Dunmer - Dark Elf

With skin like ash and eyes like embers, the Dunmeri visage evokes the harshness and inhospitality they share with their chosen home in volcanic Morrowind. Their ancestors, the Chimer, fled Summerset, rejecting their gods and their ideological self-pitying. Instead, they embraced the challenges of mortal life. Led by the prophet Veloth, this new culture followed the example of the Three Good Daedra:

Boethiah taught them to achieve strength through adversity.
Mephala taught them the virtues of clever plotting and the benefits of well-executed murder.
Azura taught them above all to take pride in themselves.

When they found a new home, they built a grand civilization, centered around a system of powerful Great House alliances. On the backs of slaves, Morrowind grew to be a powerful independent force on Tamriel, despite constant threat of invasion, natural disasters, and interference from the Four Corners of the House of Troubles, the Daedric Princes Malacath, Mehrunes Dagon, Molag Bal, and Sheogorath.

Ancestor Worship

For the Dunmer, duty to one's lineage is everything. In life, you are honor-bound to venerate your predecessors. In death, you are honor-bound to aid your descendants. Family tombs dot the landscape of Morrowind, guarded by golems of bone and flesh, piloted by the souls of the strongest of the clan. You gather in these tombs to call upon shades of your wisest to consult in times of crisis. Rural clans traditionally use the bones of their departed to construct Ghost Fences, which protect their homes from magical attack. All honorable dunmer pledge their bodies and their immortal spirits to the protection of their families for decades or even centuries after death. When your time of service is complete, you are laid to rest with honor and reverence until your family needs you again.

The Anticipations and the Tribunal

The Chimer were a religious group in Aldmeri society. They fled persecution, following the Prophet Veloth to follow the teachings of the Three Good Daedra, who laid out guiding principles of their society, the virtues of pride, cunning, and power. They found the violent volcanic land of Resdayn, which would be later renamed Morrowind. These principles guided their descendants in every era. Worship of other daedra, even in the Four Corners of the House of Troubles was abundant in the Merethic and early First Eras. Temple complexes were built away from cities in an architectural style reminiscent of the twisting, elaborate structures found within Oblivion. These temples were largely abandoned when the Tribunal rose to power.

Resdayn

Veloth's followers found a land of molten rock and giant fungi. They conquered the surface, ousting the Argonians who occupied the fertile southern lands, and drove the Dreugh back into the Sea of Ghosts. But the land was occupied from below by a force they could not conquer. Rising out of the grounds were complex structures made of brass, the fortress-entrances to the subterranean empire of Dwemereth. The Dwemeri elves of this region were an enigma to the Chimer. Their language and customs were far removed from their Aldmer origins. This society rejected the notion that the powerful spirits the other mortal races communed with were truly gods. Their profane beliefs and deadly automatons caused a great deal of strife, leading to centuries of skirmishes and conflict as the two cultures occupied the same territory. Their long conflict ended in 1E 240 when High King Vrage led the Empire of Skyrim into the mainland of Resdayn, successfully conquering the surface. The heads of the many Great Houses retreated to the central island of Vvardenfell, while the Dwemer sealed their cities off from the surface. This occupation by the Nords lasted nearly 200 years, with the old governments languishing in exile on Vvardenfell. Finally, a Chimeri warrior called Indoril Nerevar set out to unite the Ashlander Tribes and the Great Houses for the first time in history. He was named Great Ashkhan by the Ashlanders, and Hortator, the first ever commander-general of the Great Houses' united armies. With the help of his friends, family, and advisers, Almalexia, Sotha Sil, Vivec, Voryn Dagoth, and Alandro Sul, Nerevar consolidated the dozens of Great Houses into a council of Six. He then introduced House Sul to represent the Ashlanders, and forged an alliance with Dumac Dwarf-King, adding House Dwemer. Through the combined magic of Houses Dwemer and Telvanni, the united armies poured at once out of the Dwemer cities across the mainland in a surprise attack in 1E 416. The Nords had been repelled, and Resdayn became Morrowind, jointly-administered by the uneasy confederation of The First Council.

