Chapter 5. The more things change…..
Baladas looked around the room. All the powerful Wizards, Lords of the Telvanni, gathered in one room, and none had even tried to kill each other yet. That alone was a testament to the power and influence, and likely dread, Divayth Fyr commanded. Only he could keep all of them from killing their peers.
Everyone had come, Mistress Dratha of Tel Mora, Master Aryon of Tel Vos, the wizard Uvirith of Tel Uvirith, Master Maryon of Tel Branora, successor to the late mistress Therana. Master Empor of Firewatch, Mistress Arala of Velothi’s haven and of course Supreme Magister Moven of Port Telvannis and theoretical head of Great House Telvanni. Theoretical, because when he stood in the same room as Divayth it was clear the Supreme Magister was not even the equal of Lord Fyr’s shadow. He was too afraid even to look into the eyes of Divayth, let alone speak up.
Divayth therefore spoke “Welcome, fellow Telvanni. Welcome also to our esteemed Supreme Magister.” Baladas thought he heard an sarcastic note when Divayth said the word ‘esteemed.’
“My fellow Telvanni, as you all know, grave things have happened. Two days ago, lord Nerevar was poisoned, poisoned in front of the entire Grand Council. Well, almost the entire council, anyway. I am certain the events that will follow will leave their mark on Morrowind for many years to come. But I also have another matter to discuss. Corruption.”
Baladas noticed the Supreme Magister take a step back at the word ‘corruption.’
“Before lord Nerevar died, he was about to announce the names of a number of people trying their best to work with an unknown person to bring down Morrowind. We are Telvanni, so bribery and plotting comes naturally to us, but until now at least we’ve kept it inside our house. Now it would seem outsiders are trying to influence our house.”
And quicker then Baladas’ eyes could register it, Divayth raised his hand, and threw a frost spell straight at the Supreme Magister. He tried to get away, but it was too late. The frost ball engulfed him, and froze him on the spot. Divayth slowly walked up to the Magister, looked him in the eyes for a moment, and then punched the now frozen wizard as hard as he could. On impact, the ice shattered, and with it the body of the Supreme Magister. Pieces of him flew everywhere around the room and Divayth had a smile on his face.
Divayth spoke to the assembled Masters who were mostly still in shock over what they’d just seen. Not that it was uncommon for a Master or even Magister to “step down” like this, it was in fact more usual to be killed then die of old age with the Telvanni, but it wasn’t usually done with such a large and impressive audience nearby.
“What you’ve just seen is the fate of a traitor. I have evidence which I will show you at the end of this meeting, proving beyond a doubt that our beloved and dearly departed Supreme Magister was actually being paid by King Helseth. Not only was he to limit the Telvanni in any way he could, he was also an informant. For the past year we’ve been wondering how it could be that Helseth always proved to know things we were planning before we carried them out, and this is the answer. A traitor.”
“I meant what I said- from now on, the office of Supreme Magister is no more. The Archmagister will lead Great House Telvanni from now on.”
Baladas was the first to call out, “Hail, Archmagister Fyr,” and others almost immediately followed suit, but Divayth raised his hand.
“Though I thank you for your confidence in this, I have no interest in becoming Archmagister. No, instead, allow me to present you with the new Archmagister.”
Suddenly, a figure appeared next to Divayth Fyr. It was the same hooded figure Baladas had seen in Tel Fyr two days past. Baladas felt scared, not a feeling he was used to. A room filled with the most powerful Wizard Lords alive on Nirn today, and no one had sensed that another person was in the room with them. That alone was a testament to the power of whoever this was.
Divayth spoke on, “Unfortunately, for a number of reasons, your new Archmagister right now is a man of few words, no words to be precise. But he has entrusted me with instructing you. You are all to obey the last wishes of lord Nerevar. Some of you have already freed your slaves; the others will do so as soon as they get back from this meeting. Free them, and allow them to return to their homes if they so wish, but you are also instructed to offer them something different. Ask them to serve you for the coming two years, as warriors, messengers, builders, whatever needs be done. And in return, after those two years, you will repay them with a piece of land for their own, money and the right to live as equals among Telvanni everywhere.”
