The Illustrious Akavir Company of Morrowind

by Bertrand Dubois, merchant-priest of Zenithar

Zenithar says: “Work hard, and you will be rewarded. Spend wisely, and you will be comfortable. Never steal, or you will be punished”.

Wise lessons from the God of Commerce, yet too often ignored by the greedy, the corrupt, the criminal and the unfaithful. At the prospect of making a fortune, common law, common decency and common sense are set aside. Those who win are hailed as clever entrepreneurs, but those who fall can drag a whole country with them.

You who have come to the Resolution to study the secrets of our trade, take a look at the defunct Illustrious Akavir Company and learn from their bad example.

It was born in the heathen lands of Morrowind during the Interregnum. As you know, the morally abhorrent and economically deficient institution of slavery is legal among the Dark Elves. Until the Armistice, the slavers of Morrowind were a plague to their neighbors, taking prisoners to their mines and plantations and launching raids as far as Elsweyr. To satisfy this never-ending appetite, the Illustrious Akavir Company was created.

Officially registered as a normal trade company, the real aim of the IAC was to provide the slaving businesses of Morrowind with a new supply of slaves from Akavir. An alliance of House Hlaalu, House Dres and House Telvanni was behind it, in open emulation of the Imperial trading companies.

“Imagine the benefits!”, their agents said. “Tired of Argonians and Khajiit? With the IAC, you will have access to a new range of slaves, from sophisticated Tsaesci to strong Kamal. Invest now before it’s too late!”.

And invest they did. Merchants and nobles in Morrowind poured great sums of money into the Illustrious Akavir Company, bonds changed hands and many indebted themselves just to be part of the new enterprise.

Soon, the first (and last) fleet of the IAC was assembled in the port of Tear. It was a great display to assure investors that their money was well spent. Few dared to point out that the ships did not seem robust enough for a transoceanic voyage, that the mercenaries hired for the expedition were inadequately armed, and that the mages that accompanied them were at best novices from the lower Telvanni ranks. When the last ship disappeared over the horizon, the three Great Houses involved were sure that their experiment would be a success.

Months passed and there was no news from the expedition. Finally, when all hope seemed lost, a single ship with a skeleton crew returned to harbor.

According to the survivors, a storm had sunk several of the ships near the Akaviri coast. When they landed, it was not in the continent, but in the island kingdom of Esroniet. The captains decided to cut their losses by raiding the locals, but a disease outbreak and the successful counter-attack of the islanders ended up destroying what was left of the expedition. The survivors went back home without a single slave to sell.

It was a nasty shock for the Dark Elven merchants and slavers. Suddenly, all their bonds and investments in the IAC were worth less than nothing. To make things worse, soon after it was discovered that the overseers of the company had run away with undisclosed sums of money.

The consequences were not pretty. The slave market was in turmoil, many people lost all their savings, businesses went bankrupt and confidence in the Great Houses plummeted. Several merchant-priests of our Resolution argue that the subsequent economic depression in Morrowind paved the way for Tiber Septim’s easy conquest of the province. However, this is difficult to prove, since the noble Houses ordered the destruction of the company’s records and the memory of their folly was actively covered up. It remains a forgotten old shame that only a few scholars study today, not unlike their short-lived attempt at outlawing Argonian slavery.

But even if the Dark Elves forget, Zenithar remembers. Follow his teachings and your work will be rewarded. Ignore them and you will suffer the consequences.