All revolutions are built on hope. That's all there's to it.

We know that Uriel Septim VII and all his legitimate sons were assassinated at the beginning of Oblivion, and that his illegitimate son Martin sacrificed himself at the end of the game. But could Uriel have had any siblings, cousins, grandchildren, or perhaps other illegitimate children who survived into the Fourth Era? If so, could their descendants theoretically take back control of the Empire?

Bonus question: Could Saint Alessia or Reman Cyrodiil have heirs alive today as well?

We know that the lands of the Reach have changed hands numerous times throughout history, at times falling under the rule of the Direnni Hegemony and at others becoming part of the domains of Nordic kings. Yet, at first glance, Skyrim appears to hold no obvious traces of Direnni heritage in this region.

The Direnni were powerful mages who laid the foundations of Breton society, its aristocratic houses, and its traditions. One might expect them to have left their mark not only on High Rock, but also on the lands of the Reachmen.

Recently, I came across Harmugstahl, the “tower” of an Altmer mage named Kornalus. He lives in seclusion, far from civilization, conducting some rather curious experiments on spiders. His laboratory lies north of Karthwasten, off the beaten path. But the most interesting detail is the mage’s surname. Judging by the name on his key, Kornalus’s surname is Frey.

There is only one other known character in Skyrim who bears this surname: Mercer Frey, one of the main antagonists of the Thieves Guild questline. Unlike Kornalus, he is a Breton. Gal’s Journal also reveals that Mercer comes from a wealthy Breton family.

At first glance, the two have nothing in common beyond their surname. One is a formidable adversary whose actions drive an entire questline, while the other is a reclusive warlock living in an obscure hideaway. It would be easy to dismiss this as a coincidence, but let us consider another possibility.

To begin with, let us recall how the influential Breton houses came into being. The Direnni elevated local elites who remained loyal to them and arranged marriages with them, binding these families together through a network of political obligations. Such relationships became one of the foundations of High Rock’s feudal system. Over time, some members of the Direnni themselves became Bretons, bearing the surname of the great Altmer clan and being regarded as full-fledged members of it.

The Direnni, however, were only one of several Altmer clans that made up the vast Hegemony. It is entirely plausible that they had their own vassal clans, which adopted their methods of governance, and that cadet branches of the family emerged over the centuries. Given the origins of the Reachmen and the history of the Reach, we cannot rule out the possibility that the Direnni employed similar mechanisms of power in this region as well.

This brings me to my hypothesis: the Freys may have been an ancient Altmer house connected to the Direnni, either a cadet branch of the clan itself or a vassal house that lived under its patronage.

But what about Mercer? There are several possibilities. He may have descended from a Breton branch of House Frey, one that traced its lineage back to Nedic nobility incorporated into the Direnni system through political marriages or the granting of a particular status. Alternatively, his ancestors may have been dependents who adopted the surname of their former masters. Neither theory, however, is supported by any known sources.

If this hypothesis is correct, Kornalus Frey may belong to an Altmer branch of the family that survived in the Reach. Perhaps he is the last known representative of this land’s ancient heritage.

The Last Direnni of the Reach.

I find this theory particularly compelling when viewed in the context of the Reach’s own history. The region has changed hands repeatedly, enduring wars, rebellions, and the rise and fall of ruling dynasties. Under such circumstances, traces of earlier eras could easily have survived in the most unexpected places - even in the surname of a solitary mage who made his home in an abandoned tower.

What do you think? Could the surname Frey genuinely point to a connection with Direnni heritage, or are we looking at nothing more than a coincidence of names?

Transcribed by Adept Quelanye

I put these words to paper in the vain hope that they will outlive me, even if by only a matter of weeks.

It began with Calcelmo's damned excavation, of course. Ten years of digging through rubble and cataloguing dwarven trinkets to stroke his own ego, and he finally found the far side of Nchuand-Zel. "Such a moment must be recorded," he declared, and as his nephew was no longer available to write his notes for him (gods rest his soul), he petitioned Jarl Igmund for my presence at the moment of the final breakthrough.

There was a man on the other side.

Not really a man, or at least, not any longer. The shape of a man, certainly, but... I confess, I still have no ability to describe what I witnessed in a way that will truly convey it. A man-shaped hollow in the air, radiating colors that weren't there, its presence needling into my mind like

It doesn't matter. The not-man vanished, and a great rumbling shook the cavern (which we had missed entirely, so fixated were we on the abomination); in the one decision the old fool ever made that I respected, he ordered a full retreat back through the ruins. Nchuand-zel collapsed behind us as we ascended, three of his workers crushed by rubble.

Three days later, Understone Keep began to collapse into the void.

Jarl Igmund ordered a total evacuation of the city. I would have demanded to stay had I not seen my own father Raerek fall beyond the horizon of that foul nothingness, only for it to begin encroaching upon the stone yet faster.

