Chapter 2
Ebonheart, though brings the thought of past Imperial control, was thought of as a strategic defensive position and a rational meeting place, away from most Great House-controlled property. The thought of tearing down Ebonheart and the rest of the Imperial forts was determined to be wasted effort; it wasn't as though they weren't well designed, most Dunmer believed. So they stayed put, used now in a similar way to the old Dunmer strongholds were once used for: both as refuge for citizens during crisis, or just as mustering halls for professional armies and militia. As Clauviir walked through the dusty stone walls and crumbling stairwells, he remembers when such Imperial colonies teemed with activity from trading and guild work. Though the East Empire Company still occupied the docks, and the Imperial Cult still preached in the back of the keep, barely half of the towers and buildings here were being used. Places like the Argonian and Skyrim missionary laid empty: the former due to the finding of Twin Lamp activity, and the latter due to the collective hatred the Dunmer have for the Nordic people. Although Clauviir felt that a lack of interstate communication was counterintuitive to the welfare of Morrowind, the Dunmer's beliefs were well-founded; being that they've been enemies with both for millennia, even enslaving one of them.
Clauviir crossed the final bridge of Ebonheart, reaching the damp grassy hills of the Ascadian isles. The grasslands were spotted with a vivid array of colored flowers, and the pale mushroom trees shot up to the sky in natural triumph. Towards the western horizon sat the great city of Vivec; it contained beige temple-like cantons, which stood still upon the unruly sea waters, splashing massive waves upon its well carved walls, only to be pushed back. He saw a few Dunmer citizens walking across the temple canton, their red eyes emboldening themselves within the vivid twilight background. 'Are they just walking, or have they come to see Vivec walk out?' Clauviir thought anxiously. From that thought, he started to run once again to the closest bridge: the Hlaalu canton.
As he ran across the wet dirt path, a thought came upon Clauviir's mind: how did it come to this? His career before being the Nerevarine took him everywhere across the island, towards constant success and strength, within his mind and body. Through all the fights and all the diplomacy, he became what no one could: Patriarch of The Temple, Oracle of the Imperial Cult, headmaster of each Imperial guild… any large, organized group within Vvardenfell one can think of, he made himself the head of it. It was only after each of those successful ventures that he took his Blades duties seriously; which then led to fulfilling the Nerevarine prophecies in order to save the Dunmer people from the threat of Dagoth Ur. Yes, his life here was far from unfulfilling, at least from the start.
His campaign into Akavir proved to be the opposite of one's psychology after success; he was afraid of being a leader to a disorganized community, terrified of what was expected of him, from the people, Daedric, and Aedric gods. He trained himself through combat with the most horrid of beasts, through the serpent people's warlike culture. He learned what it feels to truly be close to death, instead of having his hand held by the gods and the fate they gave him. Five years of self-discipline gave him the resolve to come back and lead the Dunmer.
He followed the Ashlander's prophecy as closely as he could: bringing down the false gods, forcing the foreigners off the Dunmer's land, uniting the Great Houses towards a single cause… he failed in all of these, and only did enough to satisfy the Erabenimsun Ashlanders. Two gods had fallen, but he could not bring it in himself to destroy Vivec. Immigration was no longer allowed in Morrowind, though outlanders before the law came in were allowed to stay, as well as the concept of the Imperial cults and guilds; their style of organization was desired, so long as they held no tidings to the Imperial mainland. The Great Houses were as organized as they could be, but that is barely anything. Their transgression towards each other had not changed in the past 20 years; it has, perhaps, grown even worse. More and more of Morrowind, especially Vvardenfell, was settled when the word of Dagoth Ur's demise came. A massive population boom followed, and small settlements, something which the Dunmer people had never really tried out, were appearing in every region, even in the Ashlands and Red Mountain.
As a result of growth within Vvardenfell, the three main Dunmer houses grew exceptionally large. Though House Indoril was quite large on Tamriel, it had officially merged with the temple as a result of their sullen reputation created by the death of Almalexia. The temple, by that time, officially converted to Good Daedra worship, with the help of the ones formerly named 'Dissident Priests'. Due to the Temple's past reputation with helping the poor and educating the Dunmer people, few remained disdainful towards their past alliance with The Tribunal. House Dres, on the other hand, fell apart due to constant land wars with the Hlaalu and Redoran. They had not the ability to fight back either way, due to their dire weakening from the long past war with the Empire. In the end, House Redoran grew the most from land and influence, due to their strong bond with Temple and their honorable warrior reputation. The Hlaalu gained a lot of land as well, but their growth seemed supernatural, which even Clauviir had yet to find the source. Their wealth and the number of members they have do not coincide with the amount of land they own. The Telvanni seem to have grown more in knowledge than in size; being that Clauviir was their leader for a good year, communication between ambitious wizards dramatically increased, and magickal experimentation with it. The last time Clauviir checked on the mages working under Aryon, they were working on mass producing Dwemer defense robots with machines ran through energy stored in soul gems. It greatly astonished him that the people at the Mages Guild lacked such higher thinking.
With the Mages Guild, and all Imperial guilds, losing their Empire connections, so too did the puppet king Hlaalu Helseth lose his power. The emptiness in Mournhold was strange; losing both rival leaders around the same time was something that no one on the mainland expected, and as a result, the people living there migrated to different areas in Morrowind. It was rumored that Mournhold had become completely infested with beasts and necromancers. It was also rumored that Helseth sat at a bar in Skingrad and drank himself to death, although no one knows where his body was buried, or if.
From all of these events came this; a disorganized, squalor-filled Morrowind that grew too fast. The people's minds are chafed and scarred from the progression, and from such aggravation comes conflict. Clauviir did not need Azura to tell him of a coming event, as he had been preparing for the infection since the beginning. In what form he knew not, but he knew it was going to come soon. Such large steps towards a better long-run future will always create problems in the short-run, it seemed to him.
That was why he needed to hold off any action done by Vivec. He found himself running through High Fane, under the massive corridor which brought a shadow to the motionless crowd. He waded through them forcefully, which the people were annoyed for only a few seconds, calmed that the shoving man was their beloved Nerevarine. As he came to the end of tunnel, he looked up towards Vivec's palace. He sighed in relief, for Vivec was not anywhere in sight. 'Perhaps it was a rumor,' he thought, 'or maybe he's just holding himself off… it has been some time since he spoke… if he dies now, I swear to the gods…'
He came to the bottom of the large stairway, its stone steps slightly dampened by the water which shot out from canals to the side. On the stair way stood two Ordinators; there were many all along the platform, but these men were only there to block the entrance. Upon seeing Clauviir, they nodded to him and walked to their respective sides, giving space for Clauviir to walk through. The sun perfectly sat upon the top of the palace, slightly blinding Clauviir's eyes as he carefully walked up the path to Vivec.