User:IceFireWarden/A Yneslea Historia: The First Era

A Yneslea Historia: The First Era

by Eis Vuur Warden, Imperial Geographical Society, 4E 199

A Brief Account of the First Age in the Yneslean archipelago

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Herein lies a thorough detailing of the histories and events pertaining to the Yneslean Archipelago, Homeland of the Bat Elves, and one of the Empire’s most valued and longstanding trading partners. Events transcribed within these volumes are largely taken from the records and theories of Echmeri scholars, with a few portions of the timeline including Tamrielic dates for reader comprehension and to add additional reasonings/detail to the happenings that occurred in those years within the Ice Cream Lanes.

Note: Several dates in the early First Age remain largely undocumented due to the lack of history keeping during this time. For all sakes and purposes, the “real” Yneslean first era begins upon the arrival of the Noraken Clan of Dwemer. Another important thing to remember is that the Yneslean First Era ends during the Eighth Century of the Tamrielic First Era, as it marks a huge shift in the nature of their existence; therefore, the Echmer acknowledge an additional era that Tamriel does not (what we call the Fourth Era, for example, is actually their Fifth!).

I.I THE FIRST AGE

I.II FIRST CENTURY

1E ca. 1E 0 — A New Age

• The Hyu-Ket celebrates their defeat of the khimera wholeheartedly, allegedly drinking, eating, and singing for months on end. These celebrations only begin to cease upon skirmishes with the Broh-Kah, who take the nigh-absence of dragon-kind from the archipelago as a sign for them to return to their pillaging.

1E 50 — The Yneslean Freeholds are finalized

• The Noraken finish constructing their most-needed facilities within the archipelago (which they name Duahvardn-Zel, “City of Our Protection), with the majority of their colonized territory consisting of the west and northwest islands. Gharen is proclaimed the King of the Clan, and he rules from the central hub-city of the Dweech known as Nchulbtham (the Fruit of Power).
• Gharen’s Wall depicts this part of Noraken history with a stylized engraving of Gharen wielding his mighty hammer aboard a magnificent fleet, surrounded by sigils that may represent other Dwarven Clans. The words underneath it read: “Upon this land we toil, uprooting secrets from its stones, planted by past absurdities. Freedom begets Isolation.”

1E 97 — Interest in the Chiropterans Begins

• The Noraken Clan are depicted on Gharen’s Wall to be admiring and studying the bats native to the Dweech, a large subterranean cavern system that connects the majority of the Yneslean islands together. The description underneath it reads: “Questioning the song we labored, artificing meaning from the artificial. And yet answers lie in natural, simpler creatures. We care not for this Paradox’s irony.”

I.III SECOND CENTURY

ca. 1E 100 to 300 — Struggles with the Peine

• Named after an old Hyu-Ket word for “pain”, the terrifying creatures known as the Peine begin to populate the archipelago at a quick pace. Broh-Kah and bug goblins both begin to set fire to their egg clusters whenever they are found, but the Peine manage to breed back their former population levels every few years.
• Battles between the Broh-Kah and the Hyu-Ket are brought to a halt in the face of a new, shared enemy. Eventually, the Noraken are forced into conflict with the creatures. Their little regard for the other races within the archipelago results in massive amounts of collateral damage, but ultimately puts a severe dent in the Peine population.

1E 104 — Lzarkla Mezalf, Daughter of Gharen, is born

• The future queen of the Yneslean Freeholds is born on this date, as described in ancient Noraken records. Her mother is interestingly unidentified in these texts, resulting in many theorists believing that she was birthed by one of Gharen’s many concubines.

1E 127 — The Noraken ‘Convergence Project’ Begins

• As stated in the Ahthndaz Annuals, one of the eight Begetter Relics treasured by the Echmeri people, the Noraken begin to conduct their strange experiments with the different species of bats found within the Dweech. The Annuals themselves, while ancient and eroding, describe the research as a fundamental undertaking so that the Noraken could reach what they call Convergence, a process described as the “transcendence of the mortallic form from immortal thought; unbinding the lyrical paradox with spoke and gear, and merging the tones of the world with flesh and bone, until the natural and the artificial bears no distinction and we are free from deific oppression."
• Although the true nature of the Convergence Project remains mysterious and unknown (several dwemologists theorize that the Noraken might have been trying to find a way to ‘evolve’ themselves unnaturally), it is clear that the Yneslean Freeholds felt that the natural connection bats had with sound was vital to achieving their desire, resulting in them using methods ranging from tonal architecture to biomechanics and eugenics.
• These experiments take place in the eponymous Ahthndaz, a massive facility constructed in the second-largest naturally occurring cavern within the Dweech―this same cavern would later on become home to the urb of Oexra’numsaz (the ‘City of Our Creation’); the capital of the Echmeri Directorate built upon the ruins of Ahthndaz after the Dwemer disappeared.
• Noraken automata raid nearby Hyu-Ket villages in the dead of night and whisk the unsuspecting bug-goblins back to their facility-cities. The captured Hyu-Ket are subjected to all manner of experiments and probes before being released days later with no memory of what had done to them. These abductions become less frequent as the Noraken’s project progresses and the Hyu-Ket find only limited success in defending themselves against the incursions of the “Whispering Brass.”