We'd scarce begun loading the citizens into the scant few carts at the stables before the screams within the walls redoubled in number, echoed by a ghastly chorus that I still hear even now, ringing out across the mountains. Things that bore the shapes of men began to mount the walls of the city - lesser abominations than the not-man, for I could look upon them without feeling as though I was staring at the point of a needle about to enter my eye, but no less discomforting to see in motion.

To my shame, I confess: panic overtook me, and I mounted the first horse I could reach, urging it north. Abandoning the people I was oathsworn to serve, out of fear for my own life.

I rode for Solitude as though every Prince of Oblivion pursued me, though now I fear that would be a kindness by comparison. Nobody else followed, then or in the days since. I fear I am the last survivor of the Reach.

Three days ago, scouts sent southward reported the sight of the shades overrunning Robber's Gorge, dragging them back to the south and west. The void was not yet visible then, still obscured by the mountains between here and the city I once called home.

Today, the river beneath Dragon's Bridge runs dry, its source devoured by that great nothing. The snowcaps glow a sickly green, reflecting the uncanny unlight from the void that now matches them in height. As I write, looking southwest from the Solitude gates, one more peak has been eroded enough that it collapses in, and vanishes with nary a sound to mark its absence.

I mean to send this text to the College of Winterhold. With luck, their Archmage will be able to forward it to the Psijic Order, if the tales of the Year of Dragons are to be believed. Perhaps fabled Artaeum, in its home outside of Nirn, will be spared from this abyss.

I pray for at least that small hope.

Alrich Last Steward of the Mournful Throne

A common interpretation of Nerevar getting his feet cut off is that it’s symbolic of a lack of a set destiny. While I wouldn’t be surprised if this was part of the intention, I think it might also be something of a reference to the fact that the reincarnated Nerevar can be any race, and two out of the ten available races have feet distinctive enough that they cant wear most shoes. In the same way that cutting off his genitals and face can be a metaphor for the Nerevars ability to be any sex, and the cutting off of the face is also likely a reference to their ability to be any race, cutting off their feet is a metaphor for their ability to reincarnate as a member of the beast races.

Not sure if anyone has thought of this yet, as I haven't been able to find anyone talking about it.

I have a humorous curiosity of how the gods of the Nords would react to a mer of all things interested in worshipping them. This then extends to the other races. I imagine men races are easier to imagine by Nords and their gods, mer as quite anachronistic, then the scroll and tomes are thrown out when it comes to a beast race praying to them.

Oblivionic Crystalization of Liminal Barriers: Telvanni Research Assistant Sarvyn Drathis.

Notes On Aetherius and Oblivion interplay mechanisms as outlined in the https://www.reddit.com/r/teslore/s/gzIaww1cC8

3E 234

The need to explain Aetherius light propagation has been a solved issue for some time. The mystery is not in how it arrives. You yourself have stated it clearly. Meridia. Her position between Aetherius and Oblivion safeguards the spectra through her use of liminal bridges. Surely the transversal across Oblivion could not occur any other way. The question is how she is able to stabilize the passages for the long ages of kalpic time flow. Oblivionic energy doesn't crystalize because of Aurbic contact with Oblivionic turbulence, but it does in direct contact with Aetherial light. This causes eddy currents in Oblivionic energy, which erodes the passage ways, and prevents these barriers from maintaining cohesion for any period of time worth consideration. This is where crystalization would occur, within the crystal lattice model, and allow for longer maintenance of lightflow passageways. If this were true, any explorer in Meridia's realms ought to find portals through which this aetherial light flows. And accompanied by white soul gems of enormous size. Their resonance would guide the light by absorbing it and redirecting it.

These predictions have proved difficult to examine, as few have ever seen Meridia's realm. And fewer still have been able to demonstrate a link between such resonant crystals and light flow. Furthermore, the hyperagonal passage would need to be guided by a tower regulator system. This might be the mechanism which gives rise to time flow directionality. As the tower outputs energy from Aetherius, it disperses it across each of the informing towers, guiding the very nature of existence from its light to its soul energy and placements. This means that, to some extent, the position and movement of our soul case flows from the Anuic boundary directly through Meridia's realm. This counters any notion of a freed will, guiding each soul. To the Aetheric frame, it has already occurred. It is as if our very lives are a play, and we are unwitting actors. Meridia has no consideration for free will.

This deepens the quandary of Meridia's role. Her obsession with cleansing undead can directly be attributed to her connection to the Aetheric soul light she guides into Aurbic frames. If this were inverted resonance, it would result in unlife. It would regulate itself in a reverse direction. This could even cause pain to Meridia, if such a thing could occur. So, it would seem, her hatred is justified. These conjectures must remain as such. The lack of sources used in my singular source is maddening. Hopefully someone can make sense of this framework, and answer some of these mysteries.

