WRITING COMPETITION

[Cactus]

General Rules:

• ALL entries are to be based on either games in The Elder Scrolls series or TES lore.
• Entries will be judged by the Moderating team (Codex, Cactus, Caz, Josjie, Dogmantra) based on creativity, originality, skill, and relevance to the subject matter.
• ALL Entries due by the 18th November, GMT +1. Why? Because that's where all most of the real mods live. Srsly.
• Any user may enter a single entry for each competition.
• While your entry may not consist entirely of materials taken directly from the games, they may be used sparingly.
• DO NOT POST ENTRIES ON THE FORUM.
• PM all entries directly to Cactus.
• A brief description and/or title is needed, so we don't look like fools if we don't know what an entry is about.

Competition Rules:

• "Literature" in this case is either a poem, short story, or essay.
• Essays must be written in-universe, meaning you are writing as if you are living within the Elder Scrolls universe.
• Each judge shall choose a single winning entry from each category for a total of ten.
• Stories and essays can be no longer than ~3000 words.
• Poems can be no longer than 48 lines. Why 48? It's silly.

[Cactus]

I have to be honest, this was a tough one. We had a lot of good entries and.. we couldn't pick. We seriously couldn't pick a favourite, so we finally came to the decision that EVERYONE TIES! Congrats guys, you were all really amazing. Here are all of the works in the order I received them.

Spoiler:

From Argonia with Love
by masser

The slaver broke into the house with the ease of a practiced burglar. Climbing quietly on the underside of the moss covered bridge connecting most houses in Stormhold, he launched his lower body through an open window below him, and his arms followed with ease. Tonight was a very good night; this was his eighth target already. He took out the large sack he brought, along with a gag and a vial of Somnalius fern, known for its potent sedation powers. Opening the vial near the target’s nose, he waited for enough inhalation for the sedation to set in. He thought to himself how remarkably easy and profitable his job was, and how occasionally he got to leave Black Marsh. When the target was sufficiently sedated, he administered a stunning blow to the head, tied the gag, and shoved the target in the bag. He dragged the knocked out Argonian through the window he had entered through, and slowly climbed down the tree, with the bag resting on his shoulder, to the boat waiting in the swamp below. The 25 foot long boat held 7 or 8 other bags, all containing Argonians. The captain of the boat noticed the slaver slipping down onto the boat, and quietly told the oarsmen to start paddling.
The Argonian named Ah-Itan was the first to awake from his unintended slumber. He made some slow movements in his bag, showing the effects of the Somnalius Fern. The slaver came by and kicked him, muttering “N’wah Agaceph (Agaceph being an Argonian tribe)”, showing how influenced he had become by his extended stay in Morrowind. The kick simply woke Ah-Itan quicker, and he started to shake off the effects of the Somnalius Fern. Ah-Itan knew what had happened to him, but he was unsure of where he was. He decided to bide his time for the right moment to strike. One does not cross a Shadowscale and come back whole.

The slaver considered himself the exception of the rule regarding his species. While he was an Argonian, he was of the Archein tribe. While the other tribes, such as the Agacephs and Paatru were setting up plantations and an agrarian society, his tribe was busy raiding and selling slaves to House Dres. He was known only as “The slaver”, as he forsook his name and heritage as an Argonian due to his trade. He had spent much time among the Telvanni during his childhood, as he himself was captured during a Dres slave at infancy. Luckily his master, Master Mithras, was of the rare kind of the benevolent Telvanni, and gave him his freedom as a teenager. He left Ranyon-Ruhn soon after and traveled throughout the Telvannis region for several years, while self hatred for his own species, planted by neighboring Telvanni, festered. To show how assimilated he had become into Dunmer society, he took up slave trading to prove he was more Dunmer than Argonian.

