The Civil War of Solstheim: The Traitor vs. A Guardian

The island of Solstheim had been inhabited by the Atmorans since the ancient days of migration from the “Elder Wood.” Solstheim had served as place to refit ships and replenish supplies and naturally a growing permanent population grew on the island. These Atmorans brought with them their religion of animal totem worship, the foremost of these so called avatars being the dragons. Naturally the Dragon Cult under the guide of Alduin, the World Eater himself, came to dominate the island. By the Late Merethic Era, the proto-Nords had been thriving on the island under the rule of the dragon priests, who acted as an intermediary between men and the dragons they saw as gods. The dragons themselves would raise a prospective candidate to the position of dragon priest, they were to be obedient to a fault to the dragon gods and either ambitious or ruthless enough to make it this far up the hierarchy of the Cult. The priests served as the effective day to day rulers of the people’s affairs as the aloof dragons could hardly be bothered to do any of the actual administration. However in times of great crisis it was common for the dragons to play a direct role and circumvent the priests entirely. It was amongst this context that the island of Solstheim would see the first real schism between men and dragons and act as one of the many catalysts that would later culminate in the Dragon War.

After many stable years of rule on Solstheim, it came time for the naming of a new priest who would rule over the island and administer to the lower priests under their charge. The one they appointed was one called “Miraak” whose name meant “Allegiance Guide” in the common tongue. This priest had proved to be unnaturally talented in the thu’um and learned at a rate unseen by any of his contemporaries or even the dragons themselves. Thus Miraak was raised to the this station and he ruled over Solstheim for a number of years. However it seems that Miraak could not be satisfied with absolute rule over the island, nor the teachings of his dragon overlords. He either sought out the teachings of or was beguiled by the Atmoran demon of legend, Herma-Mora, the Woodland Man. Miraak was seduced by the allure of the forbidden knowledge that he could learn. One of the most powerful lessons taught to Miraak was the ability to bend the will of the dovah through use of the the thu’um. Unrealized to even himself at this time, Miraak was shown that he was the first and only being at the time who could devour the souls of the dragons themselves and capture their knowledge and power with it. Miraak’s gods would become his pathway to nearly unlimited ability. Now fully under the sway of Herma-Mora he began to plot his rebellion against his former masters. What Miraak’s ultimate plan was, or that of his new master were, none can now say. What was necessary was for Miraak to gain control of Solstheim from the Dragon Cult and for that, he needed an army.

Miraak began to arrange secret meetings with a lesser priest on the island, Zahkriisos. Zahkriisos himself was an accomplished warrior, his name meaning “Blood Sword.” He was also the ruler of a group of people who lived on western edge of the island called the Bloodskaal Clan. They were large in numbers and also very militaristic, having fought off the Snow Elves when their ancestors landed on the island for the first time. Despite his loyalty and impressive list of accomplishments, Zahkriisos had been passed up for leadership of Solstheim and remained only a lesser priest. It appears that the secrets of Herma-Mora that Miraak whispered in Zahkriisos’ ear eventually seduced him as well. The promise of a powerful seat at Miraak’s side when his plan came to fruition followed. Now Miraak had a strong force that would be able to help defend him and to aid in the conquest of territory.

Now while these secret treacherous meetings were taking place, in the eastern reaches of Solstheim, there was another people to be found, lead by a priest who would rise to a height he must have never imagined. “Vahlok” or the “Guardian” was dragon priest who was cut from a different cloth than his contemporaries on Solstheim or the mainland. Where treachery, ruthlessness and ambition ruled the fates of most priests, Vahlok was like the return of the Atmoran dragon priests of ancient times, wise, just and piously devoted to his dragon gods. His people, whose name has been lost to history, reflected the traits of their ruler as well. Being simple semi-nomadic hunters and gatherers, they were not engaged in constant tribal warfare like the Bloodskaal were. Devoted to the totem worship that prevaded through proto-Nordic society they sought to maintain a balance with the land, the flora and fauna itself. Some have theorized that this people were the forerunners of the modern day Skaal people who inhabit Solstheim to this day. Vahlok himself sought to protect his people and help maintain their way of life.

The tale of how Vahlok came to uncover Miraak’s treachery is not known to history, perhaps Miraak came to personally sway Vahlok as he had Zahkriisos, or the rumors of treachery compelled Vahlok to investigate his master. The stories of the Skaal would have you believe that the two then dueled on the spot for the fate of Solstheim. That would discount the sheer number of dragons that Miraak was able to devour, their remains still litter the center of the island. What occurred was that Vahlok’s blatant refusal or his investigation forced Miraak to accelerate his plans. He first began by betraying the dragons on the island, defeating them in combat and devouring their souls. Such an ability had never been witnessed by the dragons before, and no higher blasphemy could be imagined by the devotee’s of the Dragon Cult.

