67: Sadrith Mora

I awoke early the next morning, despite the long and exhausting night. I had slept deeply and no dreams came, though the memories of the previous night were still clawing their way through my mind. Darkasha’s actions were frightening and unexpected, and I wasn’t sure if I could ever forgive him. Nevertheless, I had a mission to complete, and Darkasha would be a valuable asset. I forced myself to swallow my fear and revulsion as I began my search for him.

It was misty out, but otherwise a beautiful morning. The world obviously didn’t care about the battle that had taken place here, and it was merrily going on its way. It was infinitely refreshing. My heart was lightened by the general happiness of the world around me. Birds were singing and the river splashed and gurgled at the edge of hearing. It was as if it knew that Oblivion had been held back for once, and was rejoicing in its salvation.

I was awakened from my admiration of the world by a quiet thud slightly behind me. I spun to see the dark form of Darkasha standing a few steps away. He was heavily covered and guarded against the sun. I scowled briefly at him.

“I…” He began, but he struggled for words. “I am sorry for what I did last night. It was not like me.”

I raised an eyebrow but remained silent. He continued.

“It was the blood. The smell was all around and it was… intoxicating.” He narrowed his eyes in thought. “Also, I think the Daedric blood may have affected me somehow… made me more aggressive. It is a powerful taste, Daedric Blood.” He frowned, searching for appropriate words to say. He wanted me to understand.

And I did. “It’s alright.” I said, with a sigh. “People do stupid things when they’re drunk. It sounds like it was a similar situation you were in. I forgive you.” I truly felt sorry for him. He had lost control of himself and was clearly very ashamed. He nodded his head in thanks.

“Besides,” I said. “We have more work to do. The Nerevarine wants us to go to Sadrith Mora and recruit some of the Telvanni retainers to help his cause.”
“Heh, we have a snowball’s chance in Oblivion with that one.” Said Darkasha jovially.
“I agree,” I smiled, “but we have to try.”


It wasn’t hard to travel to Sadrith Mora, though we had to wake up the guild guide to teleport us. He had been napping in the transport room, confident that no one was going to want to travel to Gnisis.

“Uh,” He said, dazedly. “No one’s really supposed to leave here until Lord Nerevar gives the okay…”

“Yes I’m aware.” I said. “He gave us orders to travel to Sadrith Mora.”

He looked at me sleepily and then nodded. I hoped he could send us there in one piece, as tired as he looked. I cast a spell of restore fatigue on him and he perked up enough to get us through it.


We arrived safely in the tiny Mage’s Guild in Wolverine hall. It was a single room in which were crowded many scholars casting spells and doing experiments. Darkasha and I left them in peace, and heading straight into the main area of Sadrith Mora.
“Well,” Thought Telvana. “It certainly has grown since I was last here.”

It was a big city. I had heard from the Gnisis Guild Guide that the place had nearly doubled in size since the downfall of Dagoth Ur. There were small houses everywhere and many larger Inns and buildings near the center of Town. It was actually very surreal because all the buildings were carved out of a giant mushroom. The Mage Lord’s mushroom tower dominated the skyline, and it was from this that all the other buildings had originated. So when Telvana said it had grown, I knew he meant it literally.

“We really should get a look at the tower while were here. I’m curious to see how well they’ve maintained it.” I nodded and turned to Darkasha.

“I will try and speak with their Mage Lord. Why don’t you see what you can find out about their council?” He nodded and walked off towards a tavern. I made my way towards the tower, disregarding the streets and just walking straight for it. I walked up an ashen slope to find myself on the top of a hill overlooking the base of the tower. The base was in a deep crater and roots spread out in all directions away from the tower. I cast a spell of slowfall and jumped off the top of the hill into the crater. It was a long fall and I landed softly among the thick roots.

Telvana’s mind was racing; drawing in all that he could about the condition and structure of the tower. Occasionally he would have me touch things or cast unusual spells on them, and then give me little more explanation than an “hmm” or an “interesting.” All the time I worried about being attacked by a guard for spying on their secrets, but the crater was devoid of anyone but me. I mostly zoned out and did what Telvana asked me to do. I knew it was above my head.

Sometime later, after we were about three-fourths done with combing the root structure, Telvana gasped and I stopped. He told me to start digging beneath my feet. I remarked I didn’t have a shovel and he said “Good! You would damage it if you did!” So I began digging with my hands. After a short while I made contact with a buried object that had a similar texture as the roots, but it was small and spherical, rather than long and tubular. I dug out around it and pulled it out of the ground. It detached with a gentle popping sound and I began to examine it.