Apotheosis

This peace would not last. In 1E 668, Nerevar learned that the Dwemer had discovered the Heart of Lorkhan, the last vestige of a primordial god who brought about the mortal world. To the Chimer, Lorkhan was the King of Daedra, who was slain by the bitter Aedra when they came to regret sacrificing their power. The Dwemer had spent years in secret, building a massive automaton called the Anumidium, which would harness the power of the Heart to become an artificial god. The Council could not abide this blasphemy, or the threat it represents. They sent the Hortator to King Dumac to demand the Heart and the dismantling of the machine. By most accounts, Dumac was unaware of any such discovery and was offended by the accusation. It isn't known what happened after the initial meeting, but Nerevar returned to the Council with no Heart, save his own, hardened. The War of the First Council raged for two years, with the combined forces of all the Chimer an even match for the Dwemer's legion of steam-powered soldiers. The conflict finally culminated at the Battle of Red Mountain, but the events of that day cannot fully be known. The only certainty is that High Craftlord Kagrenac, Dumac's chief mechanist, successfully tapped into the Heart and activated Anumidium, and time itself fractured. When the timelines aligned again, the battle had been won and every Dwemer had mysteriously vanished from reality, leaving their mechanical abominations behind. Nerevar and Dagoth Ur both died mysteriously shortly after their disappearance. Almalexia, Vivec, and Sotha Sil emerged from Kagrenac's lab within Red Mountain, having become living gods, and brought forth a new age for their people. With their ascension, all Chimer in the world gained red eyes and grey skin as a blessing from their new Tribunal. The three ruled as ALMSIVI, the three-in-one gods of the Tribunal Temple for centuries, protecting and teaching the new dark elves the secrets of the universe that had been kept from them. The Dunmeri people continue to revere the Three Good Daedra as the Anticipations of the Tribunal. The true knowledge of the nature of the Dwemer's weapon was hidden by the Tribunal until the time of their fall. The Heart was kept secret, and they taught only that Voryn Dagoth had betrayed them, taking the power for himself. Voryn became a twisted demon, calling himself Dagoth Ur. Nerevar faced down what was once his most faithful servant in single combat, and defeated him. The Hortator succumbed to his injuries, but lived long enough to give his blessing to the Tribunal, entrusting his people to their guidance. House Dagoth would be dismantled, its heads executed, and lands seized as a result of Dagoth's blasphemy. Over the millennia, the God-Poet crafted a mythos around the Tribunal, claiming to have always been gods who guided Nerevar throughout his life to unite the Chimer people in preparation for their ascension. The only other witness to these events was Alandro Sul, who eventually walked away from the new regime in disgust. He returned to the Ashlanders and taught them the truth of Red Mountain, as he remembered it. He claimed that Nerevar survived the battle with Dagoth, and after made the four of them swear to Azura never to profane the Heart as Dagoth and Kagrenac had, which they all did. But they betrayed him, stabbing their friend and leader in the back, and promptly took the divine power of the Heart for themselves. He claimed that it was Azura who transformed the Dunmer. Her prophecy foretold that Nerevar would one day be reincarnated, and that he will end the reign of the Tribunal and restore the Daedra as the true gods of Veloth. For spreading this blasphemy, House Sul was also dismantled and the Ashlanders were banished back to the wilderness. Sul was eventually confronted by the Tribunal together, who destroyed him. The rings of his chainmail are kept by the Ashlanders as the Thousand Rings of Sul, worn as earrings by tribesmer. Sul's spirit whispers his blasphemy to them through these artifacts to this day.

ALM-SI-VI

Almalexia is the Warrior-Queen of the Tribunal. The widow of Nerevar retained Her golden Aldmeri form. She leads Her people in war, in ceremony, and through times of hardship. The capital city of Mournhold became Her city, where She provides Her wisdom to the royal family. Her Anticipation and Reclamation is Boethiah.
Vivec is the God Poet of the Tribunal. They take the form of an idealized half-Aldmer, half Dunmer, split down the middle. They are bald, sometimes with a mane of fire atop Their head, and shift between male, female, and intersex forms. They wrote extensive esoteric treatises on the nature of reality, laden with propaganda, which forms the mysteries of Tribunal faith. They have led House Indoril in persecution of heretics, shaped the very language spoken, and spun legends around the many heroes of Dunmeri history, naming them as saints, and mapping out pilgrimages for the faithful. Their personal army are an eccentric group of knights in traditional glass armor called the Buoyant Armigers. Their city of Vivec was constructed on Vvardenfell. Their Anticipation and Reclamation is Mephala
Sotha Sil is the most reclusive of the gods. He humbly takes the form of a full dunmer, but has gradually replaced parts of his body with clockwork cybernetics. Combining the lost secrets of the dwemer with His own deep knowledge of the universe in pursuit of a centuries-long goal that only He truly understands. He built a hidden city somewhere in Morrowind that only few devout followers can access known as the Clockwork City. The City is a sort of minitature model of Nirn. His followers, enhanced by clockwork augments themselves, are the Clockwork Apostles. Near the end of the Third Era, He has retreated entirely from public view, leaving the burden of leadership to His fellow Gods. His Anticipation and Reclamation is Azura.
The Imperial Cult is a new addition to Morrowind, spreading from the time of Morrowind's integration into the Septim Empire. At first, its only presence was in the Legion Forts dotted throughout. Missionaries soon began to arrive, offering salvation through the Nine Divines. They have gained some converts over time, mostly through syncretic practices, adopting Dunmeri saints as their own, and even offering Divine Intervention scrolls in the same vein as the ALMSIVI Interventions, making Imperial Chapels into safe havens as well.