Ah-Itan and the other Captive Argonians were eventually removed from their bags by the captain and the slaver, but still had rope binding their hands and feet, but with some slack to it, and their mouths were gagged. They were herded below deck by the captain, who promptly locked them in the damp and musty belly of the ship. Ah-Itan had hatred in his eyes as he was being moved below deck, and he glared at the slaver. The slaver took this as insolence, and held Ah-Itan back. The slaver extricated his whip from his belt, and quickly whipped Ah-Itan’s legs, forcing him to kneel. The slaver told him to whimper, which Ah-Itan refused to do. The slaver moved in closer to him, and pulled his chin up with his hand and gave Ah-Itan a hard backhanded slap. Ah-Itan began to whimper, and the slaver returned to his position on the deck of the boat. Ah-Itan smiled as he was herded below deck. He had pick-pocketed the slaver.

Below decks, Ah-Itan promptly began sawing off the rope that bound him. Luckily for him, an important tool for most kidnappers was a small knife, used for prying open closed windows. Ah-Itan’s fellow slaves were mostly in shock, and the whimpering covered up the sound of a knife through rope. Ah-Itan then began cutting the bonds off the slave that seemed to be coping the best. Ah-Itan told the slave to be quiet, and he padded silently around the room, calming the remainder of the slaves. Ah-Itan gauged the situation. He had seven other slaves, armed with only rope, and in his case, a two and a half inch knife. He formulated his plan. He instructed the slaves to gather all of the cut rope, and tie the pieces together to form as many two foot long cords as possible. Ah-Itan gathered the smaller lengths of rope that were found, and tied and knotted them into a very large knot at the end of each two foot length of rope. Ah-Itan rethought his plan. He had armed four of the slaves with the knotted rope, but the other three were still helpless. The slaves would have to kill the six crewmen, including the slaver. Each one was armed with a longsword and a dagger. Ah-Itan positioned himself several feet back from the hatch to the deck above, and waited for the morning.

Ah-Itan dreamt of his childhood that night. He barely recalled anything from his younger years; he only remembered being plucked from his home in Blackrose and brought to the secret headquarters of the Shadowscales. To this day he was unsure of its exact location. He was raised to be an assassin, serving the government of Black Marsh, eliminating all possible threats. Most of his targets were Dunmeri, and he became knowledgeable with the geography of Vvardenfell and Morrowind. He had only recently retired; he was simply getting too old to be a useful assassin. He was neither the quickest, strongest, or bravest assassin, but he had a remarkable ability to gauge where and when to strike. He had turned 35 several months ago, and his body was beginning to fail him. He retired to Stormhold, as it was both Dunmeri and Argonian in nature, and he was most comfortable with a combination of the two.

The next night, one of the oarsmen opened up the hatch to drop food for the slaves below. Ah-Itan was ready. He had explained his plan to the slaves that night, and each one was willing. As the oarsmen brought his hand over the hatch to drop food in, Ah-Itan jumped, pulled him in, and locked the hatch using the oarsmen’s key. He broke the oarsmen’s neck on the way down, and the slaves caught his body before it fell, muffling the sound. Ah-Itan took the oarsmen’s longsword, and handed the biggest slave the dagger. He removed the belt the oarsmen had too, and gave it to one of the unarmed slaves. Ah-Itan gave the small knife he had to the one remaining unarmed slave, and they were ready to fight.

