The Elder Scrolls Lore: The Great Houses of Morrowind

[Music] the Great Houses hate each other theft murder assassinations secret raids standard stuff a quote from Hoss fat anta bolas the great house customs collect from ancient dunmer clans and tribes but now operate as bureaucratic parties in modern times morrowind is governed by the Grand Council of five Great Houses house retirin house Cavani house address house inderal and house dress house la lu formally convened on the council but gave up its seat to house address in the early fourth era each house ruled a titular precinct on mainland morrowind retirin in the northwest lalu in the western center tal vani in the east inderal in the central heartland and dress in the southeast three of the houses also had significance on the island of garden foe and classified themselves by their established colors red free retirin yellow for hua lu and brown fertile bonnie dumb red great house membership is predominantly a circumstance of birth and marriage but imperial settlers may also become adherents of a great house or may be taken into a great house at first a foreigner may achieve a position in the house as an oath bonded labor swearing restrictive devotion to a single house and relinquishing initiatives with all other houses later after dependable employment and advancement in lower ranks an outlander may seek adoption into a great house adoption and promotion to higher ranks in a great house demands that a great house delegate stand his benefactor for the contenders nature and adherence finding a counselor to back an outlander regularly engages fulfilling a grand duty for the potential advocate and the great house in question in moments of severe emergency house counselors may choose to elect a Hortator who holds the capacity to compose choices on account of the house as a whole appointment of a Hortator obligate solid approval among all counselors it has been known for a single contradicting counselor to battle a competing Hortator contender in an engagement to the death thus assuring the dignity of the counselor if they triumph or justifying the contestants talent if they fail the great houses have their provenance in the ancient traditions of the Kaymer a self banished Aldmeri faction who followed their prognosticator veil off across Tamriel from the West they deserted their previous nomadic conduct and segregated themselves into governmental clans which would develop into the Great Houses enduro retirin t'lani lalu dress and bake-off in the first era for sixteen after almost two hundred years of defeat by the governing Nords the chimera champion inderal Navarre coalesced the quarreling great houses as Hortator also creating affinity with the Dwemer their common adversaries and triumphed in throwing the Nords out of the province naira var and the Dwemer chief do mcdhh Worf king afterwards built the first Council of Resident to collectively govern the territory as a self-sufficient society wresting prospered for a few centuries until the war of the first Council erupted amid the profaned Dwemer and the doctrinal Kaymer houses in Durrell retirin dress Hollow and t'lani the duty of the six house house de Gotha is not entirely understood some Imperial allegations tell that they allied with the Dwemer in the war while other depositions counting the Apocrypha of the tribunal temple declared that they never double-crossed their kin whatever the circumstance house David was believed annihilated subsequent their failure at the Battle of Red Mountain after NER avars passing three of his accomplices from house inderal vivec almalexia and sotha sil prevailed to take domination of the council which they retitled the Grand Council of morrowind how Cinderella because of their affiliation with Nara var and the tribunal persist said to be the commanding party in the Grand Council right through until the closure of the second era during this time the Grand Council was culpable for a sectional administration in Morrowind while the land is a body was controlled discursively by the tribunal in the second era 896 the Armistice was endorsed between Tiber Septim and vivec which saw morrowind restructured as a territory of the Empire house inderal testified that they would withstand this to death and the Lord High councilor of the Grand Council himself in Enduro denied to approve the treaty and rejected to retire he was assassinated and succeeded by holu an abundance of other inderal had taken to suicide House lalu who had encouraged reconciliation to the Imperials since the legions began accumulating on the western confines took this moment to take over many inderal councils they're eager loyalty to the Empire sealed the hollow as the governing great house through the 3rd era not much is known of the Grand Council through the 3rd era but the part of the nominal head sovereign of morrowind individually elected by the emperor was first occupied by queen barons iya a representative of Clan raheem and thus house lalu her son king hail Sethe of house lalu was the Caliph of morrowind at the closure of the 3rd era his realignment of the Grand Council was perceived by some as a restoration to more custom dunmer ways although he also achieved to convince both his house and house dress to support the abrogation of slavery and influence that code throughout the council during the Oblivion crisis of the 3rd era 433 the Empire removed the legions out of morrowind and the region was left practically helpless while house retirin prevailed in conceiving and infantry and how Silvani were able to shut some of the oblivion gates the retirin city al rune was devastated by the Daedric consulate and house lalu was left vulnerable without the support of the Empire after the eruption of Red Mountain in the fourth era 5 which annihilated the colonies on Vardhan fell morrowind came under attack from the argonians of black marsh house ah--this annulment of slavery had come too late house lalu due to their familiar ties with the imperial authority became the blame for all of the dunmer people's anguish as an outcome halal ii was deprived of its great house position and disbanded from the Grand Council house to Vani having lost a majority of their colonies and Barden fell to