Nerevar

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Indoril Nerevar is a fictional character in the game Morrowind. He was the first Hortator, or leader, of the unified Chimer. The concept of Hortator might be more accurately said to mean something along the lines of, "strong/wise/chieftain/diplomat".

Legendary Origins

According to official Temple accounts, Nerevar was the Hortator (war-chief/general) and King of the Chimer. Featured prominently in the negotiations for the creation of the First Council and the united kingdom of Resdayn, he was a friend of the Dwemer leader, Dumac Dwarf-Orc. However, the Chimer eventually went to war against the Dwemer (ironically, the Dwemer King would have aided Nerevar had he known what his lead scientist Kagrenac was undertaking), culminating in the Battle of Red Mountain, where Nerevar fell after the death of Dumac.

In some accounts, however, the death of Nerevar is not attributed to wounds he received during the Battle. After the Battle, Nerevar and Dagoth Ur (then known as Voryn Dagoth or Dagoth Voryn) proceeded into the center of the Dwemer stronghold, where they discovered the Heart of Lorkhan, as well as Kagrenac's Tools: Keening, Sunder, and Wraithguard. Nerevar commanded Dagoth Ur to guard the tools, as he went back to his advisors for instruction on what to do next. When he reached his advisors, he conferred with them for some time. They decided to leave the tools alone, and made a vow to Azura. The official account says that Nerevar went to Dagoth Ur to retreive the tools, but Ur had been driven mad by the power of the Heart of Lorkhan in Nerevar's absence, and refused to relinquish the tools. Nerevar fought with Ur, and defeated him. Unfortunately, Nerevar was mortally wounded, and only survived long enough for his advisors to find him, and for him to make them swear to never use the tools. Unfortunately, they eventually did use the tools to turn themselves into gods, and when they did, Azura appeared and cursed the entire Chimer race by turning them into Dunmer.

In Ashlander texts, however, Nerevar was not killed in combat, but by his three advisors, Vivec, Almalexia, and Sotha Sil. In this account, Nerevar made them swear to never use the tools, and they obeyed, but secretly conspired to murder Nerevar so that they might gain power. When attempting to summon Azura, Nerevar was foiled, Almalexia used poisoned candles and Sotha Sil used poisoned robes and Vivec used poisoned invocations. Nerevar was killed, however, Azura came anyway and, for their actions in betraying their vow, turned the skin of the Chimer gray, and turned their eyes fiery red. However, the Tribunal (that is, Vivec, Almalexia and Sotha Sil, the three of them together) went on to use the power of the tools and the Heart to become immortal. Afterwards, they set themselves up as the new gods of the Dunmer, claiming superior divinity to the Daedra, whom the Chimer had self-exiled for the worship of. Eventually, their Tribunal Temple took control of all of Morrowind, becoming the monolithic and seemingly infallible entity it was by the end of the Third Era, and leaving only isolated pockets of Ashlanders to maintain the old beliefs.

Nerevarine

For their treachery, Azura proclaimed that, someday, Nerevar would be reincarnated, and would make things right again. The Tribunal had laughed at this, and it took a great while for any thought of this to be taken seriously.

For a long while, the Ashlanders, and the Cult of the Nerevarine, continued to believe in the eventual reincarnation of Nerevar, despite the oppression of the Temple. Several people appeared claiming to be the Nerevarine, but none were able to withstand the tests. Then, during 3E 426, a prisoner born of uncertain parentage but under a certain sign, was sent by the ailing Emperor, to Morrowind, and arrived in the port city of Seyda Neen. The Septim dynasty had long possessed the Elder Scrolls, and thus had limited prophetic abilities. Uriel Septim VII, of the day, although quite advanced in years, had a sharp mind and knew quite well the value of the wrong man in the right situation. He sent the prisoner there as a form of religious manipulation: to meet the criteria of the Nerevarine, to rise to the occasion seemingly out of nowhere, all the while being a secret inductee of the Blades, the elite spy-network of the Empire. This would ensure he was under constant Imperial supervision and observation, and that he would have no choice but to act in the best interests of the Empire. To the surprise of all involved, save perhaps the Emperor and the Elder Council, the prisoner began to accomplish more and more tasks the Nerevarine was prophesied to complete. When he obtains a ring from the Cavern of the Incarnate, it is revealed that the Prisoner is Nerevar reincarnated, or, at least as close as was mortally possible.

Eventually, guided by the Dunmer spirits, the Nerevarine accomplished every prophecy, albeit in unexpected manners.

In the next game in the series the series, Oblivion, the character can over hear the Nerevarine has left for Akavir. Template:TES-charactersit:Nerevar