An Overview of Modern Morrowind

Upon completing my time in Hammerfell I felt it best to move on to Morrowind. The land of the Dunmer has long been a tumultuous place, but the last 200 years have been particularly damaging. In respect to the trials of the ash-kissed elves, I find it appropriate to summarize the events and so I shall begin with this: The Nerevarine surfaced in 3E 427. Without entering the realm of theology, on which I am a mere novice, I will simply inform you that this resulted in a galvanizing of Dunmer society beyond a level they had been for a very long time. They were still largely fractured but it was a large change. It also meant a collapse of the Dark elf Tribunal religion with the death of two of their god-rulers and the disappearance of the third. The meteor that had been spectacularly suspended above the city of Vivec went into freefall due to the lack of Vivec the god keeping it suspended and after a short delay by some ingenious Dunmer, it struck the city with massive force. Many authorities on the subject argue that the force of this impact then was the cause of the eruption of Red Mountian. The collision of Baar Dau simply destroyed Vvardenfell’s largest city, the eruption of Red Mountain destroyed the entire island and even parts of mainland Morrowind. Almost, immediately following the eruption the Argonians invaded. After thousands of years of slavery they were not kind and decimated most if not all of southern Morrowind. The Dunmer suffered massive casualties and lost large chunks of land until a Redoran army managed to halt the march of the Argonians.

Politics: The politics of Morrowind were and still are dominated by the Great Houses of which there are five. The Council is now made up of Redoran, Telvanni, Dres, and Sadras. House Hlaalu, arguably the largest Empirical supporter, no longer is considered a Great House. The tumultuous Fourth Era has seen a rise in power of House Redoran, who hold the settlement of Raven Rock on Solstheim and gained great honor through holding off the Argonian invasion. They also hold one of the only profitable settlements in all of Morrowind. The bond between the Empire and Morrowind is largely economic as it has always been but now more so than ever. Your Highness will find a tentative friend in Morrowind. Not only are they reluctant to support outsiders but they also do not have much to offer. Matters should be brought to attention of the Council but Your Highness would be more efficient if he were to simply approach the heads of House Redoran with propositions as they hold a near monopoly on political power within the province. The cohesion of the Dunmer by the Nerevarine and the trials of the last 200 years have made politics in Morrowind far more harmonious then they used to be. Assasinations, power-grabs and borderline unlawfulness were the norm in Third Era Morrowind, but the need to rally together and the lack of extra capital have more or less relegated these practices to the backburner.

Economics: Morrowind was once a dominant economic power. Exports were sent around the continent and the lords of the Great Houses had capital to burn. Egg mining, beverage manufacturing, weapons, and many more industries once flourished here. The only truly profitable industry now is the ebony mining, which saw a set-back but has now begun to return to prominence. Redoran’s ownership of many of these mines has given them a powerful position in Morrowind’s economy and the capital of Morrowind has been moved from Mournhold to the Redoran city of Blacklight. The relative calm of the last 100 years has allowed some rebuilding of domestic markets and industries but not enough to warrant a foothold abroad. All of the considerable capital of the Great Houses has been put towards rebuilding efforts and so the province has been importing a huge amount of goods. As you know this has lead to a lucrative friendship with the East Empire Company. Port cities were the first to be rebuilt and even now are the most affluent places. Balmora, the large city near the southern coast of Vvardenfell has more or less come back due to its geographical position. Naturally other provinces and companies have benefitted greatly from the massive expenditure by the lords of Morrowind and growth seems to be steady and stable.

Concluding thoughts: I would suggest that Your Highness invest in Morrowind. After Cyrodiil it is historically the most powerful province and will recover eventually. Some money spent today can grant you powerful friends tomorrow. The houses have more or less collapsed but they too will come back. Elvish ancestry may intrigue the Aldmeri Dominion and so the Empire would be behooved to establish influence there before the Thalmor find a foothold. Aside from some investment I would urge Your Highness to allow Morrowind to heal its own wounds and keep Empirical intervention to a minimum. The Dunmer have always been a proud people but will respect actions such as this.