High Priest of the Order of the Waking Flame, Sister Celdina’s origins are as mysterious and sinister as the Dagonist leader herself. Learn more about one of Dagon’s most fervent mortal followers in this latest Meet the Character!
Governor Keshu,
I regret to inform you that, despite the Ivory Brigade’s best efforts, we have yet to locate the High Priest of this new Mehrunes Dagon cult, the Order of the Waking Flame. The few cultists we did question were new recruits with little knowledge of the actual workings of the organization. I heard rumors about individuals with ominous titles such as Devastator, Disastrix, or Doombringer, but received very few actual names to pursue. I did finally find one name that prompted further investigation: a woman named Sister Celdina.
As far as I can determine, Sister Celdina is not currently in Blackwood. Some other Dagonist is responsible for our current troubles. But she does seem to have authored various testimonies that many Waking Flame recruits have read, and some say that she oversees the training of select novices in a secret citadel “someplace far away.” Even more interesting, I found hints that this Sister Celdina was connected to the Longhouse Emperors’ court twenty to twenty-five years ago.
Since that’s a little before my time, I asked Councilor Lovidicus whether he recalled anyone by that name in Cyrodiil. His response:
“Sister Celdina? I recall the woman. She came to the White-Gold Tower sometime around 2E 556 or 557, during Emperor Moricar’s reign, and remained in Cyrodiil for about three or four years. She was a Breton priest, tall, with piercing dark eyes and a rather cold manner. I would describe her as strong and statuesque, with a presence and attitude that commanded one’s attention. I will never forget the rather uncanny way Celdina would stare at me until I felt almost compelled to look away.
“I never quite nailed down exactly what manner of priest she was or what her purpose was at court. In those days, Emperor Moricar maintained quite a collection of shadowy figures among his advisors—witchfolk from the Reach, mystics, charlatans, favor-seekers, influence-peddlers, and more. At times Sister Celdina seemed to be constantly at his side, but she rarely offered him any counsel in front of the rest of the court. At other times she disappeared for months to the gods only know where.
“At one point, I hired investigators to see what could be learned about Sister Celdina and how she might be advising Emperor Moricar. They discovered that she was raised in a priory near Stormhaven, taken in by priests of Magnus as a young orphan. Durcorach’s horde of Reachfolk pillaged the priory in 2E 541, and they carried her and others off into captivity. When she finally resurfaced, many months after the priory’s destruction, it was to renounce her vows and resign from her order. She sailed from Daggerfall to Leyawiin, and dropped out of sight around 2E 544. Where Celdina spent the next decade I could not say—she simply turned up one day at the White-Gold Tower and presented herself to Emperor Moricar, who rewarded her with a minor court appointment. Then a few years later, she departed the court just as suddenly as she had appeared. I never saw her again.
“Given what we now know about the Longhouse Emperors’ secret allegiances and the rise of the Waking Flame cult, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that Sister Celdina served as a priest of Mehrunes Dagon in Moricar’s court. It wasn’t something that Moricar chose to advertise—that mistake, he left to his son Leovic. But I must say I never saw Sister Celdina wearing Magnus’s holy symbol, or heard her speak a prayer in his name.”
Beyond what Councilor Lovidicus recalls, that’s all I could uncover about Sister Celdina. I wish I had better news to report. Wherever this Sister Celdina is, she’s out of our reach for now. If she turns up in Leyawiin, we’ll make capturing her our top priority. But in the meantime, we still have a mysterious High Priest to deal with and Waking Flame sympathizers watching our every move.
Your faithful servant,
Captain Rian Liore
The Ivory Brigade of Leyawiin
Originally published 10/05/2021. Original article can be found here.