Dagoth Ur and the Nereverine

When slain by Nerevar, Voryn Dagoth had been utterly destroyed. In the millennia since his death, no attempt to call him to the world of the living ever succeeded. Some believe he was so overwhelmed by the stolen power of the Heart, that he could not persist in the Ashpaths. Yet, impossibly, some vestige of him remained under Red Mountain, where the False Dreamer stole the minds of his fallen House into himself over the millennia. Somehow, in 2E 882, Dagoth-Ur returned to life, along-side the executed heads of House Dagoth. During their false dream, they had conceived of a plan together to usurp the traitor gods of the Tribunal, and rid Resdayn of the Empire. Then, they would spread the love of Dagoth through all of time and space. Dagoth claimed the Heart of Lorkhan once again, as it laid still-hidden under Red Mountain. With this power, he and his generals spread Blightstorms out into the land below, spreading a plague which weakened the bodies and minds of those afflicted by it. Soon after, shambling creatures carrying the Corprus disease began to emerge from the mountain. Corprus made its victims functionally immortal, but in perpetual agony, and driven insane by the incoherent call of Dagoth in their minds. To protect their people, and hide their slowly failing divinity, the Tribunal commanded the construction of the Great Ghost Fence, which held back the worst of the blightstorms. With the help of the Buoyant Armigers, Almelexia and Vivec were able to stymy the advancement of the Sixth House while their power slowly withered away. The reign of the Tribunal lasted until Azura's prophecy of the Nerevarine came to pass in the year 3E 427. The reincarnation of Indoril Nerevar saved Tamriel from a resurrected Dagon, but did so by severing the Heart of Lorkhan from Kagrenac's enchantments, which bound it to Nirn. In the moment it was free, both the Heart and Dagoth simply vanished from the world. But with the loss of the Heart, went the source of the Tribunal's power. One by one, the living gods of Morrowind vanished from the world. Rumors of their fate are abundant. Some believe they will return again some day. Others believe they were killed by the Nerevarine. Some say they died of old age when their divine magic ran out. Many now insist they were frauds who were never more than particularly powerful mages, and ultimately went mad and turned on eachother. Whatever the case, their disappearance changed the history of Morrowind irrevocably.

The Reclaimations

Throughout the rule of the Tribunal, a prophesy plagued the Temple. As much as the Ordinators tried to stamp this blasphemy out, the legends were preserved in the oral traditions of the Ashlanders. When the prophesy came to pass, the Hortator, Indoril Nerevar had been reincarnated, and saved Morrowind from an apocalyptic fate at the hands of a fourth ascended mortal from his past, the insane ghost of Dagoth Ur. The prophesy tied these events with the fall of the Tribunal and the restoration of the Three Good Daedra as the true gods of Morrowind. Just as prophesied, ALMSIVI fell from grace. Sotha Sil apparently went mad, his synthetic clockwork creatures began attacking the capital city of Mournhold, until the Nereverine and Almalexia traveled to the Clockwork City to stop him. Both gods seemingly died in that battle. Rumors came out that the Tribunal had lost much of their divinity to Dagoth Ur, who used it to create a plague which infected peoples dreams, and drove them mad while horribly mutating them. Instead of facing the consequences of that failure, the Tribunal hid the truth from the people, augmenting the vestiges of their power through worship, enforced by the increasingly draconian Ordinators. They sacrificed the bones of every family in Morrowind to build a Ghost Fence to contain Dagoth's blightstorms, a plan which was always doomed to fail. Based on these rumors, Vivec appointed a triune of judges and willingly put Themselves on trial. The proceedings lasted many months behind closed doors, with Emperor Uriel Septim VII himself in attendance. The Daedric Prince Azura was supposedly summoned to testify at the defendants request. The last of the Tribunal used this opportunity to attack the Prince of Twilight, banishing Her from ever manifesting on Nirn directly again. They bragged about Their revenge, and then disappeared seemingly forever. The Nereverine disappeared soon after, sailing to the distant eastern continent of Akavir in pursuit of an unknown goal. The immediate aftermath was King Hlaalu Helseth filling the power vacuum. With the overriding authority of the Tribunal finally broken, the Hlaalu King, who was raised in High Rock, quickly set about reforming Dunmer culture to be more in line with Imperial norms. The most drastic of these changes was the abolition of slavery. Although Helseth's forces won the ensuing civil war, it left Morrowind in tatters. To promote unity, and to preserve the power of the Temple, House Indoril reorganized the dunmeri faith into the Temple of the Reclamations, restoring worship of the Three Good Daedra, while maintaining the reforms introduced by the Tribunal. Despite conflicting opinions of who they were, the Tribunal are now officially regarded as revered saints rather than gods.

The Fourth Era

In 3E 433, armies of Mehrunes Dagon, Daedric Prince of Destruction, poured out of great gates which appeared across Tamriel, causing untold destruction to every corner of the known world. Morrowind was especially vulnerable in the wake of its recent civil war. The defeat of Dagon ended this invasion, and marked the beginning of the Fourth Era.

The Red Year

The most consequential result of the disappearance of the Tribunal was the eruption of Red Mountain, the largest volcano in Tamriel. In ancient times, the poet god Vivec stopped the asteroid Baar Dau from crashing into Their eponymous city in Vvardenfell. Rather than sending it back to Aetherius, they kept it frozen in place, its momentum preserved in time, as a permanent reminder of Their benevolence, and a warning for those who would withhold their love from ALMSIVI. Not long after the Oblivion Crisis, the imprints of Vivec's power gradually began to fade, and Baar Dau began its slow descent. A device called the Ingenium was miraculously constructed just in time to reinforce Vehk's enchantment, and hold the killer moon in the sky. This required the sacrifice of a person's soul every day. Rather than face extinction, the Dunmer people agreed, and would sacrifice prisoners, outcasts, and outlanders. This arrangement lasted until 4E 5, when the fiancé of one of Ingenium's engineers was somehow chosen to be a sacrifice. The engineer destroyed the Ingenium, breaking the last vestige of Vehk's hold on the asteroid. Minutes later, it resumed its full momentum, obliterating the city of Vivec. Hours later, Red Mountain's largest ever eruption wiped every settlement on Vvardenfell away, bathed all of Morrowind, and parts of Black Marsh, Skyrim, and Cyrodiil in ash, and covered all of Tamriel under a blood red sky which lasted nearly a year. The Red Year had disastrous consequences for all of Tamriel, which was still recovering from the Oblivion Crisis, but Morrowind itself was decimated. A few months after the eruption, while the Great Houses organized to unbury its surviving cities from the ash and recover survivors, Black Marsh took the opportunity to invade. The Argonians saw it as just retaliation for millennia of cruel slavery. The invasion was overwhelming, the Argonians had been spared the worst of the Oblivion Crisis thanks to the mysteriously well-prepared efforts of its new rulers, the An-Xileel. Most of southern Morrowind was overtaken in the first two months. Houses Dres and Indoril, whose territory spanned the southern border, were scattered. The heads of House Hlaalu retreated with King Helseth to the Imperial City, ostensibly to organize relief efforts and bid for military aid from the Empire, but are showing little results. Without leadership, its remaining members have turned to Houses Redoran and Telvanni to organize the resistance. Thanks to the late intervention of several Telvanni master mages, the advancement of the Argonians was brought to a halt. The last three years have been a bitter war of attrition with no end in sight.

