Necrom Lorebook Preview—Master of the Tides of Fate
Let’s take a sneak peek at one of the many lorebooks you can discover during your adventures within the Telvanni Peninsula and Apocrypha.
Master of the Tides of Fate
By Leramil the Wise
Hermaeus Mora, the Daedric Prince of Fate, goes by many cognomens including the One Who Knows, the Lord of Secrets, and the Master of the Tides of Fate. This latter appellation always intrigued me, so I decided to dig deeper into the origins of that particular title for the Keeper of Forbidden Knowledge.
I suppose the question begins, what exactly is fate? That depends on the philosophy you follow, of course, but the predominant viewpoint describes fate as the development of events as determined by a higher power. While the nature and identity of that power remains in contention, it is clear that Hermaeus Mora has dominion over at least some aspect of fate. As the ever-seeing eyes, he constantly scrys the tides of fate to determine what is destined to happen next. Hence, he is called the Master of the Tides of Fate.
As far as I can tell, the One Who Knows does not alter or direct the way fate unfolds. He does, however, observe where the threads lead and follows them to their inevitable conclusion. Forgive me for mixing my metaphors, but describing fate can be challenging. Some see fate as a loom, constantly spinning out threads of destiny. Others construe it as a vast ocean, with currents and tides that ebb and flow forever into the future.
So, where does the name Master of the Tides of Fate originate? I believe it comes from those followers of Mora who see knowledge and fate as a vast and fathomless ocean. They imagine Mora as suspended above or within this ocean, constantly peering into its depths to track the currents of fate. He is the master, not because he controls destiny, but because he knows every possibility and outcome intimately.
Indeed, there are regions of Mora's realm of Apocrypha that resemble nothing short of an endless sea, holding secrets and forbidden knowledge beneath its surface. In the end, who can say which actually came first? The idea of Hermaeus Mora as a vast entity cataloging the tides of fate, or the image of the great Prince hovering above an ocean in Apocrypha and peering into its depths? Perhaps one is just a reflection of the other.
Written by one of Mora’s most valuable mortal agents, this book provides only a glimpse into the all-knowing Daedric Prince Hermaeus Mora. The One Who Knows plays a key role in shaping the destiny of both Oblivion and Nirn in the upcoming Necrom Chapter. Are you prepared to uncover more dark secrets locked away deep within the libraries of Apocrypha? Let us know via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook!
The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom is part of the Shadow Over Morrowind adventure and arrives for PC/Mac on June 5, 2023, and for Xbox and PlayStation consoles on June 20, 2023. Pre-purchase Necrom now to receive unique bonus rewards at launch and immediate access to the Sadrith Mora Spore Steed mount.
Recapping the Necrom Chapter Preview & ESO Celebration
See what you missed from the recent Necrom Chapter Preview livestream and ESO Celebration!
Just last week, we had the pleasure of hosting the Necrom Chapter Preview to open the 2023 ESO Celebration in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was an incredible community event, and we were thrilled to once again be able to share ESO’s future with the #ESOFam and celebrate the game with them.
During the opening livestream, the development team dived deeper into the upcoming Necrom Chapter’s all-new Arcanist class in addition to the exciting new settings, characters, and challenges you will encounter within the Telvanni Peninsula and Apocrypha. If you missed the show, don’t worry, you can watch the entire Chapter Preview below.
As part of the show, the team also got to share a new Arcanist gameplay trailer, exploring the new class’ unique background and showcasing some (but certainly not all) of the abilities you’ll be able to wield this June.
But that’s not all! The Necrom Chapter Preview also kicked off two days of community activities, panels, and fun as part of the 2023 ESO Celebration. We’ll have a lot more to share on this community event soon, but here are some photos we took during the two-day celebration, featuring members of the #ESOFam and development team! Photo Credit: Black Card Films
The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom is right around the corner, and we can’t wait to share more about the Chapter leading up to launch. Be sure to keep an eye on elderscrollsonline.com for all the latest news and previews, and tell us what aspect of Necrom you’re most excited about via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom is part of the Shadow Over Morrowind adventure and arrives for PC/Mac on June 5, 2023, and for Xbox and PlayStation consoles on June 20, 2023. Pre-purchase Necrom now to receive unique bonus rewards at launch and immediate access to the Sadrith Mora Spore Steed. Don't miss out!
Explore Tamriel during the April 2023 Free Play Event & Sale
Venture into a world without limits during the April 2023 Free Play Event and Sale.
Explore Tamriel for Free
The Elder Scrolls Online April 2023 Free Play Event is now live and will continue until Monday April 17, 2023. During the event period, you can dive into the world of Tamriel during the Second Era at no cost on PC/Mac, Xbox consoles, and PlayStation consoles.
