The Year of Skydeath

Penned by Sir Rivalen Mothril, Knight, East Empire Company.

Since this chapter deals with an epoch already generously dealt with in other historical and biographical work, it will not be an extensive one. But it is an important one in linking into the next chapter of this work. Further history of the events dealt with in this chapter, can be read in any of Attrebus Mede’s biographies or in a number of tomes regarding the phenomena of Umbriel, the Floating City, that are assuredly available in the Imperial University.

The last chapter of this work ended with the submission of the Grand Council to Titus Mede I, after a long and hard fought siege at the Morrowind’s capital, Blacklight, which was resultant of Morrowind’s Armistice Party calling for an intervention by the Empire. Despite the resultant supremacy of the Armistice Party in Morrowind, and the victorious Titus Mede returning once more a conqueror, all was not well. Many Nord legionnaires were angry that they had not gotten the chance to further avenge themselves on the ancestral foes of their people, and that the Legion had been denied the right to sack Blacklight. Despite Titus Mede beggaring the Grand Council to pay his legions, Nords in the Old Holds would count this as one more affront by the Empire and the Dunmer against them.

Yet for all that Mede had lingering enemies in Nibenay, that the Old Holds smoldered with resentment, the year 4E 43 dawned with Titus Mede’s prestige as high as it ever had been. He had humbled princes in both eastern and western Tamriel. He also had a son and heir who was rapidly emerging as a folk hero to the people of the Empire. This was not his illegitimate son, Antigonus, the hero of the Valenwood Uprising, but Attrebus Mede, who later sat upon the Ruby Throne as Emperor and who at this time was about to face what he later called, his great test.

4E 20-43 – The Rise of Prince Attrebus

Prince Attrebus Mede was the eldest son of Titus Mede I and Empress Kintyra Umbranox, the half Altmeri daughter of Count Corvus Umbranox, who had gotten her on an Altmer lady of Anvil in one of his youthful ‘misadventures’. She was sister to the Umbranox heir Darius, who met his death in 4E 16, at the Battle of Brina Cross at the hand of the up and coming Colovian strongman, Titus Mede of Skingrad. We might sympathize with Empress Kintyra, since after the battle she was put in the somewhat unenviable position of marrying her brother’s killer. It seems, given the later success of the marriage, that Empress Kintyra had, from an early age, more than a healthy dose of the traditional Colovian martial values and familial duty.

At any rate, Attrebus grew up as one might expect any prince of the Third Empire might expect to do. He was trained in arms (though by his own admission and others he was a poor student) and in more courtly pursuits such as diplomacy and statecraft (fields in which he later proved adept). He also learned to speak the tongues of Skyrim, Morrowind and a limited degree of Aldmeri. However, as he was trained, for some reason that still confuses historians to this day, Attrebus was portrayed to the people as, and allowed to believe, that he was a prodigy amongst men, and a knight amongst knights. It is unknown why this grand deception occurred; theories range from rational, blaming Nibenese interests playing the ‘long game’ the better to destabilize the Mede Dynasty and Colovian rule, to the bizarre, explaining the situation as personal contempt for his son on the part of Titus Mede I. Though the reason for this isn’t known, the effects are. Prince Attrebus emerged as a folk hero to the Empire, but was privately considered a laughing stock amongst those in possession of highest security clearances and the leadership of the legion. It also created a lasting resentment of Attrebus in the prince’s brother, Antigonus, who was in fact a great soldier.

Prince Attrebus had made a number of important appearances in his preordained role as the people’s hero. He had several times made excursions against what were described as “entire armies” of bandits in outlying parts of Cyrodiil – later Attrebus admitted these were contrived shows for the morale of Cyrodiil, though he insisted that he was unaware of it at the time. In 4E 37, he had also made his first appearance with the Legion, during his father’s victorious Siege of Blacklight. Much was made of this appearance, and at one point, in a “great battle” near the Redoran town Cormaris View, it was claimed he had single-handedly preserved the Emperor’s line of communication to Skyrim. Again however, Attrebus later admitted that he was sent to Cormaris View to fight starving prisoners from Windhelm and Winterhold in Redoran Guard outfits. The Prince was also present when the Grand Council made its obeisance to the Emperor, and himself received oaths of fealty from Morrowind’s luminaries who were “humbled” before him.