1E 150 — Dumac’s Kingdom discovers the Heart of Lorkhan

• One of the earliest, still readable dates within the Annuals pinpoints the discovery of a ‘terrible, divine power’ by the Dwemer dwelling in Vvardenfell. It is safe to assume that this power was the legendary Heart of Lorkhan, long-thought to have been lost from the world after the Wars of Manifest Metaphor ended during Creation.
• Within a surviving Noraken book titled Degradations of Metallurgical Divinities, the author Izan Wthnamur asserts that Gharen was contacted by the Vvardenfell Dwemeri around the time of this discovery, and was requested to temporarily return to Vvardenfell in order to discuss the creation of a project that utilized the Heart’s power. Gharen is noted to agree to the terms solely out of respect for Dumac and nothing more.

1E 163 — Gharen Decries the Western Clans

• The Lord-Artificer returns from Vvardenfell this year as described in Degradations of Metallurgical Divinities after lengthy discussions with Dumac, Kragenac, and other powerful leaders in Dwemeri society turn sour. Gharen supposedly finds the Numidium Project a laughable and deviant prospect, viewing it as a grave violation of Deep Folk mentality. The author then implies that the reason behind the Noraken Exodus revolved around their growing interest in the biological rather than the mechanical, as Gharen is mocked by the others for his eccentricities.
• Upon his return to Duahvardn-Zel, the King curses the Tamrielic Clans for their blasphemies; this part of the book correlates with a section of Gharen’s Wall that depicts the Heart of Lorkhan itself, surrounded by kneeling and/or subservient Dwarves robed in various garments and armor (although one distinctly wears a crown). The text beneath it reads: “At the teats of death nurse fools, sucking greedily at illogical power and heresy. Indulge in such nonsense we shall not, for our halls contain the truth behind immaterial thinking and material dreaming.”

1E 169 to 172 — Attack of the Broh-Kah Wave

• The Broh-Kah, having grown discontent with being ignored by the Deep Folk that lived above them, mobilize into what they call a ‘valanga’ (roughly translated as ‘great random fight’) to attack the Yneslean Freeholds. The Noraken, with their greater technology and sense of unity, are able to drive them back but destroy large amounts of the former dreugh kingdoms in the process.

1E 183 — The First Recorded Instances of Chiropteran Mutation

• Within the Ahthndaz Genus-Vats, the Noraken observed that the bat specimens they had captured were slowly growing in size. Gharen orders his craft-lords to retrieve even more of the creatures as further experimentation ends in less than ideal results. Upon his orders, the initial control groups are increased from a few dozen into the hundreds and soon the thousands.

1E 197 — Chiropteran Mutations Become Problematic

• The bats continue to evolve in unexpected and unconventional ways as their growth rates are accelerated even further. As the bats are allowed to breed, several researchers note that the offspring are beginning to have longer and more mer-like appendages; although several Craft-Lords argue that this development is deviational of their main goal, the most outspoken one is Mithras of Nzark, Gharen’s confidante and a tonal architect that the records state hailed originally from the ‘northern breaths of the Old Wood’.
• A popular Echmeri puppet theater-show, titled Hammer and Anvil, was inspired by the personal correspondence between the two “friends” that later became known as the Gharen-Mithras Epistles. Whereas the former believes that the sapient development of the Chiropteran form is essential to the Convergence Project, the latter is much more critical on the grounds that the evolution of simpler creatures does not further the evolution of the Noraken overall and that they should focus more on a dissective analysis.

1E 199 — The Hyu-Ket Sack the Broh-Kah Kingdoms

• Previously, a rather daring warchief of the frog-men had successfully managed to plunder one of the legendary drake-spears of the Gol-Thek in a raid. In retaliation, the Hyu-Ket prayed to one of their gods so that they could ‘temporarily forget to breathe air’ and send a war party of their own underwater to take it back. The drake-spear is recovered with moderate losses, and is used in a great show of power by the then-chieftain of the Hyu-Ket to set the ancient dreugh kingdoms ablaze for several years.

I.IV THIRD CENTURY

1E 200 — Khosey writes the Tamrielian Tractates

• One of the more ancient texts still in readable condition that describes events pertaining to the early times. Khosey mentions in the Tractates the rise in hostilities within the Vvardenfell Dwemeri-Freeholds against the Chimer, Nord conflicts with the Skyrim-Freeholds, the aedraphile Ayleids failed attempt to ally with Dumac’s Kingdom, and (most notably) Gharen’s temporary return to Tamriel to discuss matters with the other important Dwarf Rulers.

1E 236 — The Chiropteran Mutations reaches a Climatic Development

• After one-hundred years of experimentation, the new generations of bats born from the Noraken Convergence Trials are distinctly no longer mere animals. Having gained merish anatomy and superior mental faculties, the Ahthndaz Flesh-Orchestrators are able to determine through field tests that the evolved creatures no longer have ‘simple souls’ and are slowly approaching genetic similarity to the Dwemer themselves. Mithras is noted to be displeased with the metamorphosis which he believes encroaches on reasonable thought.

