The Definitive Guide to Daedra
Page II

By Xan

Mehrunes Dagon (God of Destruction): Popular Daedric power. He is associated with natural dangers like fire, earthquakes, and floods. In some cultures, though, Dagon is merely a god of bloodshed and betrayal. He is an especially important deity in Morrowind, where he represents its near-inhospitable terrain.
(Varieties of Faith in the Empire)

Mehrunes Dagon maintains realms called Deadlands. According to the "Doors of Oblivion", the realms are stormy with dark twisted trees, howling spirits and billowing mist. But from the records during the Oblivion Crisis the realms of Mehrunes Dagon are masses of small fiery realms with lava as sea and fire as the sky. Complete with twisted plants like Blood Grass, poisoned Spiddal Stick and bloodthirsty Harrada Root. The inhabitants are mostly Dremora with some lesser Daedra as their slaves.

The summoning date of Mehrunes Dagon is 20th of Sun's Dusk.

According to "Darkest Darkness", three lesser Daedra are associated with Mehrunes Dagon: the agile and pesky Scamp, the ferocious and beast-like Clannfear, and the noble and deadly Dremora. We will talk later in detail about Dremora.

  
  

Mehrunes Dagon is also one of the Dunmeri Four Corners of the House of Troubles. Four Corner of the House of Trouble consists of Molag Bal, Mehrunes Dagon, Malacath and Sheogorath. These Daedric Princes rebelled against the counsel and admonition of the Tribunal, causing great kin strife and confusion among the clans and Great Houses. They are holy in that they serve the role of obstacles during the Testing. Through time they have sometimes become associated with local enemies, like the Nords, Akaviri, or Mountain Orcs. As written in the "The House of Troubles", Mehrunes Dagon is the god of destruction. He is associated with natural dangers like fire, earthquakes, and floods. To some he represents the inhospitable land of Morrowind. He tests the Dunmer will to survive and persevere.

In the series of books titled "2920, The Last Year of the First Era", Lord Sotha Sil visited Coldharbour, following the destruction of the city of Gilverdale in Valenwood by Molag Bal. He made a deal with eight of the more prominent Daedric Princes. Azura, Boethiah, Herma-Mora, Hircine, Malacath, Mehrunes Dagon, Molag Bal and Sheogorath. The term of the deal is that during the war between Morrowind and Cyrodiil, the Daedric Princes should not accept any summon by mortal, unless it was done by witches or sorcerers.

However, a former spymaster of Vivec managed to summon Mehrunes Dagon by fueling the rage of a witch of the Skeffington Coven in High Rock. The witch wanted to take revenge upon the Duke of Morrowind, while the spymaster just wanted to see Morrowind suffered after what Vivec had done to him. Mehrunes Dagon overdid and destroyed the capital of Morrowind, Mournhold. The invasion of the city of Mournhold by Mehrunes Dagon is one of the most terrible destructions ever recorded by the historians. Although Mehrunes Dagon was eventually banished back to Oblivion by a joined effort of Almalexia and Sotha Sil, Mournhold had been totally destroyed, and the Duke of Morrowind was slain. A new city is constructed right atop the ruins of the destroyed Mournhold.

During the Imperial Simulacrum, Jagar Tharn dealt with Mehrunes Dagon. Mehrunes Dagon then assaulted the Battlespire, a proving ground and bastion of the Imperial Battlemages. Tharn had to destroy the Imperial Battlemages to smoothen his rule over Tamriel on Uriel Septim VII seat. However, the Prince of Destruction had a hidden agenda - he wanted to invade Tamriel. Since the Prince and his Daedric army cannot cross the realities directly, he conquered and used multiple pocket dimensions and the Battlespire (the final gateway) as the steps to the mortal realm. One of the invaded realms is Shade Perilous, one of the realms of Daedric Prince Nocturnal. Two Nocturnal's lieutenants, Deyanira Katrece and Jaciel Morgen were severely suffered by the invasion of Mehrunes Dagon.

Although the Battlespire had fallen; but an unknown hero managed to banish Mehrunes Dagon to Oblivion. The hero used Mehrunes Dagon's protonymic and neonymic; and then hit the Prince with the Daedric Broadsword of the Moon Reiver. The Broadsword of Moon Reiver is an artifact of great power that was personally forged from Mehrunes Dagon's own essence. With this action, Mehrunes Dagon's anchor to the mortal realm was severed and he was banished to Oblivion. The Battlespire itself was destroyed after the banishment of Mehrunes Dagon, due to the magicka anchors that supporting the floating citadel were also severed. More information on this issue can be found in The Story of Battlespire.

Another artifact that worth noted in this period of chaos is the Daedric Crescent Blade. These blades were used in the invasion of Battlespire by Mehrunes Dagon's army. After the event though, the Septim Dynasty declares this weapon illegal, and thus makes the blade highly prized among the collectors.

