this. Beauchamp's contraption is coming apart at the seams, and I don't think we can hold altitude. There's nowhere to land, but land we must!

Entry 12: Dead. All of them ded . Most of the crew were killd instantly when the aiship went down. the few that made it soon sucummed to the cold. I alon survived. Need to make a camp. Snow is blocking my way into the ship's hold. I go to the barrow in the murning. I can harly write. My hands arr nearly frzen.

Entry 13: so cold so cold. So huNgry...madness takKIng me I can feeeel ite. I see eyes night eyes wolf eys. Here them...so hungry. Eye of wlf coming! White wolf! So col ...

Spoiler

You can find the remains of this airship 200 years later when you return to Solstheim.

Spoiler

This was not the only time someone reverse-engineered a Dwemer airship; Richton also possessed an airship, which Cyrus and the Soul Sword destroyed.

Spoiler

Spoiler

 

[Stocking Anarchy]

The Ayleids also possessed airships (abet of a different nature to those of the Dwemer), which they used to sail the skies collect the Star Teeth.

TEST Shadowkey: Glacier Crawl — The Imperial Library

Finding the last Shadow Key

www.imperial-library.info

Spoiler