Vvardenfell Reborn
Chapter 1 – Prologue
"Progress, Reform and Rediscovery – The Reclaiming of Vvardenfell", First Edition, Varus Mentilius, first published 4E503.
It has now been five hundred years since the third year of the Fourth Era, when civilisation on Vvardenfell ceased to exist.
A number of significant events occurred on the island of Vvardenfell at this time, the largest of which being the ill-fated tale of Nerevarine and his battle against the dark lord Dagoth Ur.
The hopes of Dagoth Ur and his Sixth House being destroyed forever were vanquished when Nerevarine was killed by Dagoth Ur in the heart of Red Mountain. The two were evenly matched, but Nerevarine was fatigued from his journey through the harsh, blighted wastelands of Red Mountain to reach the citadel, and was slain by Dagoth Ur. This proved disastrous – not only was the one hope of victory against House Dagoth killed, but Kagrenac's Tools fell into the hands of Dagoth Ur.
The course of action following these events was seen by many to be to simply flee Vvardenfell. The majority of the Dunmer population fled to mainland Morrowind, whilst other races moved en masse to Solstheim – the Nords continuing onwards to Skyrim or simply settling in the island, the remaining races being welcomed into the Imperial presences on the island, Fort Frostmoth and Raven Rock.
Back on Vvardenfell, Dagoth Ur used Kagrenac's Tools on the Heart of Lorkhan to effectively destroy the Tribunal, first by driving Almalexia and Sotha Sil to madness – in a dramatic series of events in Mournhold Almalexia killed Sotha Sil then was herself killed by a dissident priest. Vivec, meanwhile, became mortal and was murdered by a band of lesser Dagoths, against whom he was practically defenceless. When this happened, Vivec's grasp over elements of Vvardenfell disappeared. The Ministry of Truth plummeted from the heavens, obliterating Vivec's temple, and the Ghostfence failed, allowing Dagoth Ur's influence to spread across Vvardenfell.
The Sixth House soon became the dominant force in Vvardenfell. Only House Redoran and the Tribunal Temple remained on the island – House Redoran either too honourable or stubborn to abandon their land, the Tribunal Temple wishing to exact vengeance on those who had destroyed their religion. However, the Sixth House, led by Dagoth Ur and the seven Ash Vampires, who had been resurrected after Nerevarine had slain them to gain Kagrenac's Tools, overran them, either killing them or driving them from Vvardenfell.
However, fate intervened soon afterwards. Purely by chance, Red Mountain erupted for the first time in aeons. The rising lava in the crater destroyed the almost-completed Akhulakhan and killed Dagoth Ur as well as the Heart of Lorkhan, meaning the Sixth House's days were numbered and Dagoth Ur now had no means of resurrecting himself. The enormous tide of lava that erupted from Red Mountain destroyed the Citadels of the Sixth House and Ghostgate and buried much of Ald-Ruhn and Maar Gan, as well as completely reshaping the lands of Red Mountain and the Ashlands. Lava flowed down the Foyadas, levelling parts of the Bitter Coast and Molag Amur and turning them into vast rocky plains.
Wraithguard was destroyed when Red Mountain erupted, but Dagoth Ur had entrusted Keening and Sunder to Dagoth Odros and Dagoth Vemyn, who hid them in remote Sixth House bases far from Red Mountain, where it is believed they still remain. (However, it should be noted that without Wraithguard the tools are unuseable)
With Dagoth Ur destroyed, the lesser Dagoths, who drew sustenance from Dagoth Ur to live, soon died. Their minions, the ash and corprus creatures, soon perished or began killing each other for food. This series of events marked the end of life on Vvardenfell.
Over the next five hundred years, nature took its hold over the island. With no farmers breeding grazing animals such as guar, areas such as the Grazelands and the Ascadian Isles soon became overgrown with tall grass, and saplings, which were previously eaten by guar, grew into trees, turning the Grazelands and Ascadian Isles into dense forests. Winds carried an abundance of pollen from the verdant areas to the Ashlands, where weeds established themselves and grew in abundance. When these weeds died and rotted, they left a layer of fertile soil covering the ash in which more plants began to grow. Vvardenfell was transforming from a wasteland into a garden.
