The Tale of a Dunmer

by Shea8282

This is the tale of a legend, A legend with a dark past, But his actions have changed this world in more ways than one, Now hear his story in the words he has written.

The Life of a Dunmer or The Adventures and Tragedies of the Nerevarine

Written by the hero who lived and walked in the path of prophecy and destiny, The Hortator and Leader of the Six Houses and Nerevarine of Morrowind, Teralam Alendel in the month of Second Seed of the 208th year of the Fourth Era.

This installment was published by the Thalmor Society of Literature on the 5th day of Sun's Dawn in the 209th year of the Fourth Era.

For whom reads this text:

I should warn you now that what you are to read my be considered old history, Unbaised of fact or unbelieveable, But i tell you now, It is the truth for it is my documentation of my life, The reason being is that i want people to know who i am and what happened with me as the actual fact is not known in this day and era, So with that, I make this account so others may know my story...My life, Although instead of starting at the true beginning, I shall start where my main journey as being a hero of Tamriel began.

Chapter the First: From Cyrodil to Morrowind

13 Sun's Height-15 Last Seed 3E 426:

Just before i begin the main part of this, I should give a slight amount of detail into the events which happened before this, That way you have a bit of understanding how i got there, To begin with, I remember the day of my release clearly, Almost as if it happened yesterday, But in fact that day was over 200 years ago now, You see, I had been imprisoned at that point for 9 years after a chain of events occurred for which i caused, This being commonly referred to now as "The Warp in the West", Even though it's effect was positive in the end, I ended up in the bottom of the Imperial City's prison for unknown reasons, Rotting and starving, Every day i awoke, I imagined i would die, And yet i lived, How and why i know not, But i did, For all those years, I never knew or suspected why, Some of the thoughts which travelled in my head on a reason why was maybe because i was strong, Because i had a resistance to certain diseases, Or perhaps i was just being used by the Aedra and Daedra in the sky as a play toy of sorts, But the reason never came to me and i kept on living, However then, For again unknown reasons, I was released, Why in the name of all things on Nirn would they release me all of a sudden after being just about completely forgotten? Again i knew not, As i was boarded onto a horse drawn carriage, I felt great fear and anxiety, Almost as if i was to be killed, But if i was, Why was i being taken away from the city? Surely they would want to chop my head off in front of the Emperor Uriel Septim VII? So something was off and it didn't make sense, The journey though was tiresome as we rode from the Imperial City, We passed through the small and quiant city of Cheydinhaal, The small town of Granfeld on the border of the Valas Mountains, After going over Shadowgate Pass, We crossed the border into Morrowind, At this time i thought back to my days in the Black Marsh (Or as it's known today Argonia) when i dreamed of visiting my homeland so i could not only learn more of my people but find my roots...and possibly what's left of my family, 2 days after going over the border on 28 Sun's Height, We arrived in the city of Kragen Mar which was controlled in those days by the Great House Hlaalu, One of the 5 Great Houses of Morrowind at the time, 2 days later we left the city, As the cart passed through the Armun Ashlands, I got a taste of what i do to experience soon, The guards made sure to avoid passing through Armun Camp as the local Ashlanders loathe the Imperials, Can't say i blame them though, I hated them too, After passing through the Ashlands, We continued going west until we reached the city of Almas Thirr, A fortified city owned the native religion of most Dunmer in Morrowind, The Tribunal Temple, A cult which centered on worshipping 3 living gods, Vivec, Almalexia and Sotha Sil, They also loathed the Imperials, But not quite as much as the Ashlanders who viewed the Imperials as a bitter enemy, However due to it's importance on being one of only 3 major ports on the Thirr River, The others being the Hlaalu capital Narsis to the far south and the destination i was to go to soon, The Imperial capital Old Ebonheart just north of the city, And so, 5 days after that and a full fortnight and a half after i was taken from the prison, We arrived in Old Ebonheart on the southern coast of the Inner Sea, A body of water which separated he mainland of Morrowind from the island in the centre of it, Vvardenfell, According to the few documents which survive from the time, The island was created during the eruption of Red Mountain in 1E 668 or Sun's Death or "The Yearlong Winter", It is said in a legend that this eruption is said to have been caused by the Dwemer after they discovered the fabled Heart of Lorkhan, Whether this is true or not, I can't say, As we came to the docks, Night fell upon us and the moons Masser and Secunda came out, While i and the other 4 prisoners in the cart were taken off, For a full hour we waited while our next destination was chosen, While the other three were taken aboard another cart heading for the city of Firewatch to the northeast, I was taken aboard a ship, A ship which was to head to a small fishing village called Seyda Neen, A few moments later, Movement came and we set sail, For 15 days i was at sea, This was because there were 3 stops before i was taken to Seyda Neen, Firstly Ebonheart, Second Fort Ancylis and lastly Teyn, After that, The journey to Seyda Neen was 2 days away, This was due to a late summer storm which came the night before i arrived, And with that note, I now begin the main part of my story.

