[X-Post] The Dark Brotherhood in Morrowind is actually an arm of the Mythic Dawn

A theory I concocted earlier, with tangential evidence that I think works pretty well when taken at face value. Obviously the Mythic Dawn and Dark Brotherhood hadn't been fully realized during the development of Morrowind, but otherwise I think this is a pretty solid theory of mine and I'm quite proud of it. Thought this sub might enjoy it.

>First of all, we must know who, or what, the Night Mother is:

>>The Night Mother met Sotha Sil in her salon, lit only by the moon. She was cruelly beautiful dressed in a simple silk black robe, lounging across her divan. With a gesture, she dismissed her red-cloaked guards and offered the sorcerer some wine. “You've only just missed your friend, the Duke,” she whispered. “He was very unhappy, but I think we will solve his problem for him.” “Did he hire the Morag Tong to assassinate the Emperor?” asked Sotha Sil. “You are straight-forward, aren't you? That's good. I love plain-speaking men: it saves so much time. Of course, I cannot discuss with you what the Duke and I talked about,” she smiled. “It would be bad for business.” — Lore:2920, Sun's Height (v7) A description of the Night Mother, leader of the Morag Tong

>>At the head of the Dark Brotherhood hierarchy is the Night Mother, an immortal spirit who is revered and worshipped by the Brotherhood. She is only ever met face-to-face in very exceptional circumstances and is seen as a phantom-like form. When a person prays for the death of another, the Night Mother hears and passes on the details of the prayer to her Listener. At this point, the Listener informs a Speaker, who then goes to meet the hiring party in order to draw up a contract. According to Dark Brotherhood beliefs, she is the wife of Sithis and bore five children. It is said that she and her children were the first sacrifices to Sithis many years ago.

>>It is unclear who the Night Mother is exactly. In the book Fire and Darkness: The Brotherhoods of Death, the Night Mother is identified as the Daedra Prince Mephala. In another book entitled Sacred Witness, the Night Mother is identified as a former Thieves Guild member. And in the well known 2920 series of books she is seen as head of the Morag Tong, because the Dark Brotherhood only split well into the second era. The Night Mother is likely to have lived during the Second Era,[1] although the woman represented by the statue in Bravil lived in the First Era,[2] which suggests the two are not the same person.

>-UESP

>According to pre-Oblivion lore, the Night Mother is akin to the Morag Tong Grandmaster, and prior to the schism that created the DB she was the leader of the Morag Tong. It could be argued that Night Mother is a title of Mephala, or perhaps a title for the then-current pre-schism leader of the Morag Tong.

>In Oblivion, she was a spirit, in Skyrim, a mummified corpse in a sarcophagus; and in Morrowind she is one Severa Magia, an Imperial Assassin.

>>Oblivion indicates that there is a single Night Mother, the ghost of a woman who formed the Dark Brotherhood. In Morrowind, an Imperial woman named Severa Magia was identified as the local Night Mother of the Dark Brotherhood in Vvardenfell. It is possible that the term is used to indicate a local leader as well as the Unholy Matron herself. More information can be found on the Lore article.

>-UESP

>Based on the evidence presented, I am concluding that Severa Magia CANNOT be the Night Mother, but she is instead the Listener of the Dark Brotherhood in the Vvardenfell cell of the DB.

>So why is she called the Night Mother? Simple answers: Eno Hlaalu was using outdated terminology and is simply using an old title for the Vvardenfell Listener. However, I propose something more radical than that; we do not deal with the authentic Dark Brotherhood over the course of the Morag Tong line of quests in Morrowind, but instead we deal with the local sect of Mythic Dawn cultists.

>The evidence is simple:

>Yasammidan, where the player is tasked with recovering a Sanguine ring, is a shrine to Mehrunes Dagon.

>Ashalmimilkala is another shrine of Mehrunes Dagon the Morag Tong quest line leads you, where you deliver an ultimatum to one Carecalmo, an Altmer mage and worshipper of the Prince of Destruction. What is the leader of the Mythic Dawn? An Altmer!

>Assernerairan is another shrine to Mehrunes Dagon where you will travel to execute Durus Marius, a member of the Dark Brotherhood.

>Finally, you must kill the so-called Night Mother Severa Magia at Ald Sotha, the ancient ruin where Mehrunes Dagon manifested on Nirn (as he would five years hence) and destroyed the entire House Sotha (of which Sotha Sil, rescued by Vivec, was the lone survivor.) Ald Sotha is easily a sacred site to those who would revere Mehrunes Dagon, such as the Mythic Dawn.

>The Dark Brotherhood presented in Morrowind is NOT the same as the organization of assassins exhibited in Oblivion and Skyrim; they make little reference to Sithis, their 'Night Mother' is a mortal woman, and they tend to congregate and occupy shrines to Daedra Prince Mehrunes Dagon. The Dark Brotherhood in Morrowind is in fact the Mythic Dawn operating under the cover of the enigmatic and fabled Dark Brotherhood.

>Why?

>The Tribunal Temple makes no bones about dealing with violent cultists dedicated to the Four Corners of the House of Troubles, and with so many shrines of Mehrunes Dagon located so close to their holiest city of Vivec, they would naturally need to keep a low profile. Now, they could have operated under any number of false group identities; common smugglers, rogue Telvanni, unaffiliated witch-hunters - but all of these would naturally attract unwanted attention from the Imperial and local authorities, the other Great Houses, and the Temple itself (seeking potential allies in such dire times), respectively. However, operating under the cover of the Dark Brotherhood, everyone thinks either a) whomever reports it is full of crap and subject to investigation themselves, b) they don't want to risk messing with the legendary (and no doubt wildly exaggerated) Dark Brotherhood, and c) might desire their services themselves. What better cover is there than fear?

>Now, by working under the guise of the historic rivals of the Morag Tong they draw the attention of the Morag Tong. The risk is calculated, but considerably less than drawing attention of Imperial Knights or Temple Ordinators. The Morag Tong, being a legal institution, are likely to send in a single agent who can easily be overwhelmed by confident Mythic Dawn cultists, and in the case of Ald Sotha, slaughtered in seconds by sheer force.

>So why are they in Vvardenfell at all? Easy, the Mythic Dawn wasn't just operating in Cyrodiil, that's merely where the keystone of their operation was. Once the barrier was broken with the Emperor's death, gates opened everywhere in Tamriel. Surely the Dawn was putting down roots in Vvardenfell to bolster the ranks of the daedra hordes.

>So what about the guys Helseth hires? Perhaps that's the legitimate Dark Brotherhood, too new to Morrowind to have set up a traditional black hand tapestry adorned hideout in the Old City. Why have they just gotten around to setting up stakes? Easy. Helseth is a known poisoner, and likely employed the Dark Brotherhood extensively in Wayrest. With his discrete invitation, it could be that the DB decided it was time to return to their land of ideological origin. However, falling in line with the argument presented, it's just as likely to be another sect of Mythic Dawn cultists occupying another historic site of Mehrunes Dagon's manifestation on Nirn.

>One final thought: perhaps the DB in Morrowind is an upstart sect of the Morag Tong who splintered off recently, re-enacting the historic schism in an attempt to destroy the Morag Tong altogether.

>Feel free to point out any flaws or holes, it's just something I've strung together after playing the Morag Tong line and realizing most of the Dark Brotherhood members are chilling out in shrines with the same statue.