The Great Houses

Dunmer society is built around the Five Great Houses of Morrowind. These are the continuations of the most powerful chimer clans and their allies. Each controls ancestral territory across the province and are constantly at odds with eachother in their quest to gain greater power. Thanks to reforms instituted by the First Council, civil wars no longer break out between the houses. Instead, formalized legal assassinations are carried out against members of rival houses provided the proper writs are filled out, and grievances are deemed legitimate.

House Dres

Great House Dres is a wealthy agrarian society which controls the fertile plains of the Deshaan region of mainland Morrowind. Dres families control vast plantations with Argonian and Khajiiti slaves working the fields under threat of the whip. The Dres are staunch traditionalists, ruthless slavemasters, and powerful political leaders across southern Morrowind. Despite their piety and nationalism, Dres art and music borrow heavily from Argonian and Khajiit traditions, separating them culturally from the other Great Houses.

4E

The power of House Dres was severely curtailed after their alliance with House Redoran failed to overthrow King Helseth and his armies. They continued to decry the abolition of slavery and defied attempts at reparations for their freed workforce. The years since were tumultuous as their newly-freed workforce retaliated time and again against their overseers. The eruption of Red Mountain further disrupted their hold, as much of Deshaan flooded. When the Argonians invaded, the Dres were overwhelmed, and most of their territory was swallowed by Black Marsh in the first couple of months. The majority of Dunmer refugees fleeing to the Empire for protection are of House Dres.

House Hlaalu

For centuries, Hlaalu was the most powerful of the Five Great Houses. A clan of powerful merchants and diplomats, who adapted to the ways of the Empire and were elevated for it. No legitimate commerce occurs in Morrowind without a Hlaalu having a hand in it. This House accepts dunmer and non-dunmer alike from all walks of life, favoring merchants, entertainers, thieves, and nobles. They value greed, cunning, and diplomacy, and believe anyone possessing those traits is worthy of any success they earn.

4E

The royal family of Morrowind have been Hlaalu since Morrowind surrendered to Tiber Septim. The current ruler of Morrowind, King Hlaalu Helseth, infamously ended slavery shortly after the disappearance of the Tribunal in order to finally improve the province's standing in the Empire. Unfortunately, this effort has backfired. The ensuing civil war weakened the province just in time for the Oblivion Crisis. The subsequent eruption of Red Mountain, and ongoing invasion from Argonia has broken Hlaalu's standing. As King Helseth waits out these disasters in the Imperial City, Houses Redoran and Telvanni lead their nation's resistance to the invading forces, and blame every disaster to befall their people on the Hlaalu for turning Morrowind away from the old ways.

House Indoril

Since time immemorial, the Tribunal Temple and Great House Indoril have been one and the same. Dunmeri religion is the greatest priority of this family. Every ritual, from properly constructing a Ghost Fence, to pilgrimages in the names of the saints, has been refined by generations of Indoril orthodoxy. Temple Ordinators, known for their distinctive gold-masked armor, directly serve their gods and enforce their will. Temple priests maintain relics to bless pilgrims. Many sell Interventions; scrolls enchanted using the divine magic of the Tribunal, allowing the faithful to retreat to the nearest holy site when they are in danger. Most are dedicated to the oldest chimer traditions of tending to the dead. Indoril is based out of Necrom, the city of the dead, and largest tomb in Tamriel. Their secondary base is the capital city of Mournhold, where political and religious authority is centered.

4E

House Indoril has been losing power steadily over the centuries, as the powers of their living gods were slowly siphoned away by the mad god Dagoth Ur. Only the upper echelons of the House were aware that their deities were fading, and tried desperately to protect this secret, increasingly using their Ordinators to persecute and silence heretics and dissenters. The asteroid which Vivec had frozen above his city in Vvardenfel was turned into the Ministry of Truth, a floating prison for any who would dare to blaspheme against the holy ALMSIVI. After the prophecy of the Nereverine came to pass, and the Tribunal all disappeared, leaders in House Indoril secretly met with King Helseth to plan their next move. Indoril agreed to side with House Hlaalu in their move to abolish slavery. In exchange, Helseth quietly funded the reorganization of the Tribunal Temple into the Temple of the Reclamations, restoring worship of the Three Good Daedra without undoing centuries of orthodoxy, and recategorizing the Tribunal as Saints. In addition, they helped bring in ashlander Wise Women to help selectively restore forgotten pre-tribunal traditions. The transition to the new faith went smoother than expected thanks to a secret deal with House Redoran. Widespread adoption of the new faith on both sides of the war helped reestablish a semblance of unity in the aftermath, and gave the losing Houses a sense of purpose to distract from revenge. However, this did not slow their centuries long decline, and the eruption of Red Mountain and destruction of most of Indoril's territory in the southwest by the invading Argonians has broken the House. With Mournhold sacked, House Indoril has retreated to Necrom, prioritizing protecting the ancestors of Morrowind, over its living.