Ah-Itan unlocked the hatch, and silently burst out and gutted the helmsman. He took his longsword and dagger and threw them down into the hatch. He helped the slaves out of the hatch, but after the third slave had been lifted up, one of the oarsmen came across the escape. He immediately yelled for assistance, and the captain, slaver, and remaining oarsmen rushed with weapons drawn. Ah-Itan rushed towards the oarsmen and stabbed him through the throat, but at this point he and the three slaves were surrounded by four armed men. Ah-Itan and the slaves backed up, gathering in the center of the deck. Ah-Itan ran and slashed at the captain’s leg, cleaving it off, and dove between his legs, finishing him with a thrust through the neck. The slaves had backed off towards the bow of the boat. One slave felt a rush of courage flow through him, and he slashed wildly at the slaver. The slaver side-stepped the slave’s movement, and slashed at the slave’s neck, severing it. Across the ship, Ah-Itan was engaged with the remaining oarsmen. The oarsmen stepped forward and thrust at Ah-Itan’s belly. Ah-Itan parried the thrust, and leapt forward, tackling the oarsmen, and gouged his eyes out. The two slaves at the bow were being toyed with by the slaver, who was enjoying killing them slowly. Ah-Itan sprinted across the bow of the ship and chopped at the slaver. The slaver quickly turned around and blocked the blow above his head, supporting his sword by holding it flat with his other hand. The slaver kicked at Ah-Itan’s belly, but he only grazed it, as Ah-Itan was turned around and slashed at the slaver’s side. The slaver fell to the ground, dodging the blow, and thrust at Ah-Itan’s feet. Ah-Itan jumped and landed on the flat of the sword, trapping it beneath his feet. The slaver rolled away from Ah-Itan, and drew his dagger. The slaver leapt to his feet, and the two circled the bow of the deck. Ah-Itan thrust at the slaver, who sidestepped the thrust and cut open Ah-Itan’s left hand. Ah-Itan jumped back in pain, and went on the defensive. The slaver rushed at Ah-Itan, and grazed his side with a wide chop that Ah-Itan narrowly managed to block. Ah-Itan deftly grabbed the slaver’s arm, and used a trick he learned while being a Shadowscale to quickly disarm him, and dropped his body and sliced the muscle of the slaver’s legs, leaving him immobile. Ah-Itan hoisted the slaves below deck aboard, and each one manned an oar. The two slaves that the slaver tortured were brought into the captain’s quarters for treatment. Luckily for the group, one of the newly freed slaves happened to be a healer. The slave that was killed by the slaver was thrown overboard and was devoured by a Voriplasm in nanosecond.

Ah-Itan quickly got his bearings after the fight. He knew that they were somewhere in House Dres territory, probably not farther than twenty or thirty miles out of Stormhold. This presented a very large problem, as chances are they would be caught on the way back to Black Marsh if they used the river. Ah-Itan remembered an animal called a rootworm, a monstrous, long worm with the ability to smuggle things and people inside of it.

Spoiler:

Renegade Nightblade
by Dragour

After being expelled from the Telvanni Union of Morrowind, I arrived in Cyrodiil ready to start fresh.

Walking down from the cold Valus Mountains I came across Cheydinhal, thankfully just in time too as I noticed several wolves following me from a distance, the cunning animals were just waiting for me to collapse from exhaustion.

The city guards were more polite to me however, as soon as I stepped into Cheydinhal the first thing I heard was; “another Dunmer refugee.” My rage and hatred for Imperials almost consumed me but I managed to remain calm as I walked passed him, just letting out an ‘I’ll be back for you’ glance.

I needed work and a place to stay- which is how I ended up at the steps to the Fighter’s Guild. An Orcish warrior plated chest to toe in glass armour walked up beside me and begun admiring the building.
“Nice place isn’t it?” he asked me with a soft tone- for an Orc. I took another glance at the structure and couldn’t help speaking my thoughts; “It’s a pile of Imperial bricks, it can fall just as easy as their ‘iron army’,” I explained with self pleasure.
“Heh, so you’re Nashti are you?” He questioned me with a sudden seriousness in his voice. I slowly shifted my left hand back out of sight and wrapped it around my dagger’s handle.
“You know me, do you?” I sharply asked. He almost laughed at me.
“For a Telvanni sorceress, you’re not the best when it comes to intelligence are you? Ever since you murdered your house leader your name has spread across all Morrowind and Cyrodiil,” he said to me as if he had concern for my loyalty.
“The Telvanni code is not affected by Imperial law so I have not committed any crime and I am here to sign up, if you don’t mind I have lost all interest in talking to you,” I told him with a hint to leave me alone. Just as I begun walking up the stairs he placed a hand on my shoulder to stop me.
“Since you have lost all interest in me, I guess you wouldn’t know that I happen to be the guild master here, and for, I have no interest in recruiting you,” he bluntly told me. I just paused with frustration but decided to apologize, instead of just murdering them for a change.
“Alright Mr.-“
“Burz,” he interrupted
“Burz?” I questioned.
“Burz gro-Khash, but go on,” he told me.
“Hmph, well Burz, I am sorry for being rude to you before, may I sign up for the Fighter’s Guild?” I requested in a polite manner. It appeared as if a smile was creeping onto his face.
“That’s better, as long as you obey the law and respect your fellow members, you can join- after you complete an initiation task that is,” he explained with a grinning smile.

