#mordrin hanin

[barfok]

I confess I just noticed the goose typo right before I hit send but I left it in because it made me laugh (obviously its meant to be house not goose lmao). Thanks for answering! Yeah that actually makes a lot of sense that Almalexia would try to get rid of as much of her mortal past as possible, very tragically on brand. What did nerevar think of amun-shae? Did he ever give his mother in law the credit she was owed? Also, I'm assuming it's ysmir who sheltered her during her exile? Why'd he do it? Did she have some idea of who he was and what he'd become?

Ps If u ever want to write the mordrin fuckin hanin essay I'd gladly read that too

:) thanks for keeping the goose typo, it delighted me

nerevar and amun-shae-- during her life amun-shae was seen by many as a traitor, as someone who'd sold out her city to the nords in exchange for power and comfort. this impression was particularly strong in those who had fought in the initial invasion... such as nerevar, who i hc as having lead a futile resistance during the brutal conquest of ebonheart. so even though he could acknowledge amun-shae's skills as a leader, nerevar still viewed her as a coward and a collaborator, and treated her with thinly veiled contempt. it was a point of contention between him and almalexia, because sometimes he looked at almalexia with that same suspicion. almalexia too spent much of her life existing under nordic occupation and had also endured accusations of collaboration

as for ysmir and amun-shae! the two of them had a long history actually, dating back to the invasion-- even though amun-shae surrendered, she was more or less at the whims of the invading Tongues, so when the surrender was made ysmir inserted himself into negotiations as amun-shae's guarantor of safety, basically saying that if anyone hurt her, he'd take retribution on her behalf. ysmir had grown very disillusioned with the nords over the course of the war and was looking for an excuse to break with them, so guaranteeing amun-shae's safety meant he would get to wage war with any and all of them if anything happened to her. fortunately for amun-shae it turns out that nobody in their right mind is going to fuck with ysmir so she was very safe under that deal.

they kinda grew close after that, because ysmir genuinely pitied her and was seeking allies amongst the chimer. amun-shae kept the old-guard boethiah worship that was traditional to her line, with an ideological basis in lorkhan reverence, and this gave her a lot of common ground from which to explore ysmir's own fanatic worship of shor. though ysmir lived on vvardenfell they kept up a regular correspondence throughout the occupation, and when things in mournhold became too dangerous to remain tenable, he was an obvious person to go to for help.

i don't think amun-shae had any idea of what ysmir really was. sure his immortality was weird but lots of thu'um users shouted themselves off of the mortal coil in those days. he was just an unusually kind, sensitive, insightful warlord who liked to pick her thoughts about the nature of lorkhan and reality

[bitchwhoreofastorm]

ON MORDRIN HANIN,

As requested. A compliation of what we know about the First Era Mehrunes Dagon cult-leader known as Mordrin Hanin, compiled from Vvardenfell myth, Elante's memoirs, Telvanni records and my own archeological inquests. Masha Gra-Nirgol, Mournhold.

HANIN Mordrin Hanin was a prominent and powerful follower of Mehrunes Dagon who achieved massive political power in Vvardenfell during the Nordic Occupation and Resdayn periods of the First Era. Most notably he was responsible for the wholesale destruction of House Sotha, the House of the living god Sotha Sil.

HISTORY Little is known about Hanin's origins or how he came to power. His diverse array of acquaintances and learned worldview are suggestive of previous travel, but this is speculation only.

CONQUEST In the First Era, Daedric cults operated with a similar structure and autonomy as the Ashlander Tribes and Minor Houses. These groups formed individual units which could come to possess territory and even be respected in their regional political landscapes. Mordrin Hanin upset this order by attempting to conquest Vvardenfell. By a combination of ruthless guerilla warfare and cunning political manouveuring, Hanin laid claim to great swathes of the subcontinent, and eventually succeeded in controlling large parts of it, though he could never reliably hold this territory.

EXTENT The West Gash was Hanin's central territory, but he held core bases across the continent. Maelkashisi (west), Ashalmawia (north-west) and Assurnabitashpi (north) were his strongholds. At the maximum extent of his influence, he also controlled Azura's Coast, ranging from Ald Daedroth in the north to Ald Sotha in the south, with major bases at Anudnabia and Tukushapal.

