Suran
Overview
Suran is a lakeside settlement on the southern edge of Lake Masobi, reborn from a forgotten Hlaalu plantation town into one of Vvardenfell’s most unpredictable strongholds. Once a quiet stopover between Balmora and Sadrith Mora, it now thrives as a chaotic, semi-lawless crossroads of ambition and exile. The city bears three faces—one of black-market trade run by the Cammona Tong, one of reborn invention led by Ex-Gravian craftsmen, and one of newfound freedom embodied by the Free-Telvanni mages. Its streets hum with industry and danger alike, a mingling of smoke, magelight, and whispered opportunity.
Suran is neither wholly criminal nor entirely liberated—it’s a borderland between order and chaos, progress and decay, where every soul believes they can reinvent themselves if they can survive long enough to do so.
2. Historical Context
For centuries, @Suran was an unremarkable farming and port village under @House Hlaalu ’s control, known only for its plantations and modest trade across Lake Masobi. The @Cammona Tong operated in its shadows even then, enforcing Hlaalu interests through intimidation and violence. Everything changed in the wake of the Planemeld (2E 582), when a local Cammona Tong operative— @Vaxael Daan —rose to fame as a Daedra-slayer and outlaw hero. Reviled by Morrowind’s traditional powers but adored by the dispossessed, Vaxael returned home and led a bloody uprising, driving the Hlaalu from Suran and declaring it a free city under the protection of the Tong.
Since the uprising, Suran has evolved into a haven for exiles, opportunists, and innovators. Over the past year, Ex-Gravians from Balmora’s industrial slums and Free-Telvanni from Sadrith Mora’s cutthroat quarters have poured in, giving the city a strange new character—half forge, half experiment, half den of thieves.
4. Factions and Power Blocs
The Cammona Tong
Once a xenophobic gang, the @Cammona Tong under Vaxael Daan has become a de facto ruling body—an organized syndicate blending criminal enterprise with civic governance. They control trade, levy protection dues, and act as enforcers of Suran’s rough code: pay your debts, respect your word, and stay useful. Their influence runs through the docks, gambling dens, and black markets. Though their power is absolute within Suran’s walls, the Tong’s legitimacy is fragile, dependent on the Raven’s charisma and the continued illusion of stability.
The Ex-Gravians
Displaced engineers and laborers from Balmora’s Geargrave district, the @Ex-Gravians are survivors of industrial abandonment. Skilled in metallurgy, tinkering, and salvaged dwemer machinery, they form the city’s growing artisan class. They repair, build, and trade, supplying both the Tong’s smugglers and the mages’ experiments. Though grateful for Suran’s freedom, they remain wary of the Tong’s dominance—many remember all too well what happens when innovation becomes servitude.
The Free-Telvanni
Idealists and iconoclasts, the @Free-Telvanni fled the oppressive hierarchy of Sadrith Mora in pursuit of autonomy. They seek to explore their magic unbound by Magisters or Spellwrights, and Suran offers the perfect laboratory for their ambitions. Their presence has brought prestige and danger alike: phantasms from Dreamwrights drift through the alleys, and alchemical vapors rise from greenhouses that hum with strange life. The Free-Telvanni maintain an uneasy alliance with the Tong—useful so long as they don’t overstep.
7. Key Figures
Vaxael Daan – The Raven of Suran
Charismatic and calculating, @Vaxael Daan is both folk hero and crime lord. His rule is one of personality and presence—he enforces order not through fear, but through the illusion of belonging. Every deal struck in Suran owes something to him, and every rival underestimates just how deeply his influence runs.
Fiella Byndell – The Raven’s Scribe
Formerly a Hlaalu clerk, now the Tong’s chief record-keeper. Cold, brilliant, and exacting, @Fiella Byndell ensures Suran runs on contracts rather than chaos. She knows every debt, every bargain, every betrayal—and she never forgets a name.
Relvyn Sadal – Dockmaster and Smuggler-Lord
@Relvyn Sadal , Once the terror of the Bitter Coast’s black channels, now master of Suran’s thriving smuggling network. Charming, shrewd, and utterly self-interested, Relvyn controls the flow of contraband through the Ringing Docks and the Blacktide Warrens. His loyalty to the Raven is pragmatic at best.
Seryn Draethys — Enforcer-Captain of the Raven’s Guard
A scarred veteran of the Cammona Tong and commander of Vaxael Daan’s personal guard, @Seryn Draethys is the iron fist that keeps Suran’s underworld in line. He enforces loyalty through fear and example, crushing dissent before it festers. Brutal, disciplined, and utterly devoted to the Raven, Seryn embodies the Tong’s creed: strength, loyalty, and survival through dominance.
11. Conflicts and Hooks
The Cost of Freedom: The Tong’s protection taxes are rising, threatening the fragile independence of smaller merchants and craftsmen. Players may be drawn into disputes between the Tong and struggling Ex-Gravians.
The Fractured Alliance: Free-Telvanni mages experiment with powers that unsettle both the Tong and local citizens—phantasms, enchantments, even mind-magic bleeding into the streets. Is it research… or subversion?
Echoes of Hlaalu: Former Hlaalu loyalists plot revenge, seeking to reclaim their lost holdings in Suran. Some whisper they have the ear of a Great House or Temple inquisitor.
The Raven’s Shadow: Rumors suggest a schism brewing within the Cammona Tong. If something happens to Vaxael, who inherits the city—the scribe, the smuggler, or the enforcer?
Black Market Arms: Strange, mithril-forged weapons from Balmora’s Clockwork Canton are appearing in the Warrens. Who’s moving them, and why is the Raven letting it happen?
How the Tribunal and Great Houses See Suran
To the Tribunal Temple, Suran is a scar—a city corrupted by the Cammona Tong and devoted to Sanguine rather than the Three. The Houses see Suran as an insult to their order:
House Hlaalu, humiliated by their expulsion, quietly plots to retake the city, though none dare move openly.
House Redoran tolerates Suran’s existence so long as its chaos doesn’t spill into their lands.
House Telvanni dismiss it as irrelevant—until the day Suran’s free-thinkers grow into threats.
Yet for all their condemnation, none can deny Suran’s pull. Traders, adventurers, and pilgrims stop there willingly, drawn by its promise of freedom. For every House that calls it a blight, there are voices in the alleys who call it something else: the only honest city in Morrowind.
12. Themes and Tone Guide
Themes:
Freedom vs. Control: Every faction in Suran claims to seek freedom, yet each enforces its own form of order.
Reinvention: Suran’s people are survivors, builders, and outcasts trying to shape their second lives.
Corruption as Stability: The city’s moral rot is what holds it together—its vices form its spine.
Innovation Born of Desperation: From alchemy to artifice, creation in Suran is driven by need, not nobility.
Tone:
Suran is a place of gritty idealism—part refuge, part powder keg. The air is thick with smoke, secrets, and strange hope. Magic flickers in the gutterlight beside the glint of knives. It is a city that invites players to believe in something better, then asks what they’re willing to compromise to keep it.