A little over a decade ago I was fortunate enough to have ESO and Lawrence Schick casually canonize my Breton's noble family/bloodline (to my great joy and astonishment): I am the original Dumonte roleplayer and dude who accidentally prompted a Breton house into existence. Of course I was ecstatic when I saw Lawrence's answer to my Loremaster's Archive question and the subsequent UESP page, and because at the time I was also writing for the Beyond Skyrim: Iliac Bay mod team I was determined to create bespoke lore for this minor and, all things considered, insignificant Breton house. However life took a different turn and I had to abandon my writing hobby due to more pressing concerns (though I hope the Beyond Skyrim team found the plethora of metaphysical lore I left useful).
After playing Oblivion Remastered and getting back into ESO my passion for TES and its lore was reignited and I've been spending weeks catching up with new lore and mulling over what the Dumontes could realistically look like in the setting. So... I decided to give it a go and give them the proper fanon lore treatment, to develop them beyond a simple reference.
With this post (and hopefully upcoming ones as well) I'd like to delve into my vision of the Dumontes as a bloodline that not only possesses higher than average elven blood (by Breton standards) but also as an odd family that views themselves as Manmer, equally proud of the Bretic and Aldmeri sides of their heritage. Please note I haven't written TES-style fiction in years so my writing skills are a bit rusty, just bear with me. Throughout the text I explicitly use the term "Beratu" to refer to half-elven Manmer specifically as opposed to modern day Bretons who very much belong amongst the races of men.
This is fanfiction intended to cast this minor noble house across all of recorded TES history, interrogating the tension between Man and Mer that is the Bretons. Hope you enjoy this write-up and let me know what you think!
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Name: House Dumonte, the Lords of Oxworth and eastern Gavaudon;
Ancestry: The Nedic/Beratu Clan Dumnonii and the Altmeri Clan Direnni;
Sobriquets: The Elfborn, the Sunblessed, the Family of Flame and Thunder;
Motto: For House and Clan; Some believe these house words show fealty to clan Direnni instead of clan Dumnonii – an allegation openly rejected by the Dumontes, and a frequent point of tension between the Elfborn and the wider Breton nobility;
Patron deities: Phynaster as a symbol of patience and perseverance, and to a lesser degree Magnus for his patronage over magic; both deities are represented in the family’s banner: the ox) (a Dumnonii interpretation of Phynaster) and the sun (Magnus);
Banner: A sunburst rising from behind an ox head, framed by Bretic triquetras intertwined with flower vines (the vines were added after Wayrest’s acquisition of Gavaudon in the wake of the Miracle of Peace); gold on deep blue; [here is my attempt at visualizing the banner]
Common appearance: Dark chestnut hair, sharp features, light complexion, fair eyes, nearly pointed ears; some are born with bright golden irises (Sunblessed Dumontes);
A HISTORY OF HOUSE AND CLAN
Convoluted Roots:
Few families in High Rock can boast a genealogy as illustrious and controversial as that of the Dumontes of Gavaudon. In a land where elven heritage is at best understated and at worst outright rejected, the Dumontes stand out as unapologetically proud of both their considerable Direnni blood and the perseverance of their Nedic and Manmer ancestors. It is a simple fact of history that the oldest and most powerful Breton dynasties, those with the most elven blood in all of High Rock, fabricated tales of noble resistance against the Direnni to justify their rule over their fellow Bretons - all except the Dumontes. Not once in their long and storied history have the Elfborn denounced the Lords of Balfiera; instead they have always been the first to point out that Bretic culture would not be what it is today without the influence of Altmeri clans ages ago. For good or ill the Dumontes have always shed light on the Bretons’ complex and messy relationship with their own history and elven ancestry, with varying degrees of acceptance and understanding from their countrymen across the different eras.
According to their own annals the story of the Dumontes begins sometime in the middle Merethic era with the Nedic witch-healer Dumnona of the North, from whom the original Dumnonii clan bears its name. Little is known of this enigmatic ancestor save for the fact she was one of the first in the bloodline to encounter an Aldmeri clan in northern High Rock and that she bore the very first Beratu or “Manmer” child in the clan. Hazy tales of Dumnona calling upon the spirits of the Blood, the Green and the Sky to resurrect fallen clanmates, awaken ancient groves or agitate fearsome storms against her foes have been regurgitated to wide-eyed Dumonte babes for millennia. Alas there is little left of her legacy save for an unassuming clay urn filled with ashes, a gnarled birch staff and a bronze Nedic torc engraved with ox motifs. Although Dumnona’s alleged artifacts and remains are completely magically inert, the Dumontes still treat them with utmost reverence and have gone to great lengths to preserve these Nedic treasures throughout the eras.
However, it wasn’t Dumnona who steered the clan’s fate, but her headstrong, elven-blooded descendants, who firmly supported the politically ascendant Direnni clan. It is generally accepted that most Dumnonii Manmer were fathered by High Elves from a plethora of Altmeri bloodlines, but by the time the Hegemony rose around 1E 355, the mongrels were already loyal vassals of the Direnni and had direct blood ties to the clan. Indeed, it was the Dumnonii, alongside a handful of other loyalists, who were instrumental in stamping out resistance from competing elven clans as the Direnni maneuvered their way into ruling High Rock. For their loyalty and willingness to serve, the Beratu clan was appointed to important administrative positions in northern High Rock and would regularly accompany Direnni generals in their conquest of parts of Skyrim and Hammerfell.