“Could it be?” Telvana said, excitedly. I rolled the object around in my hands. It was about the size of a small melon and had a tough outer covering. On one side was a small stem surrounded by tiny purple crystals.

“It is! I cannot believe it!” Thought Telvana. “Of course, it will need to be verified, and who knows how well it will survive… but this is big news!”

“What is it?” I said, though I had an idea.

“What?” Thought Telvana, apparently I had broken his train of thought. “Oh! This is a mushroom spore. Of course the Telvanni have hundreds of these in storage, but this one is different I think. Maybe this whole Oblivion Crisis has changed it somehow, or maybe it was an evolutionary inevitability…” He paused to think it over. The staff blazed in hundreds of scintillating colors. “If I am correct, this spore should be able to grow in any climate. Even in Cyrodiil.”

66: Bloody Field

“With all due respect,” I thought through to Nerevar, “How am I supposed to accomplish that? The Telvanni are famously stubborn and egotistical. They’re not going to leave their towers.”

“Traits they no doubt picked up from their illustrious namesake, eh?” the Nerevarine chuckled. “Perhaps I misguided you. All I am going to ask is that they send a few retainers to help with defense. Their Mages will greatly bolster our ranks. Nothing against the Mages’ guild, but the Telvanni have a greater focus on the practical uses of magic rather than the scholarly.”

“No offense taken.” I thought. “So what exactly are you planning?”

“Nothing complicated. Use the guild teleport from here in Gnisis to travel to Sadrith Mora. With any luck, the Telvanni council will be session there. Just get them to send a small force for the purposes of defense. We will not be assaulting Oblivion any time soon.”

“You will wait then?” Telvana thought, the staff glowing deeply in time with his words, “You will await your destruction rather than taking the battle to the enemy?”

“We will wait, yes. But I can only hope we can withstand the siege long enough for Will to finish his duty to the emperor. ‘Close shut the jaws of Oblivion?’ That is what he said isn’t it?” The Nerevarine’s eyes searched my face.

“Yes, he did say that, but… No, never mind. I’m sure you have your ways of knowing that.” I conceded.

“I’m glad you have learned that much at least.” Nerevar smiled triumphantly.

“So how do you propose he does that?” Thought Telvana impatiently.

“That is for him to discover. I do hope he knows what he’s doing, all of our lives are in his hands.” Nerevar’s tone was serious. “I will say that both of you will not find the answer here in Morrowind. In Sadrith Mora you will find a way to return to Cyrodiil. I have arranged that. I will see to the defenses of Red Mountain. Perhaps I will be able to assist you when I am confident in my people’s safety, but I cannot guarantee it.”

“What about Kael and Darkasha?” I thought. “I still have no idea what happened to Kael.”

“You will take the vampire with you when you depart for Sadrith Mora. See to it that he leaves my land. I will not destroy him, but I cannot stand his kind. As for Kael, I have confidence he will find his own way back.”

“I understand.” I said.

“It is good to know you are still… alive, Indel.” Nerevar’s voice echoed, “And you must accept that I am the reincarnation of Nerevar. Please.”

“Hmmph.” The staff buzzed resentfully. “I will entertain the possibility. But I won’t be happy about it.”

“I don’t care whether you’re happy or not. You have to accept it.” Nerevar said and then withdrew his mind from the connection. He handed the staff back to me and I felt Telvana return to my mind.

“N’wah.” Thought Telvana.



I took my leave of Nerevar and pushed through the crowd of commanders. They were still arguing, though they seemed to have lost some steam and had lowered their voices. Darkasha was my next priority, and I was glad to see he was helping clear the battlefield. In fact, he was the only one doing it. I approached to find him immersed in a grisly scene.

On this side of the city, the battle had been even more intense than on the side I had been at. Bodies of Daedra and Bonemold-clad Redorans were tangled together all across the field, and the whole place was beginning to reek even in the cool night air. Darkasha was wading through the place looting the corpses of both Daedra and Dunmer alike.

“Give the dead some respect.” I said, catching Darkasha’s attention. He didn’t even flinch.

“When you are as dead as these ones, you will know how little these fools care for their worldly trinkets.” He said, continuing his search. “Better someone closer to their state take care of these items than they fall into the hands of the living.”

“Leave them be!”

He snarled and turned on me. “Fool!” He pounced.

He knocked me backwards off my feet. “What do you know?” he said, pinning me to the muddy ground. It was not water that made the mud, but the blood of the fallen. I shivered in the cold slop. “Yes.” Darkasha hissed, “Do you feel that? It is the soup of the dead.” He reached out and took a handful of the bloody mud and raised it to his lips. “Mmm, delicious. It is a shame you have not experienced the taste of Daedric blood. Even watered down by the Redorans, it has a distinct flavor. A distinct effect.” I scowled at him. “You know nothing!” He spat in my face. “These dead care not! They’re dead! I will take what I please.

