Correspondence Between Refugees: On the Oblivion Crisis and the Void Nights

(My first non-comment post here. Had a thought about The Void Nights, despite searching for other opinions on the search function to little result, and thoughts for an in universe look at The Oblivion Crisis I'm surprised I haven't seen in game. Ended up dressing it up the other night in character.)

One of many letters sent between the historian Gilse of the former great house Hlaalu and an unnamed Altmer acquaintance. The letters have been collected together and reprinted so as to shed light on Altmer viewpoints that do not conform to the propaganda pouring out from Alinor.

Gilse, my disdain for this country grows again by the day. The weather is nothing a competent sorcerer such as myself can’t handle. The typical mannish ignorance of the magical arts is also nothing knew; I did not live as some neonate cloistered in the Isles, if only by necessity. Their mistrust of me, both for merely being mer and because I seem to them of the Thalmor? Laughable, let it grow into fear so that at least it can be manipulated. But these nords and their obsessions with kennings will be the death of my sanity, one I’m sure you of all people have become familiar with. Yes, Harold Bloody-Axe, we understand, you’re good at hitting things repeatedly. I’ve seen dremora with more wit and a sharper tongue. I may not always agree with you, natural considering your Velothi descent, but I am glad we can speak and that you have more mind then these fools, regardless of the hurdles I must leap so as to protect myself from being discovered in this wasteland.

As for your mention of Lathenil, he was a fool. I suppose I am sad that he met his fate, but that was simply his own fault. He published under his own name, no wonder they found him. If I was to hazard a guess he let his guilt over the defense of Crystal-Like-Law cloud his judgement. Perhaps he expected death would hold redemption, or that his writings would make up for it all. A fool’s logic. Still, you’re right, his words have their uses and I of all people can respect a voice dissenting against those bastards in Alinor. He is commendable in calling out the lies of the Thalmor, their many false claims. But to insist that it was the Empire, that Martin Septim stopped the hordes of daedra? A tale told by frightened citizens of the Imperial City in the wake of an invasion that left their last Septim heir missing.

What do we know happened for a fact? The missing heir, Martin Septim, participated in the battle with his body never found. That there were reports of a fiery dragon, often reported as “Akatosh” or an avatar thereof. The Amulet of Kings is reported to have been shattered during this, or at the least has not surfaced since the incident. The Temple of the One, house of the Dragonfires so prominent in Imperial tradition, would hold a statue of the draconic figure, many claiming it to have appeared after the incident. I suppose to be complete I should mention the participation of the Hero of Kvatch as well. These are our facts. I could dispute endlessly about many of the assumptions made based on these, but I have only so much ink to write with. Rather, let me posit a few simple questions: why do we assume Martin’s disappearance and the draconic figure must be connected? Why do assume the Amulet of Kings is destroyed when it is known to vanish for centuries at a time? And say all of it is true, why are we attributing to Martin the deeds of Akatosh, of the great Auriel? If the dragon was an avator of him, is it not he that saved Tamriel? Why then do we credit the Thalmor, or Martin and the Empire? Why for all we know the Hero of Kvatch who also vanished afterwards could’ve made the sacrifice to be the avatar! We know little of them, who’s to say they weren’t the one with dragon’s blood and Martin was not some figurehead dragged into a war?

As well there is one more thing I wanted to mention. The Void Nights. We know perilously little of what happened. That the khajiit, a people so in tune with the moon, would take the Thalmor at their word has swayed more than a few people over to the belief that they were involved as they claim, as well as the suspicious foretelling of the return. Certainly no one else is taking credit for bringing them back. The mystery of what kept them away is rarely questioned anymore, also due to the Thalmor and fear of them. I’m not a believer in coincidence, and in this case it would seem literally “the popular notion of God kills happenstance.” That is to say, you’ve heard of the Moons as fragments of Lorkhan theory, one which holds some measure of credence I find. Certainly the Thalmor higher ups have, and they take Padomaic matters quite serious. So why would Thalmor want to bring back the moons, the bodies of their oldest enemy, greater than even Talos? To this I against put forth a question, what if their goal wasn’t to bring back Jode and Jone, but to remove them from the equation? If they saw their plan failing, that despite their efforts the moons were returning, it is no stretch that they’d turn such a loss into a political victory as they have with so much else.

I have couched too many of my thoughts in questions, like some old psijic. Still, they work well in evoking responses from you. I await your thoughts as always, a pleasant interruption to the tedium of my life among these dull nords.

                                                                 -S.