House Redoran

Redoran are staunch defenders of tradition. They produce proud warriors, skilled craftsmen, and ambitious politicians. Redoran has stalwartly protected the people of Morrowind from the bloodthirsty Nords of Skyrim from their seat of power in the mountain city of Blacklight and their territory along the Velothi Mountains.

4E

Despite their defeat in the civil war, House Redoran came out of the conflict with an advantage. In a secret deal, leaders of the House agreed to promote the new Reclamations faith developed by House Indoril. Redoran and Dres faithful were eager to embrace a return to old Chimeri tradition after centuries of spiritual decline. While the other Great Houses licked their wounds from the conflict, House Redoran continued to militarize, expecting that the time would come soon to cast off the Empire and return Morrowind to its ancient glory. Instead, Redoran proved its readiness, defending the homeland against the Oblivion Crisis, while the Legion pulled much of its forces back to defend Cyrodiil. In the wake of the crisis, Redoran agitated increasingly for secession, putting them further at odds with King Helseth's vision for the province's future. After the eruption of Red Mountain and the ongoing war with Black Marsh, Redoran forces are the greatest force holding back the tide, and in King Helseth's absence, have become the de-facto leaders of Morrowind.

House Telvanni

Mistrusted by the public, but tolerated for their wealth and traditional power, Great House Telvanni is a loose association of independent mages who rule over their cities like private kingdoms. Their city-states are known as Tels, and are populated by serfs and slaves who operate largely autonomously, so long as they see to the needs of their mage-lord. The Telvanni are cutthroat and hierarchical, with apprentices who advance in station by murdering the students ahead of them. They are largely uninterested in the affairs of the outside world, preferring to immerse themselves in their research and the advancement of their knowledge. They only begrudgingly participate in House politics in order to maintain their status, and hold most Dunmer superstitions in disdain. Telvanni mages build their homes out of magically enhanced mushroom towers. They keep their laboratories in the upper caps, which can only be accessed through levitation. What goes on in the world beneath them is of little importance as long as their servants continue to meet their physical needs.

4E

In recent years, the Telvanni have been forced to interject more directly in the affairs of the province. Although the masters remained in their towers, many Telvanni apprentices abandoned their strongholds to aid the survivors of the eruption of Red Mountain. In the subsequent invasion by the Argonians, these mages have became active participants in the early battles of the war. After a surprise attack completely destroyed the remote stronghold of Tel Ouada and the death of Lymdrenn Tenvanni, the last known blood descendent of the original Telvayn clan, several of the Telvanni heads finally joined the war and began to turn the tide.

The Ashlanders

Red Mountain dominates the land at the center of the central island of Vvardenfel. This island is traditionally set aside as the Temple District, reserved for pre-existing ancestral burial sites, the holy city of Vivec, and the Ashlander tribes, which reject the authority of the Tribunal, or the Houses. However, over the centuries, colonies from Houses Redoran, Hlaalu, and Telvanni have sprung up. Even the Empire has begun invading the territory after the ebony was discovered there. The nomadic tribes of the volcanic island of Vvardenfell rejected the Tribunal, believing them to have betrayed their people and their leader Indoril Nerevar. Ashlander tribes ignore the House politics of the mainland and focus on preserving their ancestral beliefs. Although their lifestyle is primitive compared to the settled dunmeri cultures, ashlanders continue to use advanced magic and crafting techniques that had been lost to all but the oldest Telvanni wizards. They live extreme lives in the harsh volcanic landscape in accordance with the teachings of their gods. To them, life is a test. They have preserved the Nereverine Prophecy, the belief that Nerevar would one day be reincarnated and end the Tribunal's reign, against Temple suppression. By ancient treaty, all of Vvardenfel was considered the Temple District, a sacred site reserved only for the Ashlanders and any Dunmer who lived there before the Tribunal's ascension, with the sole exception of the holy city of Vivec. However, over the centuries, colonies established by Houses Hlaalu, Redoran, and Telvanni led to repeated conflicts with the tribes. When ebony was discovered on the island, the Empire no longer recognized the treaty either, and the tribes could not hope to stand up to the outlanders. Ashlanders are extremely proud and protective of their secrets. They distrust outsiders, regarding even other Dunmer as untrustworthy and weak. Each tribe has unique traditions and identities, and often go to war with one another over the scarce natural resources of their home island. Power over each tribe is divided between the Ashkhan, the tribal leader, and the Wise Woman, the spiritual leader. These roles do not always follow strict gender lines. The Ashlanders of Vvardenfell are divided into four clans: the Ahemmusa tribe of the Azura's Coast region, the Erabenimsun tribe of the Molag Amur region, the Urshilaku tribe of the Ashlands and West Gash regions, and the Zainab tribe of the Grazelands region. "Velothi" are Ashlanders who, by choice or through banishment, have left to live in cities with the settled Dunmer. Considered traitors by their people, and savages by the city dwellers, Velothi often use their skills to eke out a living in the peripheries of society.