“I suppose collecting items like what all disrespectful members do right? Sounds like I will have an easier chance with the Mage’s Guild next door instead,” I asked as I was looking down the path at the Mage’s Guild. Burz actually let out a laugh that time.
“Something like that, I need you to recover a gold ring that was stolen from me by some bandits who tried to hide in a small cave to the south, good news is that the bandits were killed, the bad news is that they were all killed by the new goblin tribe that now calls that cave home,” Burz gave me the details.
“Ok, so go to this cave, kill a tribe of goblins, find the ring and bring it back to you? This sounds too simple,” I asked him in a suspicious tone.
“You might be a powerful Telvanni sorceress, but you are still a Fighter’s Guild rookie so I am not allowed to give you any tough missions yet, but you never know, I might be able to slip in a troublesome liche king somewhere,” he joked.
“Fine, tell me where this cave is and I’ll get your little ring back,” I demanded.
“Alright, it is actually fairly easy to find, just head out the west gate then turn directly south until you reach a lake down the hill, the cave is along the beach front-usually with some patrolling goblins outside,” Burz instructed.


I managed to walk to the cave without encountering any hostility, but as Burz warned- the entrance was guarded by a couple goblins, both axe wielding berserkers-which means strong attack but low defense.
I unstrapped my bow from my back belt and pulled out two arrows from my quiver. Eyeing both goblins I was just hoping my dual stealth shot would succeed for a change.
Releasing all muscle from my hand as I pulled it away from the bow string, I simply observed as the two hunchback like goblins were impaled through the chest causing instant death.


The wooden door let off a creek as it was forced open revealing the cave from the darkness.
“Looks like a good time to have a pet sniffer dog, or a clanfear is just as good,” I whispered to myself as I begun to cast a Summon Clanfear spell. The skinny dinosaur like creature appeared in front of me, already starting to sniff out the goblins, the little beast went sprinting off down the nearest corridor so I decided to take a separate route. The goblin shamans are always the ones who keep magical items so I tried to force myself to pick up her energy-which I did easily.

I entered a large and surprisingly well lit cavern, several holes in the roof brought the light through and a clear flooded chasm showed it has rained here a lot. A couple goblin warlords stood at the rock bridge, with their shields raised high they thought they could act as a wall… pity they have little knowledge of magic. I summoned a ball of fire in each hand, and then fused them together in a concentrated beam at the two warlords.

Once the fire had burned out I noticed the charred bodies of the warlords floating within the flooded chasm. The shaman was now trapped and instead of engaging her I withdrew my bow once more, docked a single arrow and lined up my shot- the shaman tried to block my arrow by using her staff, but the wood was splintered and she was struck.

As I was walking towards the shaman’s body I felt as if something was wrong, my clanfear was slain as his energy returned to me, but there was something else, something within the air…as soon as I heard movement behind me I went to withdraw my sword quickly-but it was too late, a wound had been caused, a deadric dagger struck into my heart from behind like it was made of fire.

“Pathetic,” a woman’s voice spoke from behind. My sword dropped to the dirt ground as I fell to my knees.
“You, of all people, you were the one to kill the guild master?” She spoke again. My entire body was shutting down and becoming numb, soon I ceased to breathe. The woman stepped before me dressed in black leather with a dust mask on.
“Sister Nashti, I was going to kill our father for the title of guild head, but you had to go and remove him yourself, you’re a disgrace to the Telvanni, but an embarrassment to the family.” She explained. I just lied on the floor gasping for breath but I knew it was the end.
“You even tried to escape by running to Cyrodiil? A traitor to Morrowind aswell, well your body shall remain here as an unmarked grave for your actions,” Vanessa explained. I tried to utter a cry but the second I tried, I felt my life disappearing…

Spoiler:

Morrowind or Oblivion--The Decision
by Vivec's Tears

Which is better? Three or four?
The answer's hard to see.
A question that's left up to you
And in this poem, to me.