Some muttering followed that; not every Telvanni was as progressive in thought as Divayth, Felen, Baladas and Aryon. Quite a few were still using slaves to work their egg mines and other mines.
“Be silent!” Divayth said. “My fellow Telvanni, trust me when I say this; we are in for a very exciting year. I promise you, even now Helseth is sitting in his palace in Mournhold plotting against us. It would not surprise me if he accused us of killing lord Nerevar as an excuse to seize our lands and rid Morrowind of House Telvanni. I for one will not allow that to happen. Will you?”
A chorus of ‘No’s’ came in answer.
“Well then, here is what we are going to do. I’m sure you’re all somewhat familiar with the Ghostfence and the way it operated, when it was still operating, that is. It channelled the power of the honourable dead and that power was used to create a shield, a shield that kept Morrowind safe from the threats of the blight, and Dagoth Ur. After years of study, I’ve found a way to recreate the pillars used for the Ghostfence.”
“We will create many of them, and place them along the new border of Telvanni lands, then activate them. From then on, we will be able to live our lives as we want to, without having to bend the knee to Helseth or any other would be ruler of Morrowind.”
Baladas spoke up, “But Master Fyr, in days past the Ghostfence relied on the city of Necrom for power. It’s deep inside Indoril territory; how will you wrest away control, let alone hold it?”
“Leave that to me,” came the reply. “For now, what I want you all to do is this. Return to your homes, free the slaves as ordered, and try your best to convince as many as you can to stay and serve. Also, arm and ready all of your forces. Mercenaries must be removed from your cities, for none who could be a spy may be allowed to stay. Be certain that all in your force are true Telvanni. The day after the funeral of lord Nerevar, we start our campaign.”
“And before you go, there are two small items left to deal with. In times past, the rank Magister was there simply as a declaration of war on the then ruling Archmagister. No more. Our new Archmagister has seen fit to turn it into an official rank, indicating a Master who shall always speak with the voice of the Archmagister and must therefore always be obeyed. He has seen fit to grant this new title to two people among you, myself, and Magister Baladas.” That was definitely not something Baladas was expecting. “And for our final item, again in times past, people have seen fit to rise in House Telvanni through murder. From this day forward, until the end of the coming war, that practice is outlawed. Any Telvanni attacking another Telvanni will be punished severely by the Archmagister, or one of his Magisters. No Telvanni will prosper through murder of his kin during these times. Only after everything has been settled will the Archmagister review this and possibly reverse the policy.”
“I realise all of this might sound very un-Telvanni to you, but drastic times call for drastic measures. So until things settle down, we will all act very un-Telvanni.” Baladas looked across the faces of the other Masters; many were casting doubtful looks; they, like him, were likely wondering if these measures were really necessary or not. But then Divayth got some support from an unexpected source;
“It seems to me, Divayth,” Dratha spoke, “That this is in fact very Telvanni like behaviour, to use your phrase. In the past, the strong have always decided what was best for house Telvanni, and it seems to me this is no different. And since I would not presume to be able to best the lord of Fyr, I will return to my lands and free my slaves.”
After that, other Masters spoke in support of the plan. It seemed with those few words, mistress Dratha had made things far easier to accept for all.
As the Masters left one at a time, Baladas saw Divayth motion to him to stay behind. When all the others had left and Divayth had restored the spell surrounding the room, he spoke to Baladas, “I realise this must sound very odd to you, Baladas, but please believe me there is no other way. I know some plans of King Helseth, and if we are to survive as a Great House, we must act now before it is too late. We will discuss this further three days from now. The day after the funeral, come to my Tel and we will be there. We will discuss all the steps we’re going to take with you then. Until such time however, this is what we want you to do. Spend your two days travelling between the different Telvanni towns here on Vvardenfall. Make sure all the Masters are doing everything they need to do, and if not, make sure they will. I will do the same for the cities on the mainland; especially Port Telvannis will need much coaching I think, and rooting out the other Hlaalu spies will be trying. We must be ready in two days time- do you understand Baladas? We must be ready.”
Baladas said he understood. And that he would do all he could to make sure the Vvardenfall cities were ready.