To begin, visit our Free Play page and select your platform. This event grants you access to the ESO base game, which includes four of the game’s classes (Sorcerer, Nightblade, Templar, and Dragonknight), 24 unique zones to explore, and access to ESO’s PvP game modes such as the Battlegrounds and the Alliance War. Return to Morrowind during the Free Play Event
If you’ve already played ESO during a previous free play event, you can jump back in with no loss of progression. In addition, all brand-new accounts created will also receive 500 crowns to spend in the in-game Crown Store.
Once the free play period has concluded on April 17, 2023, you can continue your journey right where you left off by purchasing ESO from the Buy Now page.
High Isle & Base Game Sale
In addition to the Free Play Event, the April 2023 Sale is now also live on select platforms, with some major savings up for grabs on The Elder Scrolls Online.
The Elder Scrolls Online: High Isle Chapter(including the Upgrade, Deluxe Upgrade, Collection, and Deluxe Collection editions)is now available at up to 67% off on The Elder Scrolls Online Store, Steam, and Xbox Store until April 20, 2023. High Isle on sale now!
In addition, The Elder Scrolls Online Standard Edition is also on sale at up to 70% off on The Elder Scrolls Online Store, Steam, and Xbox Store until April 20, 2023, and on the PlayStation Store until April 26, 2023.
If you’re looking to take your first steps into the world of Tamriel or discover its latest Chapter, now is the time!
Note that the sale may differ based on platform and territory, so be sure to check your preferred retailer and don’t miss out.
Crown Pack Sale
During the Free Play Event and Sale, select Crown Store Crown Packs are also available at discounted prices. This sale is now live on The Elder Scrolls Online Store, Steam, Xbox Store, and PlayStation Store until April 13, 2023, providing the following discounts:
21,000—40% off
14,000—35% off
5,500—30% off
3,000—25% off
1,500—20% off
You can enjoy these savings right now by navigating to the Buy Crowns page and selecting your pack.
You can use crowns to acquire a huge number of useful and unique items from the in-game Crown Store, including collectibles such as pets, mounts, costumes, styles, and more. If you’re interested in seeing what kind of items and collectibles the Crown Store currently has in stock, visit this page.
Don’t Miss Out!
Whether you want to play for free, pick up the game while it’s on sale, or enjoy a big discount on Crown Packs, there’s a massive world of adventure that awaits new and returning adventurers alike during the April 2023 Free Play Event and Sale—we’ll see you in Tamriel!
The Elder Scrolls Online April 2023 Free Play Event runs from Thursday, April 6, 2023, until Monday April 17, 2023.
Gift Event Tickets during the Anniversary Jubilee and Receive Free Crown Crates!
Celebrate nine years of ESO by gifting Event Tickets to your fellow adventurers during the Anniversary Jubilee and you’ll receive four free Ragebound Crown Crates!
As part of The Elder Scrolls Online’s anniversary fun, starting today and running until April 18, 2023 at 10AM EDT, when you gift five (or more) Event Tickets to your friends or guildmates, you’ll receive four Ragebound Crown Crates from us on the house!
To get your hands on these valuable containers, follow these simple steps:
From the Crown Store, gift five or more Event Tickets to anybody in-game during the Anniversary Jubilee event.
You can find Event Tickets within the Events section.
You can split the gifts between multiple recipients, so all five tickets don’t need to go to the same individual.
Following the conclusion of the Anniversary Jubilee, you’ll receive four Ragebound Crown Crates.
Your Crown Crates will be delivered by May 31, 2023.
Some of the items you can acquire from Ragebound Crown Crates
If you’re the lucky recipient of a gifted Event Ticket, visit the Impresario merchant to take advantage of a variety of event-specific offers. Check out the Anniversary Jubilee announcement blog to see a complete list of items that will be in stock.
Brighten someone’s day with the gift of Event Tickets and we’ll reward your generosity with some free Crown Crates. It’s that easy! Don’t forget, this offer is available only during the Anniversary Jubilee, which ends April 18, 2023. Let us know which lucky individual will soon be finding a shiny Event Ticket in their Gift Inventory via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook!
Delve Into Apocrypha’s Secrets during the Necrom Chapter Preview Livestream
Uncover Hermaeus Mora’s mysteries and learn more about ESO’s upcoming Chapter during the Necrom Chapter Preview Event!
The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom is right around the corner (June 5 for PC/Mac and June 20 for Xbox and PlayStation consoles), but we’ve still got a lot more to share with the ESO community about this exciting new Chapter.
To kick off the ESO Celebration 2023 community event in Las Vegas, USA, we’ll be streaming TheElderScrolls Online: Necrom Chapter Preview live via twitch.tv/Bethesda so the entire #ESOFam can get the inside scoop on the game’s next big adventure.