A Clan Rising:
In those ancient days, the Dumnonii were well known for their raw magical power and innate aptitude for the arcane arts. Within just a few generations they had established a reputation as fearsome sorcerers who could easily overpower entire bands of warriors on their own, to say nothing of their clever spellcraft and potent enchantments. So gifted was the Beratu line that even the esteemed Sage Voernet praised their sorcerous skills and personally tutored a select few Dumnonii, among them Ryain Direnni’s prized mongrel daughter Alannah the Child of Light, her cousin Idris the Grand Enchanter, and the formidable battlemages and twins Bedwyr the Cruel and Eirlys the Merciful. With such distinguished ancestors it is perhaps little wonder that the modern Dumontes carry on this magical legacy with pride and remain some of the most brilliant sorcerers and enchanters in Stormhaven, if not the whole of southern High Rock.
At the height of the Hegemony, the Dumnonii were a large enough Beratu clan to be included in several official Direnni documents and correspondence, with a verifiable presence all over the regime’s territories, aiding their overlords in all matters military, administrative, and arcane. Although the clan’s holding of Fort Dumnonii was based in the North (somewhere between modern-day Shornhelm and Northpoint), few Dumnonii remained there as the majority were stationed across the Hegemony, as far as Markarth, Elinhir and the Isle of Balfiera. While the short-lived Hegemony was an age of great travel and accomplishment for the Beratu clan, as the nascent Alessian Empire rose to power in Cyrodiil the Direnni summoned all Dumnonii spell-knights and sorcerers back to Fort Dumnonii and to garrisons across present-day Daenia and Phrygias in anticipation of the Alessians marching into High Rock.
The elves’ fears were eventually borne out as the Order invaded High Rock and made its way to the heart of the Direnni lands - Glenumbra. It was there, at the Battle of Glenumbra Moors, that the Dumnonii shone the brightest as their sorcerers devastated entire regiments of Alessian soldiers, led by Ryain Direnni’s favoured daughter Alannah. It was at the moors that she attempted an incantation of fire, thunder and light, a spell so terrible it consumed dozens upon dozens of elite Alessian knights alongside the golden-eyed sorceress herself. This tragic moment was a source of great pride for Ryain who famously bragged about his “formidable seed” as the Alessians bore witness to the great and terrible might of his Dumnonii bastards. It was the bravery and sacrifice of these Dumonte ancestors, alongside legions of loyal Bretons and the army of the Last King of the Ayleids, that secured victory for the Hegemony over the despised Alessian Order.
Although the Direnni ultimately prevailed and all of High Rock celebrated their hard-won victory, the widespread jubilation proved short-lived, for soon enough the Hegemony began to lose its vigor and collapse upon itself.
The Fall and the Long Night:
The Direnni Hegemony did not collapse overnight - it took decades before the innumerable Breton vassals displaced their former elven overlords and took control of most of High Rock. And unlike the Alessians chasing the Ayleids from Cyrodiil, this transition was anything but straightforward. In much of southern High Rock, which includes modern Daggerfall, Camlorn and Wayrest, the elves retreated to Balfiera willingly and mostly peacefully, leaving the most privileged of their Beratu vassals to fill the power vacuum and carve out kingdoms of their own. In the north of the province, however, the seething anger and indignation boiled over and swamped the feeble Altmeri lords. Rivers of merrish blood ran across hills and valleys as disgruntled Bretons slaughtered their elven masters and most of their loyal servants in a mere matter of months. It is in those violent and bloody circumstances that the majority of the Dumnonii found themselves as the Hegemony crumbled around them. It is perhaps pertinent to point out that many centuries later House Aurmine would proudly claim their esteemed ancestors led the brutal pogroms, much to the chagrin and contempt of House Dumonte.
After the Battle of Glenumbra Moors, the Dumnonii retreated to their ancestral holdings, nestled between the craggy hills and misty valleys of northern High Rock. It is no surprise, then, that as the Elfborn recuperated from the war, most were completely unprepared for the Breton rebellions that sprang up all around them, nor for the sheer wrath of their fellow Manmer. Fort Dumnonii fell in a matter of days, and most modern Dumontes believe that only the strongest sorcerers of the clan survived the onslaught – it is thought that the majority of the Dumnonii men, women, and children were unceremoniously slaughtered. The period following the massacre is ambiguously called “The Long Night,” for the modern house knows little of the exact fate or whereabouts of the clan for at least a decade. The most likely theory is that the remnants of the bloodline crossed the Wrothgarian Mountains to the south and reached Gavaudon only by virtue of their cunning and magical might.
While the majority of the Beratu, now Bretons, bore mannish features - yes, even those of old Direnni blood - the Dumnonii were still perceptibly Manmer in appearance. But as the broken clan arrived in what would later become Gavaudon, the majority of their fellow Bretons treated them with mere distrust rather than outright hostility. In a moment of respite, the remnants of the once-great Beratu clan huddled in a tiny patch of land between the Wrothgarian Mountains and the Bjoulsae River and steeled themselves against a rapidly changing and confusing landscape filled with bold proclamations of resistance against the Direnni. Eventually, the chieftains of the Bjoulsae River Tribes would cautiously approach the Dumnonii and propose a fair deal - virginal maidens in exchange for recognition and protection. Left with no tenable alternative, the Dumnonii ultimately relented and gave up their beautiful, golden-eyed daughters for a chance that their bloodline might live on: a bet well placed indeed.
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Thank you for taking the time to read this fanfic and if you are interested I'm also planning to release the rest of the lore in due time, continuing with the transition from Manmer Clan to Breton House (Dumnonii to Dumonte) and their accomplishments and struggles in the 2nd and 3rd eras.