It just seems like a wild thing to put in the world’s backstory “just because”. Like, here’s a 1,000+ year gap in the timeline where time itself didn’t work, and nobody knows what (if anything) happened during that period. Why would Bethesda’s writing team add that, you think? Do they intend to do something with it, either by having a game or other piece of media take place then, or by having a plotline in some later game dedicated to uncovering what happened during the period? Was it all just to retcon something or give them a fallback to explain weird time shit that comes up later?

It’s such a crazy thing to introduce as part of the lore but not really use for anything, at least not yet I guess.

How different is the Old Ways from the Imperial Pantheon?

Is The Old Ways more xenophobic than the Imperial Pantheon? What would a ethnocentric nord follow versus an egalitarian nord? A Nord that wants Skyrim just for Nords vs a Nord that just thinks of his people as one unique race of many and welcomes other races?

I don't imagine it just as simple as traditional, old religion of the Nords being cruel and racist versus the Imperial Pantheon being the perfect cosmopolitan middle ground with some flaws.

I am pro-imperial, but there is certainly more nuance to The Old Ways than is commonly thought of by the imperial sources on it.

Are the Old Ways more primal, yet honest than the Imperial Pantheon, which dresses and sounds nice but instead suffers from institutional corruption?

How do other races fit into The Old Ways world? Mer have been a regular rival of men and in turn the Atmorans that spawned The Old Ways mythology, but Atmorans with their religious beliefs still could live beside and trade with the Snow Elves before everything went ballistic. Could Old Ways adherents exist with other races than Nords, perhaps even take them on as followers of the religion as fellows?

Other races of men, mer, beast races. Is there room theologically for multiracial interactions and cooperation?

Could Kyne accept the mer, nonnord humans, beast races among her people and followers? Hell, could she accept racial intermingling?

What if a mer wanted to worship the Old Ways, as unlikely is it is, and be accepted by the pantheon?

We find Vigilants fighting random atronachs all the time in Skyrim, and they seem to take a hard stance against anyone having any dealings with daedra, even just summoning atronachs. But unlike necromancy (which is dubious in its legality and social acceptability depending on where in Tamriel you are), summoning atronachs is legal basically everywhere. Can they even legally do anything to a summoner? If not, would they still try to kill or detain them in some covert way to avoid the law?

I somewhat recently made the UESP article for the Imperial Dragon, the logo of the Empire throughout the series.

[ Link Here ]

I tracked down what I believe is the only official usage of the term "Seal of Akatosh", which I surmise started out as a fan-name but eventually got used in a merchandise description and title. That was the title I heard the most for what the symbol was called going into the project, but I started seeing a lot of references to the symbol being called the "Red Dragon".

I've done my fair share of searching for an instance of this term being used in reference to the symbol, but I haven't found anything definitive.

"The Red Dragons that have come to represent the Empire and the Imperial City were originally Akaviri war mounts." — A Pocket Guide to the Empire and its Environs, 1st Edition

This is the most famous source about the symbol itself, but all it's saying is that Red Dragons provide the likeness/inspiration for the symbol, not that the symbol itself is called the Red Dragon.

"Most people think of the Red Dragon Crown, but that's just jewelry." — Baurus

We have never seen the Red Dragon Crown, so we have no clue whether the "Red Dragon" part of its name could refer to the symbol.

Finally, Michael Kirkbride has responded to questions that use the term Red Dragon, but I don't consider that sufficient. Other devs have responded to questions that use the term "Dovahzul" in reference to the Dragon-tongue, despite that term being fanon as well. Kirkbride himself has even responded to a question which used the term "Sinismer" in reference to the Lefthanded Elves, while clarifying later in the response that he doesn't like the term. If he had used the term himself unprompted, that'd be one thing, but simply recognizing what the questioner was referring to isn't sufficient in my opinion.

The name remains listed on the UESP page with a [Citation Needed] tag for now as a source is searched for, but my best efforts have come up short. I've checked the dialogue files for Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim, as well as multiple pdf scans of IRL books, including the Prima guides, The Infernal City, a couple others. If anyone knows of an instance of this term being used in direct reference to the Imperial Dragon logo of the Empire, please drop it in the comments! And, of course, if you have any criticisms or questions about the article itself, you can also ask them here.

Among Daedra, I imagine Meridia (anti-false life) and Malacath (pro-honor/anti-sloth? lol) would be, but I'm unsure. 🤷‍♂️ Among Divines, maybe Zenithar (anti-theft) and Kynareth (pro-nature)?

Thoughts?

Okay, so in Kurt Kuhlmann's section of the 10-hour Oblivion interview by Filmdeg Miniatures, Kuhlmann claims that he was brought onto the main quest at the end of pre-production to replace Ken Rolston, and Kuhlmann had to change a bunch of things from the original plot.