It is unsurprising then, that by 4E 43, he had been well and truly established as the darling of Cyrodiil.

4E 43 – The Year of Skydeath

In First Seed of 4E 43, despite a certain preoccupation with Thalmor incited violence in the Iliac Bay Kingdoms, including the fallout an infamously brutal massacre in the streets of Sentinel (later called the Night of Green Fire), the agents of the Penitus Oculatus in Nibenay and in Morrowind began hearing rumors of something appearing over the Southeastern Padomaic Ocean, southeast of Black Marsh. These rumors came largely from ship captains claiming to have sighted a bizarre anomaly floating over the ocean, moving at a steady pace toward the city of Lilmoth, the principal outlet for foreign trade in Black Marsh.

Though at that time, the anomaly was not identified as anything but a large floating monolith, it was later identified as Umbriel, a fragment of the realm of the Daedric Prince Clavicus Vile, containing a city populated by any number of beings formed from souls stolen by Clavicus Vile over many centuries. Additionally, the realm was controlled by the powerful Daedric entity known as Umbra, which was an entity which generally manifested throughout history as a malevolent blade of near mythic power. The entity Umbra was allegedly not a true Daedra, but was formed from a fragment of the power of Clavicus Vile, and later gained sentience and became an entity unto itself.

Umbriel, or as the anomaly was called by contemporaries, the floating city, made steady pace toward Black Marsh. It arrived over Lilmoth by the start of Rain’s Hand. The effect of Umbriel’s arrival was cataclysmic. Forewarned of the city’s approach and almost certainly apprised of Umbriel’s power, the ruling An-Xileel party and a number of traditionally minded Argonians withdrew into the deepest swamps, toward Blackrose. Everyone else in the city was killed almost immediately when the city came within a short range of Lilmoth, and then, almost immediately, raised from the dead. The dead then formed a column which marched hither and thither at the whim of the Daedric power Umbra. It seems that, based on the testimony of Attrebus Mede, who received his information from agents of the Penitus Oculatus, that the city was summoned during some unholy Hist-worship ritual conducted by the An-Xileel, with the aid of the Emperor’s chancellor, Hierem. For what purpose the An-Xileel summoning may have occurred was, at the time, unclear, but would later become a harshly contended matter.

On the other hand, it seems that the goal of Umbra itself was to reclaim the sword in order to destroy it, thereby freeing itself from the blade, or use it against Clavicus Vile and free itself from the control and influence of Vile or, possibly both. At any event, the floating city began to make steady and inexorable pace northward toward Morrowind. Imperial Intelligence has never been able to paint a very accurate picture of what went on in the Black Marsh, but it seems that intelligence resources were able to give a quite rough idea of the progress of Umbriel as it moved north. The growing mass of Argonian undead servitors was joined by other, mostly swamp dwelling reptilian, dead. The Argonians soon stopped attempting to militarily oppose the horde, and resorted to guerilla tactics against the undead.

After Lilmoth, the floating city headed, it is believed, to Archon, which was subjected to another outright slaughter. Then, the city broke almost due north, through the depths of Black Marsh. Helstrom was entirely evacuated in time for the arrival of the undead, but Stormhold, which had only just recovered from its sack during the Accession War, was thoroughly ravaged.

When the walking dead reached the Morrowind Border, having crossed the Dreslands, the old holdings of the Great House Dres, they were intercepted by Imperial Legion Foresters, who broke before them, withdrawing to Narsis, just north of the Argonian lands, and rapidly evacuating that entire city’s population toward Mournhold. Old Ebonheart was not so lucky, however, and not all of its inhabitants were able to evacuate before Umbriel’s advance.

By this point, the Imperial government was well aware of the risk the city posed, and it had begun mustering an army. And this was well, since the city, once it reached Scathing Bay, turned southwest toward the Imperial City, allegedly to utilize the arcane potential of the White Gold Tower to break the bonds between Clavicus Vile and the entity Umbra.