the Oblivion crisis was almost eradicated in the Argonian assault as well with at least one record of its annihilation when the last continental colony also came under siege to the argonians a few survivors evaded on a ship the pride of Tel voz which was later discovered totaled in skyrim the last child of the tel Vani ancestral line itself was produced up in Black Marsh under the Argonian title of bran che although some of the house endeared to rediscover a settlement in SOL sign under the aging master nel off tal Vani in fact occurs to have reconstructed well enough to Grippit see on the dunmer Council while the previously anonymous house address was elected to fill the void left by holu house retirin grew to become the distinguished power in morrowind taking the seat as leaders of the grand council they converted the capital to the retirin city of blacklights where the grand council coincides with in the route spire by the archaic traditions of dunmer civilization a house me to speak the confidence of another house in the person of one of the houses established Nobles the established noble of the assail'd house is signed for death in ancient times officially marked with a black banner but in current times distributed with a legal printed civic disclosure if within the year of objection the established noble still lives the objecting house must openly abandon any further accusation or rumor on the matter in pre tribunal Morrowind altercation was carried out with free warfare this was outlawed by the tribunal and only a ranking disputing noble or morag tong assassin could assault the marked noble before the eruption of Red Mountain House is consistently employed the more octone taking out classified contracts called writs this practice allowed houses to wrangle one another on a small scale without paralleling public peace and Constitution codes of conduct under the house wars are complicated and slight and the morag tong pursued in the ethical and valid prosecution of the sectarian foods house wars are costly perilous and disorderly to all houses affected on the Isle of Arden fell alone a dozen or more marked challenges were being litigated at any one time house retirin values the ethics of work force and devotion work is to one's own esteem and to one's own family and clan forces the crucial earnestness of life life is difficult and events must be brought to justice Baird and celebrated upon with odd responsibilities in seriousness devotion is honor for the gods and the merits they speak for a light irresponsible life is not worth living house retirin manages the retirin district of northwestern morrowind from the citadel of black light close to the confines of skyrim in the district of Mardin fel the houses council seat was occupied in alder una and all councilors resided there in the pitted shell of a gargantuan prehistoric emperor crab in the district known as Alderaan under Skaar other retirin governed settlements on Vardhan fel included cool margon and all Davalloo the-- the main focus of house retirin is cultivating the customs of the established dunmer and more explicitly the way of the soldier due to this focus the tribunal temple was an essential ally there is also collective appreciation among them and the fighters guild in Imperial Legion they have less appreciation for the other Imperial associations such as the mages guild the skilled and the imperial cult doctrine the wizard Lords of house t'lani have customarily disengaged themselves following acumen and finesse and isolation but certain enthusiastic Wizard Lords their adherents and applicants have embarked candidly into the match to command and capitalize on Vardhan fells estate and means building belfry's and infrastructures all along the eastern coast according to tell vani standards the authorities have characterized the ideals of ethic house t'lani matches the disposition of my brother sotha sil iconoclastic profane unconventional a quote from vivec house tell Vani ruled the t'lani district of eastern morrowind and conducted the eastern allocation of the Varden fell district from its council seat in sacher's mora the house constitutes primarily eminently pompous and determined sorcerers and is understood by many as the house of the master wizard here it was natural to excel through the hierarchy by eradicating or otherwise in disposing other members of the tell Vani Lords only master Ariana of tell voz appeared to be able to look further from the end of his nose and at the matters of other people the rest desired little more than to be left in solitude to their experiments and aspirations the other representatives were correspondingly dogmatic and attitude and did not aim to be ordained over by any other associations principally the guild of mages but el Vani generally did not collaborate with other houses or guilds nor did they have many adversaries except for activists and the Imperial mages guild in the second era they declined to side with the ebonheart pact much to the dismay of the other houses on the other hand the t'lani did not have the typical animosity towards vampires that most other factions had and some of their Lords and mouths were amenable to communicate with them Wizards did not shun vampires roughly as much as others did the inderal are Orthodox and traditionalist patrons of the temple and temple jurisdiction how Cinderella is brazenly belligerent to Imperial practice and theology and conserves many long-established dunmer practices and customs in opposition of Imperial law to my sister brothers city I give the holy protection of house Enduro whose powers and Thrones know no equal under heaven where from came the Hortator a quilt from vivec how Cinderella govern the inderal district in the mainland of morrowind from the historic capital city of almalexia inderal district composes of the land south of the inner sea and the eastern coast including the citadel of mourn hold position within almalexia and the settlement of nekron with its city of the dead how Cinderella has no provincial estates on the Isle of Arden fell the inderal have always held distinguished bearings within the temple ranking throughout the eras the outcomes of the house enduro and the temple have been firmly linked