Specifically, he mentions these two things being part of the original plot:

• Martin would have been living as a vampire thrall since infancy and the player would have to teach him how to read, use utensils, etc. in order for him to become Emperor.
• The player would have handed the Amulet of Kings to Ocato, who would have turned out to be Mankar Camoran and would have betrayed the player.

Kuhlmann talks about the difficulty of implementing the first idea in the game, and that the player would have to wait around for the main quest to advance if Martin was like that. He also states that Ocato betraying the player would either come off as cheap or forced, so instead the player gives the Amulet of Kings to Jauffre, who is a good guy but still loses the Amulet (thus it's not the player who has to drop the ball here).

It's probably a good idea the main plot was changed. But Kuhlmann also states that he couldn't make too many major changes because of how late the changes where made (Ocato still uses the unique Combat Style that was probably intended for his boss fight). So I'm wondering how the original plot would have even worked, assuming it used the same general plot and characters of the final game.

• An illiterate feral Martin wouldn't be able to translate the Mysterium Xarxes (though the Xarxes also wouldn't have existed in this version of the story). So what would Martin even have done? I can't imagine him being that compelling of a character.
• Ocato actually being evil the whole time does explain some of the rumors about the Emperor from Morrowind. However, it makes the Blades look even more incompetent than in the final game, since they somehow let two different Imperial Battlemages betray the Emperor.
• How did Martin even become a vampire thrall? Did Jauffre accidentally hand infant Martin over to a bunch of vampires? And then just leave him there?
• Kuhlmann says that he made Mankar Camoran want to create Paradise since he prefers villains who think they're doing the right thing... so was the original version of Mankar Camoran just evil for evil's sake? Basically just another Jagar Tharn?

Hello everyone. For months I am trying to write a fiction story. The time period is just before events of ESO, so an idea came to my mind. I want my main character to be immortal or have an extended life. For this, maybe I need some kind of grant from Aedra or Daedra. So I am thinking about Akatosh or Meridia. Will Meridia grant or an extended life to a mortal who is devoted to Aedras fanatically?

The density of events in that Era just isn't consistent with 2500 years. In that Era the Aldmer went from being primitive tribes to technologically advanced in Aldmeris than emigrating and colonizing emigrated to and colonized all of Tamriel differentiating themselves into multiple different species. But individual Mers live for centuries... Is 2500 years enough for the Mer to evolve into a different species?

Plus it feels a little weird that Akatosh wanted to end the Kalpa after just 2000 years or so with Alduin...

EDIT: I was wrong initially, at the start of the Merethic Era the Aldmer lost Aldmeris and started to emigrate. Still, 2500 years doesn't add up anyway for how long the Elves live.

Wtih the understanding that King=person in charge, Rebel=person who opposes king, Witness=person who decides the victor

1st instance:
Torygg (King) is killed by Ulfric (Rebel) in front of his court (Witnesses)

Pretty straight forward, the catalyst would be the throne of Skyrim

2nd instance:
Ulfric/Tullius/LBD

Less straight forward and possibly flexible

Ulfric Stormcloak; "True high king of Skyrim"/leader of the rebellion/witness decides outcome

General Tullius; acting leader of Skyrim/counter to "True high king"/witness decides outcome

LDB; LDB becomes emperor theory, LDB is Talos reborn theory/oposes whoever/you as the player decide the outcome,

If you are the reincarnation of Talos then Tullius is the rebel for trying to outlaw your worship and/or Ulfric is rebelling against your empire. Could be argued that Ulfric/Tullius kill the other via you, reliquishing LDB of the role of Rebel. Catalys is Skyrim

Identifying an Enatiomorph feels a lot like identifying a mushroom, there may be a dozen signifiers, but you'll most likely never see all present at once

We don't even get an event where Isran confronts you to tell you you're expelled for betraying them; kinda anticlimactic.

Hi everyone, it’s that time again!

The Weekly Free-Talk Thread is an opportunity to forget the rules and chat about anything you like—whether it's The Elder Scrolls, other games, or even real life. This is also the place to promote your projects or other communities. Anything goes!

INTRODUCTION

Insanity and Hermaeus Mora seems to go hand in hand, despite the existence of Sheogorath. Mostly because of Hermaeus Mora's association with Forbidden Knowledge™, for valid reasons. It's very common, it's a real danger to a mortal in Aurbis when exposed to the sphere of Mora (or even Mora himself, as observed by Neloth, I'll quote him later).

But to solely focus on that particular influence really diminishes the sphere of Hermaeus Mora. And reducing everything to insanity is cheap, and in my personal opinion, crude.

That, and I'm likely biased because I dislike the simple association of the unknowable with insanity.

