Ash and Blood: Volume I

Ash and Blood: The Imperial Simulacrum in Morrowind

By Sila Merilia

Volume I

The close of the fourth century brought to an end the period of peace and prosperity Morrowind had enjoyed since the reign of Empress Morihatha. Emperor Uriel VII Septim's betrayal and kidnapping at the hands of the usurper Jagar Tharn cast all of Tamriel into chaos, and the Eastern Provinces were not spared. Intent on sowing chaos in Morrowind's capital, Tharn and his minions moved swiftly to destabilize Almalexia City. Granaries, trade-ships, and warehouses were mysteriously set aflame, Imperial officials were found dead in their beds, and orders from Cyrodiil abruptly turned provocative. Lured by these strange occurrences to the Imperial City for an audience with the Ruby Throne, Queen Barenziah decamped from Morrowind with her two young children in early 390.

The popular queen's departure allowed Tharn to begin his plans for Almalexia in earnest. The difficult harvests of 389 and 390 were exacerbated by the arsons of the previous year, and soon the city was in the grip of famine. In First Seed of 391, a peasant mob led by a radical agitator calling himself "Zirik" descended on the Mournhold complex, demanding bread, kwama eggs, and an audience with the goddess-queen Almalexia. The King-consort Symmachus (never insensitive to the plight of the commons) made efforts to distribute food and drink, which mollified the crowds somewhat. But the aged general's generosity was his downfall. Tharnite agents in the mob incited the rioters to throw stones at the royal entourage, one of which struck Symmachus in the head. He died immediately.

With most Imperial leadership at Mournhold now slain or absent, and Almalexia the goddess still in seclusion, the streets erupted with violence. The Lord General of Morrowind's Legions had recalled the bulk of Almalexia's troops to their Ebonheart headquarters in 389, and only the barest skeleton of a garrison remained to guard the royal palace. Great House Indoril authorities kept order where possible, but the citadel-lords have no love for the Emperor, and did little to restrain the hordes surging into Mournhold. Indeed, witnesses claimed to have seen Indoril retainers quietly abetting the revolt, unlocking gates and standing by while the throngs ransacked the high halls of Imperial authority. Only when Zirik rashly declared himself "King of Mournhold" from the pillaged throne room did the native troops deign to intervene; the self-declared "King" thereafter ruled over his rabble from a prison cell until his mysterious escape in 392.

Though the upstart rebel was defeated, his goals were achieved. As the crisis began to cool, the goddess Almalexia appeared publicly, chastising her people for their violent actions and reminding them of her protection. Almalexia stopped short of re-affirming her loyalty to the Empire, a detail which casts a concerning shadow over the modern status of the Armistice. Nevertheless, the Dark Elves are resolute in their faith, and these commands from their goddess did much to calm the furious crowds.

But Tharn had achieved his ends already. Queen Barenziah and her children were branded traitors and forced to take refuge in the Iliac, rather than return to Morrowind. In the queen's absence, the minor Hlaalu councilor Athyn Llethan claimed the throne for himself. Llethan, Barenziah's uncle, was not an obvious candidate; before his ascension, he was known primarily for an embarrassing scandal concerning a Coronati gambling ring. Many therefore found it strange that such a minor dynastic relation of middling political importance suddenly found himself ruling all of Morrowind. But with no other immediately viable candidate at hand, the Elder Council acknowledged Llethan's ascension in the hope of restoring stability. With the capital despoiled and an inexperienced king on the throne, however, it mattered not that order had been restored to Almalexia. The rot had set in, just as it had throughout the Empire. The stage was now set for an expansion of the bloodshed, abetted as much by the failures of Provincial leadership as by Tharnite treachery.