As Miraak’s power grew, he began to openly challenge any dragon strong enough to oppose him, the prideful dragons on the island could not let this go unpunished, yet nearly all fell before the First Dragonborn and were lost. Simultaneously, the Bloodskaal under Zahkriisos began a war of conquest and slaughter against the northern tribes on the island in the Moesring Mountains and Vahlok’s people in the eastern forests. It was during this time that the northern tribes expelled their own dragon priest who had secretly been in league with Miraak, he was stripped of his position, branded “Dukaan” or Dishonor and he fled the northern glaciers to join with his new master. Thus Miraak gained another of his Acolyte priests. The loyal factions to the Dragon Cult began to reel under relentless onslaughts by the Bloodskaal and Zahkriisos who was giving no quarter to any captured prisoners. Miraak himself was not often seen but when he was, he usually turned the tide of battle in an instant, his Bend Will thu’um not being limited to only dragons, but to mortals and even the land itself. The remaining dragons fled to mainland Skyrim for fear of the same fate as their brothers.

Word of the civil war and Miraak’s abilities eventually reached Bromjunnar, the captial of the Dragon Cult, where the matter was debated by the inner circle of eight highest ranking priests in the Cult. With the news of dragons literally being devoured by this traitor, Alduin and Paarthurnax were reluctant to investigate themselves or to send any of their fellow dovah to do so. It was decided that a response by the joore, mortals, would be the answer. However, this was endlessly argued by the priests on who should have the privilege of being the one to bring back Miraak’s head on a pike.

Back on Solstheim, Vahlok and his people were suffering defeat after defeat and were being forced into the north eastern corner of the island. Try as they could, their guerrilla tactics simply were not enough to stem the advance of the Bloodskaal who were laying waste to the hinterland and any villages they encountered. The northern tribes were able to hold out longer but only due to the climate on the northern glaciers and relentless snow showers. The situation worsened for the Cultists when word reached them that the legendary enchanter and dragon priest Ahzidal had been cast out of the Cult on the mainland for having dealings with Herma-Mora and had fled to Solstheim to join Miraak. This completed the triumvirate of Acolyte Priest's that Miraak had at his call. The thought of one so powerful in the art of enchanting and the fame Ahzidal’s aid in the Return, brought the shadow of doom even closer to the loyalists. With morale dropping and the prospect of being encircled looming, Vahlok was running out of options. It was during this time of utter crisis that a messenger arrived on Solstheim, a dragon had come and was ordered to take Vahlok back to Skyrim for an audience with none other than Alduin. Vahlok feared that he was going to be made an example of for allowing this rebellion to succeed as much as it had to this point.

Arriving in Bromjunnar Vahlok could not have been pleased to find nearly the entire hierarchy of the Cult waiting for him, along with numerous dovah including Alduin, Paarthurnax and Odahviing. Much to Vahlok’s surprise he was not to be executed on the spot in front of all. Instead he was to be raised to the position of “Konahrik” the famed “Warlord.” This was a position that was only used in cases of grave danger or emergency to the Cult. A Konahrik could be elected by the eight highest ranking priests whose masks were needed to unlock the golden mask from its resting place, or very rarely the dragons themselves would personally name a Warlord. It was the latter that was occurring, and much to the chagrin of the highest ranking priests, this unknown priest from the backwater of Solstheim was named Konahrik in front of all. Vahlok was tasked with bringing the rebellion to heel, defeating Miraak and reestablishing the rule of the Dragon Cult on the island.