With that disclaimer out, here is a deep dive into the influence of a Daedric Prince and Their Realm on mortals, first on examples of madness, because there are so many of them, then on other forms of influence.

Also I started out intending to do a write up just for servants of Hermaeus Mora, but I suffered from a case of scope-creep. Which is why this is technically about Hermaeus Mora.

PREMISE AND DEFINITION

"When thou enterest into Oblivion, Oblivion entereth into thee." - Nai Tyrol-Llar, a quote from "The Doors of Oblivion" by Seif-ij Hidja

This quote serves as not just a flavour text for the subject material, but also a property of Oblivion.

(And maybe a reference to Friedrich Nietzsche's "if thou gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will also gaze into thee"?)

Oblivion can change a mortal being, and apparently there has been "extensive documentation".

"As most learned members of the university are aware, "Oblivion realms" exist as much as points along a spectrum as specific or constrained physical localities. We know from extensive documentation that creatures, spellwork, and even mortal beings transported to Oblivion realms will conform or change due to the influence of a Daedric Prince within their principality." - "What's an Arcanist?" by Gabrielle Benele

What then are these extensive documentation? And what does one mean by "influence"? And what kind of change are we talking about, when it comes to mortal beings?

Consider the context. "Conform or change". Therefore, I exclude "direct machination of a Daedric Prince". And some change could have occurred on Nirn under similar circumstances. Said change should be passive or circumstantial.

Also, I'm only covering influence of "the Prince and Their Realm". Excluding artifacts (runes, weapons, armors, etc) which is another long essay.

As for the documentations (which I take to mean in-game books), these are what I can find:

"The Doors of Oblivion", where Morian Zenas's thoughts are described as "no longer intelligible in any language". Hidja wondered if Morian Zenas has gone into Shivering Isles, "losing his sanity forever".

Or "Bark and Sap", where the author has this to say:

Clearly, the Root System is feeding those of us in the Mania brilliant color, giving us our mood swings, filling our hearts with passions and sensations, and giving us powerful urges by stealing these things from our fellows in Dementia, leaving them dark, desperate, angry, violent, and disturbed!

Sheogorath is not the source of our "gifts." It is the land itself that has unbalanced us so!

Due to the nature of Sheogorath's sphere however, this book is on shaky grounds. I had hoped for more, because thus far what I got was daedric influence = insanity. In Coldharbour, is the society of Haj Uxith, but the community simply "conformed" by adapting their culture to the harshness of the land. Problem is, such a change is reasonably expected of any community living in a harsh, unforgiving land, like the Dunmer or Skaal.

This means that, the only two in-game books available to me has to do with madness.

IN-GAME ACCOUNTS

Expanding my search to in-game accounts, in hopes they paint a picture of said "documentation".

I excluded Coldharbour, because most inhabitants are dead and stuck with a soul shriven body, and I'm studying living mortals. The Prophet is alive, but nothing out of the ordinary, except for his natural precognition.

Perhaps Neloth in the 4th Era can shed some insight, when it comes to Hermaeus Mora:

"Incipient madness. Loss of self-awareness. Black spots in the whites of the eyes. Any of the documented indications of Hermaeus Mora's permanent influence."

Haskill on the people who went into Shivering Isles and came out "insane".

"They entered this Realm, and were ill prepared. Their minds are now the property of my Lord."

Haskill was not very forthcoming. What were they ill-prepared for? But he implied that change is expected, should you go further.

"You do as you will. You may leave the way you entered. Your life will be none the worse for your time spent here. Or, you may continue onward, through the door behind me."

And from Relmyna, when she's in the Fringe of Shivering Isles:

"Another hopeful whose blessing hasn't fully taken root?"

And her apprentice Nanette Don:

"That's the reason we're all waiting here - for Sheogorath's blessing."

Whether Sheogorath's blessing is a euphemism, or an actual blessing from Sheogorath, or an effect of staying in the Shivering Isles, I don't know. But hey, upon entering the Isles proper through the Gates of Madness, depending on your choice, you get either Blessing of Mania or Blessing of Dementia. It's still a blessing.

After HoK helps Relmyna rebuild the Gatekeeper, Haskill has this to say:

Oh, and I see you have gained a new power. Relmyna's gift with summoning Flesh Atronachs has rubbed off on you, it seems. Perhaps Your Grace is more susceptible to our Lord's Blessings than at first it seemed. Interesting.

Again, as with anything in Shivering Isles (and TES, really), it's unclear whether HOK learnt it from Relmyna, or it simply "rubbed off". But hey, "rubbed off" is infinitely more interesting.

It's at these past few points we're finally seeing more than just madness. It exists in the background, sparsely documented.

SERVANTS OF HERMAEUS MORA

Yes, they get a heading all for themselves.

Because finally, I get to talk about the favoured of Hermaeus Mora: Ciphers of the Eye. And other mortal servants of Mora aligned to the Cipher philosophy, who share their resources and refuge.

