Numidium and the Battle of Red Mountain as a Competitive Reverse Mantling of Creation and Convention

Let’s see if I can do this. I noticed something about the sequence of events leading up to, and as a consequence of, the events at Red Mountain.

First off, Both the Chimer (the Tribunal) and the Nords knew about the Dwemer and the Heart only because Dagoth Ur informed them of it. We have no records of how the Dwemer came across it in the first place. The usual assumption, of course, is that they just stumbled across it during their usual subterranean construction activities. But I find myself considering a second possibility.

There are records associating House Dagoth with all three major parties at the Battle of Red Mountain. He fought alongside Nerevar but then slew him after Nerevar returned with the Tribunal. No, he fought alongside Nerevar but fought against the Tribunal after they murdered Nerevar. No, he was a general alongside Wulfharth fighting for Shor/Lorhkhan on the side of the Nords and Orcs. No, House Dagoth was allied with the other “secular House” Dwemer, and their Nordic/Orcish mercenary allies. He is associated with all three. He is also documented as having incited both the Tribunal and the Nords to be present at Red Mountain. In the absence of documentation to the contrary, it becomes possible that Dagoth was also behind the Dwemer role in the Battle of Red Mountain.

Why would I bother to assume this? Because it creates an interesting possibility. We have a picture of Dagoth Ur going from party to party, implanting the idea that lead to the events at Red Mountain. This mirrors a similar narrative about Lorkhan, going from spirit to spirit suggesting the idea that ultimately lead to Creation.

If you assume that only one of Dagoth Ur’s narratives is true, he can be said to have convinced them (either the Chimer or the Nords) to go to Red Mountain, and the same would be true if he played a similar role in the instigation of the Numidium project. If you assume all three are true (that he was playing both sides, or even all three sides), his role becomes assuredly deceptive in nature. This mirrors Lorkhan’s role in his multiple narratives, being described as either a visionary or a vile deceiver, depending on what stories you believe.

So then we get to the “Secret Song” version of the Battle at Red Mountain. In this, Dagoth Ur fights for Lorkhan, who temporarily retrieves his heart, but has it removed in a fashion similar to the way it was removed in the first place. In this, Dumac, Nerevar, and Alandro Sul together mantle Trinimac, defeating Lorkhan again, freeing up the heart. But the only reason they were there in the first place was because Dagoth Ur convinced them to be there (in at least the case of Nerevar and Alandro Sul… and I will propose that he also had a role in bringing Dumac there, as well).

Lorkhan loses his heart for all time, but Dagoth Ur, having successfully mantled Lorkhan, can now assuming ownership of the Heart. This explains how he was able to attune to the heart without the aid of the tools.

I will now speculate as to the role Dagoth Ur played with regard to the Dwemer.

The Dwemer were supposedly studying the process by which the Divine wills itself into the profane, attempting to develop a means by which the process could be reversed. I propose that the Numidium Project was the result of this study. If this was purely the result of Dwemer work, this tells us little. But if Dagoth Ur was the one to propose this idea in the first place (thus giving substance to the association between “secular Houses” Dwemer and Dagoth), it creates an incredibly intriguing possibility.

Dagoth Ur proposes the Numidium project (Lorkhan proposes Creation). Kragenac and his followers do the primary design work on the project (Magnus is the architect behind creation), but at the last minute, due to the progress of the Battle of Red Mountain (which Dagoth set up himself), disappears along with his followers (Magnus and the Magna-Ge leave creation in response to Lorkhan’s betrayal). Dagoth Ur, afterward, incorporates the Heart into his being (Lorkhan has the heart removed from his being). That last pair are opposites, because the new story at Red Mountain is the reverse of the old story of Creation, the Dwemer seeking to cause the profane to will itself into the divine.

Now, the Tribunal also manage to use the Heart to achieve divine power… but as can be seen during the events of Morrowind (the game), their stolen power is not equal to Dagoth Ur’s “rightful” possession of the Heart. The Tribunal are pretenders; Dagoth Ur has mantled divinity properly. But Vivec is clever. He figures out what has happened (his observation of Tiber Septim may have provided the clue), and so cleverly positions himself in the right part of the story.

He knows Azura intends to return Nerevar to them, to punish them for their iniquity ages past. But even as Azura manipulates the Nerevarine toward her chosen destiny, Vivec turns the Nerevarine’s destiny just so. By aiding the Nerevarine, sending him to deprive Dagoth Ur of his heart by Vivec’s authority, he mantles Auri-El, sending Trinimac forth to do the same. As such, Dagoth Ur is defeated… but Vivec is not. Vivec instead ascends, just as Auri-El did all those ages ago, having mantled Auri-El. He becomes immune to Azura’s vengeance, and assumes a legitimate form of divinity.

tl;dr: The Numidium Project and the resulting Battle of Red Mountain was the reverse of Creation and Convention, with Dagoth Ur playing the role of Lorkhan, Kragenac playing the role of Magnus, Dumac/Nerevar/Alandro Sul playing the role of a sort of reverse Trinimac, but then Vivec turned it right back around, playing the role of Auri-El and sending the Nerevarine forth to play the role of Trinimac, once again.

EDIT: Accidentally said “Lorkhan” where I meant “Dagoth Ur”. Jumped the gun a bit.