Other famous artifact of Mehrunes Dagon is Mehrunes' Razor. This mythical artifact is capable of slaying any creature instantly. This blade is highly prized among the assassins. The Hero of Daggerfall once was rewarded by Mehrunes Dagon after his service of eliminating a troublesome Frost Daedra. Decades later, the blade was recovered in the bad condition by the Nerevarine, and then Mehrunes Dagon in his shrine of Yasamiddan, restored the blade to its former glory. Detail conversation of the event can be read here.

In the south Cyrodiil, there exists the Nefarivigum, a foul construct of Mehrunes Dagon, was erected to be ever watchful for the pilgrim who would approach it and best an unknown trial of worth. It is said that such a pilgrim would be rewarded with the blessing of Mehrunes Razor. It seems that the construct is able to retrieve the razor from its current owner, and give it to the pilgrim that finished the trial. The Ayleids tried to prevent the blade to be released; therefore they erected Varsa Baalim, a city that surrounded the Nefarivigum. After so many years the city stood strong, some unfortunate events occurred, and the city were destroyed and lost from the history.

Some decades after the destruction of Battlespire, in 3E 433, Mythic Dawn, a cult of Mehrunes Dagon worshipper, managed to assassinate the Emperor Uriel Septim VII and the royal family of the Septim Dynasty. This started the event called the Oblivion Crisis. It is a period of time when the force of Oblivion under the lead of Mehrunes Dagon invaded Tamriel, with the assistance of the Mythic Dawn cult. The Gates of Oblivion appeared everywhere throughout Tamriel.

Brother Martin, a monk under the service of Akatosh in Kvatch, which is in fact a direct descendant of Uriel Septim VII, after being convinced by the Champion of Cyrodiil tried to prevent the fall of the mortal realm to Mehrunes Dagon. The Champion of Cyrodiil helped him recovering the Amulet of Kings and slain Mankar Camoran, the leader of the Mythic Dawn cult. However, when Martin was in his way to relight the Dragonfire to reseal the covenant made by Queen Alessia back in the First Era, Mehrunes Dagon and his minions had managed to cross the border between realities and invaded the Imperial City. Martin sacrificed himself while breaking the Amulet of Kings. This action summoned Akatosh. The Chief of the Aedra and the Daedra of Destruction clashed!

The titanic battle ended when Akatosh defeated and banished the Prince of Destruction back to Oblivion. Then Akatosh sealed the barrier between realities so that the Daedra will not be able to invade anymore. Alas, the last descendant of the Septim is no more; the Cyrodiil Empire has no Emperor. The future for the third Empire of Men is bleak.

Sometime during the Oblivion Crisis, Frathen Drothan, a rogue Telvanni tried to retrieve the blade in order to support his rebellion against the Imperial. He found the ruin of Varsa Baalim, and eventually he reached Nefarivigum, however the Champion of Cyrodiil thwarted his evil and retrieved the blade for himself.

Mephala (Androgyne): Mephala is the Webspinner, or the Spider God. In Morrowind, he/she was the ancestor that taught the Chimer the skills they would need to evade their enemies or to kill them with secret murder. Enemies were numerous in those days since the Chimer were a small faction. He/she, along with Boethiah, organized the clan systems that eventually became the basis for the Great Houses. He/she founded the Morag Tong. Also called the Anticipation of Vivec.
(Varieties of Faith in the Empire)

The summoning date of Mephala is 13th of Frost Fall. Mephala can also be summoned in her shrine, if the summoner offered Nightshade at her statue between midnight and dawn.

According to "Darkest Darkness", Spider Daedra are the servants of Mephala, taking the form of spider-humanoid centaurs, with a naked upper head, torso, and arms of human proportions, mounted on the eight legs and armored carapace of a giant spider. Unfortunately, these Daedra are so fierce and irrational that they cannot be trusted to heed the commands of the Spinner. As a consequence, few sorcerers are willing to either summon or bind such creatures in Morrowind. However before the Oblivion Crisis, some conjurers had found a way to bind and summon this chaotic Daedra.

  

Mephala also another strange Prince, sometime the Prince appears female, while other appears male. In fact, Mephala has both male and female genitalia (hermaphroditic), and both are grossly exaggerated in the idols, drawings, and carvings that depict it.

As mentioned above, Mephala is one of the three Good Daedra of the Dunmer. The Good Daedra are Azura, Boethiah and Mephala. They were mostly worshipped by the Chimer prior to the apotheosis of the Tribunal, and their changing to Dunmer. The Dunmeri Temple acknowledges them as the anticipations of the Tribunal. Azura is the anticipation of Sotha Sil, Boethiah is the anticipation of Almalexia and Mephala is the anticipation of Vivec.