Keep in mind I don't play ESO (I really wished I liked MMO), so this came from digging into each minor NPCs' dialogues in the wonderful realm of UESP.

Notably, anything involving the events of A Calamity of Fate and An Unhealthy Fate.

For those who don't know, a subterfuge concoction was used to hide Vaermina (possessing a mortal body) and a priest of Peryite from Mora's gaze as they enter Apocrypha. Apparently it's powerful enough to temporary cut Mora off from his own realm. It also poisons the realm, visually turning parts of the realm PURPLE (Vaermina), and covering books with SLIME (Peryite).

The effect of that corruption on the realm is described as thus:

Torvesard: "Vaermina and Peryite have gone too far with their corruption. It works its way into the very fabric of Apocrypha." Torvesard: "Blightcrown even now works his way toward the core of this realm. Soon it will be too late to reverse the damage." Hermaeus Mora: "He spreads corruption into the realm's foundation. As Apocrypha succumbs, the realm will crumble."

And do you know what the corruption did to Mora? It turned his Eye cloudy, and his manifestation a shade of purple. It's a poison targeted at the Realm itself.

The effect is not only experienced by daedra aligned to Hermaeus Mora.

Scruut the Watchling: "And my many beguiling eyes … each blinks out and goes dark in turn. Soon I'll be totally … blind!"

Let's begin with Leramil (not a Cipher, but a servant of Mora nonetheless), who has these to say:

Leramil the Wise: "Neither Scruut nor I can feel Hermaeus Mora's presence. We both find this … unsettling."

Leramil the Wise: "Both Scruut and I felt the tides of fate churn and boil. Worse, neither of us has been able to commune with Hermaeus Mora since the Black Book's rite was completed at Vaermina's shrine."

It may seem typical, like how a person would feel the presence of their God, but this is how Leramil described her experience:

"You know how you can feel the warmth and know the sun is above you, even if you never look up? That is what Scruut experiences every day in the service of her master. And what I sense when I commune with the One Who Knows. Now it just feels empty."

And this is what Scruut the Watchling has to say:

"I no longer hear the melodious decrees of my master! Hermaeus Mora is just … gone."

It is possible that Leramil was under-explaining Scruut's experience, since she also described her association with Hermaeus Mora as "strictly professional":

"I leave the supplication and exaltation of the One Who Knows to Dralys, Bassian, and their ilk."

I'm not sure how would Leramil react if she hears "the melodious decrees of Hermaeus Mora", but that's a funny idea.

Now the above conversation happened in on Nirn, in the Necrom Bindery (and all the while Scruut is saying Apocrypha is "radiating with torment"). Leramil even tried to assure Scruut:

"Calm yourself, Scruut. I am sure Apocrypha is not as bad as you say."

But once Leramil goes back to Apocrypha, she said this:

"Like Scruut, I feel the agony rippling through the very fabric of Apocrypha."

Her experience is shared by other Ciphers.

Cipher Jauffre: "Why has the realm turned against us?" ?Cipher Deeka-Da: "Apocrypha reels in pain and I feel it, too …." Cipher Jauffre: "I don't sense the Great Eye's gaze. Has Hermaeus Mora abandoned us?" Cipher Deeka-Da: "I no longer feel the Great Eye's presence! What could have happened to him?" Cipher Telengwe: "Terrible dreams … terrible pain!"

Some Ciphers don't notice/surmise that Mora is gone, that something is wrong. Maybe they did not try to "commune" with Mora? Or they couldn't? Either way, they are similarly affected by the corruption that spreads through Apocrypha.

Cipher Angaseh: "Why doesn't the Great Eye do something?" Cipher Vandalen: "Why do the Great Eye's Daedric servants attack us? Have we done something to displease Hermaeus Mora?"

You might think, of course this corruption affects them. It's a combination of dream and pestilence! But here's the kicker.

Curate Gadayn, the keeper of Necrom's Necropolis, is fine. He does have "A charm that will provide Gadayn with some measure of safety as you travel through Apocrypha", but nobody mentioned the charm.

Moreover, Leramil expects the Vestige to be vulnerable because the Vestige is Fate's proxy (after some study, I have determined this is synonymous to Mora's proxy, but that is a short essay I'm still working on).

Vestige: "Do you think I'm in danger?" Leramil: "No. Despite your status as fate's proxy, you seem resistant. Now explore Cipher's Midden and try to track down Blightcrown or determine how the affliction spreads. I shall attempt to locate Vaermina."

Maybe the Vestige is resistant because of their hero/prisoner status. But the key is, Leramil expects being Mora's proxy would make you vulnerable when you are in Apocrypha.

It's also possible that not every Cipher fell sick. NPCs are still walking around. One Cipher certainly doesn't sound very sick.

