The Blessed Crucible, a History of Fire and Blood

By Sanarel, ex-champion of the Blessed Crucible

In celebration of my eight-hundredth birthday (why did you force upon me such an unnaturally long lifespan, Trinimac?) I've decided to write a book. Not that anyone other than myself will ever take note of my birthday or the book that I write, but I though that it would be a fun thing to do. Of course, the book will be about the Blessed Crucible. I would never even consider writing about anything else (I've been trapped in here for over six-hundred years after all). I think that I will discourse the Crucible's history in this book. Yes, that is what I will do. A special emphasis shall be put on the early history of the Crucible. Yes, then I won't have to write about myself! I should stop writing down ideas and just get to writing the book, shouldn't I? Now where did I put that old empty book that I was going to write in? Oh, it seems like I have been writing all of this text in it. Well, nevermind. I guess that I'll include this text in my book, it's not like anyone other than the brutish fools in here will ever get their hands on it anyways. I'll just begin writing on the next page like so...

All of those who read these words will likely be very familiar with the modern day Blessed Crucible, as you have probably spent most of your lives in here. I do however believe that most of you are not as familiar with the early history of the Blessed Crucible. I am sure that you have all heard the name "Mashul", but do you know wat it was? I can and will tell you all about the Crucible's history, in which I played a part in myself (no, I will not mention that part in this book).

The Blessed Crucible was originally a Chimeri shrine to Boethiah, where devout Chimer would fight against eachother to the death to gain Boethiah's favour. It was founded sometime in the mid-Merethic Era, and the Chimer named the location Ghar-Molag. The Chimer shrine was not long lived, however, as the Atmorans had destryed much of the temple and killed all Chimer in it by the end of the Merethic Era. Sometime during the First Era the Mashul Orc clan built a stronghold on top of the ruins of Ghar-Molag, and they repurposed the ancient temple's halls and transformed Boethiah's old shrine into a temple devoted to Malacath. The chief of the Mashul clan had to defeat any rivals in combat in the deepest halls of Ghar-Molag if he wanted to keep his position as clan chief. A chief who refused to do so would immediately be exiled from the clan. The chiefs of clan Mashul were also known to wear the "Brimstone Crown" (something that you have all heard of), which they claimed was a gift from Malacath to the founder of the Mashul clan, Bashgar gro-Mazurbeg. Duels and gladiatorial battles are known to have taken place in Mashul Stronghold as early as 1E 2370, but it wasn't until 1E 2631 that those who were not part of clan Mashul were allowed to participate.

In time the location of Ghar-Molag became less and less of an Orc stronghold, and more and more of a fighting arena. In 1E 2823 the Mashul clan no longer controlled what had come to be called the Blessed Crucible. After managing to defeat every fighter in the Blessed Crucible the Nord mage Aleris the Shrouded pronounced herself champion of the Blessed Crucible, and placed the Brimstone Crown (which at the time was considred a sacred relic that should only be carried by a true champion of Malacath). Aleris held the title of champion for over forty years before she was defeated by a Witchman from the Reach known only as the Crow Bringer. The Crow Bringer held the Brimstone Crown for seventeen years before he was defeated by Hagrof the Righteous, thane of The Rift. Hagrof was after twenty-six years defeated by a Dunmer known as The Thousand Arrows, and from that point onwards I am sure that you know the story. If you are unsure about the history of the Blessed Crucible after The Tousand Arrows, then you should speak to Thoran in the Hall of Champions. He can tell you all about it. That will save me the trouble of writing about the... embarassing parts aswell.