housedress is a rural agricultural community and its large salt rice farm sets confide entirely on slave industry for their industrial growth always sturdy temple followers house dress is contentious to imperial rule and practice and personally antithetical to any endeavors to restrain the establishment of slavery house dress represents the pass of pre tribunal great house culture a persistent tradition of Daedra and ancestor worshipping civilised unmarked lands a quote from vivec how stress holds occupancy only on the heartland it controlled the dress district of southeastern morrowind from the city of tear the district consisted of parts of the lush deshaun plane and out skirted inderal district and the bogs of marshy lands of black marsh in the mid second era house dress also dominated the cities of urban heart and kraggen more in central morrowind it was properly authorized as a great house by Grandmaster thoughtful dress after a slave raid over thorn the dress had a chiefly B colic but still very upscale rustic agricultural population cultivating ample salt rice ranches on the grasslands and marshes enclosing tear the dress were also the dunmer that exported laborers to the other great houses in custody of thousands of slaves mostly argonians in their egregious slave pens of tear and the neighboring farms house address is another of the five Great Houses of Morrowind and at the birth of the fourth era after the Oblivion crisis of the third era 433 and the eruption of Red Mountain in the fourth era five House lalu was dismantled of its great house position and cleared from the Grand Council of Morrowind house a Druze whose preceding prestige and properties are unknown was elected to occupy the fifth seat on the council as a conclusion of its intimate exchange with the Imperial Authority house la lu has surfaced as gutful mentally and economically prevalent among the great houses of arden fell and morrowind la lu gratify his imperial practice and legislation Imperial legions and administration and imperial power of business and church la Lu still dignifies the old dunmer ways the ancestors the temple and the noble houses but has eagerly acclimated to the brisk speed of adjustment and advancement in the Imperial provinces house la Lu is one of the five traditional great houses of the settled dunmer it governed the halala district of western central morrowind from its historic capital of Narcis midst the second era house la luce existence on the island of Vardhan fell was restricted to the port town of se Dineen but by the late 3rd era the house had a council seat positioned in Balmorra with other halal iran settlements at Saran LA pod and ganar MOC house la lu could be described as malleable and practical and any ethics they might have had came second to commerce early in the fourth era soon after the empire discharged morrowind anti-imperial attitude and house law partnership with them among the Dumber led to the depriving of its status as a great house and house lalu was cleared from the grand council of morrowind their spot on the council was taken by house address the house was broadly concerned with industry in politics searching to bolster ties with at times unorthodox allies such as the Empire and despite the fact that earnings was often an immediate goal conventional hollow practice observed the profit of great influence over coin this was their tremendous fortitude they were fast speakers and astute merchants and their great debt most lalu were able to be bribed either with coins or other aides with their managers as no omission house lalu adherents were also experienced thieves masters of stealth lock-picking blackmailing and backstabbing both actually and allegorically while some delegates were genuine and courteous others were more underhanded in fraudulent however house Lawler's most distinctive feature was its enthusiasm to live in conformity with the other races placing it apart from the other sometimes sectarian done my Great Houses pitied a goth ear in the six house all they do all they are is foul and evil but they began in brightness and honor and the cause of their fall was their loyal service to you Lourdes narro VAR a quote from peak star house de Agathe or commonly called the six house is the obsolete sixth great house of the Kaymer led by warren de Gogh later known as de coffer all evidence of the house's existence were ravaged after the Battle of Red Mountain and its representatives were either executed or assimilated into the other houses unapprehended to all Lord de goth had remained and spent centuries gradually constructing his fortitude and prestige from within Red Mountain this climax with Degas experiment to recreate the Dwemer god construct new medium in an endeavor to dethrone the tribunal and overthrow morrowind in the third era 427 big off air was killed and his intentions interrupted with the annihilation of the heart of Lorcan by the narrow Vereen [Music] not much is known of the clan attributed to by some as house Dwemer during the time of the first Council res stain was unified by the Kaymer champion nerevar and the Dwemer king do mak according to some Imperial documents in tribunal Apocrypha the Dwemer of res Dane were acknowledged as a great house house Mora was a lesser house of the dummer which no longer exists members of the House were supposed to have some human heritage and they were rumored to have been involved in concealing the staff of chaos underneath morn hold house Rara theme was the authoritative family from the city-state of urban heart they were known for being prospectors of mithril some of the most distinguished for our theme are Correa and more Allan house a Lathon is a little-known clan that died out at the same time in a grand battle during the time of Kaymer they have an ancestral tomb in the northwestern gash neighboring the town of Kinesis house otha was a lesser house with properties in the estate of old sotha regarded as a mediocre town belonging to a mediocre family the only known representative square sotha sil a future member of the tribunal and his older sisters with an all it is said that vivec saved sotha sil the only remaining member of the house from there when the town was eradicated by mehrunes dagon

