The mages of @House Telvanni are defined by ruthless ambition and a culture of survival-of-the-fittest. There are no true apprenticeships—only retainers and rivals. Every mage, no matter their rank, is expected to pursue their research and advancement with cunning, regardless of the collateral damage. Duels are rare; instead, the Telvanni prefer sabotage, subterfuge, and subtle trickery. A rival’s experiment exploding, reagents going missing, or wards collapsing “by accident” are not seen as crimes, but as proof that the victim wasn’t careful enough. The unspoken law is simple: do what you will, so long as you don’t get caught.
Despite this treachery, their collective pursuit of magical knowledge makes them indispensable. Each mage guards their secrets jealously, but also depends on breakthroughs by others to fuel their own work, creating an environment of tense interdependence.
The Tower system of Sadrith Mora has allowed distinct magical disciplines to develop into full-fledged sub-factions, each with its own flavor, politics, and rivalries. These groups coexist under the Telvanni banner but compete constantly for prestige and resources:
@Telvanni Sorcerers (Destruction) – Masters of elemental fury, the Sorcerers treat magic like a contest of strength. They prize raw destructive power and often adopt a competitive, almost athletic culture, dueling for dominance in arenas and laboratories alike.
@Telvanni Warlocks (Conjuration) – Scholars of the planes, Warlocks specialize in summoning Daedra and bargaining with otherworldly powers. They thrive on technicalities and manipulation, seeing every pact as a battle of wits. They are both feared and needed as the first line of defense against Daedric incursions.
@Telvanni Vitalists (Restoration) – The custodians of vitality itself. They treat life and death not as sacred states but as malleable forces to be harvested, redirected, and refined. Vitalists study the flow of magicka through flesh and spirit, mending wounds with clinical precision or unraveling bodies with necrotic decay. Their research often blurs into taboo, from cataloging the physiology of magical beasts to experimenting with undeath as a means of preservation and control.
@Telvanni Rune-Singers (Enchantment) – Poetic outliers among the Telvanni, the Rune-Singers treat magic as song, binding enchantments through sound, symbol, and resonance. They are seen as dreamers, but their works endure long after others fade: weapons that sing, fabrics that shimmer, murals that shift like music. Their artistry earns both ridicule and respect.
The Telvanni thrive in this fragmented state, where rivalry fuels innovation and danger lurks in every corridor. Their towers loom as symbols of ambition, each one an incubator for dangerous knowledge. To outsiders, Sadrith Mora seems chaotic, even suicidal, but to the Telvanni, this is the natural order: power, knowledge, and survival belong only to those bold enough to seize them.
Though anarchic in spirit, the Telvanni still recognize a loose hierarchy of power:
Retainer – Lowest rank, serving established mages in exchange for scraps of knowledge and protection. Retainers perform menial tasks, test unstable spells, and hope to survive long enough to rise higher.
Oathman – Trusted and seasoned retainers who have proven reliable and skilled in their chosen field. While not yet innovators, Oathmen are respected aides and administrators, often leading minor projects or enforcing their patron’s will.
Spellwright – Skilled practitioners who have proven themselves competent researchers, often leading significant experiments or serving as senior experts within a tower. Spellwrights enjoy more independence but remain bound to greater powers.
Magus – Respected scholars or battlemages with broad mastery. This title marks a Telvanni who has authority over Retainers, Oathmen, and Spellwrights, often mentoring protégés or acting as powerful enforcers within the city.
Magister – Landowning or tower-holding mages whose will carries the force of law in their domain. Magisters sit on Telvanni councils, shaping policies and schemes across Morrowind. They guard their secrets jealously, each a power unto themselves.
Archmagister – The supreme head of House Telvanni, unmatched in power, ambition, and paranoia. The Archmagister answers to no one, their word absolute until they are usurped or undone. Current Archmagister: Nelos Otheri
These ranks are less about honor and more about survival: anyone who rises did so by being too dangerous, too clever, or too useful to suppress.
The lifeblood of Telvanni society is carried by those who are not mages: the @The Mycelium Hands These laborers, porters, beast-handlers, @Mycelium Guards, and attendants keep the cities functioning. They grow fungus for food, haul reagents, clean laboratories, and repair damage after magical accidents. Though considered expendable by many masters, they form a faction in their own right: organized, quietly proud of their resilience, and bound together by necessity. Without them, even the most brilliant Telvanni tower would collapse into ruin.
Telvanni society thrives in constant tension: between sabotage and survival, brilliance and recklessness, power and dependency. Mushroom Towers loom as monuments to ambition, each humming with different philosophies of magic, while the Mycelium Hands stitch the city together from below. To live in Sadrith Mora is to gamble with danger every day — but to the Telvanni, that is simply the price of power.