A Counter-Blaste to Perfidy, or, an Exposure of the Manifold Iniquities Visited Upon Morrowind by That Most Vile and Incorrigible PACT of EBONHEART

By Sevilo Menas, Proud Dunmer of Morrowind

defiant s’wit misturned from his nymics anathema to his ancestors

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In the 2791^st Year of the Changed Era

yes i do admit yes yes i admit and avow please yes printed by my own hand yes this i swear please please yes please

By the mercy of AYEM and the mysteries of SEHTI and the love of VEHK, under the banners of Nerevar and Veloth and the Host of Saints, with the guidance of the Anticipations, through the warding of my Ancestors:

Greetings.

In order to establish the corruption inherent in Ebonheart, a true and accurate historical recounting must be given. This account, dear reader, may be surprisingly different from the versions your kin and House have sworn to be true. Be assured that your author neither obscured the truth nor manipulated this History to match his own notions.

As contingencies fail and needs becomes dire, it may be appropriate to seek aid in others. When the Snow Devils from Beyond-the-Sea sought to break and destroy us, ALMSIVI in Their wisdom saw fit to permit certain outlanders to enter Their service. To this end, several companies of the stoutest Nords were assembled. These barbarians were then examined severely and found suited to the task. Under the firm hand of Mercy, the outlandish companies proved a useful addition to our armies. With the glorious victories of AYEM and the Invasion’s final defeat, all obligations were fulfilled. ALMSIVI put aside Their war-faces, the House levies were vaunted, and the Nords were permitted to depart. This should have been the end of the matter.

Yet the Houselords, in their incessant intrigues, are often blinded by greed, seeking temporarily advantageous but ultimately ruinous opportunities. Perceiving a chance to manipulate the barbarians to their advantage, the Houselords opened their hearths to the Nordic captains. Within a turning of the moons, temporary contracts became indefinite treaties. Notes of “friendship” were exchanged. Meetings and assemblies and councils were held—secretly at first, but sweet-sounding rumors were carefully spread among the lower folk. Before long, the results of were loudly proclaimed and their pleasingly-altered minutes published. With alarmingly united voices, the Houselords claimed to be progressing towards a “permanent understanding” with our “admirable friends.” Like the boiled kagouti, the lower folk became insensate and addled, unable to see the approaching disaster.

Within a few years, great, confusing changes came to pass. Redoran, Indoril, Hlaalu, Dres: all had acceded to binding pacts. Indeed, all had actively sought such arrangements. With such alignment of the Great Houses, the lesser Houses and self-styled “nobility” had little choice but to follow. Only Telvanni—profane, insular Telvanni!—had the strength of will to reject the madness. When the Temple saw the looming catastrophe, its Masters and Patriarchs and Archcanon together Went Up to ALMSIVI in worry and fear, but ALMSIVI smiled sadly and shook Their heads—for this was a Trial and it was not the appointed place of the Temple to receive right-guidance for those who neglected to seek. Thus, neither Tribunes nor their loyal Orders raised protest when the Pact of Ebonheart was signed.

Since that day, the Ebonheart-spawned powers have only sought to expand their own power. Since that day, the Four Corners have plagued Morrowind. Since that day, all have failed this greatest Trial of ALMSIVI. It is true that the conspiracy of Ebonheart was a grand one, yet it was never intended for Boethiah’s veneration. For those with eyes to see, all this is self-evident. But for those with ash-filled eyes, those who have been seduced by the appearance of splendor, such truths are obscured. For the aid of such mer, I therefore submit four principle objections.

FIRST, outlanders have been freely admitted—indeed, welcomed!—inside our borders. To any true Dunmer, this violation is insufferable. The disaster at Narsis should serve as sufficient example of why the Ancestors never extended such imprudent invitations to outlanders. Yet, lest we forget, such tragedies now occur daily in miniscule throughout the entirety of Morrowind. I challenge you, reader, to find a mer who has not lost crops or herds, whose kin have not been [censored], whose gold has not been stolen, whose mines have not been plundered, whose children have not been pressed into the maw of Ebonheart’s armies. Not even the Ashklans have escaped the “foraging” of our so-called allies. If this continues unabated—as it will if Ebonheart is not rejected—then there will soon be nothing left of Morrowind but ash and axe hounds.

SECOND, Ebonheart mocks all Dunmer and imagines us as equals to beasts. Even the youngest child knows that beasts are an intemperate and obstinate lot. The longer they dwell beyond the rule of civilization, the deeper their degeneracy. Only a strong merish hand can bend them into a simulacrum of decency. Yet savage bands of feral beasts are party to Ebonheart! In this foolishness, we have granted pretensions to legitimacy where none exists. Our soldiers have not merely been forced to cooperate with beasts, but have even—Ancestors forfend!—been placed under command of barbarian warchiefs!

What twisted example does this give to the beasts we have, in generosity and justice, labored to domesticate? Without a doubt, it will revive in them the long-suppressed rots of rebellion, insubordination, and defiance. Without a doubt, they will lose grasp of acquired wisdom and slip into savagery. Without a doubt, they will attempt to flee to the ranks of their fellow-barbarians. And without a doubt, the invited hordes will accept their brethren and seek the destruction of all Masters.

THIRD, the pretenses by which Ebonheart is sustained are transparently false. It has been claimed that threats from Cyrodiil and more distant powers necessitate mutual defense. But this is absurd. Cyrodiil is a divided, self-devouring land of a dozen warring emperors of nothing, a hundred feuding clans and families, a thousand petty kings huddled ‘round their hill forts. The only dangers to escape the chaos of Cyrodiil are intermittent banditry and occasional piracy. Our own forces have always been more than adequate in their vigilance against these marauders.

The mere insinuation that the Dominion or so-called Covenant could ever pose a challenge is equally laughable. These are divided, distant, and mutually adjacent powers. Were Morrowind not yoked to Nords and beasts, we would have no obligation to defend against either power. Our sons and daughters would not die alone in distant marches, but instead could stand firm along our own borders. Yet they are marched forth into pointless wars for the benefit of men and lizards, shedding their blood in the name of an abomination.

FOURTH, acquiescence to Ebonheart has marred the aesthetics of Dunmer history. In a preponderance of ways, the first movements towards Ebonheart could have been spun into a thing of beauty and mastery. Innumerable opportunities for sacred betrayals and holy turnings have presented themselves, yet the Houselords, in their error, remain committed to a Pact that can only end in our own destruction. Even the Foresters have, for reasons obscured to all, acquiesced to Ebonheart and refused their proper duties. The future remains in precious balance, yet all angles are ever-increasingly misshapen, while the spectrum of possibility converges upon flowing banners of misbegotten crimson.

Thus, the depravity of Ebonheart is demonstrated. The time of Trial is still upon us. There remain opportunities to reverse the trend of failure and return to the proper path. If you, reader, are a mer of wisdom, of understanding, of valor, then you know well what must be done, and will not hesitate to act.

Through the warding of your ancestors, with the guidance of the Anticipations, under the banners of Nerevar and Veloth and the Host of Saints, by the love of VEHK and the mysteries of SEHTI and the mercy of AYEM:

Go forth.

by my own hand may i be damned

DECLARED APOGRAPHIC IN GLORY AND SPITE BY ORDENS ENQU?RO

AE GHARTOK ALTADOON DUNMERI