1E 239 to 242 — The Noraken Civil Debate

• Mithras, his distaste for the current state of the Convergence Project more profound than ever, orders several of his followers to euthanize the mutated chiropterans in their Genus-Vats. Upon discovering this, Gharen orders these radicals to be detained while he, Mithras, and the rest of the Craft-Lords spend four years in heavy argument (postponing the Project as a whole).
• While Gharen and his followers wish to continue the experimentations, viewing the mutated creatures as the apex of their studies to developing themselves, Mithras and his fellow-thinkers see no reason to further the developments; the creatures, in their eyes, are clearly a failed batch that must be purged and recycled into useful waste for future trials and likens the whole process to the ‘foolish’ undertakings of the Skyrim Freeholds.
• In the latter part of 1E 242, the stalemate finally comes to an end after some form of agreement is reached between Mithras and Gharen. While the Epistles implies that Mithras temporarily left the archipelago and returned to Dumac’s Kingdom in Vvardenfell, Gharen’s Wall depicts the two of them in an engraving where rows of what has to be ancient bat elves kneeling/entombed within mysterious devices before them, with the description: “they call us mad, with their false-promises of blood-fueled brass. Fools that ridicule our proof. We shall make of such [intelligible] lives a use.”

1E 240 — The Skyrim Conquests Occur

• From 1E 240 to 1E 415, the First Empire of the Nords expands across Morrowind and High Rock, swallowing them up by 2E 240. (Note: Some sources interpret the Skyrim Conquests to have run from 1E 222 to 1E 272 instead).
• Noraken records states that the Vvardenfell Freeholds requested aid from the Skyrim and Yneslean Freeholds to push back the expanding Empire of the Nords, but the northern city-states held no quarrel with the men above while the eastern city-states were still affected by the Civil Debates (and likely wouldn’t have provided support anyways).

1E 259 — The Beasts are Named

• The Ahthndaz Annuals make reference to the fact that Gharen and his Council of Craft-Lords finally deigned to give the mutated chiropterans a name in this year, as the creatures had finally begun to achieve what they considered cognitive thinking. This title of Nemer (which quite literally means ‘not-elves’ or ‘not people’) was appropriately dehumanizing; it engraved a sense of inferiority when the rapidly evolving and populating species, which would go on to cement their future use as a slave-force amongst the Yneslean Freeholds.

1E 277 — Changes in Leadership

• After many decades of working as a Flesh-Orchestrator, Lzarkla Mezalf is promoted to the Lord-Facilitator of Ahthndaz and renounces her claims to the throne as she attempts to discover additional gene-songs hidden within the Nemeri biological makeup.

1E 291 — Probable Origination of the Terenjoe

• Within the Epistles, Gharen accuses Mithras of working on an adjacent project the Council had not yet sanctioned. The tonal architect vehemently denies these claims, and refers to his interests in submarine life as a necessary gleaning into possible gene-songs that can be implanted inside Nemeric physiology. This statement is also accompanied by diagrams of several underwater animals ranging from squid to sharks, which Mithras stated would be a good template to further augment their automatons so that they may deal with the rising Broh-Kah attacks of the time period. Due to the existence of Dwarven automatons on Yneslea designed to function without error beneath the sea, it does seem that Gharen and his Council heeded his advice. However, many scholars believe that the Terenjoe (a race of hulking, aquatic shark-people) might have been the result of this mysterious ‘adjacent project’.

I.V FOURTH CENTURY

ca. 1E 300s to 310s — Akaviri Colonists Return

• For about a decade, denizens from the regions of Akavir recognized as Snake-Palace and Snow-Hell migrate slowly westward once more. Although the Noraken, Broh-Kah, Hyu-Ket, and fledgling Nemer repel the ships as they enter the more central landmasses, many of the eastern isles still bare artifacts from these wandering civilizations.

1E 338 — Emergence of Nemer Subspecies

• Lzarkla’s personal notes in the Annuals make mention of the Flesh-Orchestrators ‘sculpting’ of the Nemeri genome, allowing them to create several different strains of the species. The two largest of these subspecies, who would later go on to absorb the majority of the lesser ones through centuries of intermingling, are what modern day Echmer refer to as the ek’imaas (“we sound of beasts”) and the ek’idwes (“we sound of ancients”). The Ek’imaas are typically larger and more bestial in appearance to their brethren, and were utilized solely for physical labor, gladiatorial combat, and war with the other races of the archipelago; the Ek’idwes on the other-hand have more merish features and characteristics, being used as scribes and personal house-servants.

1E 369 — The Empire of the Nords Loses Control of Morrowind

• With the Wars of Succession starting due to the death of High King Borgas in the Wild Hunt, the ensuring chaos completely destabilizes the Nordic Empire and it loses its holdings within the provinces of Morrowind, High Rock, and Cyrodiil. The Dwarven Freeholds and Chimeri Great Houses make short work of capitalizing on this opportunity.

