The punishment of Dagoth Ur

From the chronicles of Hemus Zenammi, Ashlander scribe.

Every night, the wise woman of the tribe would come to her daughter’s tent for a family visit, and every night, her young grandson would wait for her, demanding a bedtime story. A little tyrant he was, but her grandmother could never say no to that adorable face of his. And she loved telling stories.

"Grandma Seba! Tell me the story of the Nerevarine!", he asked that night.

"Again? Aren’t you tired of hearing the same story? The tale of the Nerevarine is good, but there are other stories."

"Fiiiiine", he sighed. "Then tell me what happened to the false gods. You know, Almalexia, Sotha Sil, Vivec and that evil Dagoth Ur. I’m sure you have a story about them!"

The wise woman grinned.

"Of course I have, but it’s not the kind of story the House People would like to hear."

"Why? Your stories are the best! Tell me, tell me."

His grandmother cleared her voice.

"As you know, when the false gods of the Tribunal were struck down, the Four Corners of the House of Troubles fell upon them, for that was their prerogative. Because Almalexia went mad at the end, she was taken by Sheogorath. The King of Madness chopped her soul and made copies out of her. He told each one that if she murdered the rest, he would allow her to return to this world. What he forgot to explain was that he had made an infinite number of copies. So no matter how many times she kills herself, the Mother of Traitors will never fulfill her goal."

"And Sotha Sil? What happened to him?"

"Because he had wanted to destroy the Daedra, Mehrunes Dagon forced the Mage to build a clockwork planet in the Deadlands, a Nirn of his own design, perfect in every detail. He has to do it alone, with no other tools than his bare hands. But every time he’s about to finish, the God of Destruction reduces it to dust and Sotha Sil has to begin anew from scratch."

"And what about Vivec?"

"Because he had sold his soul for knowledge, Molag Bal threw him into one of his dungeons. Every day, the King of Rape tortures him. But every night, the Harvester allows Vivec to sleep and dream."

That surprised the young boy.

"Why would Molag Bal let him do that?"

"When Vivec dreams, he imagines himself escaping justice, punishing those who wronged him and becoming King and Queen of a new world. But when dawn comes and the Liar opens his eyes, Molag Bal is waiting for him once again. That makes his eternal suffering more unbearable, which pleases the God of Schemes."

The child fell silent. His next words were tremulous, as if he didn’t dare to speak them.

"And what about… what about Dagoth Ur? H-he won’t come back, will he?"

The wise woman smiled. Clearly, her grandson was still shaken by the tales he had heard about the ancient enemy of their people.

"Don’t worry, my dear. The ghost of Voryn Dagoth won’t trouble us anymore. You see, his punishment is the worst of all. Because he was a pariah among the false gods, and his was a House of outcasts, Malacath turned him into an orc. And he will keep being reborn as an ugly, weak and cowardly orc until he has paid for all his past misdeeds, that is to say, for all eternity."

"Ah", muttered the child, visibly relieved. "That’s great."

"Indeed it is. Let it be a lesson for those who, in their foolishness, believe they can challenge the gods. It doesn’t matter how wise, how powerful or how immortal they think they are, the Daedra’s reach is longer than any spear. Now, go to sleep. I’ll have more stories for you tomorrow."