I don't know nubbins about number four
Though the graphics apparently appeal.
The gameplay seems more complicated, too
And that makes it quite a deal.

I know and love this number three
Though it's older (and less new).
I know many other RPGs
But ones that can match it--few.

Decision time! So which one shall win?
All right, here's the verdict from me.
Though four is shiny, neat vainglorious
What wins my heart is three.

Spoiler:

A Fair Fight
urthdigger

The tale of the Nerevarine, the bold khajiit thief rumored to be the reincarnation of Lord Nerevar, who defeated Dagoth Ur and ended the blight on Vvardenfall, is known by all. However, few can agree on what weapons and armor he used during his adventure. What follows is one of the more humorous stories concerning the Nerevarine's choice of equipment.

---

In order to fulfill the prophecies, the Nerevarine needed to be named Hortator of the three great houses. One by one, the council members of House Redoran pledged their support to name the outlander as Hortator, all but one. Bolvyn Venim. He swore that he would sooner die than see an outlander named Hortator, and challenged the Nerevarine to a duel in the great arena of Vivec. The two arrived at the arena dressed in their respective arms and armor. Venim spared no expense in his armor, wearing a suit of thick ebony armor and wielding a daedric dai-katana. The Nerevarine on the other hand was wearing a cracked suit of bonemold armor, and carrying a steel shortsword.

"Before we begin, sir Venim, I must admit this fight hardly seems fair." said the Nerevarine.
"You should have known the risks in challenging a house Archmaster to a duel, housecat." snarled Venim "Know that if you back down now, you will be forever dishonored in the eyes of House Redoran."
"Very well, I will not back down. But if you are so sure of victory, may I have just a few seconds to prepare?"

Bolvyn granted it, and was surprised as the khajiit stripped off his bracers, his pauldrons, his cuirass, and finally his greaves, causing quite a commotion from the spectators as he now stood in front of the Archmaster, his lithe, muscular body bare for all to see "There, now it's a fair fight."
"YOU DARE TO MOCK ME!?" shouted Venim, charging at the Nerevarine. He was well trained, letting the momentum of his heavy equipment carry him rather than trying to work against it, and swung the heavy dai-katana with a swiftness more commonly associated with daggers. The dark metal met only open air however as the khajiit ducked under the swing with astounding quickness, practically dropping to the ground, and very reminicient of a cat as he steadied himself with his left hand, three of his four limbs on the ground. As Venim recovered from the follow-through, the khajiit sprang from his crouched position, leaping clear over the dunmer's head and striking his head as he passed before landing softly on the other side and twirling to face his opponent, shortsword ready to strike. Bolvyn was quick to turn around and block an attack to his backside, but as he swung in retaliation the Nerevarine hopped back just out of reach, and scarcely had his paws touched the ground did the thief spring back into the melee, striking his sword's point hard against Bolvyn's chest. The armor held, but the force of the blow caused the dunmer to stagger, and as he struggled to recover the Nerevarine rained blow after blow upon his head, until the archmaster collapsed, weakly holding his hand out in an attempt to stop the attack.

"I was not mocking you." said the Nerevarine calmly "But I am far from honorable, and I dare to say I'm more familiar with the working women and how to deal with the ones who try to rob me, than I am with modern warfare."
With that, the Nerevarine dashed his opponent's head in with his blade, put his cracked and encumbering armor back on, and left the arena to claim his destiny.

Spoiler:

by r


The Stones of Ada-Mantia:
The Pillars of Mundus Examined
By
Radash gra-Moran
Wizard, Guild of Mages, Orsinium, High Rock

The Stones of Ada-Mantia have fascinated me for many years. And now, with the safety of Mundus seemingly at threat from these mysterious actors, perhaps it is time that the people of Tamriel are familiar with their nature.

