History of Morrowind

Mythic and Merethic Foundations

The earliest history of Morrowind begins with the Velothi exodus. Dissident Altmer followed the prophet Veloth eastward from Summerset, rejecting the rigid ancestor cults of their kin and embracing Daedric faith. These Chimer, guided by the Good Daedra — Boethiah, Mephala, and Azura — settled the volcanic ashlands around Red Mountain, building new traditions upon exile and hardship. At the same time, the Dwemer carved subterranean kingdoms beneath the mountains, building citadels of stone and machine. Tensions simmered between Chimer mysticism and Dwemer materialism, yet their coexistence defined the province. Snow Elf ruins and Atmoran incursions touched the coasts, but Morrowind was already distinct: a land of ash, prophecy, and fire.

The Battle of Red Mountain (1E 700)

The pivotal moment in Morrowind’s early history came when Nords under Wulfharth and the unified forces of Chimer and Dwemer clashed at Red Mountain. The cause was the Dwemer’s use of Kagrenac’s tools upon the Heart of Lorkhan, an act seen as blasphemy by their Chimer allies. The battle ended with the mysterious disappearance of the Dwemer from the mortal plane. Nerevar, Hortator of the Chimer, died under disputed circumstances — some say betrayed by his Tribunal allies. The Tribunal — Vivec, Almalexia, and Sotha Sil — seized Kagrenac’s tools and used the Heart to ascend as living gods. Azura, in wrath, cursed the Chimer for their betrayal, transforming them into the ash-skinned Dunmer. Red Mountain reshaped Morrowind’s destiny, replacing mortal gods with the Tribunal and altering the very appearance of its people.

The Tribunal Temple and Great Houses

In the centuries that followed, the Tribunal Temple became the spiritual and political heart of Dunmeri society. Vivec, Almalexia, and Sotha Sil were worshipped as divine rulers, their words law. Around them coalesced the Great Houses: Redoran, Hlaalu, Telvanni, Indoril, and Dres, each dominating regions of Morrowind through martial, mercantile, or arcane strength. The Temple mediated their rivalries, ensuring no single House dominated outright. Daedric worship persisted in secret, particularly among Ashlander tribes who rejected the Tribunal’s authority. This dynamic — institutional control versus ancestral faith — defined Morrowind for millennia.

Second Era: The Ebonheart Pact

During the chaos of the Interregnum, Morrowind joined the Ebonheart Pact with Skyrim and Black Marsh. Though historic enemies, necessity bound them against Cyrodiil and Elven alliances. Dunmer chafed at allying with Argonians, many of whom had been their slaves, but the Pact endured for decades. House Telvanni largely ignored Pact politics, retreating to their mushroom towers. Redoran warriors and Dres slavers bore the brunt of the fighting. Though temporary, the Pact established a precedent: Morrowind could bend for survival, but never break its unique identity.

Third Era: Under the Empire

Tiber Septim conquered Morrowind not by force alone but by treaty. In 2E 896, after threats of the Numidium, the Tribunal signed the Armistice, preserving their godhood and Morrowind’s autonomy in exchange for integration into the Empire. The Empire gained tribute, legions, and ports, while the Tribunal maintained internal control. Great Houses adapted differently: House Hlaalu aligned with Imperial interests, gaining wealth and influence, while Houses Indoril and Dres resisted, seeing the Armistice as betrayal. The Ashlanders, meanwhile, clung to prophecy, whispering that the Nerevarine would return to overthrow false gods. Imperial culture seeped in, but Morrowind remained stubbornly alien to outsiders.

House Wars and Rivalries

The Great Houses often turned their strength inward, warring as much with each other as with foreign invaders. Hlaalu merchants undermined Redoran honor, Indoril priests clashed with Telvanni wizards over doctrine and power, and Dres slavers feuded with coastal traders over dominance of the Inner Sea. While the Tribunal Temple mediated these conflicts, the rivalries never vanished. Periodic House Wars weakened Morrowind’s unity, leaving it vulnerable to outside pressure, yet they also sharpened each House’s identity, ensuring their cultures remained distinct across centuries.

Vivec City and the Tribunal’s Zenith

At its height, Vivec City symbolized Tribunal supremacy. Built on artificial cantons rising from the waters of Vvardenfell, the city was both fortress and temple, marketplace and holy site. Pilgrims traveled from across Tamriel to witness Vivec’s sermons, which were as much poetry as law. The Ministry of Truth — Baar Dau — hung in the sky above, restrained by Vivec’s will, a constant reminder of divine power. For centuries, the city was unmatched as a symbol of living godhood. Its destruction during the Red Year marked the literal and spiritual collapse of the Tribunal age.