Back in the Merethic Era, Boethiah "illuminated" the Prophet Veloth and his Chimer followers to renounce all ties to the Aldmer and found a new nation based on Daedric principles (it is Morrowind today). Azura taught the Chimer the mysteries needed to be different than the Altmer. Mephala taught the Chimer the skills they would need to evade their enemies or to kill them with secret murder. Enemies were numerous in those days since the Chimer was a small faction. Mephala, along with Boethiah, organized the clan systems that eventually became the basis for the Great Houses of the Dunmer. Mephala created an assassin guild, Morag Tong.

Artisa Arelas, one of the Savants of Morrowind, explains "The Morag Tong is an assassins guild sanctioned by the Empire to provide three varieties of execution: public executions, private executions, and House Wars executions. Constrained by ancient traditions and rigid codes of conduct, the Morag Tong only recruits candidates of proven skill and honor. Morag Tong only accepts legally approved contracts called 'writs,' but rumor hints at the execution of secret extralegal 'grey writs.' The Morag Tong is the sworn enemy of the Dark Brotherhood."

Some members of the Morag Tong want to do more than religious assassination; they want profit. In an unknown year in the Second Era, another guild of assassins was established, the Dark Brotherhood. Morag Tong regards this new guild as a depraved perversion of the ancient law-abiding order of the Morag Tong. This makes the Dark Brotherhood to be the sworn enemy of the Morag Tong.

Although it is said that the Dark Brotherhood values coins than religion, but they religiously worship one primordial state of chaos, Sithis. Sithis talks only to the Night Mother, then the Night Mother brings the information (usually the murderous contract) to the listener, and continues until the information reached the murderer, the lowest member of the Dark Brotherhood who should perform the killing.

There are so many controversies about the entity called the Night Mother. Carlovac Townway in his famous historical series "2920, The Last Year of the First Era", portrays the Night Mother as a sexy dark woman, which lead the Morag Tong. And this is argued by Ynir Gorming in his book titled, "Fire and Darkness: The Brotherhoods of Death." Gorming speculates that Night Mother is Mephala herself. Another account by Enric Milnes which titled "Sacred Witness: A True History of the Night Mother" says that Night Mother is just an elder female mortal. Lots of contradictions and no one knows who exactly the Night Mother is.

The "Black Hands" Mephala is worshipped mostly by Morag Tong, while other worship to the Good Daedra ceased to exist in the Dunmer society. Usually there is a shrine of Mephala in the Morag Tong base. The Nerevarine once has dealt with Mephala in the Morag Tong headquarter in Vivec city. Easily to guess, the Daedric Prince requested for someone to be emilinated for an exchange of an artifact, in this case the Ring of Khajiit.

There is a record of Mephala dealing with another Daedric Prince, Sanguine. Mephala made a deal with Sanguine for twenty-seven tokens she could give to her devoted followers. The Dark Brotherhood stole these tokens from the Morag Tong. According to Morag Tong member, Mephala eventually arranged for them to return to the guild. It was called the Thread of the Webspinner. The Nerevarine systemically killed the member of the Dark Brotherhood one-by-one, including the Dark Brotherhood Night Mother in the ruin of Ald Sotha, and retrieved back the tokens. It rather contradicts the information above that Night Mother is Mephala. Something for sure, these assassins guilds are not an open book, and information about them is obscured to public.

Before this event however, the Nerevarine was rewarded by Ring of Khajiit by Mephala after he slew a rogue assassin in Balmora. Detail conversation of the event can be read here.

The Champion of Cyrodiil is also reported dealing with Mephala. She asked the champion to go to the settlement of Bleaker's Way, which consisted of two families. She ordered the champion to kill the leaders of the two families, and leave evidence that the murders were done by the other family. Eventually this brought chaos to the peaceful settlement, the members of the two families killed each other. Mephala was pleased seeing this and rewarded the champion the Ebony Blade. Detail conversation of the event can be read here. The Ebony Blade was also rewarded to the Hero of Daggerfall sometime after the War of Betony. The blade was around, since the time of the Eternal Champion. It is also believed that the Eternal Champion himself once wielded the blade.

The Ebony Blade is indeed dark. The legend says, "The Ebony Blade, sometimes called the Vampire or the Leech, resembles an ebony katana, and its power is very dark indeed. Every time the Ebony Blade strikes an opponent, part of the damage inflicted flows into the wielder as raw power. The Blade itself may not be any more evil than those who have used it, but at some point in its history, a charm was cast on it so it would not remain with any one bladesman for long. The wizard who cast this charm sought to save the souls of any too infatuated by the Blade, and perhaps he was right to do so."