Returning to Solstheim with his new title and loyalist reinforcements from the mainland, Vahlok sought to break away Miraak’s supporters, leaving him isolated and vulnerable. He also sought to unite the separate Cult factions that had been separated during the initial surprise attack by the rebels. To gain the support of the northern tribes Vahlok decided to target the forces under Dukaan’s command and regain control of the Moesring Mountains for a vantage point and superior defensive position. Vahlok lead his forces down towards the southern ice flows hoping to catch Dukaan and his men unaware who were also on the move after a successful battle. Unfortunately for both sides a snow storm arrived in the late afternoon and both sides became lost as they tried to relocate to a defensive position. It was during this confusion that the rebels and Cultists ran head long into each other, and in the middle of the storm, began hostilities. Both sides charged into each other and clashed in the knee deep snow attempting to rout the other. Dukaan and Vahlok personally did battle with one another, exchanging arcane magic and the thu’um in an attempt to batter down the others defenses. Finally Vahlok, through superior and more disciplined knowledge of the Voice, wounded Dukaan severally and dealt him a fatal blow with his own longsword. After seeing their leader fall the rebels routed and and fled to the south to join the main force of the Bloodskaal. Dukaan it’s said, is to have been retrieved by his loyal servants and laid to rest somewhere in northern Solstheim. Vahlok now had the loyalty of the northern tribes to combine with his own people and the reinforcements from Skyrim. The time had come to separate Zahkriisos and the Bloodskaal from Miraak.

Vahlok, with control of the north, now sought to drive a wedge between the center of the island that Miraak dominated, and isolate Zahkriisos with his tribe along the western shore. Launching a furious attack down through the passes that lead to the southern forests, the Cultists hoped to reach the water's edge and pin down the Bloodskaal. Zahkriisos rallied every single man at his disposal and prepared to break out of the encirclement and join Miraak at his temple in the center of the island. Vahlok prepared his men for the advance and decreed that they give up no ground and no quarter to be shown towards these traitors. True to his name Zahkriisos marched onto the field wielding the great broadsword of his ancestors, the Bloodskaal Blade and ordered his hoard forward.

As the rebel force smashed into the Cultist’s thin lines the battle seemed to be going in favor of the former. Vahlok and his men steeled themselves against ever increasing attacks that threatened to break through at any moment. The fighting raged all afternoon as the Cultist’s ranks buckled but never broke, the Bloodskaal attacks left them too exhausted to fully puncture the lines. With the fading light Zahkriisos personally lead his ranks forward in a final daring attempt to break the lines. It was during this doomed attempt that a hail of arrows brought Zahkriisos low and he was hurriedly dragged of the field of battle by his servants. With their leader gone the Bloodskaal still fought on doggedly into the night hoping to stave off utter defeat, but to no avail. Vahlok and his men eventually began an advance of their own, ultimately routing the fatigued rebels. They fled in terror knowing that to be caught was to be made example of in the most brutal fashion, many chose to take their own lives than suffer in such a way. By the morning the last pockets of Bloodskal had been hunted down, the few prisoners that were taken were flogged and then skinned alive. Zahkriisos would eventually perish from his wounds and be buried in a hidden barrow of his people, his servants knowing full well that the Cultists would not allow something as trivial as death to stand in the way of their revenge. Vahlok declared on the spot of his victory that the Bloodskaal were to be purged from every record and history, that such heretics and traitors should be lost to the sands of time, with no one to mourn their loss.

As Vahlok had been cutting off the Bloodskaal from Miraak on the western side of the island, simultaneously one of his lieutenants was doing the same work on Vahlok’s left flank against Ahzidal and his forces. The fighting had been bitter as Ahzidal attempted to relieve Zahkriisos and to outflank the loyalists forces under the Konahrik’s command. The Cultists had been able to pivot enough men to meet this new attack that no sudden rout occurred but slow grind of battle eventually bloodied both sides until they hung by a thread. After Zahkriisos was wounded and dragged away from the battle the rebel forces lost contact with each other as the Vahlok and his lieutenant’s forces worked to separate them to divide and conquer. By early nightfall Ahzidal had seen the writing on the wall and gathered up his own servants to flee the battle. They retreated to Kolbjorn Barrow where using his powerful enchantments, Ahzidal locked himself away underground. Despite the Cultists best efforts, they could not pierce the incantations and left the Embittered Destroyer to his self made fate.

With all of Miraak’s allies dealt with, the time had finally come to confront the traitor himself. Vahlok carefully arrayed his forces around the center of the island so that nothing could escape. The arrogant Miraak made no moves to escape, but instead issued a challenge to the Konahrik of the Dragon Cult. A duel to the death for the fate of Solstheim was offered, Vahlok accepted and marched alone up the hill to the temple that Miraak had now made his own with perverted architecture and foul spells not of this world. Both men met on the slopes in front of the temple. Miraak mocked the Dragon Cult, calling the dragons pretenders to divinity they did not posses and their philosophy of strength and truth had been shattered by a mere mortal, himself. Vahlok damned the traitor for his blasphemy refusing to call Miraak by his name. Curses he laid upon Miraak, his former mentor, Vahlok then drew breath and summoned the power of the thu’um.