1E 384 — Nemer Culture Evolves

• The Flesh-Orchestrators and Psyche-Conductors in Ahthndaz begin to observe examples of cultural independency within the Nemer, as described within the Annuals. These acts include the usage of their own primitive language, suggesting changes to their owners/overseers regarding their set routines, and a growing habit of discovering carved idols and stolen books within their containment quarters. While Lord-Facilitator Lzarkla tells her subordinates to rectify this behavior, similar incidents continue to occur.

I.VI FIFTH CENTURY

1E 403 — Noraken Oil Interests Begin

• Fhaun Hurdnth, a Steam-Weaver of the Rourken, submits an inquiry to King Gharen and the Rourken Council on his research not only into the deeper caverns of the archipelago, but also into the ocean floor of the Padomaic (where the ancient Dreugh Kingdoms that the Noraken knew as Abakirkngth―“Only Darkness”―were). The details of this missive, especially concerning the idea of using the dormant energies of the “bones of the earth” as a form of fuel for their machinery instead of continuing the practices of the mainlanders, gains considerable traction and his idea is sanctioned for activation.

1E 416 — The Chimeri Houses and Vvardenfell Freeholds Expel the Nords

• In Veloth (also known as Dunmereth/Dwemereth, or by its present-day moniker of Morrowind), Hortator Indoril Nerevar rallies the warring clans and Great Houses of the Chimer and allies with Dumac Dwarf-King The two leaders unite their formerly opposed peoples against the occupying forces of Skyrim, and successfully drive the Nords out of Veloth. After the war, Dumac and Nerevar resolve to maintain the peace and the new kingdom of Resdayn is established as a united Chimeri-Dwemeri kingdom, with the two acting as joint leaders. Peace between the Chimer and the Dwemer brings an unprecedented prosperity and flowering to both cultures.

1E 416 to 420 — The Rourken Exodus

• The Rourken Clan of Dwemer refuses to accept peace with the Chimer, choosing self-exile and leaving Resdayn forever. The Rourken eventually arrive in the region now known as Hammerfell and build their new kingdom, Volenfell. According to legend, the leader of the Rourken threw his hammer, Volendrung, across Tamriel, promising to lead his clansmer to wherever it should fall. This mythic image has been depicted on the walls of several ruins in Hammerfell: a mass exodus of golden-clad Dwemer trudging through the Cyrodiilic forests, Volendrung a falling star in the night sky before them, urging them on.

1E 419 — Oil Refineries Reach Completion

• The first couple of ythan (“bone blood”) refineries are constructed off the coasts of the islands that would become known as Yne and Slea. Over the next couple of decades, the Noraken would come to transition their automata and other devices to run off the oil generated from the ythan pumped from the ocean and some areas of the Dweech.

1E 423 — Avoided Alliances

• Apparently through the Calling, the Skyrim and Volenfell Freeholds contact the Noraken in an attempt to learn the secrets of their experiments, gather examples of the exotic resources they had discovered in the east, and to gain allies against their enemies. While the Annuals note that there was trading between the colonies via airship (as the coasts of Tamriel were patrolled by multiple strong empires at this point of time), the Noraken declared themselves a neutral and uninterested party in the affairs of Tamriel and refused to divulge any of their practices to their brethren.

1E 457 — The Event known as the “Eye Under the Sea” Occurs

• An event recorded in both Dwarven records and remembered in Hyu-Ket oral history. Although the exact reason is unclear, the ancient Dreugh Kingdoms underneath the archipelago begin to radiate a strange and vibrant red glow in the shape of an eye, and the Broh-Kah became startling passive throughout the entire year. The Hyu-Ket personally believe that the amphibious barbarians ran afoul of what remained of the Cephalomer, or perhaps released those remnants themselves by accident (as tales of silent, meditative dreugh liches found within the darkest reaches of the sea are common in Yneslea).

1E 477 to 478 — The Dread of Night

• A rage of dragons, mainly of the drake and khimera sort, arrive from the far distant shores of Akavir and stir conflict with the Noraken. At their helm is a large, terrifying black dragon that the Ket remember as the Dread of Night, who the bug goblins are able to injure with one of their legendary drake spears before they are forced to flee.
• With their leader wounded, the Noraken are able to successfully rout the remaining dragons from Duahvardn-Zel at the cost of the destruction and destabilization of several of their facilities. According to myth, the Dread of Night declared that he would one day return to exact vengeance upon the western lands in another guise before returning to Akavir and leaving his brethren to die.

1E 480 — Mithras’ Proposition

• With several of their foundries, oil refineries, and automata assemblages in severe disrepair or non-communicational, Mithras writes to Gharen in the Epistles that perhaps it would be wise to implement some form of “command center” during the repairs where the king would be able to oversee the inner workings of all of Duahvardn-Zel and keep in contact with their administrators utilizing the Calling. Gharen agrees that this would be a wise decision, and in modern times scholars agree that this might be the start date for the construction of the Rhetoric Throne.

1E 493 — The Nemer Grow Discontent

• Although they had been developing a sense of agency for some time now, the Nemer begin to discover new knowledge for themselves through subtle and cunning ways. Utilizing crude copies of maps created by the Noraken, they begin to explore the cavern systems of the Dweech and find small hideaway holes where they practice what they believe to be Dwemeri “mystic arts” and engage in tribal grappling with one another over minor grievances and entertainment. As time moves on these brutal, simplistic fights become ways to settle leadership and authority amongst the Nemer (which subsequently leads to the development of hierarchies).