Resdayn and the Dunmer Identity

Before the Battle of Red Mountain, the land was known as Resdayn. The curse of Azura not only altered the Chimer’s appearance but reshaped their sense of self. From that moment, the Dunmer became a people of ash, burden, and defiance. Their dark skin and red eyes were both a mark of shame and a badge of endurance, setting them apart from all other Elves. The transformation crystallized their cultural identity, uniting disparate Velothi clans into a people defined by exile, struggle, and divine punishment.

The Fall of House Indoril

House Indoril dominated early Tribunal-era politics, supplying many Archcanons and Temple leaders. Their members were steeped in faith and tradition, treating governance as sacred duty. But with the Armistice and later the fall of the Tribunal, Indoril influence crumbled. Their lands were devastated in the Red Year, and their rigid adherence to dogma left them unable to adapt. Once central to Morrowind’s identity, House Indoril became a shadow of its former self.

The Morag Tong

Unique to Morrowind was the legal sanctioning of assassination through the Morag Tong. Rooted in worship of Mephala, the guild claimed divine sanction for its killings, treating murder as ritual. Assassinations carried out under “honorable writs” became a normalized tool of politics. This system shocked the rest of Tamriel but was accepted in Morrowind as part of cultural tradition. The Morag Tong embodied the Dunmer blending of religion and governance: bloodshed sanctified by faith, order maintained by ritualized violence.

The Nerevarine Prophecy

In the late Third Era, the Tribunal’s weakness was exposed. Dagoth Ur, a fallen House Dagoth lord, awakened beneath Red Mountain, wielding the Heart of Lorkhan to spread the Blight. The Nerevarine, prophesied by Azura as the reincarnation of Nerevar, arose in 3E 427. Defying the Tribunal, the Nerevarine destroyed Kagrenac’s tools and severed the Tribunal from the Heart, ending their divinity. Dagoth Ur was defeated, but so too was the Tribunal’s godhood. Almalexia and Sotha Sil perished soon after, leaving Vivec the last remnant. The Temple reoriented itself toward traditional Daedra, abandoning the false pretense of Tribunal divinity. Morrowind’s religion and politics were upended overnight, its foundations shattered.

The Red Year (4E 5)

Disaster followed swiftly. In 4E 5, Baar Dau — the Ministry of Truth, a celestial rock suspended above Vivec City by Vivec’s divine power — crashed when Vivec disappeared. Red Mountain erupted, spewing fire and ash across Morrowind. Vvardenfell was devastated, cities buried, and countless Dunmer killed. The Tribunal was gone, their capital destroyed, and their people scattered. This cataclysm, remembered as the Red Year, ended millennia of Dunmeri dominance. Survivors fled to Solstheim, Skyrim, and beyond, beginning a diaspora that fractured their identity.

Argonian Invasions

As Morrowind reeled from the Red Year, Argonian armies swept in from Black Marsh. Empowered by the Hist and the strength they had shown during the Oblivion Crisis, they pushed deep into southern Morrowind. Entire settlements were burned, and centuries of Dunmeri slaving practices were repaid with ruthless conquest. While the Argonians did not hold the land permanently, their invasion crippled Morrowind further, reducing once-great Houses to scattered survivors and leaving the province under constant threat.

The Diaspora

The Red Year and Argonian invasions forced hundreds of thousands of Dunmer into exile. Many fled to Skyrim, settling in Windhelm’s Grey Quarter, where they endured poverty and suspicion. Others traveled to Solstheim, where Raven Rock became a major Dunmeri colony. This diaspora altered Dunmer identity: once masters of their own province, they became scattered refugees, str

Fourth Era: Shattered Province

By the time of 4E 201, Morrowind was a land of ruins, refugees, and fragile survival. House Redoran rose as the de facto ruling House, rallying warriors to defend borders and preserve what little order remained. House Hlaalu fell from power, discredited for its Imperial ties. Dres struggled in the south, its slave-economy shattered. Telvanni magisters withdrew further into isolation, caring little for the province at large. Solstheim became a refuge for Dunmer exiles, transforming into a frontier of ash and snow. Morrowind endured, but it was a shadow of its former self: its gods gone, its cities broken, its people scattered.

Legacy up to 4E 201

Morrowind’s history is defined by fire and faith. From Veloth’s exodus to Red Mountain, from Tribunal divinity to the Nerevarine’s rebellion, from the Red Year to Argonian invasion, the Dunmer have endured endless catastrophe without losing their sense of destiny. They are a people shaped by exile and tragedy, yet bound by stubborn will and devotion to ancestral and Daedric traditions. By 4E 201, Morrowind stood fractured, proud yet humbled, awaiting the next chapter in a saga that has always been written in ash.