What: The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom Chapter Preview
During the livestream, ESO’s developers and Community Team will dive deep into the upcoming Chapter, including Hermaeus Mora, the Telvanni Peninsula and Apocrypha, the Arcanist class, the 12-player Trial, and more. Some of Mora’s (and the ESO development team’s) most closely guarded secrets will be revealed!*
Tune in to watch the show with a Twitch-linked ESO account and you’ll also earn a free Ouroboros Crate AND brand-new Moon and Star Earrings adornment. The Moon and Star Earrings adornment
Discover more about the Necrom Chapter AND acquire some fashionable new jewelry for your most stylish adventurers!
Supporting ESO Livestreams
Starting on the day and following the big show, you can catch a host of special livestreams from all over the globe recapping the big reveals from the Necrom Chapter Preview.
Wednesday, April 12 The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom – Chapter Preview with the Stream Team – FR
Join FR Community Manager Geoffrey and members of the Stream Team as they uncover more details about the Necrom Chapter.
Friday, April 14 The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom Chapter Preview – DE
Find out what new features you can expect in ESO’s upcoming Chapter and discuss the new information with DE Community Manager Kai and members of the ESO Stream Team.
Are you excited to learn more about the Telvanni Peninsula and more esoteric realms? Be sure to tune in to the Necrom Chapter Preview next Wednesday, April 12 at 4PM EDT on twitch.tv/Bethesda for the big show, and as always, keep an eye on elderscrollsonline.com and our social channels on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for all the latest news leading into Necrom’s launch in June—we’ll see you there!
The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom is part of the Shadow Over Morrowind adventure and arrives for PC/Mac on June 5, 2023, and for Xbox and PlayStation consoles on June 20, 2023. Pre-purchase Necrom now to receive unique bonus rewards at launch and immediate access to the Sadrith Mora Spore Steed mount and Sadrith Mora Spore Pony pet**.
*Without subjecting us to the wrath of the Prince of Knowledge OR Bethesda Game Studios.
**Sadrith Mora Spore Pony pet available only until April 18, 2023.
Gorge on Cake, Enjoy Bonus XP, and Earn Special Rewards During ESO’s Anniversary Jubilee!
Celebrate ESO’s birthday with cake and more during the 2023 Anniversary Jubilee in-game event.
ESO Turns Nine!
The 2023 Anniversary Jubilee kicks off April 6 at 10am EDT and continues until April 18 at 10am EDT. Before you can join the festivities, you’ll need to grab the best part of any birthday: a delicious slice of cake. To do so, locate the free event quest, Ache for Cake, in the Quest Starters section of the in-game Crown Store or by picking up a Cake Voucher at any Jubilee Bakery Barge located in Vulkhel Guard, Davon's Watch, and Daggerfall. Find Chef Donolon to begin!
Once you’ve completed the quest, you’ll be rewarded with this year’s scrumptious cake (called Jubilee Cake 2023), which you can summon from the Tools section in your Collections menu. Each time you take a bite of this celebratory confection during the event, you’ll receive a 2-hour 100% XP boost as well as three Event Tickets!
Remember to enjoy a slice of cake every day of the event to maximize your rewards.
Earn Jubilee Gifts
During the event period, you’ll receive exclusive Anniversary Jubilee Gift Boxes as additional rewards each time you complete a daily quest anywhere in Tamriel. These daily quests include:
Daily crafting writs
Daily Delve and World Boss quests
Daily Alliance War and Battlegrounds quests
Daily Dungeon and Trial quests
Daily Heist and Sacrament quests
Jubilee Gift Boxes have a chance to contain some of the following goodies:
Basic crafting materials
Rare crafting materials or a small chance for a motif chapter, furniture recipe, or style item
New: A small chance for a tradeable outfit style page for the Bonemold armor style
If you’ve already collected a Bonemold armor style earlier that day, you will instead be rewarded with either a Saberkeel style page or a Worm Cult style page
A small chance for the Worm Cult style item, “Desecrated Grave Soil”
A small chance for Transmutation Crystals
Bonemold Armor style
The Impresario & Event Tickets
If you continue to enjoy cake every day throughout the event, you can earn up to a maximum of 39 Event Tickets. Don’t forget you can only ever hold up to 12 tickets at a time, so if you receive more while already at the cap, you’ll lose them!
After you’ve accumulated some tickets, find your way to the Impresario’s emporium located at any of the main cities and exchange them for some of the valuable wares listed below:
All three Passion Dancer Blossom pet fragments
Chartreuse Lily Petals
Enchanted Silver Flute
Mystical Sheet Music
All three fragments for the Passion's Muse personality
Bottle of Silver Mist
Delicate Dancer's Baton
Pressed Lily Petal Insoles
New: One fragment for the Meadowbreeze Memories Skin
Bottled Skin Dyes
New: Bound style pages for the Bonemold armor style
Anniversary Cake furnishings
Bag of Jubilee Yesteryear
You are guaranteed to receive one of the following items that you don’t currently own:
Worm Cult bound motif chapters
Jephrine Paladin armor style pages
Imperial Champion armor style pages
Prophet armor style pages
Lyris armor style pages
Sai Sahan armor style pages
Abnur Tharn armor style pages
Saberkeel armor style pages
Aurora Firepot Spider Parts
Desecrated Grave Soil
Group Repair Kits
If you already own all the aforementioned collectibles, the bag will always contain Group Repair Kits
Companion Guild Commendations
During the Anniversary Jubilee, you’ll have the chance to snag BOTH sets of fragments for the Passion Dancer Blossom pet and the Passion’s Muse personality from the Impresario. This event will also be your first chance to pick up the Bottled Skin Dyes; one of three fragments needed to obtain the Meadowbreeze Memories skin.