  

Meridia, also known as the Lady of Infinite Energies, hates the undead and the people who practice Necromancy. Somewhere in 3E 433, Meridia was summoned by the Champion of Cyrodiil. Meridia wanted the champion to clean certain cave from Necromancers and their undead. She rewarded the champion her Ring of Khajiit. The same artifact was given by Meridia to the hero of Daggerfall, obviously after the hero finished certain quest from her.

The Ring of the Khajiit is an ancient relic, hundreds of years older than Rajhin, the thief that made the Ring famous. It was Rajhin who used the Ring's powers to make himself invisible and as quick as the breath of wind. Using the Ring, he became the most successful burglar in Elsweyr's history. Rajhin's eventual fate is a mystery, but according to legend, the Ring rebelled against such constant use and disappeared, leaving Rajhin helpless before his enemies.

Back in the First Era, during the Alessia's rebellion, the Ayleids made a pact with Meridia and her minions, Auroran to help the Ayleids against the human rebellion. The Ayleids champion Umaril the Unfeathered bound his life force in the realm of Meridia, this made him has Daedra-like immortality. When he is slain in the mundus, his spirit will float in the Water of Oblivion and eventually returns to Meridia's realm.

Pelinal Whitestrake the champion of men and blessed by the the Eight Divines (Akatosh, Mara, Dibella, Arkay, Stendarr, Julianos and Zenithar), led the battle in the White Gold Tower, he defeated Umaril and his host of Auroran, and the tower fell. However, the spirit of Umaril survived and during the Oblivion Crisis, Umaril once again walked on the surface of Tamriel. His mission was to cast down the worship of the Gods who help Pelinal Whitestrake destroyed him in the First Era.

Champion of Cyrodiil took the quest to recover the Crusader Relics, the armor and weapons of Pelinal Whitestrake. In the end, Champion of Cyrodiil with his host of Knights of the Nine stormed Umaril's stronghold of Garlas Malatar. The Champion defeated Umaril's mortal form and with the Blessing of Talos, he could ascend into the Oblivion and destroyed Umaril's spirit once and for all. Detail conversation of the event can be read here.

Molag Bal (God of Schemes, King of Rape): Daedric power of much importance in Morrowind. There, he is always the archenemy of Boethiah, the Prince of Plots. He is the main source of the obstacles to the Dunmer (and preceding Chimer) people. In the legends, Molag Bal always tries to upset the bloodlines of Houses or otherwise ruin Dunmeri 'purity'. A race of supermonsters, said to live in Molag Amur, are the result of his seduction of Vivec during the previous era.
(Varieties of Faith in the Empire)

As recorded in "The Doors of Oblivion", Molag Bal maintains the realm called Coldharbour. A freezing realm with a burning sky and muddy ground, desolate, barren and filled with suffering.

The summoning date of Molag Bal is 20th of Evening Star. Molag Bal can also be summoned in his shrine by offering a lion pelt.

Molag Bal is also one of the Dunmeri Four Corners of the House of Troubles. Four Corner of the House of Trouble consists of Molag Bal, Mehrunes Dagon, Malacath and Sheogorath. These Daedric Princes rebelled against the counsel and admonition of the Tribunal, causing great kin strife and confusion among the clans and Great Houses. They are holy in that they serve the role of obstacles during the Testing. Through time they have sometimes become associated with local enemies, like the Nords, Akaviri, or Mountain Orcs. As written in the "The House of Troubles", Molag Bal tries to upset the bloodlines of Houses and otherwise ruin the Dunmer gene pool. A race of monsters, said to live in Molag Amur, are the result of his seduction of Vivec during the previous era. The detail of this gross Dunmeri Temple doctrine is recorded in "The Thirty-Six Lessons of Vivec."

According to "Darkest Darkness", the crocodile-headed humanoid Daedra called the Daedroth is a servant of Molag Bal.

  

In 1E 2920, Molag Bal under the summon of King Dro'Zel of Senchal, destroyed the city of Gilverdale. All the inhabitants were killed in a bright red mist. This Daedric massacre forced Sotha Sil to make a journey to Coldharbour, dealing with some of the prominent Daedric Princes in order to avoid the fate of Gilverdale to befallen to other cities in Tamriel, considering that Morrowind was still fighting in the war against Cyrodiil.

From the Dunmeri Temple's doctrine, "Vampires of Vvardenfell, Volume II", states that The Daedric Prince Molag Bal is the father of Vampires. He spawned the first vampire upon the corpse of a defeated foe. On a side note, Galur Rithari, one of the Bouyant Armiger was cured from Vampirism by Molag Bal. It is recorded in his "Private Papers of Galur Rithari, Buoyant Armiger". Somehow, the Dunmeri Temple keeps this record from the world, with no clear reason.