It proved to be a very sad funeral. Funerals always are, Baladas reflected later, but this one had been extra sad. So many great people spoke highly of lord Nerevar and all he had accomplished in life. Everyone had a story, Baladas too. He recalled to the assembled how he had first met lord Nerevar, that day Nerevar had walked into Arvs Drelen, and asked to know everything Baladas knew about the disappearance of the Dwemer. Baladas found lord Nerevar to be smart, intelligent, intuitive, and a quick study. Within just a few days, Baladas had to admit there was nothing left to teach. Like a sponge, lord Nerevar had absorbed everything he’d been told.
The low point of the funeral of course was when Helseth spoke. But then Baladas found any moment spent listening to Helseth a low point. He did start off surprisingly, by declaring every slave should indeed be freed. Few men had been expecting that, Baladas was sure, but at the same time, perhaps the reason Master Fyr had ordered the Telvanni to release their slaves, was because of this. Now there was a scary thought- was Divayth actually able to read people’s minds? Baladas didn’t know, but he did know he would have to be extra alert from now on. Before long of course Helseth once again showed the world his true face, insulting the young bodyguard, Varvur his name was. Baladas at one point saw him reach for his weapon, no it actually looked to be lord Nerevar’s blade he was carrying, but luckily at the last moment he was able to control himself after all. Bloodshed at a funeral, the gods did not look kindly on that.
Thankfully Helseth was done speaking, and the ceremony had also come to an end. Priests were enchanting the coffin of lord Nerevar and preparing to take it into his burial chamber. Unlike the Dunmer, it was the custom of lord Nerevar’s original people not to burn the dead, but to bury them whole, seal them in a coffin and place them under the earth. Baladas thought it folly; how was his spirit going to be able to arrive in the heavens if it was locked inside a coffin? But then lord Nerevar had never really been a religious man anyway.
Looking around at the departing people, Baladas thought he saw a glimpse of a figure in a black robe, but when next he looked at the spot where he thought he’d seen it, there was no one there. Was he imagining things now? Gods, he was really getting old now wasn’t he? He sighed, and cast the spell that would take him back to Sadrith Mora.
On to the next chapter
Baladas looked around the room. All the powerful Wizards, Lords of the Telvanni, gathered in one room, and none had even tried to kill each other yet. That alone was a testament to the power and influence, and likely dread, Divayth Fyr commanded. Only he could keep all of them from killing their peers.
Everyone had come, Mistress Dratha of Tel Mora, Master Aryon of Tel Vos, the wizard Uvirith of Tel Uvirith, Master Maryon of Tel Branora, successor to the late mistress Therana. Master Empor of Firewatch, Mistress Arala of Velothi’s haven and of course Supreme Magister Moven of Port Telvannis and theoretical head of Great House Telvanni. Theoretical, because when he stood in the same room as Divayth it was clear the Supreme Magister was not even the equal of Lord Fyr’s shadow. He was too afraid even to look into the eyes of Divayth, let alone speak up.
Divayth therefore spoke “Welcome, fellow Telvanni. Welcome also to our esteemed Supreme Magister.” Baladas thought he heard an sarcastic note when Divayth said the word ‘esteemed.’
“My fellow Telvanni, as you all know, grave things have happened. Two days ago, lord Nerevar was poisoned, poisoned in front of the entire Grand Council. Well, almost the entire council, anyway. I am certain the events that will follow will leave their mark on Morrowind for many years to come. But I also have another matter to discuss. Corruption.”
Baladas noticed the Supreme Magister take a step back at the word ‘corruption.’
“Before lord Nerevar died, he was about to announce the names of a number of people trying their best to work with an unknown person to bring down Morrowind. We are Telvanni, so bribery and plotting comes naturally to us, but until now at least we’ve kept it inside our house. Now it would seem outsiders are trying to influence our house.”
And quicker then Baladas’ eyes could register it, Divayth raised his hand, and threw a frost spell straight at the Supreme Magister. He tried to get away, but it was too late. The frost ball engulfed him, and froze him on the spot. Divayth slowly walked up to the Magister, looked him in the eyes for a moment, and then punched the now frozen wizard as hard as he could. On impact, the ice shattered, and with it the body of the Supreme Magister. Pieces of him flew everywhere around the room and Divayth had a smile on his face.