In addition, the Impresario’s Assistant, Philius Dormier, has a few other offerings you’ll want to take advantage of:
The fourth Aurora Firepot Spider pet fragment
Hide Shoulder Collectible
Here’s to Another Year of ESO!
Scarf down some cake, earn special event rewards, and enjoy a big buff to XP gains during the Anniversary Jubilee event! Can you believe we’ve already spent nine years adventuring together? How are you planning to celebrate ESO’s birthday? Let us and the #ESOFam know by reaching out via Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook!
ESO’s Anniversary Jubilee in-game event begins Thursday, April 6 at 10:00AM EDT, and runs until Tuesday, April 18 at 10:00AM EDT.
Unleash the Fury of the Reach with the New Ragebound Crown Crates
Defend the Reach armed with fearsome items and collectibles found within the upcoming Ragebound Crown Crates.
***
Stalk the wilds in frost-sharpened air. Tame mounts fueled by the fury of ancient battles. Track prey along the river Karth and sing songs of glory to Red Eagle, Diamond's Doom. Do you dare take up arms alongside the witchfolk of the Reach?
These venerable clans hold fast to ancient traditions, passed down by the tale-telling vateshrans. What part will you play in their tales to come? When will you rage?
***
The new Ragebound Crown Crates arrive in the in-game Crown Store this Thursday, March 30 at 10AM EDT. You can acquire these wrathful crates one by one or in various packages including a brand-new 25-crate bundle that features an all-new polymorph (more on that below)! Ragebound crates contain a thunderous host of items sure to strike fear into the hearts of your foes. You can see just some examples of the new collectibles you may discover in these crates below. Ragebound Durzog mount & Orb of the Spirit Queen furnishing Ragebound Harness costume & Reach Witch Removal customized action
As you might have come to expect, there are also some extremely rare Radiant Apex mounts that you have a chance to unlock each time you open a Ragebound crate. Voidmother’s Welwa mount Icerage Bear & Harrowforged Durzog mounts
These crates are available in your typical one-, four-, and 15-crate bundles. However, for the first time, we’re also introducing a new25-crate bundle as a one-time purchase that, in addition to the crates, ALSO includes the fearsome Shade polymorph. The Ragebound Crate Bundle
Note that the Shade polymorph is automatically unlocked and added to your collectibles when you acquire this one-off bundle and is not included in the crates themselves.
This is just a sample of the spoils you can seize from Ragebound Crown Crates. To review a full list of this new crate’s contents, visit this thread on our official forums. Be warned, when Ragebound arrives, the former Stonelore Crown Crates will no longer be available, so don’t hesitate to grab them while you can, too!
Ragebound Crown Crates arrive this Thursday, March 30 at 10AM EDT, and can be found within the Crown Crate section of the in-game Crown Store. Are you ready to bring the fury of the Reach to your foes? Let us know via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook!
Earn Bizarre Rewards During the Jester’s Festival Event!
Spread mirth and mayhem across all of Tamriel with the return of the Jester’s Festival in-game event.
The Jester’s Festival event returns on March 29 at 10:00AM EDT and will continue until April 6 10:00AM EDT! During Tamriel’s silliest season, you can acquire buffs to XP gains and earn ridiculous rewards by completing special event-specific quests.
Prepared to participate in Nirn’s most-preposterous party? Travel to the jester pavilions found within the cities of Ebonheart, Vulkhel Guard, and Daggerfall, and meet with one of three jesters masquerading as Jorunn the Skald-King, Queen Ayrenn, or High King Emeric. If you find yourself getting all topsy-turvy searching for these sites, navigate to the Crown Store and acquire the Jester's Festival Invitation Quest. The ridiculous rule during the Jester’s Festival
After you’ve completed the introductory quest, you’ll earn the delectable Pie of Misrule memento reward, which can be located within the Tools section of your Collections. Devour this tasty treat during the event period, and you’ll be granted a 2-hour long 100% XP buff!
Crack Open Crates!
During the Jester’s Festival, you can complete various event-specific daily quests. For each quest you complete, you’ll receive one Jester's Festival Box as compensation for your hard work. Even better, the first Jester’s Festival quest you complete each day will replace your normal reward with a Stupendous Jester's Festival Box, containing even-more fantastical prizes!