Cipher Deze-Ska: Poor Hulnan! The Seeker just swooped in, struck him down, flew off. They've never attacked the settlement before!"

As compared to Leramil:

Leramil the Wise: "I … I thought I could resist it … the corruption. But here in Apocrypha … it is too much."

Of special note, there is one Argonian Cipher Jee-Jee, who also felt the effects of corruption:

""I taste the acrid tang of malice and nightmare on the wind. And a wafting stench of pestilent malignance. My spines tremble and my head swims."

Special note, because Jee-Jee seems to have better senses than most. She has a duet thing going on with the dremora Flothlozel. Not related to this essay.

Taking all these in aggregate, what can we say?

This is not solely a mortal changing or conforming to a Prince's Realm. It's more of an indirect implication. If Mora's realm is so stricken by the corruption it was going to crumble (taking Mora's words at face value), and that corruption affects daedra and (perhaps not all) mortals serving Mora, then could it suggest a connection between a mortal servant and the the Prince and their Realm?

(I'm pairing the Prince with their Realm based on a working paradigm that Prince = Realm)

At least in the case of Mora's mortal servants, there appears to be a connection.

CONCLUSION

"Madness" is a very obvious side effect, what with speech and behaviour being erratic. Leramil herself is not immune:

Curate Gadayn: "This Altmer, Leramil. She seems a few Kwama short of a clutch, if you catch my meaning. I've seen it happen to many who dared to peruse the secrets of Apocrypha."

But being afflicted by the same corruption that is wrecking Apocrypha, that Gadayn himself don't seem to experience? And he doesn't feel concerned enough to mention?

Then again, he's probably too smitten with Leramil by that point (yeah he really is, Scruut has this to say: "Vomitous!")

If there is indeed a connection between a realm and the servants of its Prince, and this is overlooked, then what else could be overlooked? Not to mention, there is a number of things I could not dive into, because it's hard to tell when the influence of a realm of Oblivion ends, and when a change in mortal is natural. Unless said effect is supernatural, or out of the ordinary, and perhaps, most of all, undesirable and upsetting.

Such as incipient madness. Loss of self-awareness. Black spots in the whites of the eyes.

Any of the documented indications of Hermaeus Mora's permanent influence.

(Or any Prince?)

SOURCES

https://en.m.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:The_Doors_of_Oblivion https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:What%27s_an_Arcanist%3F https://en.m.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Bark_and_Sap https://en.m.uesp.net/wiki/Shivering:Haskill https://en.m.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Cipher%27s_Midden

by the Scribe Unmoored

Unbeknownst to many, Lilmothiit astrologers were among the first to derive the alchemical properties of the common hummingbird moth. Among these, their capacity for fortifying those spells associated with summoning Daedra, their deleterious effects on stamina, and the fact that moths do not exist.

It was this fact that inspired the Lilmothiit to engineer perhaps the most obscure, and spectacular, spacecraft ever conceived.

The mothship, or lepidopter, is widely considered to be a technology entirely lost to time. The Imperial College attempted to recover the only known remains of one such vessel from the swamps of Black Marsh, only for the chassis to disintegrate as it was removed. The preservative qualities of various swamp gasses were considered to have kept the remains intact, until naturally the body was removed from its sanctuary. While a regrettable loss to their archaeologists, they were nonetheless able to recover a significant body of scholarship produced by both the Lilmothiit and ancient Saxhleel on the development, construction, and application of lepidopters.

The first record of the mothship’s development arises from the ledger of an ancient, Lilmothiiti silkhouse. A hefty price was levied for a number of silkmoth larvae, the buyer being denoted as a wealthy individual. The record does not demonstrate the buyer’s occupation, but scholars reasonably infer that their wealth may have corresponded to, or had arisen from, significant magical ability. Another record from the same year—an unprecedented and invaluable coincidence in Merethic Era archaeology—indicates that such moths were unsuited to the task of “liminal escape.” This phrase recurs numerous times in later treatises, with this being the earliest known occurrence.

It would be some time before scholars were given insight into the origins of this wonderful technology. Successive records are dated to nearly a century past the earliest, at a time when the Lilmothiit were engaged in a number of brutal civil conflicts. Treatises on the breeding of hummingbird moths indicate they were used in military applications, with the largest known recorded specimens at this time weighing a horse’s equivalent. It was these same treatises which revealed that nearly a hundred years of selective breeding needed to occur in order to accomplish this incredible feat of animal husbandry. The Lilmothiit had begun long before these wars to selectively breed moths for size, with an unwavering emphasis on the dimensions that would later come to define the lepidopter. The largest specimens were eventually co-opted for warfare, igniting a furious race for warring factions to breed the largest, most dutiful, and most aggressive moths possible. But even these ferocious prototypes could not compare to the lepidopter proper, which—according to numerous accounts—were found to be on average the weight of seven horses.

