I thought when dagoth ur was destroyed all the ash creatures disappeared?

Nope, the blight storms stopped, but all already existing ash/blight creatues contiued to exist.

Well, I saw an interesting thought in the current Dragonborn discussion thread.


And then


I really like SithisLorkhan's thought, but I haven't given it a background check. I'll do that now.

EDIT: From The Pilgrim's Path:

In the Days of Fire when Dagoth Ur first crept back into Red Mountain and awakened it, Vivec led refugees here as they fled the ash and blight. Weary, they rested here a while. When Vivec awoke, he found himself and all his followers encased in casts of grey ash. Frozen like a sleeping statue and unable to free himself or help his people, Vivec was filled with despair. Vivec's tears weakened his ash cast. He tore the ash from his perished followers, breathed life into their lungs, and cured them of the blight. This is Vivec's heroism -- his tender heart provides strength when his might fails.

So although I really like SithiLork's theory, it seems a bit odd that these 'Ash Spawn' would be able to move, if they truly are connected to the ash-locked refugees mentioned in regards to the Ash Mask, that is. Also, these guys seem to have rounded human ears rather than pointed Dunmer ears, which is odd (in general, considering that they most likely came from Morrowind one way or another. Perhaps local Nords were turned into Ash Spawn?).

The heat of the ash burned off the more 'pointed' physical features, leaving them with a more "rounded" body, form, and features.

Question is how the hell are they in Solstheim. Did the ash actually reach that far? Escaped from Fyr's basemantprisonvaultplayground?

Solstheim isnt that far away from Morrowind. Its like a stones throw off the coast
http://images.uesp.net/c/c3/TamrielMap.jpg

The question is about who/what brought them to Solstheim, or did they swim?

Given that Red Mountain is a super massive volcano, and the island is so close, I dont find it unlikely that a lot of ash hit the island.

Oh, I see what you mean now. Nevermind.

Well, having an army of the undead/mutants, marching out of the water isn't unheard of either

Unless we forget the siege at Firemoth.
http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Morrowind:Siege_at_Firemoth

Fellow speculators say Fyr may make a appearance in the game. If so, I wouldn't be surprised if he his brought the corpus victims with him.

We do see some Dunmer mage in the trailer living at the top of a mushroom tower with a bunch of Dwemer scrap-metal on the table. I can't help but hope we see Fyr, and his jolly assortment of family/friends.

But these guys don't really look like Corprus beasts at all. If anything, they look like rockier versions of the full-out Ash creatures, the ones that strictly followed Dagoth Ur.

(Wild speculation begins here:) Maybe the Ash creatures have survived as a small cult? Maybe there is an association between the Ascended Sleepers and the tentacle Daedra in Apocrypha, and the Ascended Sleeper or two leading the cult is contacting Hermaeus Mora for assistance?