All boxes can include the following items:
Festive Dazzlers
Cherry Blossom Confetti
Revelry Pies
Festive Furnishings
Jesters Festival Provisioning Recipes
Treasures that can be sold to vendors for Gold
Previous years’ style pages
On top of the above prizes, the Stupendous Jester’s Festival Box has a chance to contain the following goodies:
Jester's Scintillator Runebox
Cherry Blossom Branch Runebox
Cadwell's Kitchen Weapon Style Page
High value Treasures
Festive noise maker parts
Joke Popper Fragments
New: Jester's Minstrel Daedroth Costume Fragment
In addition to the above, Stupendous Jester’s Festival Boxes also have a small chance to include the following items instead of a Costume Fragment.
New: Bucket Style Page
New: Broom Style Page
A previously available style page
New Jester’s Festival rewards
Don’t miss the event quest introduced just last year, Getting the Band Together. You can kick this quest off by speaking to Samuel Gourone, who can be found at each festival pavilion. As a reward for completing this quest, you’ll receive an additional daily reward box!
Snag Zany Prizes
During the event, you will earn three Event Tickets for the first Jester’s Festival quest completed each day. That means you can earn up to 24 tickets total! DON’T FORGET: The maximum number of Event Tickets you can carry is 12 at a time. If you earn more while already at the ticket cap, they’ll be lost to Oblivion!
Take these Event Tickets to the Impresario event merchant and you’ll be able to trade them for the following wares:
All three Passion Dancer Blossom pet fragments
Chartreuse Lily Petals
Enchanted Silver Flute
Mystical Sheet Music
The all three fragments for the Passion's Muse personality
Bottle of Silver Mist
Delicate Dancer's Baton
Pressed Lily Petal Insoles
New: Bound fragments for the Jester's Minstrel Daedroth Costume
New: Bound Style Page: Bucket
New: Bound Style Page: Broom
New: Hide Shoulder Collectible
If you miss your chance to snag the Hide Shoulder Collectible during this Jester’s Festival, don’t worry! You’ll be able to return to her assistant, Philius Dormier, at any time and pick up the Collectible there.
Additionally, the second and third fragments of the Passion's Muse personality, the Delicate Dancer's Baton and the Pressed Lily Petal Insoles, all arrive during this period. The Passion’s Muse personality
Be sure to grab it and any of the other fragments you need so you can complete the set!
Let Lunacy Run Wild!
Revel in the ridiculous during this year’s Jester’s Festival by completing event quests and acquiring unique rewards as you help spread the silly season to all corners of Tamriel. Tell us what wacky hijinks you’re planning during this event via Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.
The Jester’s Festival in-game event begins Wednesday, March 29 at 10AM EDT, and runs until Thursday, April 6 at 10AM EDT.
ESO's Developers Share Their Love of Morrowind’s Style, People, and Beasties
The ESO development and community teams return in the second of two videos to talk about Morrowind’s charmingly bizarre inhabitants.
With The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom arriving in the not-so-distant future (June 5 for PC/Mac and June 20 for Xbox and PlayStation consoles), we’re celebrating by looking back at the iconic homeland of the Dark Elves during our ongoing Return to Morrowind celebration.
Click below to watch the final of a two-part video series featuring members of ESO’s dev and community teams as they discuss Morrowind’s unique style and wildlife (or in some cases, insect-life)!
Do you have a favorite Morrowind beastie that you want to share with the #ESOFam? Tag us on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook using #ReturntoMorrowind and tell us what makes these fantastical critters so special to you Be sure to tune in to more Return to Morrowind fun this weekend with ongoing livestreams from the ESO Stream Team!
The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom is part of the Shadow Over Morrowind adventure and arrives for PC/Mac on June 5, 2023, and for Xbox and PlayStation consoles on June 20, 2023. Pre-purchase Necrom now to receive unique bonus rewards at launch and immediate access to the Sadrith Mora Spore Steed mount and Sadrith Mora Spore Pony pet*. Don't miss out!
*The Sadrith Mora Spore Pony pet is available only until April 18, 2023.
Loremaster’s Archive—House Telvanni
Gain greater insight into the mysterious and powerful House Telvanni with an all-new Loremaster’s Archive from the great sorcerer Divayth Fyr himself!
I am Divayth Fyr. Greatest mage of our era, master of extra-planar travel, renowned scholar of Daedric artifacts, and generous patron to the University of Gwylim. I have been asked as part of the University’s ongoing series to provide you–the layperson–with knowledge about the wider world. If you are reading this, it is my assumption you have wits enough to understand the import of my words. Settle yourself and attend.
The subject in discussion today is the great House Telvanni. In truth I imagine I was the only individual of any import who deigned to respond to the submitted questions. Take my words as truth, or don’t. It matters very little to me.