"Have you ever felt it? The embrace of death? No, of course not. Let me try to explain.” He bared his enormous teeth in my face. “It is a most unusual sensation.” He opened his fangs and then closed them, gently, on my neck. A shivering wave of revulsion exploded through my body. He began to laugh. His fangs scratched across the surface of my skin with every cruel laugh.


Finally, he released my neck. “Do you see now? All you thought about was death. So what do you think these corpses are thinking right now?” He stepped away to continue his pillaging.

My hands shot to my throat, feeling every inch of skin intently, searching for the slightest nick or puncture. Nothing. Not a single scratch. I sighed, relieved. I shivered once more and pulled myself into a crouched position. I conjured a handful of flames and warmed my hands and face briefly. Then I reached out and grasped the staff. Telvana rushed back into my mind.

“What happened? What’s going on? Why did he knock me out of your hands?” I opened my recent memory to him. “Oh.” He said.

I stood up and scraped some of the vile mud off of my robe. Another robe ruined. I chuckled grimly at the absurdity of it. I looked over to see Darkasha lift a limp Dremora into the air and then bite hungrily into its neck. It squealed and fell silent. I walked off towards the river to cleanse myself. Sadrith Mora could wait.

65: Reunion

“Yes,” I responded. “What’s so special about me?”

Telvana laughed. “That will have to wait. There are some things that cannot be explained without altering the future. You will learn in time.”

“Gods damnit, you know that’s not acceptable to me!” I raged.

“Yes.”

I fumed, but I could see there was no getting through to him. I closed my mind to his and pulled on a clean robe. The bile had washed off nicely, but the stink would remain until I could clean the robe properly. I finished and went to check on Artan. He was sitting at the main dining table eating an apple, and he looked at me questioningly.

“Hi.” I said.

“He-llo…” he said, strangely, as if he was readjusting to using his own lips. “Who is the man in the staff?”

I sighed. This wasn’t entirely unexpected, but still unwelcome. “Don’t worry about him. How are you feeling?”

“Alright. My head feels weird.”

“It’ll pass. Why don’t you go lie down.” I gently ordered him and he nodded. I guided him to a bed and he collapsed gratefully onto it. I left him there and exited the guild building. The Nerevarine must be around somewhere, and I needed to find him.

I emerged from the building to a procession of exhausted, battered soldiers. Many were wounded, but most had a smile of triumph on their faces. We had won.
I began searching through the soldiers for any sign of the Nerevarine, casting healing spells on all that I passed. Some of the soldiers grunted their thanks, but my mana could only go so far, and I didn’t want to attract a line of people asking for assistance. There were healers in the temple for that. Finally I found him.
The Nerevarine was surrounded by fully-armored commanders who were arguing and yelling at him. He was silent, and he calmly walked towards me. I stopped to let the group pass, but the Nerevarine signaled me to follow him. Without missing a step I was swept up in the group, and it seemed the only people not yelling were the Nerevarine and me. The group bustled hurriedly towards the command post at the top of the hill. The Nerevarine burst into the room and sat down at the massive desk occupying the center of the room. The commanders stood around the desk, arguing with each other about their next move, each one strategizing loudly to the others, banging on the desk to accentuate their points. Nerevar calmly unbuckled his left gauntlet and stretched his neck. He removed the heavy glove and threw it onto the desk with a thump. He briefly scratched his ear and then, silently, he raised his finger. The room was silent instantly. Moon-and-Star glowed brilliantly, and everyone’s eyes flicked from the ring to Nerevar’s ashen face.

“That will do.” He said. Then he pointed at the door. The commanders began to move out of the room, slowly and obediently. Something compelled me to stay. The door clicked shut after the last soldier had left the room and the commanders’ arguments were resumed outside.

“I am glad to see you have been reunited.” The Nerevarine spoke quietly, unbuckling the rest of his armor. “It would be a shame to lose Master Telvana permanently. May I?” He asked, stretching his hand towards me.

“Do it.” Thought Telvana.

I reluctantly laid the staff in Nerevar’s hands. I felt Telvana’s mind part with mine, though only partially. There was still a mental link that allowed me to communicate with them, both of them. I managed to get a glimpse at Nerevar’s mind. It was intensely complicated, and I was shook by the horrors he had seen. Luckily, he managed to shield himself from my intruding thoughts, and all I could hear was his communication with Telvana.

