Telvanni Separatists - 8B. Walls

Entry Nine - 13th of Second Seed, 4E 210

“I awake in the early hours of the morning. The Redoran’s Pride is still at sea.

The quartermaster says that we are nearing the end of the Inner Sea and will soon head due east to the Telvanni Isles.

Talvas has already departed. I wish his endeavours are met with success, though I am inclined to exercise caution: whatever Neloth intends to do with a greater heart stone cannot be in the best interest of anyone other than himself.

Stepping onto the deck, I notice the distant island of Sadrith Mora from behind the ship. As the remaining capital of House Telvanni, it would have been interesting to see its current condition. I should remain vigilant on my return to the mainland.

*

Hours pass and I begin to see the Isles on the horizon. The three islands appear oddly tall and square; formidable, even.

The humming of Red Mountain eventually falls to a level that I am used to, but the ash clouds barely dissipate. I am told that, though the winds often run east, the ash is thick and difficult to penetrate. It is why large ships struggle to travel to the Isles head-on, and why the cost of getting me there was so substantial.

*

I see now why they say the Telvanni Isles were well-fortified, and why they appear so tall: great stone walls surround the islands as far as the eye can see.

The walls show their age, displaying the old Telvanni architectural style of the Second Era, a prominent building style used before fungal towers became favoured.

They are worn down; some are even cracked, but none are totally destroyed. The damage was no doubt a result of the Argonian invasion.

Not unlike anything the Telvanni construct, the walls are taller than practically necessary. They are ultimately more so an expression of power. I suspect that this is why the Houses now residing here have not bothered to repair the damage.

*

The Redoran’s Pride anchors in the eastern docks of the main island. I depart from the ship with my mages and two of Councillor Morvayn’s Redoran guards.

When the Scales of Sithis invaded, the Telvanni destroyed most of the docks along the coasts to slow the Argonians down. The few docks now present in the Isles are either ones constructed by the Argonians or by the other Houses. They look as out of place in the Isles as the other Houses do.

I traverse the docks, followed by my compatriots and the creaking of planks beneath the feet.

I climb the steps up to the huge, open gates before me. Even the tallest of Dunmer are but insects against the ominous walls.

I step inside.

*

Though the skies retain their yellowy-grey colour, the low-lying ash clears, denied access by the walls themselves. Never before have I witnessed such clarity in the airs of Morrowind.

Despite this clarity, no welcoming impression lies on this side of the gates. The sounds of the docks fall to a whisper almost immediately, and the hum of Red Mountain is as faint as ever.

It is midday, yet a great darkness hangs over the island. I sense the awe in my speechless companions.

The walls travel far, bringing to mind nothing remotely worldly. Even the old ruined stone towers and the newer fungal towers obscure the horizon almost completely.

They say Telvanni land is as alien to the other Houses as Morrowind is to the lesser races. I see no reason to disagree.

Redoran settlements litter the ground. Their heights barely reach the doors of the Telvanni towers - though such towers are few and far between, their size creates an illusion that would imply the opposite.

*

As I take to a winding path, I notice a giant in the distance: Tel Midrith, the largest fungal tower ever grown by the Telvanni, and the tallest organic structure in all of Morrowind. Even from miles away, it is the size of a hand at arm’s length. I expect that Tel Mithryn is merely a fraction of its size.

It is in the shadows of Tel Midrith that I will find Port Telvannis, and it is there that I must begin my search.

I have three days to fill in the gaps of the Separatists’ legacy, and to discover why Neloth wanted to keep their legitimacy a secret. By understanding these fundamental elements in my investigation, I will be ever closer to discovering why the Separatists disbanded all those years ago.”

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