It started with Akatosh. Residents of High Rock will, like myself, doubtlessly know of the spectacular Direnni Tower on the Isle of Balfiera. At the core of this tower, already known to be one of the oldest structures in Tamriel, is what could be considered a second tower – a huge pillar of the rare metal adamantium, stretching as far underground as it does to the heavens. This pillar is known variously as Ada-Mantia, the Zero Stone and Ur Tower*, and represents the vessel that Akatosh first arrived in our world in, back at the dawn of time. He left this vessel behind so that His constant presence would not be required in the mortal realm for it to feel His influence.

But as we all know, it is not just the Nine Divines who have a divine grip on Mundus. At the opposite end of Tamriel, in Vvardenfell, Morrowind, once stood the Heart of Lorkhan, also known as the First Stone. This served a similar purpose to Ada-Mantia – it allowed Lorkhan, the creator of Mundus, to maintain our world without actually needing to be present in it at all times.

The fact that the Heart of Lorkhan was recently destroyed betrays a certain amount of interplay between the First Stone and Ada-Mantia – both possess the same function, but it seems that as long as one is present, the existence of Mundus is safe. The simple logistical impossibility of the destruction of Ada-Mantia means that this safety can be considered permanent, so we must not worry ourselves with the consequences of its loss. I examine this subject further in my book ‘Examination of the Lunar Anchors’, available from the Arcane University Archives and all good booksellers.

* There is no connection between Ur Tower and Dagoth Ur – this is a frustratingly common misconception!


The Towers

However, ancient Aldmer and Ayleid people discovered these Stones and built copies of them. There are a further eight Towers in Tamriel, not including Ada-Mantia. Each has a companion Stone which allows the Tower to harness power over the fabric of Mundus. Whilst the two original Stones (First Stone and Ada-Mantia) had the purpose of allowing Mundus as an entity to exist, every other Stone forms a network which maintains the Lunar Lattice, the barrier that keeps the hell-worlds of Oblivion separate from our own. It should be noted that the Towers themselves do not all take the form of physical towers, and they are as follows:

Ada-Mantia/Direnni Tower/Ur Tower (Isle of Balfiera, High Rock)
Red Tower/Red Mountain (Vvardenfell, Morrowind)
White Gold Tower (Imperial City, Cyrodiil)
Walk-Brass (Numidium)
Snow Throat/Throat of the World (a huge mountain in Skyrim)
Crystal-like-Law/Crystal Tower (Alinor, Summerset Isle)
Tree-Sap/Falinesti Tower (Location unknown, perhaps Falinesti city, Valenwood?)
Orichalc (Location unknown, perhaps Elsweyr?)

There are some interesting links to be seen here. There are eight Towers, and also eight original Divines. (Remember, this all happened before Tiber Septim became Talos) The book ‘Where Were You When the Dragon Broke?’* details an event through which I believe the Towers were created to add a further anchor of stability to Mundus, preventing a repeat of the disaster. It mentions that the source of the Dragon Break was a metaphysical tower, which split into eight pieces which were scattered around Tamriel when the Dragon Break ended – again, there are eight Towers. The fact that not all of the Towers are structures, or indeed structures it would be possible for mortals to build, would seem to cement the theory of some kind of divine intervention. The existence of the man-made God, Numidium, would dispute this theory however.

Of the eight Towers I have seen three – Direnni Tower, White Gold Tower, and the magnificent Crystal Tower in Alinor, the most magnificent man-made structure I have ever laid eyes on.

White Gold Tower is an anomaly. The huge spire in the heart of the Imperial City is not alone White Gold Tower – the Tower structure itself encompasses the whole of the Imperial City – the eight smaller towers (that number again!) around the City also wield lesser power.

* Available from the Arcane University Archives and all good booksellers.


