The Clan of Blood: Bloodskal Barrow and Zahkriisos

Imperial Scholar Lucius Flavius

After arranging passage from Windhelm to Solstheim, we arrived on the island several months ago. Initially we intended to lay low here in Raven Rock, hoping that the Thalmor wouldn’t overtly or secretly enter into a Dunmer colony. However we are still men of academia and it wasn’t long before we amassed a collection of lore about Solstheim. We decided to make use of our time on the island and started to research possible sites we could explore. The Dragon Cult also controlled Solstheim during the Merethic Era and we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to further our knowledge of the ancient Nords. The locals of Raven Rock were quick to point out that the ebony mine on the northern edge of town opened up to a Nordic ruin, after securing permission from a generous Councilor Morvayn we proceeded into the mine.

Apparently a conspiracy of sorts was recently brought to light regarding this mine. The East Empire Company that founded Raven Rock had closed the mine early in the Fourth Era citing a tunnel collapse and the fact that the ebony had simply dried up. The mine remained closed until a short time ago when it was discovered that no tunnel had collapsed but that the mine had opened up into a ancient Nordic ruin, after one of the East Empire Companys best miners was killed here, they simply closed down the mine. Now new ebony deposits have been found and prosperity has returned to Raven Rock, we are here to document this ruin that was discovered. At the bottom of the mine we found the door that had been locked for so many years and it did indeed connect straight into a Nordic barrow. The fact that this was a barrow was self evident, the first chamber we entered contained the usual design of the ancient Nords where bodies were placed into niches carved into the wall. We noted a large amount of vegetation that had grown here in the barrow, possibly due to the amount of standing water in certain chambers. We came upon another room that caused us to pause in amazement. A massive iron grate covered a hole in the floor whose end we could not see in the dim light. Lined along this circle were coffins. The same formed was followed when we turned our eyes upward. Coffins lined the circles by the hundreds. It is impossible to tell how many are buried in this room alone, and we were determined to figure out why so many were interred here.

As we proceeded we found much more standing water and forcing our way through a doorway that was partially flooded we found the source; a large canal emptied straight into the barrow itself. The chamber was also quite immense and appeared to contain three levels, a walkway ran right through the middle of the room above the running water and another lit by candles above even that. We wound our way around the side chambers trying to find our way up, the ancients who built this place certainly didn’t make it easy. It was as if they were protecting something deeper in. Eventually we found ourselves on the the raised path we had seen earlier and proceeded up a flight of stairs, but the door was lead to nowhere. We backtracked slightly and found smaller passageway carved out of the rock barely large enough for us to pass through. It was fortunate the going was slow or one of us might have taken a nasty fall. The tunnel abruptly ended and opened up into a large room, but there was a drop of about ten feet between us and the ground floor. We finally found use for the rope we had brought with us on every expedition and soon we were all exploring this chamber.

We found the remains of Gratian Caerellius, whose death had prompted the East Empire Company to close the mine, it appears that he and his assistant found themselves trapped in this very chamber and both perished of their wounds inflicted by the draugr defending the door. Apparently they could not figure out how to open the door that now open to us. Gratian's journal indicated that a specific sword needed to be used in a particular way to open the door. We found the sword nearby, a large two handed weapon that was awash in a crimson color. This was the Bloodskal Blade as indicated by the journal. When one of our numbers attempted to swing the blade a red glow flew from the blade that impacted the wall with force. We determined that using the blade in different ways was the key to opening the door and we took it with us as we proceeded.

The next hallway was heavily booby trapped with swinging blades that could have cut a man in two. We knew now beyond a shadow of a doubt there was something to protect at the end of this barrow, what other reasons was there for these contraptions or the elaborate ritual needed to open the door? The answer came as we entered the last room, which was quite unlike anything we have encountered before. A middle platform extended out into the middle of the room and was surrounded by water, on the sides were stairs that ran down into the water. The far side contained a unexpected surprise, a word wall. This room hadn’t given up all of its secrets yet, lying in front of the wall was familiar to us but unforeseen, a set of armor, ash, and a mask. A mask of a dragon priest.

The mask itself appears to have been forged of ebony and yet it is dullish grey in appearance. It was quite unlike any of the masks we had gathered from Skyrim. This mask had more ridges and the eyes were more pronounced and instead of a mouth, the bottom half almost appeared to resemble tentacles. I have determined its name to be “Zahkriisos” which translates literally as “Sword Blood.” This probably translates more sensibly to “Bloody Sword.” The enchantment on the mask was one that would increase the potency of shock spells while shielding the wearer from the same. We have determined this ruin to be Bloodskal Barrow. The Bloodskal were a famous Nordic clan that lived on Solstheim in the Merethic Era. Given the name of the priest, the mask, and the barrow he was located in, it seems an obvious conclusion that Zahkriisos was a member of the Bloodskal clan. Now we are still trying to figure out how these priests differed from those on the mainland of Skyrim. Hopefully through more exploration and research we will have the answer.

Here once stood Miraak who (unknown) His (unknown) as armor shield by (unknown) for his eternal loyalty

This is the translation from the word wall and it offers only more questions than answers about this barrow and the priest buried here. The wall mentions a “Miraak” whose name I have translated to mean “Allegiance Guide.” Was he another dragon priest? It is hard to tell for certain given so little information. Yet if this Miraak was a priest, he may have held a higher status than Zahkriisos, or had lived earlier and was simply being memorialized with this wall.

Our last discovery before leaving the barrow was a disturbing one. What we found was altogether different...seemingly not of this world. A large black book was sitting upon a pedestal in front of the staircase we needed to use to exit. It was ominous and there seemed to be a danger around it. Whatever it is it is clearly not of the Dragon Cult, which begs several questions, what is it, and why is it here in a Nordic barrow built during the time of the dragons. Perhaps against our better judgement we took it with us anyway to discover what this book was, or what it contained. That said we are fearful to open it, something in my mind was screaming a warning: do not read it.