IDEOLOGY Mordrin Hanin preached that Vvardenfell was a blessed land, and that the mer who lived there were superior. He preached that Mehrunes Dagon represented the natural disasters and harsh climate of Vvardenfell, and that adverse weather events should be seen not as tragedies but as opportunities to strengthen the herd. He advocated a 'survival of the fittest' ideology and focused on cowardly 'Mainlanders' (non-Vvardenfell chimer) as the reason for the persisting Nordic occupation. It's believed that Mankar Camoran's works are derived from those of Hanin.

EBONY Hanin forged an alliance with the ingenious smiths of Anudnabia, Hilbongard Rolamus and Dorach Gusal. For most of the occupation the Nords had been unable to forge ebony weapons, but Hilbongard and Dorach developed a new method that Nordic blacksmiths could easily utilise. During his conquest years, Hanin was persecuted by the religious fanatic Ysmir Wulfharth, who then ruled Vvardenfell. Hanin approached Ysmir's ally Jurgen Wind-Caller and offered forth the secret for smithing ebony in exchange for amnesty. This bargain was accepted and the resulting boom in ebony weaponry is often used to explain the renewed vigour of the War of Succession, and the further division of the Morrowind Tongues during the latter years of the Nordic Empire.

GOD, INSPIRATION, TERROR Hilbongard and Dorach were also responsible for crafting the famous 'Daedric Faces'. The Daedric Face of Inspiration was gifted to Mordrin Hanin. The 'Daedric Face of God' was gifted to Olmgerd the Outlaw, a Nordic pirate and close confidant of Hanin. The Daedric face of Terror remained with Hilbongard and Dorach. What powers, or significance, are held by these masks is unknown. (n.b. some scholars have pointed out that Almalexia's war-mask bears a striking resemblance to the Daedric Faces, but this is probably more testament to the dominant fashions of the time rather than some conspiracy.)

ALD SOTHA How Ald Sotha, a remote fishing village near the tower Bal Fell, came to be involved with the cult of Mordrin Hanin, is known only to Sotha Sil.

DEATH There are no records for how Mordrin Hanin died. He was laid to rest in Assurnabitashpi, in an elaborate tomb with an array of treasures. The book 'Hanin's Wake' describes the human sacrifice ritual performed in his honour. Even in death he was ruthless, it seems.

[boethiah]

thoughts on the ashlanders?

i find them absolutely fascinating and i’m angry about how underrated they are. i wish people would give them more consideration in their headcanons, esp when it comes to first council stuff-- i think they were a major component of the first council and a major factor in nerevar’s rising to power and it’s absolutely criminal how much they’re overlooked 

[barfok]

This is your reminder to talk about the Morag Tong!

omg thank you.

some notes on the history of the morag tong in the nordic occupation:

by tradition, the night mother is a ra'athim woman, often the eldest daughter of the reigning patriarch. at the time of the nordic invasion of morrowind this role was occupied kronin ra'athims second-eldest sister, krora

the nordic invasion of ebonheart was devastating to clan ra'athim, and many of them died in a failed resistance attempt (thanks, nerevar!). while the morag tong survived the invasion, the nords cracked down on them especially hard. krora was rooted out and killed soon after the initial invasion

the morag tong responded to this crisis by dissolving itself. small cells dispersed across morrowind and carried on the sacred traditions in extreme secrecy. the ra'athim, now a cell of guerilla warriors based on south vvardenfell, fund their ongoing skeleton existence.

through the occupiation, yoriss ra'athim, the older sister of kronin, remains in ebonheart. as the nords become complacent in morrowind, she begins to build a framework for re-establishing the morag tong. she does this by establishing a loose network of brothels, gambling dens and speakeasies through ebonheart and its neighboring territories. exiled morag tong are slowly recalled to ebonheart and assimilate into these businesses of ill repute. yoriss pays the reigning nords a heavy 'cut' of the profits, and in return, they let yoriss curate this criminal empire

the nordic occupiers obviously took issue with assassins, and the morag tong was heavily persecuted. but the nords are anything but centralised, and the actual extent of persecution, as well as the form it took, depended largely on what jarl was in charge and how aggressive they were willing to be. nonetheless, the morag tong could not operate easily in this environment-- at this point they were far more of a religious cult than an assassin's guild. so assassination fell by the wayside, they oriented towards their covert mephala worship, towards their brothels and dens of vice, towards preserving their traditions in expectation of the day the nords would be thrown out and the chimer would once more be free