I.VII SIXTH CENTURY

1E 514 — The Integration of the Rhetoric Throne

• With the Rhetoric Throne constructed within Gharen’s Palace of Zthgnthaz (the “Grimstone Halls”), the king is able to monitor, advise, and react to events and situations involving the numerous facilities within the archipelago with the Calling. On Gharen’s Wall, this integration is depicted with the Rhetoric Throne itself―a massive, grandiose seat of winding gears, luminescent pipes, etheric antenna, and deflective accentuations. Upon it sits Gharen, with Mithras to his left and his daughter Lzarkla to right. The description reads as follows: “the Thought is imaginary, constrained within the fabric of bone. Through the mentality of our souls we shall ascend further above.”
• According to dwemologists (of both Tamrielic and Yneslean persuasion), the Throne was seemingly built in the shape of the headgear of a “Tuathumz”, which served as the central pylon of the Dwemeri Thought-Calling system. Since the backing of the Throne consisted of three incredibly large finials that served as broadcasting-foci, it is believed that Mithras, Fhaun, and the other Craft-Lord Councilors wore personalized “receivers” to this central pylon outside of the constructed relays of their facilities in order to have personal correspondence with Gharen whenever they wished.
• It is strongly suggested in the Noraken book Melodic Ores that the King of Duahvardn-Zel and his closest friend personally crafted the Rhetoric Throne themselves through the aid of their legendary artifacts―the Hammer of Gharen and the Anvil of Mithras―respectively. The Hammer and Anvil are known to be of exceptional make and unique design, with their ancient history depicting them to have been used in the initial construction of the Vvardenfell Freeholds and the smithing of some of Dumac Dwarfking’s personal armaments.

1E 519 — First of the Wave-Lords

• Uraugh-O’xonal, a powerful warchief of the Broh-Kah described in the Hyu-Ketic verbal legends known collectively as the Fields of the Two Suns Saga, becomes the first of a sporadic line of Wave-Lords to his kind. He is described by the bug-goblins as “a hulking creature, large but of muscle, approaching the size of a small mountain but with the thinking of a Bronze-Beard, smelling of the foul salt-rock that grew as armor out of his skin”, who will go on to lead the Broh-Kah in numerous successful raids for the decades to come.
• Like his successors, Uraugh-O’xonal was what modern scholars call an “apex-kah”; an apex-kah is a Broh-Kah born with an extremely rare mutation that causes them to grow more intelligent as they increase in size (and since they tend to get bigger the more they fight, these bizarre mutates can become extremely problematic).

1E 522 to 1E 523 — The Frog Folk Claim Namies

• Uraugh-O’xonal leads his brethren in a valanga to claim the island of Namies (which exists as part of the chain that would later be known as Hrahn’s or Hrahanti’s Isles), which houses several important religious and agricultural sites to the Hyu-Ket, and routes the bug goblins from it.

1E 523 to 545 — Beginning of the Tribal Wars

• As orally remembered in the Fields of the Two Suns, the Hyu-Ket and the Broh-Kah engage in twenty years of violent, brutal skirmishes and month-long battles over territory and pure bitterness with one another. While the Noraken interfere on the rare occasion that these fights cause issues with their business on the surface (mainly to slaughter both sides apathetically to resolve said issues as quickly as possible), they largely leave the two less sophisticated organizations exchange blows out indifference and amusement (in fact, it is stated in some stories that the Noraken would watch the battles from afar, with Nemer servants tending to their whim as they collected remnants from the battlefield to research and experiment with.
• The Gol-Thek materializes once again in the mortal realm to fight against Uraugh-O’xonal, who the Ket call “almost her equal” due to the frog man having the power of Broh-Kah (their war-god, not the race) himself on his side. While tellers of the Fields legend claim that this avatar of the Gol-Thek was seven feet tall, armed with a dragon’s head for a shield and a fallen star as a sword, these claims are widely considered to be embellishment on behalf of cultural pride.

1E 537 — Origins of Nemer Names & Clans

• Although it is explicitly stated in the Annuals that the Noraken relegated their Nemer subjects to titles based on numerals and abbreviated professions (with some of the more high-born Dwemer adding additional terms denoting favoritism and disgust amongst their slaves), the beginning leadership of the Nemer populace begins to have elaborate birth ceremonies in secret as noted by the later writings of Nemer historians. Familial bonds also begin to emerge amongst the chiropterans through a strange appropriation of the symbols the Noraken branded into them (so they could serve as physical indicators of slave/work/warrior type when applicable), and these ties build the foundation of modern Echmeri bloodlines.

1E 542 — Exploration of the Deep

• Fhaun Hurdnth and his workers gain approval from King Gharen and his Council to go on a mining expedition into the furthest reaches of the Dweech (where even the Noraken had yet to fully explore, due to the often overbearing presence of hostile flora, fauna, and the Peine) in order to build a more accessible oil rig.