Molag Bal as the father of Vampirism is also recorded in the book called "Opusculus Lamae Bal ta Mezzamortie." The book tells a story of Molag Bal, in his hatred towards Arkay, corrupted a body of a Nedic female, Lamae Beolfag. Lamae later is known as Lamae Bal and she is also known as the Blood Matron and the First Vampire.

Which record is correct? We cannot be sure on that, but as all other information we got from Tamriel, it is relative to the person who recorded the information. But one thing for sure, Molag Bal is indeed the creator of Vampirism.

Vampirism is evolving throughout the millenia. They evolved into a lots of Bloodlines or clans. From Iliac Bay, which separated the provinces of Hammerfell and High Rock, the scholars recorded about nine clans. They are Lysrezi, Anthosis, Vraseth, Khulari, Thrafey, Haarvenu, Garlythi, Selenu and Montalion. Each of their blood has different traits, like Selenu for instance; they have the abilities to resist the power of cold, fire or shock. Vvardenfell region of Morrowind has different bloodlines: Aundae, Berne and Quarra. Aundae blood increase arcane abilities, while Quarra blood boost the physical prowess, and Berne blood bestow increased power in the stealth area. According to "Manifesto Cyrodiil Vampyrum," Black Marsh has its own share of Bloodlines, the Whet-Fang, which apparently has more power in arcane skills.

While they are split into numerous clans or bloodlines, but they have the same vampiric traits: their attributes (like strength and speed) are increased, immune to all disease and normal weapons, but they have disadvantages. Normal folks will not deal with vampire; the Vampires are usually exiled to tombs or wilderness. Other disadvantage is sunburn. They cannot walk during daytime without their skin burned.

The Vampires of Iliac Bay and Vvardenfell are easily recognized by the common folks, but this is not entirely true for Cyrodiilic Vampires. It's obvious the Cyrodiil have different blood. They have three states of vampire form; this all depends on the time of feeding. When the Cyrodiilic Vampires are well fed, they are hardly recognized by the common folks and can even walk on daylight. When they are starving, all the vampire traits are showed up and they cannot fool the common folks anymore as their face are changed. This unique trait of Cyrodiilic Vampires, according to "Manifesto Cyrodiil Vampyrum," was a gift from Clavicus Vile. Therefore the Cyrodiilic Vampires worship Molag Bal as well as Clavicus Vile.

Sometime Vampires are called diseased folks; while others (including all the common literatures) say that they are undead. One thing for sure it starts with a disease. "Porphyric Hemophilia" is a minor disease that one may receive when fighting a vampire. The minor disease drains fatigue over time but this hardly recognized since the number it drains is very minor. At this step, the disease can be cured by standard cure-disease potion. When the disease was not cured for three days, the infected person transforms into a vampire. The transformation involves death where all the life signs are disappeared. When eventually the person awakes, he or she is fully Vampire and the hunger for blood usually cannot be ignored.

Somehow the legend says that the Nerevarine had also been cured from the Vampirism. Molag Bal himself cured the Nerevarine - obviously after a deed done by the Nerevarine (the detail is here), but the Prince said some interesting lines when he was curing the Nerevarine.

"I see you have done as I asked, little vampire. It was not easy for me to obtain the cure, but I was able to pry it from Vaermina after some...discussion. You have earned it. Now I have eternity to punish my daughter for her defiance. Your curse is lifted. Yet...I wonder, will you miss the taste of blood on your lips? When you sleep, will you taste the salt and copper flowing over your tongue? Go, mortal. Bask in your precious sunlight."

Vaernima? What did the Prince of Dreams and Nightmares do with Vampirism? Did she alter the Bloodlines of Vvardenfell Vampires just like Clavicus Vile did with Cyrodiilic Vampires? Perhaps she did something with the dreams or nightmares that Vampires receive? Lots of questions, no answer just yet.

While talking about Vampirism cure, some claim that Bretony witches in High Rock, are able to cure this Vampirism, as well as Lycanthropy. The recent report more or less proves this information. The Champion of Cyrodiil was also infected with the Vampirism. In order to cure himself, he spoke with a Breton witch named Melisande in Nibenay, and she asked six cloves of Garlic, five Nightshade leaves, and two shoots of Bloodgrass. She also needed the blood of an Argonian, and the ashes of a powerful vampire. Not easy tasks, but eventually those ingredients were collected, and then the champion received two doses of Vampire Cure potions.

Molag Bal was summoned by the Champion of Cyrodiil. He wished for the champion to corrupt Melus Petilius, by forcing him to kill with the Cursed Mace. The champion was able to enrage Petilius and this made him to grab the Cursed Mace and used it to kill the champion. Right before the final blow, Molag Bal transported the champion back to his shrine and pleased of job well done. He gave the Mace of Molag Bal. The same artifact was given also by Molag Bal to the Hero of Daggerfall some decades earlier. Detail conversation of the event can be read here.