The cities of Vvardenfell suffered a much more destructive fate. Unkempt and untamed, plants began to swamp the cities. As roots grew into cracks in stone, they forced the cracks open, weakening buildings until they collapsed. This, combined with damage by the elements and the lack of anyone to maintain the buildings, meant most cities simply crumbled to the ground. By the time this book was written, southern towns in verdant areas such as Seyda Neen and Pelagiad had virtually disappeared as buildings collapsed and plant life had grown over them, burying them under soil and grass.
The Telvanni towns, grown by wizards and built from organic materials, quickly rotted away with nothing sustaining their life. This produced extremely fertile soil in which indigenous plants once again grew in abundance. Sadrith Mora quickly reverted to its namesake of literally being a forest of mushroom trees. The once-mighty city of Vivec is believed to have been overrun by plants like all the other cities, but the effects of tides and lack of maintenance means that the bases of the cantons will be severely weakened, meaning that they could collapse at any moment. Also, without anyone to maintain the ancient pumps that filled Vivec's canals, the water retained within each canton's canalworks flooded back out, significantly raising the sea level around Vivec and flooding the many low-lying islands surrounding the city.
Some elements of civilisation have survived, however. The city of Molag Mar is yet to be attacked by nature and remains standing, albeit significantly eroded by wind and rain. Daedric shrines still stand around Vvardenfell, their exterior walls made of ebony effectively keeping the elements at bay. Dwemer ruins, however, have suffered a worse fate. Rain has caused their metal exteriors to corrode, causing them to expand and literally rip apart their foundations, causing them to collapse. However, the structures beneath the exterior towers and domes should theoretically still be intact.
These events have had socio-political effects too. House Indoril has ceased to exist. Many believed that the reason for the Nerevarine's failure laid in his persecution by, as opposed to the support of, the Tribunal Temple, in particular the Indoril-led Ordinators. Following this, Houses Dres, Hlaalu, Redoran and Telvanni gave Indoril an ultimatum – either disband or the four houses would destroy them. The Indoril stubbornly stood their ground, leading to an enormous battle outside the Great Temple of Almalexia in Mournhold, where Indoril surrendered and agreed to disband.
Religion in Morrowind also changed significantly. With the Tribunal both destroyed and exposed by Nerevarine as false gods, the Dunmer split into two groups – the majority either became atheistic or joined the Imperial religion, worshipping the Nine Divines. A small group of Dunmer, however, founded the Sun and Moon Cult, also known as the Temple of Azura, worshipping the Daedric princess of its namesake. Azura was a firm supporter of Nerevarine and opposed the Tribunal Temple's persecution of him, and the Sun and Moon Cult thought that by appeasing Azura they could restore order and glory to Morrowind.
Five hundred years on, Vvardenfell is now garnering interest. It has been deemed safe to enter – the five hundred destructive years of nature erasing almost every sign of life from Vvardenfell are over, and the last remnants of the Sixth House have died out, soil burying blight-ridden ashes for good in most parts of the island. The eruption of Red Mountain created huge surface deposits of volcanic glass and ebony, and the whole island is essentially a blank canvas for whoever can claim it to build their own empire on. Three parties have all expressed interest in Vvardenfell – the alliance of the four remaining Great Houses, the Sun and Moon Cult and the East Empire Company.
The East Empire Company's expeditionary force, led by Varo Sinclair, were the first group to land on Vvardenfell, travelling to the old Imperial fortress-town of Ebonheart. Sinclair was a highly respected Imperial Legion commander, known for a kind heart, an excellent sense of judgement and a taste for adventure. With him were the Bosmer mage, botanist and alchemist Galmina, the eccentric Breton scholar and historian Jurard Aurmine and a group of surveyors and builders, led by Romanus Ratarius, ready to begin recolonisation of Vvardenfell. Already, however, tension is rising within the group. Varo Sinclair wishes to explore the island – the prospect of an abandoned province where nature has buried countless relics and treasures fascinates him – whilst Romanus Ratarius is more interested in mining the glass and ebony deposits left by the eruption of Red Mountain. It is here where the story begins.