4E

The Nereverine Prophecy came to pass. The Reincarnation of Nerevar gained power in three of the Great Houses, united the Ashlander Tribes, survived the incurable Corprus disease, and defeated the devil Dagoth Ur. In the process, the Tribunal vanished from the world. Soon after the Nereverine journeyed to Akavir, never to return, and the united Ashlander tribes were approached by House Indoril with an olive branch. Indoril released prisoners from the Ministry of Truth, withdrew Temple support for new colonization on their island, and returned bones and ashes of chimer ancestors connected to Vvardenfell, which had been taken over the centuries. In exchange, ashlander Wise Women and their apprentices were frequently invited to the mainland to teach Temple priests the forgotten ways.

Wise Children

After the destruction of the Oblivion Crisis, most Ashkhans forbade their people from any further contact with the outside world. They had no authority over the Wise Woman, but many prevented them from leaving by force. Some of the apprentices, refusing to be prisoners in their homes, managed to escape. Accepting banishment. Most of them banded together in the wilderness on the mainland, allowing outsiders to seek their wisdom or their medicine, but otherwise continuing to live according to their traditions. These groups came to be known as the Wise Children of the Ashlands.

When Red Mountain erupted, nearly all of Vvardenfell was buried under ash. In a matter of hours, the ashlander tribes had been wiped out. Its only survivors are the Velothi and the Wise Children who happened to have chosen to live on the mainland.

Naming Traditions

Feminine names

Adosi, Alves, Arvena, Boderi, Bralsa, Davela, Dervera, Dovesi, Dralora, Drarana, Dredena, Falanu, Gadeneri, Glistel, Llathasa, Llensi, Llevana, Malyani, Melisi, Mensa, Mirili, Mivryna, Myvryna, Nardhil, Norasa, Noveni, Ralsa, Relmyna, Satha, Saveri, Tadrose, Tanasa, Tilse, Tivela, Tolisi, Tolvasa, Ulene, Undena, Uravasa, Urnsi

Ashlander Feminine Names

Ahnat-Suna, Alaburani, Alivusa, Arith-Enle, Asani, Ashur-Dissini, Babaeli, Berrammai, Bodani, Brevasu, Dovrosi, Dreyla, Dummu, Dutadael, Fonas, Hedranna, Kuamta, Hlandria, Ienas, Iru-Ahan, Issayarul, Khamishi, Kinhassur, Ledda, Madsu, Malinu, Marinisuu, Minbid-Dal, Munabi, Nabari, Nainab, Numani-Rasi, Orilu, Risannu, Sahnivaran, Salitummai, Seryn, Shaali, Sharipu, Shuldrashi, Tirinaat, Ulath-Timmu, Ulla-Basi, Ulynapli, Yanabi-Asa, Yaras-Tul, Yenmmend, Yus-Zashten, Zenammi, Zanumund

Masculine names

Aldos, Alval, Andel, Aron, Arvin, Avrus, Aymar, Banus, Belmyne, Bolor, Bongond, Cylben, Delos, Diram, Dovyn, Drels, Eris, Eronor, Erver, Farwil, Felas, Felen, Ferul, Frathen, Gilen, Gureryne, Hlanas, Hloval, Ilvel, Kiliban, Kovan, Kylius, Mels, Modryn, Mondrar, Nilphas, Nivan, Olyn, Othrelos, Ralsa, Ralvas, Raynil, Redas, Rendil, Rythe, Slythe, Soris, Syndelius, Tovas, Ulen, Valen, Varel, Varon

Ashlander Masculine Names

Ashu-awa, Ashulerib, Azshalku, Broder, Chodala, Daynnill-Adran, Draitsuul, Dredase-Hlarar, Druvvanno, Emah-Ral, Enasourr, Ervas, Galsar, Galam, Ginasa, Harrinat, Ibaal, Kaid-Arbul, Madach, Manaad, Nakan-Obar, Salamat, Salattinti, Serannipu, Sorim-Nakar, Sul-Ammu, Sul-Bareth, Taba-Dan, Trehaddu, Udami, Ulath-Puas, Unamaeth, Urlvvannu, Vasamannu, Zabamib, Zanammu, Zanummu-Dan, Ziddak

Family names

Adas, Adus, Alor, Andaren, Areleth, Arenim, Daren, Devani, Dolovas, Douar, Dralas, Dran, Drarara, Dreleth, Drothan, Fandas, Faram, Farano, Gatharian, Girith, Helas, Henim, Hlaalu, Hlaren, Hlavel, Hlervu, Kren, Lerano, Llaram, Llethro, Lonavo, Malvulis, Maryon, Morvayn, Nedaren, Nethan, Nyrandil, Omellian, Orethi, Oreyn, Othrelas, Ralvas, Ralvel, Ravel, Relas, Romalen, Romayn, Sarandas, Savel, Selas, Selvani, Selvilo, Sendas, Senim, Seran, Seringi, Thelas, Thelis, Theran, Ules, Ulven, Uvani, Uvenim, Vamori, Verenim, Verethi

Ashlander Clan Names

Abelmawia, Anndrommo, Dunhaki, Givyn, Kaliki, Kulun, Laetha, Narpal, Rothan, Sedri, Zenammi