The "Vampire's Mace", the other name of the Mace of Molag Bal, was also given to the Nerevarine. Molag Bal was summoned by the Nerevarine in his shrine of Yansirramus. Molag Bal tasked the Nerevarine to slay the Daedroth Monarch named Menta Na. The Nerevarine was eventually rewarded with the mace. Detail conversation of the event can be read here.

  

There is a tale about a person who had dealt with the Prince sometime in the First Era. His name is Wheedle, somehow he was the 13th child of a king in Valenwood. As such Wheedle was in no position to take the throne or even inherit much property or wealth. So when he met Namira, he begged her to be her apprentice (obviously for power) until finally Namira gave up. She gave him three "blessings"; disease, pity and disregard. He became a beggar, a terrible beggar. However, with those "blessings", his name became legendary among the beggars and with the disregard power, Wheedle discovered that the power gave great access to the secrets of the realms. People unknowingly said important things where Wheedle could hear them. Wheedle grew to know the comings and goings of every citizen in the city. To this day, it is said that if you really want to know something, go ask the beggars. They have eyes and ears throughout the cities. They know all the little secrets of the daily lives of its citizens. The complete tale is recorded in the book "Beggar Prince."

When summoned by the Champion of Cyrodiil, Namira spoke to the champion about the Forgotten, a group of fanatical worshippers that lives in the darkness of Anga. Some priests of Arkay were planning to bring light to Anga and "save" the Forgotten Ones. The champion was asked by Namira to use the spell that Namira has given me on the priests, and let the Forgotten Ones finish them off. No need to tell that eventually those priests of Arkay met their unfortunate end in Anga. Namira rewarded her ring. The Ring of Namira has a strange enchantment; while the ring is being worn, any damage the bearer takes is suffered by the attacker as well. Detail conversation of the event can be read here.

  

Nocturnal more-less is thieves deity, although she does not ask for worshippers, nor does she necessarily give blessings to those that do recognize her. It is quite an irony that the mistress of the Thieves had problem with the stealing of some of her artifacts. The Cowl of Nocturnal (Waughin Jarth's "Purloined Shadows" says it's her cloak) is one of the prized possessions of the Thieves Guild. The master thief of the Cyrodiil Thieves Guild is known as the Gray Fox and he always recognized by his Cowl of Nocturnal. The cowl was stolen by the first Gray Fox, Emer Dareloth. Nocturnal cursed the cowl and its user, "Whoever wears Nocturnal's cowl shall have his name stricken from history."

Circa 3E 433, the latest Gray Fox, Corvus Umbranox, used The Elder Scrolls to undo the curse. The cowl now does not erase the name of its wielder from history, and the tradition of Gray Fox as the leader is still preserved by the Cyrodiil Thieves Guild.

The cowl was also told stolen in one amusing song called "Song of Hrormir." Nocturnal was tricked by Hrormir in order to save his old companion Darfang. She traded Darfang's soul for the service (by keeping his soul) of Hrormir, so that he would assist her followers dividing the kingdom of Aelfendor, but in the end the kingdom was left intact while Nocturnal's followers were divided. And the Gray Cowl of Nocturnal was also taken by Hrormir. To get the cowl back, Nocturnal was forced to release Hrormir's soul and left with nothing to gain.

Nocturnal lose another of her artifacts, the Eye of Nocturnal. It was stolen by some Leyawiin thieves and hidden in Tidewater Cave. The artifact was finally recovered by the Champion of Cyrodiil, and for the deed, the champion was rewarded with the Skeleton Key. Detail conversation of the event can be read here.

The Skeleton's Key was reported, owned for the first time by an obscured person named Arrovan. Many years later, the Eternal Champion during the Imperial Simulacrum, found a map in a dungeon in Valenwood that pointed to the location of the Skeleton's Key somewhere in Summerset Isle. Using the map, the Eternal Champion found and claimed the key. Then sometime in 3E 397, the Hero of the Azra's Crossing found the Skeleton Key in one of the chests in the Citadel of Broken Wing. Indeed the artifact travels between heroes and locations, as the legend says, it would never be the property of one thief for too long.

  

During the Oblivion Crisis, the Taskmaster asked the Champion of Cyrodiil to rescue the trapped souls of his followers. They were trying to reach the realm of Peryte, but instead their souls were transported to another realm, most likely Mehrunes Dagon's as it was time when Mehrunes Dagon launched his attack to Tamriel with lots of small fiery realms as bases. The Champion of Cyrodiil was finally succeeded to rescue all of them and returned their souls to their body. Peryite rewarded the champion with the Dwarven shield of Spellbreaker. Detail conversation of the event can be read here.

