Lore:Bthar-Zel

Bthar-Zel
Type	Ruin
Continent	Tamriel
Province	Skyrim
Hold	The Reach
Appears in	Skyrim, ESO

Bthar-zel bridge circa 4E 201

Bthar-Zel (also spelled B'thar-zel, meaning Allied City, also known as the Hissing Maze to the Reachfolk) is a Dwarven ruin situated along the Druadach Mountains of the Reach, within the province of Skyrim and north of Markarth and Bthardamz. A bridge lies atop a waterfall that feeds into the Karth River leading to one of its entrances. In its prime, Bthar-Zel was among the cities involved in the refinement of Aetherium. Following the disappearance of the Dwemer, the bridge site became known as Deep Folk Crossing.

History

Deep Folk Crossing circa 2E 582

Silver Vaults, later used by the Reachfolk to craft silver-coated weapons against the Gray Host

The settlement of Bthar-Zel was built by the Dwarves around the First Era. It is unknown how large it originally was, but its name suggests it was once an entire city, albeit a smaller site than nearby Bthardamz. When the Kragen Clan discovered the material known as Aetherium, a bright blue crystal found only in Skyrim, Bthar-Zel allied with the cities of Arkngthamz, Mzulft, and Raldbthar, creating a loose alliance of Dwarven clans to study the mineral. They eventually created the Aetherium Forge at Bthalft in the wilds of the Rift. However, each city sought ownership of the Forge, and as time went on, the four cities waged war with each other in an event known as the Aetherium Wars, tearing the land apart. With the intervention of King Gellir, the conflict was over, and the Dwarves of Arkngthamz were forced out of their city. The Dwemer were able to return to their homes, but like the rest of their race, they disappeared, leaving behind whatever Aetherium they acquired. According to the Reachfolk legends Dwemer of the Bthar-Zel were among the richest Dwarflords and the city itself was known for its silver.

Sometime during the Gray Host invasion of the Reach, Arana, the leader of the Wayward Guardians entered an alliance with the House Ravenwatch, led by Verandis Ravenwatch. Together they ventured to the Bthar-Zel, following the signs revealed by the ritual in order to find the Arkthzand Keystone before the Gray Host finds it first. Although the Gray Host took the Keystone as they planned Arana managed to secure the tunnels and later sent her crafters down to the tunnels to mine the enchanted silver ore, and retrieve the enchanted silver from the vaults as soon as it was reasonably safe to arm the Reachfolk with the silver-coated equipment suitable to fight vampires. Reachfolk continued to use the silver weaponry crafted from the materials found in the ruins to fight the forces of the Gray Host, and often sent expeditions to retrieve more of the enchanted silver.

Sometime during the Skyrim Civil War in 4E 201, two historians of the Dwemer, Katria and Taron Dreth studied the ruins of Arkngthamz for roughly twenty years, with Katria discovering a map of Dwemer kingdoms. The location of the Deep Folk Crossing was marked as Bthar-zel, the ancient map referring to the abandoned city beneath the remains of the bridge. Two young Nord children named Sond and Bottar discovered the site, looting a few Dwemer materials, and offered to mark its location on a map for a small fee. The Last Dragonborn traveled to this location and discovered a shard of the Aetherium Crest locked inside a Dwemer Convector.

See Also

• For game-specific information on Bthar-Zel, see the ESO article.
• For game-specific information on Deep Folk Crossing, see the Skyrim and ESO articles.