1E 545 — The Tribal Wars end

• Uraugh-O’xonal meets a gruesome end at the hands of the Gol-Thek off the coastline of Namies, the largest of the three ancestral-lands of the Ket. Having chased him across Yrol and Hua, she is said to have ripped off his head before salting the wound and setting the corpse ablaze with divine fire, to prevent the monstrosity from coming back stronger than it was before. Without their Wave-Lord, the valanga of the Broh-Kah dissolves abruptly and they are routed back into the sea.

1E 553 — Ythan is found in the Dweech

• At the lowest depths of the caverns, automatons are able to find incredibly small but naturally occurring pools of ythan. Naming the site Irkngthur-Anum (“Darkest Womb of the Earth”), work on constructing a massive but self-sustaining facility begins immediately.

1E 567 — Irkngthur-Anum is Completed

• The new facility is “linked” to the Rhetoric Throne, and with its construction the Yneslean Freeholds reaches a new level of prosperity. Fhaun is also gifted a contingent of one thousand Nemer slave-fighters to help guard the oil complex as a reward for his contribution to Noraken society.

1E 577 — Gharen begins to fall ill

• The Somber-King, upon trying to seat himself on the Rhetoric Throne, suddenly keels over and has a stroke. While he survives, he is severely weakened and Lzarkla is forced to return to the palace as Queen-Regent as he recovers. In the Epistles, Gharen confides in Mithras that over the last couple of years he has been having horrid visions of blood, flesh, bronze, and flame and that every day perched on the Seat of the Calling seemed to left him drained; Mithras’ reply has become nearly incomprehensible due to the passing centuries, but what scholars have been able to translate implies that he harbored suspicions that there was a “terrible” source of power underneath Irkngthur-Anum.

1E 579 — Lzarkla’s Coronation

• The Queen-Regent’s ascendance is officially documented by the Council of Craft-Lords. Skyrim and Volenfell Freehold traders in the eastern kingdoms eventually spread this information to the Vvardenfell Freeholds, who view this as a laughable affair.
• Due to no longer being able to oversee Ahthndaz, Lzarkla decides to permanently end the majority of the Nemer experimentation processes (even though aspects of it like production and termination had already slowed down to a crawl over the last few centuries), which would allow the Freeholds to be more manageable during these changes in administration. Normal breeding practices by the Nemer are deemed acceptable for the time being until changes are proposed in the future.

1E 580 to 1E 585 — Irkngthur-Anum Experiences Problems

• Fhaun’s reports to his fellow Craft-Lords document an ever-increasing series of accidents claiming the lives of his workforce, ranging from mechanical malfunctions to the ythan vats exploding on their own due to unstable concentrations. He requests additional workers by the year for the next half-decade, which begins to trouble the Council and Queen-Regent Lzarkla, although they seem to hold no grounds for investigation.

1E 596 — Gharen Dies

• After living for untold centuries, the Somber-King finally passes in the night after a day ripe with painful coughs and incontinence; the cause of death is determined to have been a heart attack. Lzarkla’s regency is dropped and she is fully recognized as queen, with Mithras still serving to be her advisor.

I.IX SEVENTH CENTURY

1E 604 — Fhaun Returns to Zthgnthaz

• Summoned for societal matters, the former Steam-Weaver arrives back in the capital. Upon entering the Council Chambers, it is noted that Fhaun has grown physically worn and absent-minded, and is seemingly unable to contribute much intellectually to the conversation. He is eventually dismissed, but not before Mithras convinces Lzarkla to allow him to investigate the Irkngthur-Anum complex.

1E 605 — Irkngthur-Anum experiences a major malfunction

• Upon arriving in the lower depths, Fhaun and Mithras bear witness to more than half of the facility erupting into a colorful cascade of metal and flames. The entirety of Duahvardn-Zel shakes and quivers due to the explosion, with the Hyu-Ket remembering it as the Day the World Screamed as entire sections of the Dweech collapses or becomes inaccessible. The ythan facility itself becomes completely closed off from the rest of the Freeholds due to the rubble, and both Craft-Lords are presumed dead.

1E 606 to 1E 635 — Restoration of the Dweech

• Lzarkla places herself in physical risk as she tries to use the power of the Rhetoric Throne to hasten the reconstruction process, but is forced to concede and let it occur at its natural pace. In the meantime, she and her remaining Craft-Lords focus on the governance of the unaffected districts of their territory and “calming down” the Nemer populace disturbed by the disaster.

1E 617 — The Anumidium Project

• The Yneslean Freeholds discover through trading with their brethren that the Vvardenfell Freeholds have been making significant progress with the divine power that they found in ancient times, and that they might be soon to complete it. While some of the Craft-Lords believe it might be wise for Lzarkla to temporary travel back to Tamriel in order to learn more about this “great plan”, Lzarkla refuses for the time being; like her father, she also found little reason to trust in the words of Dumac and Kragenac.

1E 622 — Anhano Raelei, the future Nemer king, is born

• Although his Dwarven “name” has been lost to time (or purposefully forgotten), the man that would become the first ruler in Nemer/Echmer history is born sometime this year. He would begin his life as a simple farm slave, although later stories about his life also state that he would be used in pit fights frequently by his masters.