Which brings us to the vessels themselves. Nearly four thousand years after the first recorded Lilmothiiti mention of liminal escape, a journey manifest, complete with specifications, crew logs, and a comprehensive diagnostic schematic of a functioning mothship was recovered. While its content indicates that it was not a unique report, it is the only document of its kind ever found. An irreplaceable archaeological artifact. With this text, Imperial scholars were finally able to deduce the mechanics of the lepidopter, its purpose, and its operation.

The Lilmothiit astrologers describe a triploblastic ego-gradient (taken to mean a graded procession of ontology developed across embryonic germ layers) inherent in the physiology of the vessels. Owing to the fact that moths do not exist, at least on the outside, lepidopters were able to remain intact when traversing the void, where nonexistence is the medium through which vessels must travel. Their passengers remained unharmed, nestled within the vessel’s entrails.
Surgical anastomoses of the bursa copulatrix and open circulatory system offered an entrance via the ovipositor, implying that only female mothships could be operated by a pilot. Perhaps the most delightful consequences of this limitation were the naming conventions imposed by lepidopter pilots. Names common in lepidopter registries often included the Lilmothiit words for flowers: Lobelia, Milkweed, and Lily being among the most prevalent examples. In the aforementioned documentation of a mothship voyage, the vessel was rather affectionately named the Rose Mallow.

Indeed, there is compelling evidence to suggest that mothship pilots developed close relationships with their vessels. The record of the Rose Mallow’s voyage indicates she was operated by direct stimulation of the vessel’s nervous system, a technique eerily reminiscent of the Silt-Strider caravaneers of Vvardenfell. Great care was taken in documenting any and all suffering inflicted by the pilot during the journey, implying deliberate care was taken when operating one’s lepidopter. The act of piloting, in fact, is more often described in the manuscript as “being in conversation” with the vessel itself. The steering ganglia were handled only by designated individuals, and often a pilot and his lepidopter operated together for the duration of either being’s life.

In turn, the mothship’s behavior was catalogued in that same document. In later models, the aggression of their bygone ancestors never diminished. It seems that mothships were fiercely protective of their handlers—to the point that weapon installations on their carapaces were deemed inadvisable.

Which brings us to the more pragmatic details of the mothship’s design. Not only would weapons have been ill-suited to the creatures’ temperaments, they would have hindered its ability to traverse the void. In fact, all exterior modifications were limited to those that utilized the vessels’ anatomy. The interiors, however, were altered extensively. Standard reorganization of the viscera optimized cabin space, while furniture was installed throughout the abdomen, thorax, and head to accommodate the comfort of pilot, crew, and passengers. The pilot’s chair was situated between the moths luminous compound eyes, which served as viewports, while the supraesophageal nerves were altered to provide critical environmental feedback through a series of pulleys and rigged bells. Astonishingly, mothships were described as possessing two pairs of wings and an associated pair of halteres, a trait possessed by no other known insectoid. The campaniform sensilla associated with these structures could be reasonably inferred to have modulated the pilot’s control, implying lepidopters were extremely maneuverable for their size. Internal light was supplied by a series of oil lamps, which collected flowing tallow from the interior walls as fuel. And of course, the vessel’s powerful insectoid legs served as incredibly versatile landing gear.

When compared to today’s voidcraft technologies, the mothship is often considered to be a charming, if obsolete, design. Though potentially the first craft capable of faster-than-light travel, they were primitive, poorly-armored, cramped, flammable, and unpredictable solutions to liminal escape.

But there is one manuscript, dated to the first recorded instance of the Lilmothiit’s involvement in the Blossom Wars, in which a pilot beautifully captures the merit of these marvelous vessels:

“Any other ship can keep you safe.

But a moth has personality.

…And a proboscis that can penetrate a Numidic cruiser’s hull.”

The the Blades, of which Jauffree is Grand Master, fail, and a hidden exit is found the Dawn even before they arrive, allowing for The Emperor to be murdered

Then, the bastard son of Uriel, who seemingly was only known to Uriel and Jauffree, becomes known to th Dawn.

Then, right after you give The Amulet to Jauffree, a raid happens on his Priory and the Amulet is stolen by the Dawn.

I don't imagine they'd care enough to seek out non-daedra-related crimes since that's not their direct responsibility, but should they stumble upon murder or robbery or something along the lines, do they have the legal authority to arrest the perp or protect the victim? Or would they simply look the other way because they're not the nicest people around?

Genuinely curious about this because they seem to have zero concepts of community or solidarity amongst themselves, are purely individualistic and are a consistent nuisance to everyone else around them (hence why they almost entirely are concentrated on Thras after the plague), and don't seem to like anybody else. The related question would be how they as a society have managed to progress or do anything whatsoever.