My only goal in responding to these inquiries is to somewhat lift the veil of secrecy on the greatest of the Great Houses of Morrowind. To prove beyond a shadow of a doubt the primacy, power, and position in the world. House Telvanni stands alone. If you learn nothing else here today, learn that.
Has House Telvanni always controlled the area surrounding Necrom, or has that land changed hands multiple times throughout history? I get the impression the political map of Morrowind is always shifting, with the different Dunmer houses enforcing ancestral claims, purchasing or inheriting land, and finding many ways to manipulate their way to the top. What's the history of this so-called "Telvanni" Peninsula, in that regard?
—Ash-of-Singing-Flame, Historian
In reviewing the submitted questions, this issue of geography and politics seemed paramount in importance. It arose in several questions, in various ways. Let’s deal with this directly.
Maps are tools. Nothing more. Nothing less. Standing in the Ashlands, a wayfinding map is a tool of survival. Able to assist you in finding your way to safety. Similarly, a ship’s map may aid a sailor in finding a calm harbor far from home.
But political maps? Maps that claim to represent the truth of land claimed by force of blade and spell? These maps aren’t tools for the reader. They’re tools for the mapmakers.
They speak of great strength when perhaps none exists. They speak of boundaries and borders that may exist only in the minds of people burdened by over-heavy crowns. To offer a contemporary example, have you ever seen a map of “the front” in the war between the three alliances? Do you believe that map was accurate for more than a day? At most? And, as always, remember that every written thing you read is subjective. Even the words of Divath Fyr.
This is all context. With that in place, the historian’s question is easily answered. The Great Houses have skirmished to claim the length and breadth of the peninsula in the same way they have warred for control of Vvardenfell, or Stonefalls, or Deshaan. Any maps that claim to fully represent political control of a region as heavily contested as Morrowind are guidelines at best. Even today, as the Three Banners war rages, my people continue their great game of strike and counterstrike. Gloved hands grip gilded blades, as the strong vie to rule the weak.
All that said, I would be remiss in not issuing a firm and clear warning. Anyone claiming that the great House Telvanni is not master of its domain is sorely mistaken. It is called “the Telvanni Peninsula,” for the house controls the whole of the territory from its base to its tip, crowned by the island palace of Port Telvannis beyond. The city of Necrom, of course, is a somewhat complicated subject which I will address anon.
But if you have reason to fear the great house, do not sail for Firewatch. Stay far from Gorne. House Telvanni’s rule within these borders is undisputed. And its reach, its power, its vengeance is a terrible thing to behold.
Why [are] there quite a few Telvanni using the magister title? As the Telvanni title of magister is when you announce you deserve to be archmagister over the current one and there's quite a few Telvanni being called magister like … Dratha, Therana, Gothren, and Shelreni Baro (in the Telvanni Peninsula).
—Gaius Sulla, Battlemage of the Thirteenth Legion
An understandable confusion. Titles in House Telvanni are not inherited. They are not granted, bequeathed, bought, sold, or traded. They are earned. They are taken. And if you do not have the strength, the will, the political acumen to hold that title. Well. There is always another eager house member behind you waiting to claim what is rightfully theirs.
While in the past, claiming the title magister could be seen as a threat (that gilded blade, again), Archmagister Nelos Otheri has actually encouraged the greatest of the house to take on this title if they think they can defend it. Otheri’s hand is a steady one upon the great ship that is Telvanni. In this age of three alliances, the great mages of the house have little interest in the ponderous work of politics that the archmagister title would necessitate. In truth Nelos, like all scholars, wishes to be left alone to accomplish his own studies.
Further complicating this is the reality that beneath the Telvanni Council proper a number of ad-hoc conclaves and assemblies form, regionally, as required. Nothing in the great house can be accomplished without furious debate, after all. And, if needs be, a bit of fire and brimstone to clarify any contentious points.
In short, the magisters are a dangerous, self-selecting nest of snakes that greatly enjoy their station and power. And, nominally, make ready to put forth a new leader should the need arise.
A nest of snakes, I might add, I have no interest in joining. Am I making myself plainly heard, Shelreni Baro?
Two Telvanni walk into a corner club. Are they allowed to stay, or do they get kicked out?
—Elsonso
The traditional answer to this joke inside the great house is “They stay. They buy the building, everyone inside, and work the loudest of the lot to death.” I think it’s rather quite funny.
It is something of an open secret that there are a great number of downright heretical members of House Telvanni who spurn the Tribunal. How does the house keep themselves from the ire of the Ordinators?
—AltmerGF
Heresy is in the eye of the beholder. Do you think the Master of Morrowind is kept awake at night by the thought members of House Telvanni do not worship at his feet? In truth, the Ordinators are welcome within Telvanni lands, as long as they are on official business. No one can truly know the mind of a god, not even one such as myself, but I believe the respect the great house has for the Tribunal is reciprocated.
Or, to borrow a phrase I heard from my groundskeeper the other day: We tend our stalks and they tend theirs.
