So as we know, Bonemold armor is very popular among the upper classes the Dunmer society and the Great Houses have adopted different variants of the armor.

In-game; Armun-An Bonemold Armor is favored by House Hlaalu while Gah-Julan Bonemold Armor is favored by House Redoran.

Telvanni on the other hand uses the Armun-An chest and shoulders, but wear their Cephalopod helms instead of a traditional Bonemold helm.

My question is: where does the Native Chuzei Bonemold helm fit into the equation? I've only ever found one in game, and it was owned by one of the Telvanni mercenaries outside Tel Branora that you kill for a quest. My guess is that it may have been the variant used by house Telvanni before they adopted the Cephalopod helms. This is all wild speculation, the only things that lead me to believe this this are:

1) The other two Great Houses have their own unique Bonemold helm, Telvanni does not
2) The general shape of the Chuzei helm kind of resembles the same style as the Cephalopod helms
3) The one in game I found was looted off a Telvanni retainer

Of course it could very well belong to House Dres, Daggoth, or whatever. I really have no idea. Can anyone satisfy my curiosity?

To be honest, I don't know of any lore on it.

Dagoth, no. Bonemold is a modern Dunmer convention. At least in ceremonial use. The 6th house, supporting whether they want to or not a Chimeri agenda, wouldn't use such of a symbol of the Dunmeri People.

Without easy access to the editor, I'd hazard a guess that it's used by Indoril. 'Cause Telvanni use mercenaries for all their guard-work because they don't really instill loyalty to the House internally so you'd want to keep your guards loyal by the only other means. Money.

Edit: Tamriel Rebuilt also agreed with me. Their NIF filename for a Chuzei cuirass was as an Indoril Cuirass. Take that with whatever grain of salt you want.

I don't recall anything about it off hand, but I'd say that your assumption of it being Telvanni is a safe one. There's really no information in game to claim different.

I bet native means native, and in that case, means "Dunmer who are native to Vvardenfell." This precludes the Great House Dunmer, because they are not. The Septims have actually been on Vvardenfell longer than the Great Houses, if memory serves.

The great houses were there for LOOOOOONG time. They just eft for bout 80 (i think) years before Morrowind.

The Septims opened the island to the Great Houses, though.

My memory of the politics is, when Telvan didn't get a contract, they moved in anyway; and the Imperials didn't give a [censored], cuz it's the [censored] of the world, and they just want to get along and go home.* You're probably right, though I thought the modern Great Houses formed after the Chimer became Dunmer and left Vvardenfell. Some Dunmer remained, and made a go of the island. These were Houseless, nameless, landless, near-slave peasantry. Vehk's daddy wrangled netch, on Vvardenfell. He was one such nobody.

But, either way, native means Dunmer of Vvardenfell, other than those of the Great Houses.


*There's that book in Oblivion, by an isolationist Cyrodil, which calls the Eastern lands backward and unworthy of the Ruby Sons' blood. One of the more interesting books to come from the game, which doesn't get much attention, because it's not about bull [censored] and hillocks.

The only problem with this is theory is that all 3 Bonemold helms are called Native. One is called "Native Armun-An Bonemold Helm" and so forth. Indoril sounds like a good possibility, although TR isn't a perfect source, the fellows over there have certainly done their homework

Ah. TR says it's Indoril? Chuzei might be a house of Indoril, then. A minor house, obviously.

I think the names of the bonemold refers to styles of manufacture (usually named after the maker, but it could be something else in Dunmeri) that were developed/preferred by each house.

this might be a little bit out there but it just poped into my head I haven't done any fact checking or anything yet. But what if the bonemold types are from different ashlander tribes? yes I know that there are none with those names now but there where more then just 4 before and we know that the houses used to be tribes before they became the houses who's to say that they didn't have a different name then, so it might be the design by those? the only proof I have which is really nonexistent is that bonemold was created by the ashlanders if you wish to believe the fables. Its just speculation no hard facts are known.

Even before the Chimer became the Dunmer, there was a difference between the Houses and the Nomadic Tribes (Nerevar Indoril, Sotha Sil, and Dagoth Ur all are confirmed as coming from Houses). So I'd say 'No'. Good attempt though.

That needs clarification, because your post could be read as claiming that there were always Houses, which is untrue - the Great Houses do however stretch back a very long way.

Referencing http://www.imperial-library.info/content/morrowind-bone would be a better way to point out that it's not an Tribal invention. The book's scholarship value might be sketchy, but it places the invention of Bonemold to before the Battle of Red Mountain but during the time of the Houses (though I do recall it coming up in discussions past that Bonemold would have been extraordinarily scarce/expensive back then). Ashlanders just use Chitin.

thank you that was the book I was refering to. I take that story as saying that maybe the ashlanders where the ones to develope bonemold but there is really no evidence that the dunmer in the stronghold were ashlanders at all, I just assumed from memory that they were ashlanders considering I had read "the importance of where" not long ago and had it in my mind since it was a stronghold it was the ashlanders but now rereading it, it could have been any group of dunmer and my orginal theory is blown out the water anyways because that takes place afther there where houses. And I'm pretty sure that when the houses became houses they kept their names that was just random speculation.

If you can't find sources, it means TR pulled it out of their (our) collective behinds. Its a mod, not some sort of library of secret knowledge.

It's quite apparent from the book that they're not talking about Ashlanders. They talk about allegiances to crowns, castles, land grants, strongholds - none of these are used by Ashlanders, who are wandering nomads religiously opposed to all those things.

A native of Vvardenfell can be tribeless and without a Great House. Chuzei could be one of these...

I think it's a xenomorph skull, personally. Less boring and less wrong

But yeah there's really no lore on it nor is there ever likely to be. So you can call it what you want. Since it's a Native helm it's probably either Telvanni or a minor house.