Also worth noted, that the shield was also rewarded by Peryite to the Hero of Daggerfall some decades earlier after some contract well done. It is unknown to us how Peryite managed to retrieve the Spellbreaker from time to time. The Eternal Champion was also one of the wielders of the Dwarven shield. He found the shield somewhere in Hammerfell - perhaps the original place of the shield? The legend says:

Spell Breaker, superficially a Dwarven tower shield, is one of the most ancient relics of Tamriel. Aside from its historic importance dating from the Battle of Rourken-Shalidor, the Spell Breaker protects its wielder almost completely from any spellcaster, either by dispelling magicks or silencing any mage about to cast a spell. It is said that the Breaker still searches for its original owner, and will not remain the property of any one else for long. For most, possessing Spell Breaker for any time is power enough.

According to the text above, the tower shield has some connection with Dwemer clan of Rourken and Hammerfell was the home of the Rourken clan. So it is highly possible for the Hammerfell to be the original home of the tower shield, but the connection of Rourken and Peryite? That is unknown.

  

When the Champion of Cyrodiil visited the Shrine of Sanguine and summoned him, sometime during the Oblivion Crisis, Sanguine tasked the Champion of Cyrodiil to join the royal dinner party of the Countess of Leyawiin, Alessia Caro. Sanguine believed that the Countess of Leyawiin was too stuffy, and wanted the champion to do something about it. The champion should sneak into the castle undetected and cast the spell of Stark Reality on her and her guests. When the champion cast the spell all the guests and the Countess herself were stripped, it brought chaos to the party, but Sanguine was pleased. When the champion returned to the shrine, Sanguine rewarded his Sanguine's Rose to the Champion of Cyrodiil. A staff that has capability to summon a lesser Daedra to "supposedly" fights for the wielder of the staff. Detail conversation of the event can be read here. The same artifact was also rewarded some decades before to the Hero of Daggerfall, and also to Martin, the last of the Septim. Martin in his youth was one of the followers of a Daedric Cult, and he somehow retrieved Sanguine's Rose - probably after some odd task.

Sanguine once was asked by Mephala for twenty-seven tokens she could give to her devoted followers. The Dark Brotherhood stole these tokens from the Morag Tong. According to Morag Tong member, Mephala eventually arranged for them to return to the guild. The Nerevarine systemically killed the member of the Dark Brotherhood one-by-one and retrieve back the tokens.

Sheogorath (The Mad God): The fearful obeisance of Sheogorath is widespread, and is found in most Tamrielic quarters. Contemporary sources indicate that his roots are in Aldmeri creation stories; therein, he is 'born' when Lorkhan's divine spark is removed. One crucial myth calls him the 'Sithis-shaped hole' of the world.
(Varieties of Faith in the Empire)

Sheogorath maintains a chaotic realm called the Madhouse or Shivering Isles. No one ever escape from this realm with his sanity intact to tell the tale of the realm. Morian Zenas, the famous conjurer and writer, is suspected lost his sanity and lost his soul in this realm while exploring the Daedric Realms. The detail can be read in Seif-ij Hidja's "The Doors of Oblivion."

The summoning date of Sheogorath is 2nd of Sun's Dawn, or whenever there is storm in the area where the summoning ritual being performed. In his shrine, Sheogorath may accept summon, if the summoner offered a lesser soul gem, a head of lettuce, and some yarn.

  
  

Sheogorath is also one of the Dunmeri Four Corners of the House of Troubles. Four Corner of the House of Trouble consists of Molag Bal, Mehrunes Dagon, Malacath and Sheogorath. These Daedric Princes rebelled against the counsel and admonition of the Tribunal, causing great kin strife and confusion among the clans and Great Houses. They are holy in that they serve the role of obstacles during the Testing. Through time they have sometimes become associated with local enemies, like the Nords, Akaviri, or Mountain Orcs. As written in the "The House of Troubles":

"Sheogorath is the King of Madness. He always tests the Dunmer for mental weakness. In many legends he is called upon by one Dunmer faction against another; in half of these stories he does not betray those who called him, further confusing the issue of his place in the scheme of things (can he help us? is he not an obstacle?). He is often associated with the fear other races have of the Dunmer, especially those who, like the Empire, might prove as useful allies."

Further, Sinnammu Mirpal, the Ashlander, said:

For those who serve Sheogorath, the Mad Lord, there is no good or evil, right or wrong, true or false, real or unreal. For them, there is only what they want, and what they see. With such carelessness, only the very strong and very lucky cultists survive, while the weak provide sport and amusement for the others. And the Spawn of Sheogorath are never twice the same, and each more terrible than the next. It is an evil cult, and dangerous.