“Hello again, old friend.” Nerevar’s thoughts echoed slightly as they passed into my mind.

“Silence child,” spat the Dark One, “You are not Nerevar. You may be his incarnate, but that does not make you HIM.”

“Not all of us have the luxury of immortality, Indel. And this body may not be Nerevar, but this MIND is! By Azura’s grace I have been reborn, and I AM Nerevar.” The fury between the two danced viciously around my mind, and I was glad to be just a spectator.

“Nerevar died! And not just any death, he was killed by the very scimitar you hold at your side! Hopesfire and Trueflame do not simply kill, they tear a being’s soul apart. You know this! These blades are the only things in existence that can kill gods! You were destroyed. There is no other possibility.” Telvana sounded exasperated.

The Nerevarine became quiet. Then, “You know many things, Indel Telvana, but the machinations of the gods will forever escape your understanding. Do not let yourself be blinded by your own pride. By Azura’s Grace, I live. There is nothing else to say.” He paused for a moment. Telvana was silent. “Now, we have much work to do. The Daedra will be back, and Gnisis will no longer hold against them. We must evacuate to Red Mountain. In two days time, our forces will depart. Whats left of House Hlaalu are already there, soon the Redoran will join them. There we will stand against the tide of Daedra.” His thoughts shifted and were directed towards me, their echoed quality disappeared. “You however, will attempt something that has not been successfully done in ten years. Travel to Sadrith Mora, bring the Telvanni to Red Mountain, and reunite the Houses once again.” He said, smiling. His thoughts shifted and echoed again. “You’re going home again, Indel.”

64: "Any More Questions?"

“I’m glad you asked.” The Dark One’s voice rang through my head with full clarity, and it was almost comforting to have him back. “Suffice it to say, I lost control for a moment there. Things are much better now, thank you.” His voice was now irritatingly calm, and it took all the willpower I had to not explode with fury.
“Ok,” I said, grinding my teeth. I calmed down and just thought instead of speaking. “Ok. You’re going to explain now. Explain everything. Start at the beginning and go from there. I have time.” I pushed Artan’s shivering body off of me and walked into a room full of beds. I undid my satchel and dug around for a clean robe and some soap. A basin full of water would have to suffice for cleaning me off. “You may begin at anytime,” I said. “I’m waiting.”

The Dark One’s mind let out a sigh. “Very well,” he thought. “Perhaps I should begin with my birth.”

“I was born much earlier than you might have guessed. The first era of Tamriel, year 12. Oh yes, I am that old. My mother was Chimer, as was my father, though I never saw much of him. They were hard times. He was often out hunting Nix hounds or wild guar. We lived on the eastern coast of the main continent of Morrowind, near where Salen Vulgate is today. My parents were gifted sorcerers, especially for the time, and they taught me well. By the time I was 10 I had surpassed my mother and was nearly equal to my father in the mystic arts. He took me hunting often, and we ate quite well. Still, it just wasn’t enough for me. My skills reached a plateau as soon as my parents had taught me everything they knew, but I sought more. I left them when I was 15, with their blessing, and made my way to Vvardenfell. I spent a great deal of time there on my own, learning and increasing my skills. I lived in a cave most of the time, but I was able to get what I needed for my experiments from the surrounding countryside. I was more than a match for anything out there, and by the time I was 150 I had attracted a great deal of attention from mages across Morrowind. I took on several students as assistants, and I made great advances in magic. Mysticism is almost entirely my creation, and those magnificent towers the Telvanni live in are fruits of my labor. I grew my own tower, you see, and brought in many more students and retainers. Soon my first students were teaching a whole new generation of students, and my tower had grown hundreds of feet in the air. I took on many servants and housed them in my tower, but eventually I had to train the tower to grow out and create houses for students who wanted more privacy. The Dwemer weren’t too happy about my presence there, however, and I’m sorry to say that I may have had something to do with their breaking from the pact with Lord Nerevar. You see, Nerevar had come to me many times for advice as he struggled to unify the Chimer and the Dwemer, and I helped him as much as I could. He was a good kid, and I knew he would do great things. That bastard Kagrenac had to go and ruin everything.