16 Last Seed 3E 426

In the early hours of that day, I laid on the floor of the third level of that ship, It was where all the prisoners were held, And i was situated in a small, Cabin like quarter at the back end, There i was asleep, Dreaming of freedom as i always had every night for the last 9 years prior, But in the midst of it, I began to see a land where the sky ran blood red, And dust blowed in the wind, Immediately thereafter, I saw a figure which stood out from the bleak landscape of dead trees and ash laden soil, It had a female appearance and she wore a dress that was bright blue with streaks of white, Her face was similar to that of a Dunmer except the skin was much lighter and her eyes were a perfect shade of golden yellow, As i came closer she began to speak to me, "They have taken you from the Imperial City's prison, First by cart and now by boat, To the east, To Morrowind, Fear not my child, For i am watchful, You have been chosen and you will not fail", As she spoke i could also hear a slight sound of whispering, What the words though i don't know, As she finished speaking her figure faded away and i then heard a second voice, One of a male Dunmer, He said to me "Wake up, You were dreaming, Why are you shaking?, Are you okay?", It was at that point i awoke from my slumber at i set my sight on Jiub, A fellow prisoner on board who came when the ship stopped in Teyn, Although we had never spoken, He seemed worrisome for me, A nice gesture i must admit, As i stood up, I realized i was breathing heavily and my face was covered in cold sweat, My mind was racing on what i saw, Who was it and why did she say i was chosen? Whatever the case i set the thought aside and came to the current events, I then said to him "Yes i think i'm okay, A bit shaken but otherwise fine", "Well it must have been quite a dream, We just finished passing through that storm, Not even it could wake you while i and the others haven't slept since yesterday" he said to me while i adjusted, "Yes it was, But let's not get too distracted on that matter, Have we arrived yet?" i asked him, "Not quite, We will probably be landing in a short time from now, I can hear the guards are preparing for the arrival in Seyda Neen, And i can also see that the day is bright", I approached one of the windows and looked out, It truly was a most beautiful day, Unlike all of the clouds and rain i had seen for the last fortnight or so, And the sea was calm and still with fish swimming in it along with mudcrabs, Then you could hear the sounds of the cliff racers flying in the sky, Those annoying bastards, And a short distance away i could see the humble port town of Seyda Neen, Located on a set of small islands in the southern part of Vvardenfell, Many called it "The Gateway to Vvardenfell", Locals just call it the "swamp capital" of the island though, Although even when looking at it from roughly 2 kilometers away on sea, No swamps were noticeable, But i could see a vast forest with the path of a river going into it, I could also see 3 buildings, A tall tower with an Imperial style, A more "natural" building of wood and stone bricks, Again of Imperial style, And another building of the same kind except it was about two times taller than the other, The tower and the tall building were in plain view, But the smaller building was barred by a gate, And it was in front of it where the docks were, And also, That was the place we were to arrive to, As i waited, One of the prisoners began playing on a lute, Stolen from the cargo i would imagine, And he played this..haunting tune, It was obviously a pavana though, Considering all of the bleakness i had seen and experienced in the days prior, I yelled out to him "Could you please play something a little more cheerful? Otherwise i'll come over there and throw you and the lute out the window", He spoke nothing but he understood clearly, Then he began to play a more upbeat dance, Which suited the occasion i must now admit, Afterwards though, The guard came down and took the lute away before warning us to now take anymore items, Otherwise further fines will be placed on all of us, Even though none of us par for one did anything, 15 minutes later, I saw the approach of the docks coming near, And soon enough after that we did indeed come to the docks, Almost immediately the guards started to come down and take us off one by one, I was the second last though, And as they took me off, I was met with a guard who was of Redguard origin who as i walked out said "Next, The Dark Elf in blond", "Hmm, Charming you'd say it that way" i thought to myself at the time, When i came out he spoke to me "Ah good, Well just wait one moment right here and i'll get the orders on where you're to go", I stood for roughly 7 minutes waiting for where to go, And i must admit, I was in fear due to the fact i did'nt know what was next, Was i to be killed (Although that was highly unlikely, Unless it was ceremonial) or was i to be freed? But for that brief time, I knew not of my future, Then after what felt like the longest 7 minutes of my life, The order came, "According to the letter from the Duke of Ebonheart, You are to continue on into the Census office and speak with Socucius Ergalla, There he'll write down and sign your release form, Look's like today is your lucky day Dark Elf", he remarked, I was offended by the use of Dark Elf, In turn i said to him "I prefer Dunmer", He