The floating city made its way across the Valus, past Kragenmoor, which was hurriedly evacuated and to Cheydinhal, which was assaulted by the undead army of Umbriel. Cheydinhal’s lauded Knights of the Thorn managed to break through the undead lines and evacuate many, but only at considerable cost. The Knights quickly joined up with the Imperial Legion, which, under the command of the lauded general Takar, a forebear warrior of renown and one of Titus Mede’s most trusted commanders, were advancing to the eastern edge of Lake Rumare. The Emperor had deployed some of his most effective units, including some of the Orcish legions he had first levied in his rise to the throne. It was by the eastern shore of Lake Rumare that a vicious, bloody clash occurred in which the legion and a grand, formidably equipped contingent of battlemages from both the Synod and College of Whispers assaulted the city, attempting to levitate to the city to bring it down or banish it from Nirn.

The attempt to defeat the relentless power of Umbriel unfolded in spectacular fashion.

Because of the tremendous arcane power unleashed by the finest mages in the Empire, what happened next is not entirely clear. When the dust settled from the battle on the edge of Rumare, the committed legions were mostly intact, though in full retreat, but the city was gone. In a great celebration held for the people of the Empire, the Emperor praised Takar and the legion for holding off the undead horde and informed the people of the Imperial City that it had been the shadowy agents of the Penitus Oculatus, that had brought down the floating city from within, directing the Mages of the College of Whispers and the Synod to conduct a massive banishment, while the agents of the Penitus Oculatus slew the lords of Umbriel.

Attrebus Mede noted that the Emperor Titus was initially inclined to acclaim the young Prince as the hero. But the Prince stubbornly refused to be granted any honors for his deeds. Moreover, whenever asked about this, he claimed that he had merely accompanied, as little more than a spectator, the heroic Penitus Oculatus agents, chief amongst them, a Colovian and a Dunmer, who had indeed brought down the city, but he steadfastly refused to openly name them. The Penitus Oculatus commented that this nameless service was a true reflection on the purpose of their office.

AFTER 4E 43 – Effects of the Year of Skydeath

Despite its poetic name, the Year of Skydeath did not even last a full year. In many parts of Tamriel I have been able to visit, such as Solstheim and Skyrim, the Year of Skydeath was regarded as merely an exaggeration or even no more than a flight of fancy by mad Orc legionnaires fallen too deep into their cups or simply the melodramatic rambling of “Imperial Milkdrinkers”. It is scarcely noticed in the pages of history in the provinces that were not directly affected by the cataclysm. However, while it ought to be noted that Skyrim is a very insular province, especially compared to Cyrodiil, the lack of awareness of such a cataclysm is something of a sign of the alienation of the provinces from one another from the time of the Septims. And it must be acknowledged that, to the people of Morrowind and of Cyrodiil, the Year of Skydeath was a true catastrophe. In Black Marsh, it was even worse.

The first major effect noticed within the Empire, of the Year of Skydeath, that ought to be mentioned was the effect Umbriel had on the lives of the people of the East. As the city caused as it moved through Morrowind and Cyrodiil. Thousands of people across Nibenay and in Morrowind were killed by both the magic of the floating city and the undead. Even greater numbers were displaced from their homes, fleeing in the face of the relentless undead horde. Cheydinhal was subjected to a sacking and large numbers of settled Nibenese folk were forced to flee westward. Large numbers of Ashlanders and Orcs, the main inhabitants of the Valus were forced to flee their mountain fastnesses.

One more curious occurrence was the forced exile of two whole tribes of Valus dwelling Ashlanders that came fleeing across their mountains into Nibenay, hardly stopping their flight until they reached Leyawiin. They surely presented a bizarre sight for the Nibenese commoners who watched the Velothi move their yurts, guars, silt striders and all their folk, south through the Niben Valley.