Honor to your house, Ser. A week ago, I met a mage of your house from Sadrith Mora who rode one of the strangest beasts I've ever seen. It looked like a horse, those mammals from the west, but it was made from spores and fungi, and as much as that is puzzling itself, I'm curious why one would shape it after that instead of something belonging to our own great fauna such as guar, nix-ox or a silt hopper?
—Redoran Naver Avelas
One of the privileges of being Archmagister is that you need not explain yourself. I was in the room when Nelos himself outlined the specifications of this creature to his coterie of mycoturges–the best in Morrowind. Based on my limited knowledge of the Archmagister’s past, I would hazard he took a liking to the horse during one of his sojourns to Wayrest, Sentinel, or High Isle.
As an aside, I have never met a person who more enjoyed Twenty-Four Raven pie. His ability to dismantle a whole serving with merely his fingers and a fork speaks to an impressive understanding of transfiguration magics.
With Necrom being one of the holiest cities in Morrowind … where is the presence of Indoril said to closely be tied to the Temple and therefore Necrom? Has the land around Necrom always been Telvanni or has it passed hands over the centuries?
—Axmalexia
An excellent question, and an amusing name. We have already discussed the quixotic nature of political control in the region. I will not rehash that subject. But Necrom is a unique situation worth elaborating on. As part of the great House Telvanni’s choice to reject the Ebonheart Pact (a choice I was consulted on, naturally), the issue of Necrom was immediately dealt with.
Necrom has stood as the spiritual heart of regional ancestor worship since before the houses were formed. It has been claimed in campaign after campaign over the centuries, a worthy prize to any that could hold it. The Council understood that the new reality of House Telvanni’s extraterritoriality would not withstand the cultural need for my people to visit their honored dead. And so one of the first sessions arranged between the barristers of the Pact and the barristers of the great house was dedicated to Necrom’s nominal independence.
Necrom is held in trust by the Keepers of the Dead, the vigilant attendants to the city and the Necropolis beneath. Any who wish to honor their ancestors are welcome there: be they Indoril, Redoran, or otherwise. The great House Telvanni recognizes the important cultural significance of the city, and it’s with great pride that we ensure safe passage for any penitents seeking to reach the City of the Dead.
I know that Dunmer inter their remains in ancestral family tombs, or in a city of the dead like Necrom, where they can later be summoned to communicate with their descendants. But do non-Dunmer people who, say ... got married into a Dunmer House, be also afforded these privileges, and also communicate with their descendants even though they are not Dunmer themselves?
—Benessa Gibby
Ah. A progressive. As with so many things in the Ashlands, the answer to this question depends on where and when you ask it. Traditionally, smaller communities maintain a hard-and-fast rule against non-Dark Elves being interred within family crypts. Larger cities like Mournhold or Ebonheart are more open-minded, but even in those cosmopolitan communities you’re unlikely to find more than a handful of foreign names on the plaques beside a tomb. I’m unfamiliar with how the Keepers of the Dead feel about such arrangements. But having had the displeasure of speaking with one of their Curates, who had the imaginative function of a particularly slow-witted guar, my guess is they’re not thrilled.
I support whatever choice a venerated family might make, of course. I’d suggest asking ancestors directly what their opinion might be. After all, a prospective outlander addition to the family crypt is joining an august and revered congregation, one which might have strong feelings on the matter.
I am curious as to the Telvanni traditions and ceremonies of the remains of members of the house. Do they differ from the practices of the other houses? What is the Telvanni belief if the remains of their dead are not interred properly? Are the spirits of their dead able to move on if their remains are intentionally held away from said tombs? I’m just a curious, law-abiding Argonian.
—Not a Shadowscale.
How droll. I will be speaking tersely with University editors about the propriety and framing of these questions going forward.
The great house sits in a position of primacy regarding Dark Elf funerary traditions. Some elders within the house claim that their observances predate the Battle of Red Mountain, and in fact are a pure distillation of Chimeric ancestor worship with only slight adaptations for this modern era.
You need only look to the writings of Saint Vorys to see why House Telvanni understands that the proper veneration of the dead is a sacred charge.
"Justice is ephemeral. Duty is slavery. Trade and culture are ash in the bonfire of history. Binding yourself to these ephemeral concerns is false honor, false faith.
Those who came before us gave all that they were to carve a path with their bones and their blood. Our ancestors demand we rise above temporal concerns to take power in our grasp. And continue the long march of destiny.
Your prayers mean nothing. Your offerings mean nothing. It is the forceful expression of will that gives true honor to the Ancestors."
—Saint Vorys the Immolant
A bit direct for my liking. But you cannot deny the truth in his words.
There are a series of tomes mentioned to be in the vaults of the city of Necrom called the Indigo Scrolls. Is there anything you can share on the knowledge contained within these tomes?