For three ceaseless days the two combatants fought, using their arcane magics, the Voice and their own blades. Nearly equally matched the two exchanged blow for blow, spell for spell in a horrific attempt to kill the other. The Cultist forces camped below the Temple recalled that during the day it sounded as though the sky would crack open, and at night the hilltop and forests burned as dazzling light played off the snow. It is said that Miraak attempted to bend Vahlok’s will to his own, but was thwarted, the Warlord’s will and spirit were unswayed. Vahlok is said to have been aided by the golden mask wore as part of his station. It is said that the priests of old who had been named Konahrik in ancient times would come to aid he who bore it. Vahlok’s wards were also able to block even the most insidious spells that had been taught to Miraak by Herma-Mora. However in the end the contest came down not to accumulated magical lore or superior swordsmanship but to the invoking of the thu’um. Miraak had become haughty from the ease of which he had learned the various Shouts, his dragon blood allowing him to grasp even the most esoteric of concepts with little effort. He learned no discipline and thus his overconfidence betrayed him. Vahlok had himself spent years of study and tutorage to learn the Words of Power, meditating on their meanings and coming to fully grasp their abstractions. It was this self discipline and mental fortitude that would eventually deliver the contest to Vahlok. At their utmost limit of endurance and sufferance, Miraak’s will failed him and he collapsed. Left to the mercy of Vahlok, the Guardian, now named Warlord, he prepared to deliver the final blow. To his dismay, the moment was not to be his, the demon Herma-Mora appeared and spirited Miraak away, saving his doomed champion.

Vahlok was robbed of his final victory but could now declare Solstheim was once again under the rule of the Dragon Cult. His forces then stormed the temple, ransacking and looting their spoils of war. The dragons returned to the island and in their wrath razed Miraak’s temple to its very foundations. Vahlok was summoned back to Bromjunaar and received a war hero’s welcome every step of the way. In the capital the hierarchy of the Cult reconveyed as Alduin welcomed his newest champion. Vahlok then laid down the title of Konahrik and returned the golden mask to it’s resting place. The dragons hold up Vahlok as a paragon loyalty and nobility and reward him for his service to the Cult. He is given the position of ruler of Solstheim with the right to appoint his own lesser priests. A thu’um, crafted specifically for Vahlok commemorates his ability to inspire his followers to the greatest acts of valor. Amongst all the praise, Vahlok was made to swear an oath of vigilance against the return of the Traitor. He would be nicknamed “the Jailor” by his people who saw his as a sentinel against the forces of Herma-Mora. Vahlok declared himself that he would never again wear the mask of a dragon priest, a self imposed punishment for his perceived failure to kill Miraak.

Despite this Alduin declared Vahlok an inspiration to both men and dovah and sent him back to Solstheim with his blessing. The rule of Vahlok over Solstheim was one of peace and plenty for the people of the island. He administered with wisdom and dealt out justice fittingly. Never forgetting the oath of vigilance he took, he was quick to root out any dealings with the demon Herma-Mora and dealt with those responsible with a finality that was total. When the ancient Nord chroniclers claim that Solstheim was literally broken off from Skyrim proper it could be that this hyperbole is being misinterpreted. The rule of the Dragon Cult remained strong under Vahlok, but even under his rule the focus of the dragons would shift away from the island to Skyrim itself. Solstheim itself became more self sufficient and as a result started to separate culturally from their brethren on the mainland. Perhaps what is meant by the ancient bards is that the duel between Miraak and Vahlok facilitated the means by which Solstheim itself would become separate from Skyrim it terms of economics and culture. Upon Vahlok’s death, the people mourned his loss bitterly but built him a barrow of fitting stature to the man. It is said that even in the afterlife Vahlok remains vigilant against the return of the Traitor.

Back in Skyrim, Alduin became more paranoid as thoughts of another individual with Miraak’s abilities might arise and insight rebellion against the Cult on the mainland. He ordered his priests to crush any form of disobedience with violence, to ensure the loyalty of the people. What this did was to put the already taxed Nords under greater strain as the tyrannical actions of the mainland priest’s reached new heights. Resentment and malcontent would fester under the surface of Nordic society until it would burst forth in the Dragon War. Vahlok himself would be spared seeing his beloved Cult overthrown by his own kind, he would perish a few short years before the outbreak of the war. His location on Solstheim most likely saved him from demonization by the rebellions Nords for propaganda purposes. To this day the story of the Guardian is still passed down by oral tradition, reminding the people of Solstheim that to this day they remained under a protective vigil.