a little more history (tw child abuse/kidnapping):

kronin's son, cruethys, had a daughter in secret. when kronin discovered this he was furious; nonetheless, seeing the opportunity, kronin seized the girl and sent her to yoriss, to be groomed as a new night mother

yoriss raised the girl, alongside (later) kronin's first daughter. she grew up closely enmeshed with the morag tong, and, just as her family had expected, took up the role of the new night mother. her assuming control as a young woman, combined with the slackening of the nordic influence over ebonheart as the civil war broke out, marked the 'official' revival of the morag tong. they're an entity from here on out

the revived morag tong quickly exceeded its diminished role as a branch of ra'athim influence-- the night mother never forgot what kronin had done to her, nor did she forgive. the morag tong went on to play a subtle but influential role in morrowind's politics leading up to the invasion. most notably, they had a dubious alliance with mordrin hanin's dagon faction, and the "red wives of noormoc" vivec mentions were tong agents in hanin's service

after nerevar's successful rebellion, the morag tong sunk back into comfortable anonymity, where they were quite comfortable until vivec killed the night mother under unclear circumstances several decades later

vivec accidentally and unofficially became the tong's new patron after killing the night mother. he had history with her and history with them, and maybe he felt a soft spot for them. nonetheless, he shared an understanding with the tong that persisted well into his godhood :)

[barfok]

Pls can we hear more about amun-shae and mordrin hanin the mehrunes dagon cultist ruining sotha sil's life? I always thought it was tragic we don't hear more about Almalexia's mother and her mortal upbringing considering she's literally a queen and part of a great goose like surely there'd be more historical records about her family and stuff

a great goose... amun-shae the poultry queen

amun-shae's a bit of a funny character for me because so much of her life is defined by the nordic occupation-- she was the ruler during the invasion, and "murdered" (allegedly) during the latter period of the occupation. so when someone goes 'tell me about amun-shae' my impulse is to start rattling off a list of major tragedies she lived through. husband killed by mem-yet chemua during the invasion, lived most her life as a puppet queen to the nords, was forced to flee mournhold during a reactionary backlash following the murder of a nord, accidentally had a bastard daughter to the man sheltering her during exile. died ignominiously of mysterious causes. but i feel like this also kinda does a disservice to her, so!

amun-shae was a prolific traveler in her youth-- she was the only daughter of the queen and heir to the throne, but back in those days it was a chimeri noble tradition to go cause trouble in mournhold as a youth, so she got to meet all the youngest and most bored nobles in the land and they went on a lot of stupid trips. she was good friends with both kronin ra'athim and thalthil dres and even had some encounters with mordrin hanin when hanin was likewise a young troublemaker.

during her adventures she fell in love with the son of the matriarch of one of the indoril clans, who were at that time busy schisming from the mournhold royal lineage to become Great House Indoril due to a massive fallout between amun-shae's incompetent mother and the overly ambitious aforementioned indoril matriarch. her and lexival aran's romance became a convenient way to reunite the new House Indoril and the disgraced mournim line, so amun-shae returned to mournhold and married lexival, then accepted her mother's abdication and assumed the throne herself.

as a person she was very serious, but definitely not without a humorous side-- strangers tended to be intimidated by her until they realised she had a very deadpan sense of humour, after which they'd find her hilarious. she also had a deathly serious sense of duty, which almalexia inherited-- she was very focused about doing "what's right for people" and saw virtue in sacrifice, to the point of having a bit of a martyr complex, if martyrs never received the relief of a glorious death and instead were forced to endure a horrible reality for centuries

the invasion and occupation changed her however. as i mentioned, lexival was murdered (gruesomely, publicly and spectacularly) by mem-yet chemua, and this prompted amun-shae to surrender mournhold in exchange for retaining her throne. living under occupation made her deeply paranoid and suspicious, which are also traits almalexia had drilled into her from early childhood. she remained a very good leader with a maniacal sense of duty to her city, and spent most of her rule playing the looooong game of earning the nords' trust to set up mournhold as a potential base from which a rebellion could eventually launch. so, nerevar has a lot to thank amun-shae for.