Channel: Lady of Scrolls

Views: 57,347

Rating: 4.960845 out of 5

Keywords: morrowind, the elder scrolls, elder scrolls, lore, dunmer, great houses, the great houses of morrowind, tribunal

Id: ehCoKcl6RXw

Length: 20min 53sec (1253 seconds)

Published: Sun Oct 21 2018

Reddit Comments

[u/snorch]

Oblivion and Skyrim were good in their own right, but Morrowind was the last ES game that really hit me with the lore. I think it has something to do with being the last game to have written dialogue rather than voice acting.

Voice acting is a really cumbersome and expensive process for a dev team- compared to hiring a few good writers, anyway. And it isn't even a net positive in player immersion- recycled dialogue is insanely more noticeable when it's voice acted. Being forced to spend time reading the dialogue (and journal entries!) made me appreciate the story in a way that drawing a line between quest objective markers never could. And what the hell, having in-world fast travel rather than in-menu made a big difference too. Seeing the silhouette of a Silt Strider in the distance was relief like an opiate after being lost in the wilderness for 40 minutes.

Of course, I was also 14 when I played Morrowind, so I definitely see the game through nostalgia-colored glasses. Even so, I think that while making TES more marketable with these ease-of-access changes massively broadened their playerbase, it came at a price.

that feel when

[u/runn]

I love how they credit each piece of artwork. Great job on both content and presentation!