The Stones

All Stones are copies of the First Stone, and contain essence of Oblivion – this essence actually has nothing to do with Oblivion and is merely a source of energy, of which the Stones need a lot to function. I believe the reason for the stones being forged from Oblivion as opposed to the divine energy of Aethereus is simply a practical measure – Oblivion is easier to access and exploit for an arcane engineer than Aethereus. The book ‘Liminal Bridges’ by my good friend Camilonwe of Alinor (also available from all good booksellers) explains this process further. Whilst the First Stone was literally Lorkhan’s heart, the remaining Stones are all crystalline in nature, although the precise nature of all six remaining Stones is not known. I believe they may have a lot in common with the Sigil Stones that act as keystones in Oblivion gates – just as isolated planes of Oblivion are anchored by Sigil Stones, Mundus is anchored by the Ada-Mantian Stones.

The Second Stone is the Chim-el Adabal, which translates as ‘The Spirit Stone of High Royalty’ from the Ayleid language. It is a colossal red gemstone, from which the Amulet of Kings was forged. The Chim-el Adabal, therefore, is White Gold Tower’s counterpart Stone.

The Third Stone, and the only other Stone known directly to man, is the Mantella, the azure-coloured gemstone that once was Numidium’s heart and indirectly caused the Warp in the West. As an Orc living in the political hotbed of Orsinium I have a very apprehensive attitude towards this Stone. For a long time the Mantella was sheltered in Aethereus, a further cementing of the divine nature of the Stones of Ada-Mantia. Precisely how it came to be associated with the man-made Numidium is not known.

A recap so far, then:

The Zero Stone is Ur/Direnni/Ada-Mantia Tower – the Tower is a Stone, the Stone is a Tower.
The First Stone lay in Red Mountain, described by St. Veloth as ‘the Tower that was not a Tower’.
The Second Stone once lay atop White Gold Tower, and a portion of the Stone was granted to the fledgling Septim Dynasty as a divine gift.
The Third Stone is the Mantella, Numidium/Walk-Brass’ heart.

I have theories about the nature of the other Stones. If the Stone associated with Crystal Tower is indeed crystalline in nature, it may be indeterminable from the crystalline construction of the Tower itself. I cannot speculate on the Stone associated with Falinesti/Tree-Sap, as I know nothing of the Tower’s nature. The same applies to Snow-Throat, although I do know that Snow-Throat is not a tower, but rather a mythical mountain, which one can never truly reach the top of. Orichalc is the final Tower, and I have speculated on this and deduced that it must be related to the Khajiit in some way.

Again according to ‘Where Were You When The Dragon Broke’ (a book I cannot recommend enough, available in the Arcane University Archives and all good booksellers) the Khajiit were the only direct witnesses to the Dragon Break. All other people of Tamriel are unsure of their history during this troubled period – it simply exists as a grey area in history. The Khajiit mystic R'leyt-harhr, however, explains that the Khajiit were observing and recording the Dragon Break, and goes on to say that the rest of us did not witness the Dragon Break because we ‘didn’t have the Sugar to see it’. (He also goes on to rather cryptically say, “When will you wake up and realize what really happened to the Dwarves?” but this represents another line of research entirely) I’m sure all of us have dabbled in Moon Sugar or its refined form Skooma at some point – it has given me the mental and physical strength to stay up all night to meet research deadlines on more than one occasion! But perhaps the true nature of Moon Sugar is unknown to us – this event suggests that it is in fact intrinsically related to the Lunar Lattice and the Earth Bones. It is widely known that the Khajiit frequently use (abuse?) Moon Sugar, but we have never known why – are they protecting the Lunar Lattice by doing so? This means that the Khajiit must be related to one of the Ada-Mantian Stones, and by process of elimination this must be the Orichalc stone – is it perhaps an enormous crystal of Moon Sugar? Are the Khajiit themselves the Tower or the Stone? Khajiit research on this subject is extremely thin on the ground – either they do not know, or are keeping it secret.

