Ash-Skinned and Ill-Favoured

The Dunmer (“Dark”, “gloomy” or “ill-fated people”), or Dark Elves in the human provinces (In both cases, Dark may refer to more than just “dark-skinned”, as the other translations seem to fit Dunmeri culture and history well), are the ash-skinned elves of the eastern province of Morrowind. These elves are noted for their unnerving appearance, and their long history of violence, and, in the past, for their strange religion.

As all elves, the Dunmer have pointed ears, a respected longevity, a slender and agile build, and a strong affinity to magic. Unlike most other elves, they focus on the use of the destruction school of magic, which fits their culture and society well. Possibly because of this focus, they have developed noteworthy resistance to fire. They also have the ability to call upon their ancestors protection, in the form of a magical shield or a spirit that helps during combat. This is a result of their ancestor worship. Alongside the standard elven traits, they differ in their red eye colour, and their bluish-gray skin tone, which is often seen as eerie by men who see a Dark Elf for the first time. Their physical appearance is part of a curse, laid upon them by the Daedric prince Azura.

The Dunmer find their origin in the Chimer (Changed Ones) and, ultimately, the Aldmer. As mentioned in the volume on the Aldmer, the Aldmeri culture eventually disbanded. One of the groups that split and went to settle modern day Morrowind, were the Chimer, led by Saint Veloth. One of the main reasons of the split lay in the Daedra worship, advocated by the Chimer, which was met by dismay of the Aldmer. When the Chimer landed in Morrowind, they found their distant cousins the Dwemer (Deep Ones, referring to their underground cities) had already settled the land. The next few millennia were filled with conflict with the Dwemer and the Nords of Skyrim. Eventually, during the first era, the Dunmer, led by the legendary hero-king Indoril Nerevar (later Saint Nerevar), and the Dwemer, led by Dumac dwarf-king, decided to unite, both to bring peace to their people, and to drive the Nords from the newly declared land of Resdayn. This unity is known as the First Council, and brought prosperity to both people. However, after some time past, the Chimer started the war of the First Council, after Voryn Dagoth, high councillor of House Dagoth, learned that the Dwemer were feeding of the Heart of Lorkhan, an artefact of the et’Ada punished by the Aedra, to power a weapon to destroy the Chimer. At the height of the war, now general Indoril Nerevar, and trusted friend Voryn Dagoth, stormed the Red Mountain, where the Heart was, and fought themselves into the Heart chamber. There, Chief Tonal Architect Kagrenac used his tools on the heart. What exactly happened, and if it was on purpose, is unknown, yet all Dwemer, both in Resdayn and in the rest of Tamriel, disappeared without a trace. Just after the disappearance, Dagoth urged the destruction of the Heart and the tools, so that no one could temper with such power. Nerevar, wanting to council his advisors first, trusted Dagoth with protecting the tools. According to the Tribunal, after he counselled his advisors, the later Tribunal of Almalexia, Sotha Sil and Vivec, and the Daedra Azura, he returned with the Tribunal to Red Mountain, to tell Dagoth that the tools were to be kept safe, but never used. Dagoth, however, now calling himself Dagoth Ur, refused to give them back, as he had been experimenting with the tools and the Heart, and had been corrupted by it. A battle ensued, which saw the supposed death of Dagoth Ur and the mortally wounding of Indoril Nerevar.

The Ashlanders hold a different tradition. According to them Nerevar was murdered by the Tribunal, who faked summoning Azura. After the murder, Azura appeared to curse the Chimer, changing them into the Dunmer they are now. The Tribunal went up and in Red Mountain to kill Dagoth Ur. The Tribunal, now alone with the Heart and the tools, used them to get their immortality, and instituted themselves as the new gods of the Dunmer. After some years of studying their newly-found powers, the Tribunal found the way to regain their original, Chimeri appearance, with Almalexia appearing completely Chimer, Vivec having one side golden golden, one side Blueish-black, and Sotha Sil rumoured to be completely Dunmeri, as he doesn’t care much for his appearance.

Culturally, the Dunmer are noted for their violent culture. Most Dark Elves are gifted fighters and destruction mages, and Morrowind was the only province under the Empire were a assassin’s guild was legal, the Morag Tong. When a Morag Tong assassin kills someone as part of his contract and is caught, he only has to show his writ of execution to be left alone. Furthermore, the Dunmer show a hatred towards outsiders, and often calling them names.