Valeria, a caravan merchant from the city of Bruma later wrote in a letter to the Black Horse Courier,

“Such a sight as I had never seen, met my eyes as I made my usual trip down the eastern bank of the Niben to Leyawiin. There was word of a strange Daedric phenomena moving through Morrowind, but we didn’t know if it were coming to Nibenay or not. I surely knew these were strange times indeed when, as I crested a hill, and approached the mouth of the Panther, I came upon a most unusual sight. Yurts set up beside the Niben, Elves moving hurriedly amongst them, all in a mad frenzy, creatures I learned were named guars, moving about, and a quartet of what looked like gigantic sixty foot tall beetles, wading through the muddy mouth of the Panther. When I found them, they were harassing a beautiful grey lass about being a weakling “outland elf”. The Ash dwellers aren’t always fond of Noble Dunmer and Cyrod Dunmer. They were suspicious of me too, like a lot of the Dark Elves are, but when I told ‘em I had goods to trade, they was more welcoming then. They told me their tale and I could scarce believe my ears. Being a charitable type, I took the ashen lass with me to Leyawiin, not wanting have it said I left an abused and friendless lady on the roadside. O’ course, like any Dunmer, she weren’t happy I made her look helpless in front of Ashlanders, but it turned out that lass later forgave me, and became my wife.”

One of the rare positive effects of the passage of Umbriel was the vast reduction in the level of banditry around Cheydinhal and Bruma, which had previously been rife, since the fear of the undead horde was so great, many bandits simply fled alongside other honest townsfolk (though there are still many accounts of banditry occurring as refugees fled).

Another effect of the crisis was a strengthening of the influence of the Penitus Oculatus. The Imperial Spectres utilized all their newfound credibility to gain new power and influence at court. However, the tradeoff of this arrangement was that the people of Cyrodiil became far more aware of the existence of the Penitus Oculatus as an organization; where before, they had been merely shadows or rumors dismissed in hushed whispers, people now knew of the Penitus Oculatus and understood their power. It also gave the Penitus Oculatus a wider recruiting base, as the actions of these newly forged heroes were lauded by the people. However, there was one group which did in fact speak out against the new pedestal on which the Spectres had been placed; this was the Vigilant of Stendarr, who had already been aware of the existence of the Oculatus, but had never trusted them. The Vigilant had already suspected the Spectres of some horrible form of magical malpractice, now that the Penitus Oculatus had been lauded as the destroyers of Umbriel, this merely heightened the call from the Vigil to have the Oculatus torn open and exposed to the tender ministrations of Stendarr’s mad fanatics. Of course, this could never happen, as it would weaken the integrity of the empire’s nonsectarian policy and set a dangerous precedent. Nor did it occur. But over time, it did create a powerful divide in Cyrodiil.

Additionally, in Morrowind, one of the more significant effects that emerged was a significant strengthening of the call for war with Black Marsh, and a call for both reclamation of the Dreslands, and making good on the long nourished desire for vengeance that many Dunmer had suppressed on the orders of Grand Council and Emperor. When it came to light that the floating city had been summoned by none other than the An-Xileel, the effect in Morrowind was powerful. Previously, the people of Morrowind had begun to heal from the effects of the An-Xileel invasion. The desire of House Dres’ enemies, such as the Chapel, to see the slave masters remain weak meant that the An-Xileel rule of Tear had become acknowledged in Morrowind as something of a fait accompli, even if it was never to be accepted by the Dunmer commons, being held as too much a stain on their collective honor. But when intelligence about the origins of the floating city emerged, specifically that its origins lay in the An-Xileel, the council in Blacklight erupted into calls for war. This building pressure was to draw Titus Mede and his armies, once more into eastern affairs, but the most significant effects were still to come.

Additionally, resultant of the Umbriel crisis, Attrebus Mede met his lifelong companion, Annaig Hoinart. Hoinart, a Breton born in Black Marsh, had allegedly been held captive on Umbriel and had aided the prince’s escape when he had traveled to the city with his Penitus Oculatus companions. She was to become an important fixture in Cyrodiilic court life in the coming years.

Chapter Conclusion

But for all the aftereffects that have been listed in this volume, the floating city had first arrived in Black Marsh, and some (mostly Dunmer) said it had originated, in Black Marsh. It was there, both in the marshes and also from these marshes of Argonia that some of the most significant aftereffects of the floating city’s arrival on Tamriel were to resonate. The next chapter shall deal both with some of the earlier history of Black Marsh and also with the fallout of the Year of Skydeath, or as it is called, in Black Marsh, the Lilmoth Cataclysm.