The general purpose of these Stones, as I have mentioned previously, is to prevent another huge disaster on the scale of the Dragon Break. Do not doubt that these Stones wield great power over space-time, however – it was, of course, the misuse of the Mantella that caused the Warp in the West. Similar theories state that it was a Dragon Break caused by the misuse of the Heart of Lorkhan that brought about the demise of the Dwarves. (A good friend of mine, Edwinna Elbert of Ald-Ruhn, Morrowind, is currently writing a book on this subject, which will soon be available in all good bookstores).

So, what would happen without the Stones? There are several theories. The first is that they act as a buffer, absorbing the divine power that would create a deadly Dragon Break after a great event. If the Stones were destroyed, time would become scrambled beyond all recognition – in short, it would be the end of the world. The ‘great events’ I speak of include the apotheosis of the Tribunal Gods of Morrowind, the activation of Numidium and the loss of the First and Second Stones. Remember that the purpose of a Dragon Break is to re-align Tamriel after an event so great that it cannot continue down its destined path occurs. The rising of new Gods and the loss of Stones surely represent events such as these, and the fact that Tamriel continues to exist more or less as it has always done after these events shows the Stones at work. Only the Warp in the West is an exception, and the proximity of the Warp to Ada-Mantia should not be ignored…


The Problem

I leave this essay with a warning. One by one, the Stones are being destroyed. The Heart of Lorkhan is gone, as is the Amulet of Kings (or the Chim-el Adabal, as we Ada-Mantia experts prefer to call it), and the Mantella came perilously close to destruction.

Few people see this as a problem, because they were all associated with victories against evil. The Heart of Lorkhan was destroyed to allow the defeat of Dagoth Ur in Morrowind, and the Amulet of Kings vanished when Martin Septim transformed into Akatosh to banish Mehrunes Dagon back to Oblivion (a literal Dragon Break?). These victories were widely considered to be a good thing, but I assure you this is very much not the case. People of Tamriel, we were tricked into destroying two of the Stones of Ada-Mantia.

The politics of Vvardenfell, specifically those relating to the Almsivi and Voryn Dagoth, have always been a grey area where ‘good’ and ‘evil’ are somewhat blurred. Political instability such as this would be extremely easy to manipulate. Mankar Camoran was, at heart, a genius with the foresight to appear as a deluded scholar. The Mythic Dawn (and the Empire) believed that their task was to allow Mehrunes Dagon to enter Mundus and wreak havoc in it, but ask the Champion of Cyrodiil what Camoran’s final words were – he spoke of wishing Mundus to return to the Dawn Era. This could very easily be a consequence of the loss of the Stones, although it would be much more likely that the result in this case would be a reverting to the point in the First Era when the Dragon Break ended.

So, it seems an unseen force, a global conspiracy dating back to dawn-time, is attempting to manipulate the good people of Tamriel into destroying the Stones of Ada-Mantia in an attempt to banish evil. I must warn the leaders of Tamriel that during any further crisis, any gemstone of great power must not be destroyed, lest it be one of the Stones of Ada-Mantia. The invasion of Kvatch shortly after the loss of the Heart of Lorkhan is all the evidence I need to know that the Lunar Lattice is weakening by the day.


Final Thoughts

I hope you found this book as interesting as I find the subject. I learnt many things I did not know about the Stones whilst writing it. Some further information can be found, as I mentioned, in the book ‘Where Were You When The Dragon Broke?’ and also ‘The Lunar Lorkhan’ and ‘Liminal Bridges’, all available from all good bookshops, and the Nu-Mantia Transcript, which may prove somewhat harder to get hold of. I was permitted only to read it in Chancellor Ocato’s private reading room.

I am planning to tour Tamriel with a series of lectures on this subject, and I have also been asked to take a lecturing residency at the Arcane University for the first quarter of next year. If you happen to be a member of that esteemed institute, feel free to approach me (I won’t be hard to spot) and quiz me about this subject – I will be more than happy to answer your questions.

Finally, I hope that a book on the Stones of Ada-Mantia being written by that most unlikely of things, an Orc scholar of magic, is not deemed an event so unlikely that it requires a Dragon Break to rectify.

Thank you very much for reading.
Radash gra-Moran