» Tue Dec 06, 2011 12:09 am Commentaries on the Chronicles of Resdaynia
Foreword
by Hresvelgr Hawk-Nose
On the text:
The Chronicles of Resdaynia, more colloquially known as Resdayn, is an ancient work with numerous authors adding on to it until it grew into what it is now. Many if not most of the authors are unknown, lending some credence and believability to the idea that the work was first penned in the First Era by veterans of the War of the First Council. As it accumulated over the centuries it became quite altered and many facts of dubious historical accuracy were infused with the work, some even becoming iconic. However, the work ceased being elaborated upon after the conquest of Morrowind by the Cyrodilic Empire, and for a brief time it remained unchanged in its most iconic form, until a couple of centuries later when Resdayn not only faded from public consciousness, but the original works had also disappeared as well. It remained forgotten and lost, until the fifth century of the Third Era, when it was found in the facility in Red Mountain by a certain wizard named Savril Andrano. It was Savril who then wrote "Commentaries on the Chronicles of Resdaynia", adding footnotes for clarification and elaborating a bit of the work himself. After he published it, it would go into limited circulation as an obscure text read mostly by scholars interested in Dwemer and early Morrowind history. After the chaos of the Oblivion Crisis and the end of the Septim Empire, it would disappear yet again for almost two centuries. After hearing of this obscure text, I set out to find it myself, which was quite an adventure itself. Through contacts both in the Empire and even among Thalmor agents (who shall remain unnamed), I have compiled as much as I could of the work, and brought it back to Solitude where it remains in safety, and have also published this edition which you now read.
On the author:
The Chronicles themselves were penned by a multitude of mostly Dunmer writers from various times and places. The author of the Commentaries however is far more well known. Savril Andrano, Archmagister of the House of Telvanni, Hortator of the Great Houses of Morrowind, and the Nerevarine. Savril is known mostly for defeating Dagoth Ur and ending the blight that plagued Vvardenfell, but he was also quite the learned scholar. Besides an interest in writing, Savril was keen on Dwemer lore and indeed during his quest to destroy the Sixth House he came across many Dwemer ruins and artifacts. Besides Yagrum Bagarn, who was himself a Dwemer, there was no better scholar on the subject besides Savril, who had even been to places such as Kagrenac's study and even the heart of Red Mountain where it all ended for the Dwemer. Yagrum Bagarn himself is also cited as a source, giving much credence and reliability to Commentaries. The great mystery, however, is not only the final fate of the Dwemer but the final fate of Savril Andrano himself. It is said that he sailed to Akavir, never to return, but that is not the only story. Some tales circulating around Cyrodil posit that he went there once more, as it was rumored to be his birthplace. One version of that tale claims he was then arrested for picking up an object he knocked over, and sent to jail only to disappear from his tiny cell! Of course, that story is probably just a hyberbolic tale making fun of the strict laws enacted around the time of the Oblivion Crisis and end of the Septim dynasty. We may never know what became of Savril Andrano, but his written works still survive.
And so without further ado, the Chronicles of Resdayn, with commentary by the Nerevarine Savril Andrano!