The book "The Pilgrim's Path", a Dunmeri Temple's doctrine, tells the manipulation done by the Prince of Madness, Sheogorath:

"When Sheogorath rebelled against the Tribunal, he tricked the moon Baar Dau into forsaking its appointed path through Oblivion. The Mad Star inspired the moon to hurl itself upon Vivec's new city, which Sheogorath claimed was built in mockery of the heavens. When Vivec learned of Sheogorath's scheme, he froze the rogue moon in the sky with a single gesture and the grace of his countenance. Overwhelmed by the courage and daring of Vivec, the moon Baar Dau swore itself to eternal service of the Tribunal and all its works. Thus the moon now stands guard over the palace, and serves as a citadel for the Temple's Ordinators."

We can still witness the magnificent power of Lord Vivec in the Vivec city, nowadays.

Right before the Warp of the West, while the hero of Daggerfall was struggling to retrieve the Mantella - the gem of immense power that needed to fuel the gigantic Numidium - in the Mantellan Crux. Sheogorath showed himself; somehow he was interested on the hero effort while in the same time mocked him.

Sheogorath somehow was able to retrieve the Spear of Bitter Mercy. In his shrine of Ihinipalit in the underwork of one of Vivec City cantons, he gave it to the Nerevarine as a reward after an insane quest of killing a giant bull netch with just a fork. The spear was used in the Battlespire by the unknown hero to kill Herne Egahirn in order to win the Wild Hunt, and it was lost after the destruction of the Battlespire. While in the Chimera of Desolation, where the spear was retrieved by the hero, the spear was deadly and impossible to be wielded without the full suit of the Armour of the Saviour's Hide. The spear in Morrowind was different, it was not that potent and could be wielded by any. Some speculation arises; did Sheogorath alter the spear? Detail conversation of the event can be read here.

During the Oblivion Crisis, Sheogorath managed to manipulate the Champion of Cyrodiil to extend his madness in the small Khajiiti settlement of Border Watch. The champion under the instruction of Sheogorath manipulated the K'Sharra prophecy in order to bring madness and chaos to the simple settlement. As a reward, Sheogorath gave his famous tool of madness, Wabbajack. The hero of Daggerfall is also recorded as the one of the wielders of this tool of madness. Detail conversation of the event can be read here.

The mystery of Sheogorath and his realm are revealed in the tome called Shivering Isles. The realm of Sheogorath was previously known as Madhouse, but in the recent survived tome, we know that the realm of madness is called Shivering Isles by Sheogorath himself. The tome tells the story of a young hero who was hired by Sheogorath to stop the Greymarch, an event that occurs in the end of an Era. According to Yngvar the Wanderer in his book "The Predecessors", the Greymarch occurs every 1000 years, thus we may assume that an Era in Shivering Isles is 1000 years.

The young hero eventually realized that the Greymarch is the event that Sheogorath turns to his previous incarnation, the Daedric Prince of Order, Jyggalag. In Jyggalag form, he will destroy the Shivering Isles, the realm that Sheogorath created and loved; and the realm of chaos. Shortly after that, Jyggalag will turn back to Sheogorath form. In turn, Sheogorath can only mourn of all was lost in the Greymarch, and he will create another realm. This cycle of Sheogorath - Jyggalag is in fact, a curse from other Daedric Princes that were worried about the power of Jyggalag.

With the help of Haskill (Sheogorath's Chamberlain) and Dyus (Jyggalag's Chamberlain), he eventually defeated Jyggalag. With this defeat Jyggalag was in fact freed from the curse as the cycle broke. Jyggalag gave the Throne of Madness to the young hero, and to wear the mantle of Sheogorath as the Daedric Prince of Madness. Then Jyggalag left to roam the Oblivion once more. We are not really sure what will happen next? Is the hero is still mortal? Or is he become immortal as Daedra? Only the time will tell of these questions.

Other than Wabbajack, Sheogorath is known to have various insane artifacts. Including here is the Staff of Everscamp. The staff is constructed of metal with four scamps figures on the top. When invoked, the staff will summon four scamps, which cannot be banished or killed or eradicated. And the wielder cannot part with the staff; means that the four scamps will follow the wielder to the end of time. The staff can be given to a person when the person was agreed to have it. If that the case, the scamps will follow the new wielder. The scamps are harmless but annoying; another sick joke of Sheogorath.

  

Not only Daedric Prince Nocturnal that has problem with thievery, Daedric Prince of Dreams and Nightmares, Vaernima lose her orb sometime in 3E 433. Arkved, a wizard that dreamed for more Daedric power, stole the orb. He used it to explore the dream realm, when he eventually trapped inside with no chance to escape. Vaernima asked the Champion of Cyrodiil, when the champion summoned her in her shrine in Nibenay to retrieve back the orb. The orb was finally recovered and the champion was awarded with the Skull of Corruption. Detail conversation of the event can be read here. The same Skull was also given to the hero of Daggerfall some years before, after finishing some dealing with her.