to finish off about almalexia's childhood and why we don't know anything about her backstory... i used to hate that (still do) but i've come to begrudgingly accept that annihilating any trace of her mortal existence is very in character for almalexia. almalexia despises the fact that she was ever mortal, it makes sense to me that she'd eradicate any evidence that she was once a little girl in a big castle with a haunted mother and a lot of scary men who wanted to hurt her. that is the last thing she wants anyone to know.

not that she didn't honour her mother in her own way. she's still a chimer, after all.

i feel like this is way too long to also get into mordrin fucking hanin (he is his own essay unfortunately) but. hey. there's way more amun-shae lore than you probably wanted. i've covered like 40% of her life. enjoy

[barfok]

okay very quick and dirty round-up of ocs i actually care about. characters mentioned once by name only in a lorebook are in italics, actual ocs not in italics, adopted canon characters with actual lore in bold

FIRST ERA (mostly egg of time characters)

ra’athim cluster: kronin ra’athim (family patriarch), hlana (his first wife, mother of cruethys + ilinalta), his unnamed second wife (mother of moraelyn and s’ephen). yoriss ra’athim (kronin’s unamused older sister, ilinalta’s mother figure)

kanet aka shulki-senipu eramarellaku (cruethys’ ex) + hlathiah aka hlatha aka mephala (cruethys’ illegitimate daughter w/ shulki, also yes That mephala). also i’m including midiri here, ilinalta’s bodyguard slash bestieee

nords:

nord demons specifically: hoag (ebonheart), chemua (mournhold), bhag (miscellaneous), barfok (narsis), ysmir (vvardenfell). plus jurgen wind-caller (telvanni coast). technically kjoric (hoag’s dad) is in this coalition but i simply do not care about him

mournholders:

dres khizumet’e (this is actually larissa’s oc now; heir to house dres turned interfering mournhold courtier), indoril nam (grandmaster of house indoril, amun-shae’s brother). amun-shae (almalexia’s mother, rip)

sotha/hanin cluster:

sohleh (sotha sil’s father), serlyn and kaisa (sil’s younger siblings), sotha udok (sil’s youngest sibling), mileith (sil’s mom), mordrin fucking hanin (prominent mehrunes dagon cultist, guy single-handedly ruining sotha sil’s life), hilbongard rolamus and dorach gusal (famous smiths at anudnabia, also boyfriends)

NOT FIRST ERA CHARACTERS aka my “normal” ocs

bthamzual: vestige, animate skeleton of a dwemer janitor

iliah ra’athim: non-vestige eso character, hand of almalexia, heretic in love

karnalta ra’athim: worm cult necromancer, iliah’s twin sister, fashionista

plays-with-fire: nerevar-soul nerevarine

breda: not-nerevar nerevarine

idulkyne: ??? nerevarine

liranwe (lirilyn) dreth: dragonborn 1, necromancer lesbian on a quest of self-destruction

voranil veri: not the dragonborn, neo-almalexia worshiper, freelance archeologist

haraldmer: dragonborn 2, solstheimer with family issues

masha gra-jan: my self-insert tes-sona who lives in mournhold and is penpals with voranil

i can’t think of anyone else atm but yeah there you go

[boethiah]

mostly interested in mankor camoran bc of my own partially but not quite fanon mehrunes dagon cult headed by one mordrin hanin who lead an independence for vvardenfell faction in the first era which lead to among other things the wholesale destruction of ald sotha following a massive feud between houses dagoth and telvanni because house dagoth allied with ysmir wulfharth while considering a joint invasion of red mountain using an alliance they tested out by conquering all the telvanni holdings on vvardenfell and then saying “we didn’t do it :(”, and while all these jackasses were arguing mordrin hanin moved into sadrith mora with his bffsies who are smiths and husbands, and made friends with sotha sils father. i forgot the point of this post oh right mankor camoran yeah i think he got some of his ideas from good old mordry. rip to sotha sils family but 

[boethiah]

mordrin hanin just progressively moved on to bigger and stronger boyfriends and ended up founding a mehrunes dagon cult

[boethiah]

i would love to write a story about mordrin hanin, hilbongard rolamus, and harald hand-free + the origins of the daedric faces. a dagon cultist, a prolific blacksmith, and a pirate? that’s a fantastic trio like wow