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Clan Direnni after the Warp in the West

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Joined: 03/25/2020
Written by Coreriil Caemor, Scribe of Clan Direnni
Published 4E 100
The Direnni are one of the oldest and and most illustrious Clans of Tamriel, so it might come as a surprise to some to know that during the late Third Era, the Clan was close to extinction. The Isle of Balfiera only had a few towns, each with few inhabitants and the Isle itself had become a haven for pirates; Ada-mantia, the seat of Direnni power itself was over-run by the undead and the Castellan of Balfiera: Medora Direnni was a prisoner in her own palace.
Her imprisonment, did not stop Medora Direnni however, from changing the course of High Rock's history. She helped the agent of Daggerfall, in their task to put King Lysandus' soul to rest and bringing his murderer to justice. With the agent's help she was also able to escape the tower but the undead in it were not completely purged, so for the time being she ruled the Isle from the town of Upvale.
In 3E 417 the Warp in the West took place, in which the forty-four independent kingdoms, counties, baronies, and duchies surrounding the Iliac Bay were condensed into four: Daggerfall, Sentinel, Wayrest, and Orsinium. The Isle of Balfiera was the place where the four powers met, to negotiate relations and their exact borders. This meeting was chaired by Lady Direnni as the neutral party.
The next few years were a time of slow recovery for Balfiera, The pirates who had taken control of many grottoes and caves near the coast were driven out by Direnni forces. The town of Upvale was built up into a small city and was made as a temporary capital of the Isle until Ada-mantia was retaken from the undead monsters that had plagued it.
In 3E 418 5th of Rain's hand Lady Direnni gave birth to a son named Nelacar Direnni. The father of the prince remains unknown. Although some were skeptical about having a bastard prince, their concerns were irrelevant, the father did not matter; Nelacar had Direnni blood and was thus the heir of Balfiera.
As Nelacar Direnni grew older, it became clear that he was becoming a powerful mage even by Altmer standards. His mother taught him the magickal arts herself, this way he became skilled in all the schools of magic, particularity in conjuration and mysticism. Although magically gifted, Nelacar was also taught history, mythology and astronomy by a variety of tutors. As a child Nelacar was fascinated by the deeds of his ancestors such as Asliel Direnni who defined the art of Alchemy and used it to defend his village from barbarians and those of Aiden Direnni who defeated the forces of the Alessian Order despite being vastly outnumbered. He could not comprehend how the Direnni could go from ruling all of High Rock and large parts of Skyrim and Hammerfell to being confined to their tiny island.
Once he grew older, Lady Direnni taught him the ways of statesmanship and ruling. He was also taught how to fight by Talib Al-Hareem, famous redguard warrior from the Alik'r, who was specifically hired by the Castellan to teach the young prince the ways of combat. Nelacar excelled in these fields as well and was seen as a prodigy by his peers.
On his fifteenth birthday, Nelacar was taken to Ada-mantia by his mother. He had seen the grandeur of the tower from the outside and heard stories how lavish and grand the interior was but this would be the first time he would see the inside of it himself. Unfortunately tower was not what it once was; every expedition to purge the tower of the undead was unsuccessful. The undead roam its once great halls, the walls are filled with cracks and old Direnni Banners lay on the floor, torn and covered with dust and rubble. Nelacar was overwhelmed by a surge of disappointment and sadness; the home of his clan was practically a ruin. The prince carried on, for on that day, his main goal was to reach the Foundation Vault and gaze upon the Zero stone as was tradition for the Direnni. He had to fight his way to the Vault, he was only accompanied by Lady Direnni. There were no guards or servants accompanying them as only those with Direnni blood were allowed to enter the vault. Mother and son used their magic to destroy any undead creature that stood on their way to the vault. When they reached the vault, the prince gazed upon the Stone for the first time and was allowed to touch it once. He also saw the Argent Aperture, the door with its lock of thirteen slowly counter-rotating rings, Unfortunately, I can not describe the stone in this book, as I have no idea how it looks or feels like, I have not had the privilege to ask Lord Direnni about the Stone either.
