Encyclopedia Tamrielica: The Tribunal (Patreon)

As part of the $20 patronage level, my very generous supporter requested something about the ALMSIVI. After mulling it over for a while, I figured that a foreign look at the Tribunal, from the perspective of a 4th era encyclopedia, would be a fun thing to try.

Besides setting it in the fourth era, and keeping it to around 500 words, the biggest thing I wanted to hold myself to was a more PGE1-style, outsider's perspective on them. A lot of modern lore and fan writing tends to take a rather omniscient approach to describing them (can't really fault that, they're such fun characters), but I wanted some of that mystery and misunderstanding back. 

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Little is known in the West of Morrowind’s transition from the worship of the Daedra -- their “stronger, better ancestors” -- to the veneration of their three god-kings, the Tribunal. Whereas it was xenophobia and isolationism that kept their religion a mystery for most of history, the reluctance to speak of the Tribunal in the modern day stems more often from the shame of having been duped by those impostor “gods” for so long. 

Almalexia, the Materfamilias

Of the triune deities of the Dunmer, it is Almalexia, called Mother Morrowind, of whose early life we know the most. Her names appear in early Nordic records dating as far back as the reign of King Borgas, where she is known both as a warlord resisting the Nords’ expansion and as a devil whose beauty drives warriors astray. Following the liberation of Morrowind, her name becomes a frequent sight in the history books as the head of House Indoril, queen of Mournhold, and, with her husband Lord Nerevar, a major force behind the creation of Resdayn.

To Western ears, the names “mother Morrowind” and “Mercy of the Tribunal” invite comparisons to Mara. Yet Almalexia shared more with Stendarr than she did with any maternal deity. She was the stern but fair parent of her country, not its doting mother, a goddess of the rule of law, guiding hand, and praise only when earned. That is not to say that she did not also have a softer side, for she was known for Mercy to the downtrodden as much as to her vanquished enemies.

Sotha Sil, the Archimagus

Little is known of Sotha Sil, the Wizard and Mystery of the Tribunal. While his siblings ruled over and walked amongst their people, Sil seemed to have withdrawn from public life following the War of the First Council. Indeed, more is known about him from his interactions with Summerset than any godly actions in homeland. 

Sotha Sil seems to have served as something of a testing god for the Dunmer. He was distant and inscrutable to most of the population, showing himself only occasionally to save his people or grant some obscene boon to a scholar that had proven themselves worthy. Paradoxically, many native theologians claimed that he was most in tune with his people, and that their struggles were felt more keenly by him.

Vivec, the Troubadour 

Nothing is known of Vivec’s early life. He entered the historical record with the spectacularly barbaric deaths of several Nordic generals, and from there rose through the ranks to become a warleader and advisor to the new government of Resdayn, as well as its representative abroad. He was known as warrior-poet and a thief, renowned for his writing as much as for any of his supposed miracles.

Where Almalexia was the parent whom the Dunmer must mind, and Sotha Sil the puzzle they must unravel, Vivec was both the jubilant smile to comfort his people and the hidden dagger to keep them in line. For much of Morrowind’s history he was their most public and most popular god, walking among his people and hosting exuberant parties beneath the great meteor which he held suspended over his city as both a reminder of his power and a threat of what would happen if it were to fail.