» Fri May 04, 2012 8:43 am
The Dark Bortherood started it's existence as a splinter branch of the Morag Tong. The Morag tong was (and is still) a mostly religious group who honors Mephala through murder. Not pointless, random murder but with murder as a too to achieve a goal. Mostly to settle political matters.
The Dark Brotherhood broke away from the Morag Tong when they started ignoring the religious side to focus mostly on the 'murder as a business' angle. The prevalence of the Morag Tong in Morrowind means the Dark Bortherhood as little presence there. Though that version comes from the Morrowind dunmer sources, the truth may be different.
Note that the Morag tong is legal per Morrowind laws. The various Houses constantly scheme for power and there's the unspoken agreement that intrigue and murder are the way to settle those disputes while keeping things from escalating into military confrontation. Since the Dark Bortherhood definitevely isn't legal, it definitively gives the Morag tong the edge on their homeground.
Apprently the treaty that included Morrowind into teh empire acknowledges the Morag Tong and turns a blind eye to their actions as long as they concern only the dunmer's internal politic and stay clear of the Empire's officials.