nodded and then lead me off the ship and as we stopped at the door, He said to me once more "Alright, Just head inside and sit down, Good luck and don't cause any trouble", When i did, I approached the hardwood table, Most likely it was made of Ash wood from the deep forests of eastern Cyrodil, It would make sense though considering taxmen and collectors earn a lot of money and Ash wood is quite expensive, Well at least in those days it was, I then said down in the chair and waited, About 3 minutes later, I could hear footsteps before an elderly Breton walked in through the door directly behind me, "Good morning, I see you finally arrived, I've been expecting you for the last half hour when the ship was originally supposed to arrive, But i guess the recent sea storms delayed the arrival" he said to me before walking over to the chair on the other side of the table, He then sat down and poured me a glass of cheap ale, A custom of the Bretons where they give a sip of alcohol to prisoners who are to be released, The ale was nice, Although it had the cheap taste o due to the fact it had not been aged for very long, If at all, But it was'nt bad either and i must say was a nice gesture, After wetting my throat so to speak, He got down to the main subject, "Well before we begin, Allow me to introduce myself, I am Socucius Ergalla, Agent of the Census and Excise Office of Morrowind, We welcome you to this.." I stopped him mid-sentence and said "If you would please, Can we get this over and done with? I'm usually the patience form of person but today i'm not", "As you wish" he said to me before pulling up a sheet of paper, He then wrote a few lines of text before asking me "What is your name?", What an odd question, Well at least at the time it was, No one has asked for my name since the day i was thrown in jail, Although it took a moment for me to remember it, I responded with "Teralam Alendel of Gorne", After he wrote that down, He asked "Your age?", "Ah shit, How old was i?" i thought to myself, Another moment later i remembered and said "71", "Very well, And your birth date?" he asked next, "The 4th day of Last Seed in the year 3E 355", He nodded and wrote what i said down, His next question was "What skills are you trained in?", This was probably the easiest of all the questions as i remembered my skills very well, "I'm trained with a bow, The blade, Armour which does'nt weigh you down, Stealth, And magic", "What degree of magic?" he responded, "Mysicism and Destruction along with a lesser knowledge of the other forms of magic", After writing that down, He asked one last question, "Now due to the fact you were born in Last Seed, This would mean you're under the sign of The Warrior, Am i correct?", "Yes" i said to him, After writing it down, He handed the sheet over to me so i could look it over for any errors, Since i found none, I signed the sheet and so did he, "Now then, Take this sheet over to Sellus Gravius in the next building, There are some things for you in the room down the hall to the right", I thanked him before rising from the chair and walking out the door he came in from, On the table in the aforementioned room was a dagger, A long bow made of iron and wood, Some arrows, A bag of food, A small pouch of gold and a few books which had little or no value but gave basic information, One was The Cantatas of Vivec, A small book of writings by Vivec, Another was a Imperial propaganda sheet, I did the proper thing to that piece of paper, That is in burning it while no one was looking, After i threw the charred sheet of paper into a vat of what looked like sewer water, I grabbed the other items and put them into the backpack they supplied also, I must say they were quite nice chaps, I then walked out the door and went straight into the next building, The area between the two building was barred by a wooden fence covered in wire and cement, A rather odd design i must say, When i came in, Sellus Gravius greeted me and said "Papers please" in a blunt voice, I handed him the sheet and he then looked it over before stamping it, Which mean't it was approved, "Congratulations Teralam Alendel, You are now a citizen of the Imperial Province of Morrowind", And yes at that time it was under Imperial rule, That was of course until the famous Battle of Resdayn in 4E 9, But...i'll tell about that another time, And i think all Dunmer and really Mer in general are fully well aware and know a great deal of that event anyway, Now just as i was about to walk out he halted me before saying "Before you leave, I need to give you this letter", Then i was handed a small envelope which was held together by a wax seal bearing the symbol of The Avatar of Akatosh, "You are to take that to Caius Cosades in the city of Balmora just north of here, And please be there in by noon the day after tomorrow, He is'nt the waiting kind, Oh and whatever you do, Don't open the package or attempt to decipher the contents, Otherwise we'll throw you back in jail and throw out the key into the heart of the Padomaic Ocean, Understand?", I nodded yes before walking out into the open, And now, I was free, Free at last to walk again in the streets, But now, Before i left for Balmora, I decided to take in the local town, And possibly maybe even get some work for a little gold, Firstly though, It was time to go to the local tradehouse and get some goods and prepare for the journey ahead.