Culture

Funerary and Memorial customs

Old families, established in a region, inter their dead in Family Tombs. They construct flesh golemns out of the bodies of their strongest clan members to serve as guardians. They will also employ ritualized necromancy to summon wraiths, skeletons, ash zombies, and set magical and mechanical traps. The living family will spend parts of most holidays within the tombs in addition to funerals. Priests of House Indoril will perform regular cleansing rituals, but heads of the family may do so. The most common feature in family tombs are ash pits.
Smaller families will burn their dead on their property and spread their ashes there. They typically retain bones or preserved organs to use as talismans of protection, or to commune with their departed. Some better off families will have their own ash pits in their basement.
Ghost Fences: In more isolated parts of the province, in the mountains, or deep in the countryside, Ghost Fences are erected from family bones. This is enchanted so that the souls of their departed form a conscious magical barrier, protecting their homes from magical attack.
Necrom: The capital of House Indoril. This massive complex is both one of the largest cities on Tamriel, and the largest graveyard in the known world. Since the days of the Chimer, Necrom has served as the central burial place for all of Veloth's children. When the dead have served their duty to their families after 50-100 years, a part of their remains are kept at home, while the rest is sent to the City of the Dead, where they can spend their afterlife being rewarded for their faith.
Ashlanders cremate their dead, collecting the ashes in clay urns, which are buried under simple Cairns to eventually be reclaimed by the island. The concept of the Ashpaths are an Ashlander belief adapted by the Tribunal, but they do not practice ritualized necromancy to summon or manipulate the dead. Instead, they keep talismans to allow them to commune with them in more subtle ways. The greatest of their ancestors is Alandro Sul, whose chainmail is worn as earrings by certain Ashlander families. Once over a thousand in number, now only a few ringlets are known to exist.

Great Ghost Fence: During the centuries of assault by Dagoth Ur when Vvardenfell was plagued by blightstorms spreading unholy disease, a Great Ghost Fence was built to surround the peak of Red Mountain. This required donated bones from every family in the province. Many entire tombs were cleared out. It was never dismantled after the defeat of Dagoth Ur, and the spirits who powered it were trapped there after the eruption of Red Mountain.
House Telvanni stand apart from Dunmeri reverence for death. They prefer, simply, to never die. Only a few of the most powerful Telvanni mages have learned the secret to halt their aging process. These functionally immortal Telvanni typically reduce the number of servants they keep around and refuse all but the most persistent prospective apprentices to protect their secret. The more mortal Telvanni heads often seek out alternative means of immortality, but in their desperate final hours, are almost always slain by an apprentice, who traps their soul to be archived in a secret library in the Telvanni Archipelago. Their knowledge is sought by their descendants just as any other Dunmer, though they are notoriously uncooperative.

The Ashpaths

Unlike most other cultures on Tamriel, the Dunmer see every plane as different corners of the same realm, with many paths interconnecting them. Their Aldmeri ancestors desperately sought to escape their mortal prison of Mundus, and into the light and comfort of Aetherius. The Chimer followed the Three Good Daedra to a volcanic testing ground, and commended the souls of their fallen to their Daedric realms in Oblivion. Through the ideals taught by the Tribunal, modern Dunmer have adapted the Ashlander tradition of the Ashpaths, a way for the dead to persist in all worlds, and to come and go as they please. They believe that the realm of the living is a place where souls are tested, and that the honored dead are obligated to return to lend their wisdom and protection when called upon. The spirits of the dead are believed to reside wherever their bones and ashes are kept, but they spend their days asleep. Their minds peacefully drift between all realms, unseen and untouchable as they dreamwalk through the Ashpaths, the in-between places behind reality. If they are disturbed or called upon, these spirits return to the world of the living to protect or lend wisdom to their descendants, as is their duty. Even though living Dunmer practice ritual necromancy to call upon their ancestors, these practices are very different from the secular science. To force a soul into any world without their consent, and to prevent them from returning to their slumber, is an especially cruel act, even for them. Of course, this taboo rarely stops Telvanni mages from trapping souls without hesitation for their enchantments.