1E 629 — The Vvardenfell Clans and Duahvardn-Zel Truce

• King Dumac requests a formal summoning of Queen Lzarkla to Tamriel, in order to discuss with her and the then-leaders of the Skyrim and Volenfell Freeholds an important matter. After much debating, Lzarkla accepts and prepares to leave in the coming months.

1E 630 — The Yneslean Delegation Leaves the East

• Queen Lzarkla and the majority of her Craft-Lords embark from Duahvardn-Zel, leaving the governance of the Yneslean Freeholds to Javuk, a former Flesh-Orchestrator and the sole remaining councilor in the territory. Due to the nature of Dwemer meetings, the queen and her advisors do not return for several years.

1E 636 to 1E 642 — Councilor Javuk attempts to reclaim Irkngthur-Anum

• Although reconstruction of the Dweech is largely completed, the old Ythan facility still lies beneath an incredible amount of debris and rubble. Javuk sends in multiple expeditions of automatons, slaves, and overseers to excavate it over the next few years. This period of time is remembered to have been harsh by the Echmer, as the councilor refused them any sort of rest as they toil for days without end; if Javuk had allowed periods of respite, it is commonly believed the excavation would have taken less than half the time that it did.

1E 636 — Anhano grows in prominence

• Bought from his masters in order to add manpower to the excavation, Anhano quickly becomes an important figurehead and source of resolve for his fellow Nemer slaves working besides him. The Dwemer Overseers are quick to recognize him as an important asset due to his strength and size, and his leadership skills with the other slaves allows Anhano to hear and see things that he would have otherwise been unable to.
• A notable rift occurs in the Nemer population over their treatment at the hands of the Dwemer. While the old and the house servants believe that their roles are appropriate due to the nature of their lives, the young and the field workers disagree and believe that it is time to demonstrate that there is more to their lives than servitude and experimentation. This causes squabbling to occur amongst the early clans, although no serious fighting occurs.

1E 639 — Disturbance in the Goblin Lands

• A shaman of the Hyu-Ket has a vision that leaves her comatose for several days, before she awakens speaking of a wave of terrible monstrosities from beneath the earth. The Chieftains decide to dismantle the Noraken lift system that led into the bowels of the Dweech on the island of Namies, but settle on obstructing it instead with powerful nature magics (since they lacked the expertise to truly tamper with Dwemeri machinery).

1E 640 — The Queen Returns from Abroad

• Lzarkla and the other Craft-Lords drift back into port from their trip west, bearing tidings of irritation and indignation. While the exact details are lost to history, it is believed that Dumac had tried to acquire the aid of the other Dwemeri Freeholds with both the Anumidium Project and rising tensions with the Chimer and Northern Men; the other major, splinter clans wholeheartedly refused multiple times before banished back to their nations.
• Upon seeing the workforce Javuk had mustered and essentially drove to near-death, Lzarkla has him executed for the blatant waste of valuable resources and slaves.

1E 642 — Irkngthur-Anum is Breached

• After many grueling years, the area around the oil facility is cleared enough so that small groups of individuals can make their way through the entrance. Lzarkla orders a small taskforce of the best Nemer gladiators, Dwemeri overseers, and enhanced automatons to explore the site in case anything unpleasant is found. Anhano is allegedly one of the Nemer sent, although some modern scholars believe that he was attributed to that ill-fated expedition through legend at a later time.

1E 642 to 1E 643 — The Haunted Expedition

• The Haunted Expedition, as later Echmeri historians would refer to it, was the period of time that the taskforce organized by Lzarkla scoured the remnants of Irkngthur-Anum for potential hazards. Reporting back to her via the Calling and the Rhetoric Throne (which seemed to pain her like her father before her), the explorers’ comments as recorded in the Annuals state that the area had: “grown bizarre, with pulsating pools of what might have been ythan steaming in coagulated currents. Skin-like moss and vines clung to the walls, and the machinery that had once been crafted to perfection was now derelict and ‘rotted’ despite it being of inorganic-make.”
• Halfway through the year, the expedition goes completely silent and no messages are received through the Calling.

1E 643 — The Horrors of the Dweech

• Three members of the expedition―an overseer and two Nemer, one of which (allegedly) being Anhano―stumble out of the entrance to Irkngthur-Anum in what can only be described as a fit of terror. The Dwemer Overseer mentions waves of unnatural creatures crawling out of what appears to be a portal now situated where the largest of the ythan vats resided, a portal that led to a place of entropic gears and rusted bone, before dying of mortal wounds. Lzarkla quickly stalls upcoming excavation work and has the entrance to Irkngthur-Anum sealed behind a massive gate-fortress that the Nemer/Echmer would come to call Portentous Whelm, which barred Duahvardn-Zel from the nightmares of the Underworld.
• Anhano is summoned by the Queen to relay all that he had seen, which he does to accurate detail with no lies. Noting his capability, Lzarkla has him and a large host of Nemer slave-knights man the walls of Portentous Whelm for signs of danger to Noraken society.