Originally, the Dunmer worshipped three “good” Daedra, Azura, Mephala, and Boethiah, and despised four others, known as the “four corners of The House of Troubles”, Sheogorath, Mehrunes Dagon, Malcath, and Molag Bal. After the war of the First Council, this was changed to the Tribunal worship, where, instead of the three good Daedra, the Dunmer worshipped their living gods, Vivec, Almalexia and Sotha Sil. This also saw the institution of a Saint system, where old heros as Veloth and Nerevar were worshipped. They kept the House of Troubles, though. The Tribunal has never been accepted by the Ashlander Tribes of Vvardenfell, who retained the original Daedra and ancestor worship. After the death of the Tribunal at the hands of the Nerevarine, the reincarnation of Indoril Nerevar, the Dunmer went back to their original Daedra worship.

The politics of the Dunmer are significantly different from the rest of Tamriel. Since the Dunmer were never really conquered by the Empire, instead having a treaty which allows them to retain their own laws and structures (which also makes the existence of the Morag Tong possible, along with the slave trade), politics in Morrowind are divided in five Great Houses, which share resemblance to a clan structure. The Houses are Hlaalu, Redoran, Dres, Telvanni and Indoril. House Hlaalu is a House of opportunists. While they held the best contacts with the Empire and were noted for their openness (having the most a non-Dunmer councillor), they are also partially in charge of the Morag Tong, which is strongly anti-Empire. Most Hlaalu members get their fortune from trading. House Redoran is more traditionally. They didn’t despise the Empire, but weren’t ready to serve it either. Redoran members are noted for being extremely honourable, and some of the best soldiers and fighters of Morrowind. If Redoran is traditional, than House Dres is extremely conservative. Dres has always resented the Empire, and accepting the Tribunal is most likely their most progressive move they’ve ever made. Dres is also the house of the slavers, since their territory is near the border with Argonia (Argonians being popular slaves). House Telvanni is a very xenophobic house, even for Dark Elven standards. They have always resented the Empire, along with all other Houses and Institutions. The Telvanni have almost no history of working together. Instead, the mages of Telvanni are known to be very individual, almost always concerning themselves just with their own research and progress. The last House, Indoril, is the most religious one, and possibly the most important, house of Morrowind. Since their capital, Mournhold, was both the seat of power of the king of Morrowind and Almalexia of the Tribunal, the Indoril have always been strongly present all around Morrowind. Since Almelexia took a liking towards the Indoril, they have been gaurds of the Temples throughout Morowind. After the death of the Tribunal, the Indoril have been somewhat disoriented.

After the Battle of Red Mountain, which concluded the War of the First Council, there have been some historically interesting things to note. There had been multiple skirmishes with both the Alessian Empire (the last year of which is detailed in the book series 2920) and the Septim Empire. Morrowind was the only province not conquered, as the Tribunal struck a deal with the Empire: they were allowed to keep their laws and customs. In turn, Morrowind would pay taxes to the empire, and Tiber Septim got control of Numidium, a Dwemer war machine found under Red Mountain. Tiber Septim would later use it to take the other provinces. At the end of the third era, the Nerevarine surfaced on Vvardenfell. After being proclaimed Hortator by the Houses Telvanni, Hlaalu, and Redoran, and Nerevarine by the Ashlander Tribes, he climbed the Red Mountain and destroyed both Dagoth Ur ( being kept on Nirn by the Heart of Lorkhan) and the Heart itself, destroying the immortality of the Tribunal. This led to the end of the Tribunal religion, and the Dark Elves went back to their old Daedra worship. With the death of the Tribunal, the pilgrims stopped coming to the temples. This led to the moonlet Baar Dau, which was stopped by Vivec and made into the Ministry of Truth, to crash into the land with all it’s original force, since the only thing keeping it in the air was the levitation potions, which were offered by the many pilgrims. This caused Red Mountain to erupt, destroying Vvardenfell and parts of Morrowind. The Dark Elves, weakened and surprised, were then attacked by the Argonians of Argonia, who were told by the Hist to wait for the comet strike. This was the end of Morrowind. The Dunmer were either killed, or scattered across Tamriel, most notably to the island Solstheim, to the north of Vvardenfell. Skyrim, who had been at war with Morrowind for centuries over the island, resigned their claim of the island, so that the Dunmer could find refuge there.