It was only a few months after this rite, when Tamriel was cursed with a Daedric invasion by Mehrunes' Dagon. The invasion happened all over Tamriel including High Rock, Dremora hordes poured from the the gates of oblivion upon the province. Entire cities were destroyed, Temples were burned and the knights of High Rock were killed one by one. The Isle fared better than the rest of High Rock, Lady Direnni was able to use magic to close any gate that opened on the Island, but Dagon wanted Ada-mantia, more for its symbolic meaning than strategic. Word had spread to the Isle, about the fall of the Crystal Tower, fear enveloped Balfiera. Then one day, a great Oblivion gate appeared on Isle, the gate was much larger than the previous ones and Lady Direnni struggled to close it. Daedra hordes attacked the Isle burning the small villages and temples. The horde would have taken the city of Upvale and even Ada-mantia itself, if it was not for Lady Direnni; entering the Deadlands through the gate, with her strongest warriors and destroying the sigil stone powering the gate. Although successful, Lady Direnni was mortally wounded and soon succumbed to her injuries. Although the defense succeed, the Clan lost it's lady and much of the recovery that previously took place was undone. The responsibility of ruling was passed on to Nelacar Direnni; now referred as Lord Direnni.
Soon after, reports from the imperial city came, saying how a bastard of the Septim dynasty was able to permanently close the gates of oblivion, though in doing so, he had to sacrifice himself. However conflicting reports from Summerset came, stating that it was the Thalmor who were responsible for ending the threat. Who ever was responsible for ending the crisis, Lord Direnni's first priority was to rebuild the destroyed areas of Balfiera.
Unfortunately Lord Direnni found this, to be a difficult task, the population of Balfiera had plummeted after the destruction caused by Daedra. There were too few soldiers, to defend the isle from pirates and other brigands. He once had ambitions to finally rid Ada-mantia of the undead but now many liches call it their home and there were just too few people in the Isle for him to raise a sizable army.
In 4E 22 this changed. The radical organization: the Thalmor had taken control of Summerset. Many anti-Thalmor Altmer are flee Summerset, these refugees preferred Altmer controlled lands over those controlled by the other races. The Direnni were the only Altmer rulers outside of Summerset therefore many refugees came to the Isle of Balfiera where the Direnni met them with open arms.
Although at first, it proved difficult to accommodate these refugees, through expert planning Lord Direnni managed to settle these refugees in the Isle, this led to rapid growth and development of cities and towns. Even more Mer came to the Isle when the Thalmor took control of Valenwood. Soon the Direnni had more subjects then it did even before the Oblivion crisis. The Thalmor disliked the Direnni's actions and Thalmor agents continually harass the refugee communities in the Isle however they are easily repelled.
For the first time since the days of the old Hegemony, the Isle of Balfiera had a larger Mer population than Breton. To Lord Direnni, this was nothing short of a miracle, it was reminiscent of when the Direnni took Aylied refugees fleeing the cruel Alessian order centuries earlier. He was able to found new towns and cities and expand old ones, this was beneficial both economically and militarily. For the first time Lord Direnni was able to raise an army capable to achieving his ambition.
In 4E 38 Lord Direnni finally raised an army able to purge the undead menace from the Ada-mantia once and for all. The vampires and liches that dwelled there were gone. Almost immediately Lord Direnni ordered a restoration of the tower. Walls were repaired and new banners were hung on the halls. New furniture replaced the the old and destroyed furniture. Two years after retaking the tower, Lord Direnni finally made Ada-mantia the capital of Balfiera and the seat of Clan Direnni.
Balfiera continued to prosper, Altmeri craftsmen create exotic goods that sell for a high price in the Liliac Bay. Making the Isle more important to the trade of the region. Scribes hired by the Clan, write books on topics such as magic, religion, astronomy and history (like this account.) Lord Direnni's personal project is to build a city around Ada-Mantia, similar to the Imperial City surrounding White-Gold. Though as of 4E 100, this project is still not complete.
Before I end this account, I want to dispel any rumors some might believe. Lord's Direnni's ambitions are related to purely internal affairs, he does not have any ambition of expanding outside of Balfiera. These rumors are only made by paranoid Breton nobles and hold no truth.