Historical figures

St. Veloth - The Aldmeri prophet who led the Chimer in exodus away from the increasingly dogmatic culture in the Summerset Isles.
Indoril Nerevar - once a friend to House Dwemer, Nerevar had no choice but to unite the Great Houses and the Ashlander tribes in a grand army against the blasphemous Deep Elves when he found out they had discovered a dangerous artifact associated with the dead god Lorkhan. Almalexia was his wife, and Vivec and Sotha Siil were close friends and allies of his. He died shortly after the Battle of Red Mountain, when the Tribunal came to power, and the Chimer miraculously became the Dunmer.
Alandro Sul - A warrior of the Ashlander tribes who joined forces with the First Council against the occupying Nordic Empire. More formidable than even the Hortator in battle, rumors circulated that he was a Demiprince, a son of Azura Herself. He was known to be Vivec's lover until the Tribunal ascended to godhood. He claimed the Tribunal were liars and betrayers, and spread his account among the Ashlanders. Sul died during a confrontation with the living gods, leaving no remains to preserve save his chainmail. He finally had his word when a ringlet from his armor was used to summon him as a witness during Vivec's trial in the late Third Era.
Queen Barenziah - The old royal family of Morrowind hid their young daughter away when the conquering Imperials came to force her into a political marriage. Conflicting biographies tell divergent tales of her life. But when she returned to the fold to fulfil her duty to the Empire, she served as Morrowind's longest serving, and most accomplished ruler. Balancing the secular interests of the Great Houses with the Tribunal's decrees, and ensuring Morrowind's continued independence under the encroaching Imperialists. Her husband was killed during the Imperial Simulacrum - a violent period of ten years in which a rogue battlemage had been impersonating the Emperor. Barenziah had to flee with her two children, marrying the King of Wayrest in High Rock in exchange for sanctuary.
King Hlaalu Helseth - The son of Barenziah. He spent his formative years in Wayrest, but when he had nothing left to gain from his backstabbing step-siblings, he took the lessons he'd learned and returned to the seat of his mother's throne. The regent, his uncle, died mysteriously shortly after his return to Mournhold. As king, he made many reforms, most famously the abolition of slavery, which led to a civil war. His victory ensured a permanent end to the practice.
St. Jiub - A prisoner captured by the Empire. After serving time, he was released on parole to his birthplace in Vvardenfell. He went on to exterminate an invasive species of flying reptiles on the island called Cliff Racers. He was named a living saint for his service. He died while writing his memoirs in the first attack of the Oblivion Crisis.

Major organizations

Morag Tong - A guild of legal assassins. This closed organization follows the tenants of Mephala, the Daedric Prince of Sex and Secret Murder. They are utilized to settle grievances between the Great Houses as an alternative to war. They are illegal outside of Morrowind, and are especially persecuted after multiple successful assassinations of emperors. The Dark Brotherhood is a cult which broke off from the Morag Tong and took their niche throughout the rest of Tamriel. Camonna Tong - A criminal syndicate violently opposed to foreign interests in Morrowind. They have a murderous rivalry with the Thieves' Guild, and will kill any known member found to operate in their territory. Temple Ordinators - An order of knights who serve as the enforcers of the Temple. They are of House Indoril, and are known for their distinctive masks, shaped to resemble the faces of the saints. They are dedicated to crushing heresy within Morrowind's borders, and administer the Ministry of Truth, a political prison built into a meteor which Vivec had suspended above his holy city as a reminder of the importance of keeping the faith. Buoyant Armigers - Clad in emerald volcanic glass armor, the Buoyant Armigers are a knightly order of warrior poets who serve Vivec directly. They pursue missions against necromancers, vampires, and come to the rescue of forgotten relics. Since the construction of the Ghost Fence on Vvardenfell, their headquarters became the fortress of Ghostgate at its mouth, where they staunchly defend the people of Tamriel from the corprus-twisted mutants of House Dagoth. Clockwork Apostles - devout followers of Sotha Sil, who found their way to the hidden Clockwork City. They are students of Seht's teachings on the nature of reality, and aid Him in His goals of remaking Nirn so that it may survive in perpetuity against the Kalpic Cycle. Though He will infrequently give lectures and accept their aid when needed, their patron largely ignores them. So, they have crafted their own customs and cannon around interpretations of His teachings. The Apostles live in the hidden city, rarely venturing out into the larger world. They accept only the most magically or mechanically inclined, and ritualistically replace body parts with clockwork prosthetics based on their god's designs.

Dunmer Traits

Dunmer are well-adapted to life in the shadow of the volcanic Red Mountain. Refined through hardship, cunning, and the support of your ancestors, you have been blessed with the following traits

Ability Score Increase

Dunmer are adapted to life in a harsh volcanic environment. They are quick on their feet, sharp in their wit, and usually unfriendly, especially to outlanders. You gain +2 to Dexterity and Intelligence.

Penchant for Survival

You have proficiency in the Survival skill.

Red Walker

Though not all Dunmer are from Vvardenfell, they all feel their connection to Red Mountain, and their protection from it. You gain resistance to fire.

Ancestor Guardian

Call upon the souls of your ancestors to guide your movements and protect you from harm. Once per long rest, you may call upon your ancestors to protect you, adding 1d4 to your AC for ten minutes. This power is only available to Dunmer who are in good standing with their House.

Age

Although elves reach physical maturity at about the same age as humans, mer age at very different rates, slowing to a stop in their 30s, and remaining virtually static until their late 100s. An elf will have lived a long life when they have reached 350. Some elf mages can even slow down their aging process, and live seemingly indefinitely. A secret they do not share with the general populace.

Alignment

The Dark Elves value themselves above others. They typically believe in the might of the Great Houses, of the principles of the Reclamations, and the strength gained through collective adversity. They favor Lawful alignments, and are often Lawful Evil, knowing in Morrowind, the law allows for assassination, thievery, and slavery if the right writs are filled out.

Size

Elves range from under 5 to over 6 feet tall and have slender builds. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Languages

Dark Elves speak, read, and write in Cyrodilic and Dunmeri, an offshoot of Aldmeri curated over the centuries by Vivec, the Poet God of the Tribunal. Modern Dunmeri uses daedric script and heavily borrows daedric grammar structures.

On the Great Houses

Most Dunmer do not belong to a Great House, and not all who belong to Great Houses are Dunmer. However, everyone who lives in Morrowind does so under the governance of a Great House. They were once powerful clans within Chimer society, but evolved into far-reaching organizations with their own laws and customs within the larger Dunmeri society.