1E 647 — Lzarkla Falls Ill

• Similar to Gharen, the Queen begins to suffer from painful visions and intense seizures as she uses the Rhetoric Throne to mitigate the danger of Irkngthur-Anum. Carnal-Physicians amongst the Noraken believe that whatever strange force controlling the remnants of the oil facility must be infecting the Calling, and it’s possible that the original construction of Irkngthur-Anum is what led to Gharen’s death in the first place.

1E 655 — Lzarkla Dies

• After living to be more than five hundred years old, Lzarkla also dies within the confines of her bedroom being tended to by Nemer servants, her cause of death being spontaneous organ failure. Her body is interred alongside her father’s in the tombs beneath Zthgnthaz (which also houses an empty sarcophagus in honor of Mithras).

1E 660 — Battle of Dragon Wall

• Mauloch, Orcish god of the Velothi Mountains, is defeated at the Battle of Dragon Wall and flees east.

1E 661 — The Rise of Anhano

• Although the former pit-slave absolutely refuses to do so, several of his fellow slave-knights urge him to start a rebellion in order to wrest the rule of the archipelago from their Noraken masters. With the death of Lzarkla, the remaining Craft-Lords had started to excessively punish the Nemer and the slave race were growing more discontent by the day. Anhano disagrees with the idea of revolt, but he can’t help but want to lead his people to a better life. Whispers spread throughout Noraken society of a “Hidden King” of the Slaves.

1E 665 to 1E 700 — The Underworld Wars

• One evening, without warning, Portentous Whelm is breached from the other side by continuous swarms of various monstrosities that are determined to neither be Daedric or Aedric in origin by the Noraken. While the Dwarven armies and the Nemer are able to push back the abominations and subsequently rebuild the gate, the attacks would resume in a few months’ time and the awful fighting would begin again. Soon, the entirety of the Dweech becomes a war zone as ground is gained and lost repeatedly.
• Anhano and his slave-knights fight tirelessly for the entirety of this period, somehow never faltering and sustaining minimal losses despite being thrust in the frontlines.

1E 668 — The War of the First Council begins; Vvardenfell erupts

• The Great Houses of the Chimer, the Vvardenfell Freeholds, and the Nord Kingdoms and its allies officially begin their long and brutal war. The first eruption of Morrowind's gigantic volcano, since known as Red Mountain, also happens during this year; ash spews into the sky and hides the sun for a year. This year is also called Sun's Death or the Year of Winter in Summer.
• According to legends about the Underworld Wars, the creatures from beyond Portentous Whelm grew particularly fearsome during this point of time (whether this is a potential connection is unknown and probably a stretch at best).

I.X EIGHTH CENTURY

1E 700 — The Battle of Red Mountain

• The approximate date of the famous battle between the Chimer and the Dwemer, led by Indoril Nerevar and Dumac Dwarfking, which concludes the War of the First Council. Both Nerevar and Dumac perish. These events pave the way for the formation of Tribunal Morrowind, which would last until just short of the end of the Third Era.

1E 700 — The Disappearance of the Dwarves

• For strange and unknown reasons, the Dwemer race vanishes in its entirety after the Battle of Red Mountain. This bizarre phenomenon also extended to the Noraken Clan of the far east; their sudden and abrupt nonexistence was apparently so traumatic for the Nemer fighting alongside them in the Underworld Wars that their ancient historians refused to commit its detailing to paper.
• An odd benefit of this event, however, is that it resulted in the abominations of Irkngthur-Anum to retreat back beyond the Portentous Whelm. Anhano leads the survivors of Underworld Wars in this rout now with their overseers gone, and together the Gates of Portentous Whelm are sealed (and remain sealed for several centuries).

1E 700 to 1E 702 — The Great Despair

• Upon their adrenaline wearing off, the Nemer realize the full scope of the situation they find themselves in as they notice they are surrounded by flames, blood, rotting corpses, ash, and silence. The race scours the caves and tunnels for their masters, but find no evidence of them. For more than a year the chiropterans (including the ones that had wished to revolt against the Noraken in the first place) live in a daze, wandering the empty cities of the Dweech and trying to comprehend a life without their creators controlling their every decision. For all intents and purposes, this is a time of mourning.
• Anhano, who had already grown to understand the pain of loss, is unable to see the rest of his people like this and vanishes into the Dweech; it would be revealed at a later time that he had traveled to the surface to live in solitude.

1E 703 — A Return to War

• Tired of searching for their masters, the more outspoken leaders and elders of the Nemer organize a meeting in Zthgnthaz to determine the future of their people. While the youthful congregation believes that with the Noraken gone they should try to use their strange magics and technology for their own purposes (as they viewed themselves as its rightful heirs), the elders argue that such tools and forbidden studies is what probably lead to things like Portentous Whelm and the Disappearance of the Dwarves in the first place.
• Although these two conflicting ideologies are unable to be resolved peacefully, they are both completely ignored once the prospect of leadership of the Nemer people is brought to the forefront of discussion. With Anhano gone and unable to be found anywhere in the Dweech, the various clan leaders begin to debate amongst themselves until blood is drawn and war once again ignites in the Dweech.
• This event marks the mark end of the Yneslean First Era, and marks the beginning of the period of time remembered as the Unification Wars.