Chapter 129: Conspiracy

"I want to stress that this information is not based on hearsay or unreliable, unproven conspiracy theories." Said Galvis Barelo, wearing an intense expression. "This has been recorded in the Apographa for thousands of years. It is true."

I glanced back down at the short essay that was 'Kagrenac's Tools' - one of the other documents abbot Barelo had had transcribed for me from the Dissident Priests' archive of censored works. I could see why he was keen to reinforce its veracity: it was quite a fantastical tale.

In summary, the essay said that long ago, the Dwemer found a great magical stone underneath Red Mountain, and determined that it was the heart of the dead god Lorkhan: cast there as punishment for his mischief in creating the mortal world. (This passage, of course, was the most difficult part to believe). Apparently, a Dwemer named Kagrenac wanted to use the heart to create a new god for the use and benefit of the Dwemer people.

He created three enchanted tools with this end in mind: the gauntlet 'Wraithguard' that would protect the wearer from destruction when using the other tools on the heart, the hammer 'Sunder' that would be used to 'strike the heart and produce the exact volume of power required', and the blade 'Keening' that would 'flay and focus' that power.

The 'Kagrenac's Tools' paper went on to suggest that the disappearance of the Dwemer was due to Kagrenac using the tools on the heart during the Battle of Red Mountain - and something going horribly wrong, presumably. After the battle, Dagoth Ur and Nerevar found the tools; Nerevar telling his comrade to guard the tools while he went to ask Vivec, Almalexia and Sotha Sil what should be done with them.

While Nerevar was gone, Dagoth Ur was tempted and confused by the power of the tools, and probably (as the paper said) experimented on the heart of Lorkhan with them. He then refused to give up the tools when Nerevar, Vivec, Almalexia and Sotha Sil returned to take them into safe-keeping. From what the essay said, it sounded like the power of the heart had driven Dagoth Ur quite mad. It had also made him immortal, though of course this was not discovered until later.

The confrontation dissolved into a fight, and Dagoth Ur fled, mortally wounded (or so Nerevar and his companions thought), deep into Red Mountain. Nerevar, Vivec, Almalexia and Sotha Sil all swore to protect the tools and never use them themselves - but this pact only lasted until just after Nerevar's death. Vivec, Almalexia and Sotha Sil all gave into temptation just as Dagoth Ur had, and went to Lorkhan's heart to grant themselves divine powers; fashioning themselves into the Tribunal.

The conclusion of the 'Kagrenac's Tools' essay said that even though the Tribunal were more cautious in their use of the tools on the heart - escaping the madness that befell Dagoth Ur - they were still corrupted by the process. The tools were cursed. Stealing power from a dead god was folly, and fated to disaster. The Tribunal were now losing their battle to control the power of the heart. The living gods were only sustained by the same tainted power that drove Dagoth Ur mad.

It went on in this vein for a little longer, before finishing by saying that despite the good things that Vivec, Almalexia and Sotha Sil had done as the Tribunal, they had hidden the truth of their power - and their weakness - from their followers.


Gilvas Barelo tapped this last paragraph with a long forefinger.

"They do this out of shame." He said, sitting down across from me. "They persecute us - the Dissident Priests - out of shame; and there is no doubt: it is the living gods themselves who are persecuting us. They do not want this secret to be revealed - especially in their weakened state."

"I suppose I can understand why you would want this information to come out..." I said slowly, still not entirely convinced that it was all true; "but what I'm wondering is that if this knowledge has always been held by the Temple elite, why is it that it hasn't been released earlier? Surely a secret like this would have come out at some stage."

Barelo looked somewhat pained at this.

"Until recently it has always been the opinion of those 'in the know' that the true source of the Tribunal's power should remain a secret; as Vivec, Almalexia and Sotha Sil have always maintained that they need the faith of the people to empower them in their battle against Dagoth Ur. A lot of people would obviously lose faith if they learned about Kagrenac's Tools." The abbot heaved a great sigh. "Now, however - as it becomes plain that the living gods are losing the fight - we believe that a frank examination of the source of Dagoth Ur's power is needed. Divulging the secret that the Tribunal gain their godly powers from the same source is necessary because the relative strength of each party is directly related to that of the other."

"In other words?" I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment. There had been a lot of information to absorb that morning.

"In other words," Barelo said, "as the Tribunal weaken, Dagoth Ur becomes stronger."

I nodded, and added facetiously:

"Ah - alright. Fantastic."


So; Vivec, Almalexia and Sotha Sil had knowledge - intimate knowledge, in fact - of Dagoth Ur's powers. It was then, as Sirilonwe and I prepared to leave Holamayan, that the thought leapt into my mind: who better to speak to about the destruction of a living devil than a living god? Why, Vivec was right there in the holy city that was his namesake, after all. Supposedly so, at least.

After experiencing the horrors that Dagoth Ur was feeding into the land - after seeing the plight of the Dreamers and Corprus sufferers - after suffering from the disease myself - I wanted Dagoth Ur and the Sixth House wiped out. Make no mistake. Still; approaching a being like Vivec - especially if what the Dissident Priests said about him was true - was not something to do on a whim. I needed to consider it carefully first; and perhaps see if another path presented itself.

In the meantime, relaying the lost prophecies to Nibani Maesa would be a simple task, and would no doubt earn the great appreciation of the entire Urshilaku clan. One can never have too many allies.


Nibani was overjoyed; an uncharacteristic broad grin on her face as I delivered the news the following evening that those forgotten prophecies that were so important to the Nerevarine cult were lost no longer. For an hour or more I sat in the wise-woman's yurt, repeating the 'Lost Prophecy' and the 'Seven Curses of the Sharmat' over and over - until she was satisfied that she knew them by heart. Afterwards, she asked me to leave her be for a time, and return once 'the sun had come and gone' (as she put it), so that she could give her judgement.

"Judgement?" I asked, confused.

"Yes;" Nibani replied; "a judgement is what you wanted, isn't it?"

And that was all she would say.


Sirilonwe and I spent most of the rest of the night - and all the sunlit hours of the following day - attending to Mages Guild duties we had been neglecting. Sirilonwe was very keen to hear what the wise-woman had to say; she suffered from incurable curiosity, just like me. It was one of the things I loved about her. So - we returned to the Urshilaku camp as soon as the gathering darkness allowed it. Nibani had had a full day to think about... whatever it was.


"You are the Nerevarine." The wise-woman said, as soon as we entered her yurt. She appeared to be making an effort to contain her excitement. "You shall walk the path of the Seven Visions, and pass the Trials of the Seven Visions. And I shall be your guide. All this I have seen in my dreams."

There was a thrilled tremor in her voice. Her excitement seemed to render her oblivious to the doubt and sarcasm in my voice:

"I see. Your... dreams told you this."

"Yes!" Nibani exclaimed. "This is your path. You shall be the one to destroy Dagoth Ur, and lift his seven curses."

That she mentioned Dagoth Ur was the only reason I did not stand up and leave immediately. The time when I was amused and intrigued by the Nerevarine cult and their prophecies was long past. She promised the end of Dagoth Ur, and that was what kept me with the Urshilaku.

But it was a slender thread.