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  1. Vvardenfell - 2E 583
  2. Lore

Dunmer Orthodox Faith

Tribunal worship practiced by the Dunmer

Central Tenets

  • The Tribunal as Living Gods

    • Vivec, Almalexia, and Sotha Sil are worshipped as divinities, not as ascended mortals.

    • They are portrayed as having stepped forward to guide the Dunmer after the calamities of the First Council and the War of the First Council.

    • To the faithful, they are destiny manifest — not chance or blasphemy.

    • ALMSIVI refers to the holy trinity that comprises the Tribunal. ALM for Almalexia, SI for Sotha Sil, and VI for Vivec.

  • The Three Good Daedra (Boethiah, Mephala, Azura)

    • Reframed as “anticipations” of the Tribunal: their roles are cast as forerunners or echoes of the Tribunal’s virtues.

    • Worship of them is absorbed into the Tribunal’s system, no longer primary but still acknowledged.

  • The House of Troubles (Malacath, Sheogorath, Mehrunes Dagon, Molag Bal)

    • These Daedra are taught as foes, tempters, and corrupters — adversaries the faithful must resist.

    • Their shrines are destroyed or suppressed in Tribunal lands, though echoes persist among heretics and dissidents.

  • Orthodoxy as Law

    • The Temple isn’t just a church; it’s a governing body. The Tribunal’s worship is bound to civic and legal life.

    • Heterodox worship (the Divines, the Hist, Daedra outside the “anticipations”) is criminalized..


What the Common Dunmer Are Told About Red Mountain

  • Official Narrative (What’s Taught in Shrines & Sermons)

    • The Dwemer betrayed the Chimer by using Kagrenac’s profane Tools to harness the Heart of Lorkhan.

    • The Tribunal triumphed, Dumac was destroyed, and the Dwemer vanished in their hubris.

    • The Tribunal stepped forth as gods, destined to guide the Chimer (now Dunmer) into a new age.

    • Framed as divine providence, not theft or blasphemy.

  • Suppressed Truth (Known Only to Dissidents & Secret Orders)

    • The Tribunal used Kagrenac’s Tools themselves to tap the Heart’s power, seizing divinity.

    • This is what Azura cursed them for, transforming the Chimer into Dunmer as punishment.

    • Groups like the Dissident Priests and the Ashlanders preserve this version, but to the average Dunmer, it’s heresy.

  • Common Knowledge

    • Most Dunmer probably know the names Numidium, Kagrenac, Dumac in a vague mythic sense — but not the mechanics of the Tools.

    • The details are esoteric, restricted to priest-scholars, or heretical sources like the Ashlanders’ oral histories.


Orthodoxy in Practice

  • For the average citizen:

    • Worship the Tribunal.

    • Respect the “anticipations.”

    • Avoid the House of Troubles.

    • Ignore or denounce heterodox practices.

  • For the educated clergy:

    • Know the “official” Red Mountain narrative, scrubbed of uncomfortable truths.

    • Guard against heresy by controlling art, literature, and religious practice.

  • For the dissidents & Ashlanders:

    • Preserve the unorthodox truth that the Tribunal stole their divinity and brought Azura’s curse.