In short, a pardoned prisoner suffering from memory loss is deported to a faraway land unaware of the role he could play in that nations history. Essentially the same as TES I and TES IV
The story premise is completely open, pretty standardly.. During the introduction youre introduced as a criminal amnesiac who's released to an inhospitable land, having agreed to answer to the resident senior imperial agent.... From the cutscene one could tell that where youre going, its not gonna be your typical imperial city with castles, knights and horses. Youre going to a volcanic island where the natives (ash-skinned elves-dunmer) are extremely unfriendly to outlanders and have certain traditions, some thousands of years old. The vegetation is nothing like on the west either. And nor is the wildlife. Weather hazardous featuring large scale ash storms.
The political state is in turmoil, having been recently conquered by the Empire who used internal disputes and conflict between the Dunmer Houses to occupy the island. Some houses have sworn allegiance to the Empire others are unfriendly to the empire but had to accept its rule having been so outnumbered and weak. The western empire has send legions but also agents and expanded its guilds creating a respectable sphere of influence on the island Vvardenfell as well as having priests of the Imperial Cult spread the faith of the Nine among the dunmer. The Dunmer from Vvardenfell are culturally rich but relatively primitive when compared with the west, thus technologically inferior. They don't react well to the empire, or any outlanders, they don't react well to preaching about the Nine either, having their own pantheon. Within the empire , by the treaty of Morrowind, its guaranteed that dunmeri traditional practices and beliefs will be respected without interference. These include the faith of the Tribunal temple, slavery, usage of sacramental drugs, pre-Tribunal ancestor beliefs, the Morag tong (a guild illegal anywhere else in the Empire) but Necromancy is not included. The dunmeri themselves dislike necromancy very much and the Temple publicly prosecutes necromancers and dissidents.
The Legions are in every major town on Vvardenfell. Everything else are fishing villages, ashlander camps, abandoned dunmer fortresses, ruins, shrines, and Telvanni mushroom towers. Of the cities, only the holy city of Vivec has no imperial presence. It is the capitol of Vvardenfell and the largest city on the island. Its patron deity is the god Vivec who rules the city with his Temple. The focus of the Imperial presence on Vvardenfell is the neighboring fortress Ebonheart where the Duke of morrowind is located and the majority of Imperial forces on Vvardenfell fill its garrison.
At the beginning of the game you arrive at the far south of Vvardenfell, into a port city. You need to locate the imperial agent you were sent to with instructions, and he is in the closest major city.
thats it for now I need a drink
oh hi Kovacius D