Divayth spoke to the assembled Masters who were mostly still in shock over what they’d just seen. Not that it was uncommon for a Master or even Magister to “step down” like this, it was in fact more usual to be killed then die of old age with the Telvanni, but it wasn’t usually done with such a large and impressive audience nearby.
“What you’ve just seen is the fate of a traitor. I have evidence which I will show you at the end of this meeting, proving beyond a doubt that our beloved and dearly departed Supreme Magister was actually being paid by King Helseth. Not only was he to limit the Telvanni in any way he could, he was also an informant. For the past year we’ve been wondering how it could be that Helseth always proved to know things we were planning before we carried them out, and this is the answer. A traitor.”
“I meant what I said- from now on, the office of Supreme Magister is no more. The Archmagister will lead Great House Telvanni from now on.”
Baladas was the first to call out, “Hail, Archmagister Fyr,” and others almost immediately followed suit, but Divayth raised his hand.
“Though I thank you for your confidence in this, I have no interest in becoming Archmagister. No, instead, allow me to present you with the new Archmagister.”
Suddenly, a figure appeared next to Divayth Fyr. It was the same hooded figure Baladas had seen in Tel Fyr two days past. Baladas felt scared, not a feeling he was used to. A room filled with the most powerful Wizard Lords alive on Nirn today, and no one had sensed that another person was in the room with them. That alone was a testament to the power of whoever this was.
Divayth spoke on, “Unfortunately, for a number of reasons, your new Archmagister right now is a man of few words, no words to be precise. But he has entrusted me with instructing you. You are all to obey the last wishes of lord Nerevar. Some of you have already freed your slaves; the others will do so as soon as they get back from this meeting. Free them, and allow them to return to their homes if they so wish, but you are also instructed to offer them something different. Ask them to serve you for the coming two years, as warriors, messengers, builders, whatever needs be done. And in return, after those two years, you will repay them with a piece of land for their own, money and the right to live as equals among Telvanni everywhere.”
Some muttering followed that; not every Telvanni was as progressive in thought as Divayth, Felen, Baladas and Aryon. Quite a few were still using slaves to work their egg mines and other mines.
“Be silent!” Divayth said. “My fellow Telvanni, trust me when I say this; we are in for a very exciting year. I promise you, even now Helseth is sitting in his palace in Mournhold plotting against us. It would not surprise me if he accused us of killing lord Nerevar as an excuse to seize our lands and rid Morrowind of House Telvanni. I for one will not allow that to happen. Will you?”
A chorus of ‘No’s’ came in answer.
“Well then, here is what we are going to do. I’m sure you’re all somewhat familiar with the Ghostfence and the way it operated, when it was still operating, that is. It channelled the power of the honourable dead and that power was used to create a shield, a shield that kept Morrowind safe from the threats of the blight, and Dagoth Ur. After years of study, I’ve found a way to recreate the pillars used for the Ghostfence.”
“We will create many of them, and place them along the new border of Telvanni lands, then activate them. From then on, we will be able to live our lives as we want to, without having to bend the knee to Helseth or any other would be ruler of Morrowind.”
Baladas spoke up, “But Master Fyr, in days past the Ghostfence relied on the city of Necrom for power. It’s deep inside Indoril territory; how will you wrest away control, let alone hold it?”
“Leave that to me,” came the reply. “For now, what I want you all to do is this. Return to your homes, free the slaves as ordered, and try your best to convince as many as you can to stay and serve. Also, arm and ready all of your forces. Mercenaries must be removed from your cities, for none who could be a spy may be allowed to stay. Be certain that all in your force are true Telvanni. The day after the funeral of lord Nerevar, we start our campaign.”
“And before you go, there are two small items left to deal with. In times past, the rank Magister was there simply as a declaration of war on the then ruling Archmagister. No more. Our new Archmagister has seen fit to turn it into an official rank, indicating a Master who shall always speak with the voice of the Archmagister and must therefore always be obeyed. He has seen fit to grant this new title to two people among you, myself, and Magister Baladas.” That was definitely not something Baladas was expecting. “And for our final item, again in times past, people have seen fit to rise in House Telvanni through murder. From this day forward, until the end of the coming war, that practice is outlawed. Any Telvanni attacking another Telvanni will be punished severely by the Archmagister, or one of his Magisters. No Telvanni will prosper through murder of his kin during these times. Only after everything has been settled will the Archmagister review this and possibly reverse the policy.”