“You see, I was not picky about who I taught. Chimer and Dwemer lived and studied together peacefully in my tower. In fact, it was there that Nerevar got the idea that unification could work. Anyway, Kagrenac was one of my students. He was good at what he did, though his specialty was in engineering, as all Dwemer. I took little interest in those studying in my tower by the time he came through, I was too busy in my own experiments and I let the other teachers take care of the students. But when I heard about Kagrenac’s tools, many years later, I was shocked. It was profane what he had created, and I advised Nerevar to demand they be destroyed. Of course, this helped widen the break between Lord Nerevar and the Dwemer King Dumac. The war was long and bloody, and I contributed my powers to Nerevar. I was there on Red Mountain when the whole thing went to hell. Kagrenac used the tools. How, I cannot say, but the Dwemer just started disappearing. Not all at once, but it didn’t take long. Most of them disappeared with little more than a flash, but some exploded quite violently. In any case, the battle was over, and we weren’t sure whether we had won or lost.

“Nerevar found the tools and brought them before his four greatest advisors. His wife, Almalexia, and the others. Vivec, Sotha Sil, and Dagoth Ur. They wanted to use the tools, but Nerevar wouldn’t hear of it. He was going to bring them to me to be destroyed. They betrayed him. The fetchers killed him in cold blood and took the tools for themselves. Naturally I tried to stop them, but by the time I had heard of it, they were already declaring themselves living gods. I fought them, but how could I fight gods, even as powerful as I was? It is their fault we Dunmer are as dark as we are. Azura’s curse destroyed the Chimer, and the Dunmer were born. The Tribunal was further betrayed by Dagoth Ur, but I was gone by then. I had given up on Vvardenfell and Morrowind. I abandoned my tower to my students and escaped before the Tribunal could hunt me down. My students were faithful though, and they carried on my teachings for millennia to come. They even named themselves after me. Indel Telvana is my name, and I am the father of House Telvanni. Of course it wasn’t easy to leave them behind, but I had to, for my own safety. The Tribunal never found me, but then they didn’t need to. They cursed me from afar, making my skin even blacker than before while reversing Azura’s curse on themselves. Since then I have wandered Nirn, looking for ways to increase my power even as it is sapped by old age. I found ways to restore myself, of course, and I’m happy to say I defeated death, though not without cost. My existence on this plane is very fragile, even moreso since my encounter with you.

“You were quite a specimen, you know that? In all my years of studying I have never met another like you. That is why I trapped you in that pocket dimension, though you made short work of escaping from that. You see, I have kept myself on this world by taking others off of it. Not by killing them, of course, but by sapping them of their energies. I learned quickly that if I did this on the mortal plane they would die very quickly, but if I removed them from Nirn entirely and took their energies, they could live quite a long time themselves. I collected many interesting and unique specimens over the millennia, and they were all quite safe before you came along. Now they are undoubtedly very scared, trapped in a dark void beyond my reach. I don’t plan on leaving them there, you know. I will get them back. In any case, you ruined everything. Now I cling to Nirn by the thinnest of threads, and the slightest bump from the Aetherius plane can quite make a mess out of things. Which brings me to what happened today.

“That little outburst you had out there was quite fortuitous, really. Saved your life and all that. But it really messed me up, as I’m sure you noticed. The force of the magic from that explosion blew me out of your body entirely. Out of the Staff even. I was knocked around like a butterfly in a hurricane, bouncing from body to body (most of which were dead Dremora, I’d just like to mention), until I found myself in the only living thing nearby. Initially I thought it was you, but to be honest there was too much space in that man’s head. He hasn’t seen a quarter of what you’ve seen in your life, and he was missing the distinguishing characteristic that made you so interesting to me in the first place. Still, I was stuck there, and I knew it wouldn’t hold me for long. It was roomier than your head, but not really built for two. So I spent a great deal of time trying to figure out how to get back to your head. In the meantime, you were out wrestling with my staff, which was desperately trying to find me. You see, all the time I’ve spent in this piece of metal has left sort of an imprint on it. It’s not sentient or even particularly intelligent, but it does have a mind of sorts. My mind. So when I suddenly disappeared it got rather upset and started looking for me. Like a stressed dog, it started shedding, but instead of shedding fur it was expelling particles of magic-hungry metal. That’s why it was so keen on the Nerevarine. He’s practically made of magic, and so it affected him rather strongly. You escaped from the worst of it because the staff was used to you. At least, that’s the best description I can come up with. I’m not quite sure what went on when you grabbed the staff, but it could have been trying to bring your mind into itself as a replacement for me. You seem to have reprimanded it well enough for it to stop shedding and pull itself together, quite literally. I was still stuck in Artan until I could propel myself onto you, and then I was quite surprised to find you weren’t carrying the staff. As I have said, your mind isn’t roomy enough for the both of us, and the staff carries most of my mentality. I’m glad you got your hands on it in time or you might have permanently damaged your brain. And now here we are.”

He seemed to breathe in for the first time during the story. Obviously he didn’t need to breathe, but it was a pause that had an air of relief. “Any more questions?”