—Benefactor
For centuries, knowledge that the Indigo Tomes even existed was a closely held secret. Their offhanded mention by that imbecile Tanion in his propagandist work of fiction has caused the Keepers of the Dead a small amount of grief, but as always the great house stands ready to assist Necrom with any security issues it might encounter.
I would have ignored this question entirely, but an apprentice I’m working with seeks veneration within the house by means of far-scrying divinatory magics. I thought it might prove an interesting challenge–I am a harsh master but a fair one, and their failure would have resulted in only a minor punishment.
Happily, they succeeded. I look forward to addressing your inquiry with a personal conversation. Please let this be a lesson that an unembellished pen name will not save you from House Telvanni.
If the original vvardvarks are collectively a failed result of a Telvanni experiment gone awry, what was the intended outcome? What chimeric disaster were they expecting to make?
—Zirili Fathryon
It is my understanding that Magister Varkenel was attempting to create a kind of domesticated predator. Initial trials were aimed at using Ashlands stock to transfigure something similar to the small felines found in households across the western part of the continent. Further experimentation would have increased its size and ferocity in an effort to create a novel kind of warbeast.
Varkenel’s failure is no doubt one of the most successful accidents in the history of the great house. The Archmagister at the time gave the doting father the honor of expanding his experimentation to allow for a proper breeding program. And of course to expand the vvardvark line with additional colorations and configurations. I believe they have even developed large-scale beasts suitable for acting as pack animals or riding mounts, though I’m unsure of where in the process that effort might be.
The Telvanni are known for their talented mages, and perhaps most powerful among them is Divayth Fyr, who is compared to the likes of Shalidor and Vanus Galerion. Do you know of any figures from my Breton race that I can look up to that measure up to their power and/or accomplishments, perhaps even within Great House Telvanni?
—Lady Allene Ashcroft
First and foremost, you have my compliments for choosing such an appreciative way to request this information, Lady Ashcroft. Your fellow question writers could have taken a page from your tome, contextualizing your true goals within the framework of charming obsequiousness.
The comparison to Arch-Mage Galerion is apt, but short-sighted. The Mages Guild is a halfway house for those with the mystical aptitude to slowly float a quill over a parchment, or light the lanterns in Wayrest with incantations a Dark Elf child masters before their tenth year. In short: lackwits. That a talent like Vanus Galerion has shackled himself to that sprawling edifice to mediocrity proves that wisdom is no requirement for arcane power.
Your touchstone to Shalidor is more complimentary, but still flawed. The master of the Labyrinthian ultimately fell victim to short-sighted sentimentality. I do share agreement with some of his older writings about the role of spellcasters in civilized society, however. He also has the dubious distinction of owing me more outstanding favors than half of House Telvanni combined. I will eventually come to collect, old man. Count on it.
You Bretons have a reputation for mystical aptitude, but I would argue that the cost of that success has been a lack of lasting impact on the greater magical community. I could find numerous instances of Mage So-And-So making a splash with war magics for a few decades, and then dying. Or a great divinator prognosticating portentous events, and then dying. Breton mages burn brightly but briefly, I suppose, a sad commentary on the lifespan your uncaring gods have gifted your people.
A gift, then, for you and the rest of your Covenant kin seeking validation in the wider world. Research Sage Voernet, a scholar of the First Era who has come down to you as little more than a footnote but was a keen and masterful manipulator of the magical arts in his time. The adventures and prominence of the man known to history as “Gyron Vardengroet” (that was not his true name) are vastly overblown by tale-telling, but speak to a powerful and wise Breton mage. And while I find the ethos of the druid cult to be pedestrian in the extreme, the Druid King Kasorayn was as powerful a spellweaver as any to be found in the Direnni culture his people fled from.
This will have to satisfy for now. Please direct any follow-up correspondence to the University in my care. Perhaps if you found this educational, another exchange might be possible again in the future.
If I can leave readers with a word of advice, it’s this: I have lived for thousands of years without melancholy or misanthropy because I have always found something to engage my keen mind. Find hobbies. Engage your faculties. Stay curious.
And never, ever cheat a Telvanni.
Thank you to the ESO community for providing such thought-provoking and varied questions concerning one of Morrowind’s most mysterious and sinister houses. If you have additional queries related to these powerful and ambitious mages, why not put them to the community in our official forums?
You can encounter House Telvanni for yourself in the Vvardenfell zone, in the dungeon Bal Sunnar, or in the Telvanni Peninsular when The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom launches in June. But be careful! Few guard their secrets so jealously as the sorcerers of the Telvanni! Finally, be sure to tell us if you’re excited to further deepen your knowledge of the great house via Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.
The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom arrives for PC/Mac on June 5, 2023, and for Xbox and PlayStation consoles on June 20, 2023. Pre-purchase Necrom now to receive unique bonus rewards at launch and immediate access to the Sadrith Mora Spore Steed mount and Sadrith Mora Spore Pony pet*. Don't miss out!
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