“I realise all of this might sound very un-Telvanni to you, but drastic times call for drastic measures. So until things settle down, we will all act very un-Telvanni.” Baladas looked across the faces of the other Masters; many were casting doubtful looks; they, like him, were likely wondering if these measures were really necessary or not. But then Divayth got some support from an unexpected source;
“It seems to me, Divayth,” Dratha spoke, “That this is in fact very Telvanni like behaviour, to use your phrase. In the past, the strong have always decided what was best for house Telvanni, and it seems to me this is no different. And since I would not presume to be able to best the lord of Fyr, I will return to my lands and free my slaves.”
After that, other Masters spoke in support of the plan. It seemed with those few words, mistress Dratha had made things far easier to accept for all.
As the Masters left one at a time, Baladas saw Divayth motion to him to stay behind. When all the others had left and Divayth had restored the spell surrounding the room, he spoke to Baladas, “I realise this must sound very odd to you, Baladas, but please believe me there is no other way. I know some plans of King Helseth, and if we are to survive as a Great House, we must act now before it is too late. We will discuss this further three days from now. The day after the funeral, come to my Tel and we will be there. We will discuss all the steps we’re going to take with you then. Until such time however, this is what we want you to do. Spend your two days travelling between the different Telvanni towns here on Vvardenfall. Make sure all the Masters are doing everything they need to do, and if not, make sure they will. I will do the same for the cities on the mainland; especially Port Telvannis will need much coaching I think, and rooting out the other Hlaalu spies will be trying. We must be ready in two days time- do you understand Baladas? We must be ready.”
Baladas said he understood. And that he would do all he could to make sure the Vvardenfall cities were ready.
It proved to be a very sad funeral. Funerals always are, Baladas reflected later, but this one had been extra sad. So many great people spoke highly of lord Nerevar and all he had accomplished in life. Everyone had a story, Baladas too. He recalled to the assembled how he had first met lord Nerevar, that day Nerevar had walked into Arvs Drelen, and asked to know everything Baladas knew about the disappearance of the Dwemer. Baladas found lord Nerevar to be smart, intelligent, intuitive, and a quick study. Within just a few days, Baladas had to admit there was nothing left to teach. Like a sponge, lord Nerevar had absorbed everything he’d been told.
The low point of the funeral of course was when Helseth spoke. But then Baladas found any moment spent listening to Helseth a low point. He did start off surprisingly, by declaring every slave should indeed be freed. Few men had been expecting that, Baladas was sure, but at the same time, perhaps the reason Master Fyr had ordered the Telvanni to release their slaves, was because of this. Now there was a scary thought- was Divayth actually able to read people’s minds? Baladas didn’t know, but he did know he would have to be extra alert from now on. Before long of course Helseth once again showed the world his true face, insulting the young bodyguard, Varvur his name was. Baladas at one point saw him reach for his weapon, no it actually looked to be lord Nerevar’s blade he was carrying, but luckily at the last moment he was able to control himself after all. Bloodshed at a funeral, the gods did not look kindly on that.
Thankfully Helseth was done speaking, and the ceremony had also come to an end. Priests were enchanting the coffin of lord Nerevar and preparing to take it into his burial chamber. Unlike the Dunmer, it was the custom of lord Nerevar’s original people not to burn the dead, but to bury them whole, seal them in a coffin and place them under the earth. Baladas thought it folly; how was his spirit going to be able to arrive in the heavens if it was locked inside a coffin? But then lord Nerevar had never really been a religious man anyway.
Looking around at the departing people, Baladas thought he saw a glimpse of a figure in a black robe, but when next he looked at the spot where he thought he’d seen it, there was no one there. Was he imagining things now? Gods, he was really getting old now wasn’t he? He sighed, and cast the spell that would take him back to Sadrith Mora.
On to the next chapter