LIFE IN MORROWIND - DAY 6

 Here in Morrowind, there is a long-standing feud between the Mages Guild and the local "Great House" Telvanni. Both focus on magic, but they approach from very different angles. Mages Guild is almost like a consulting company in our "normal" world - they provide their expert magical services to address a wide variety of needs of their "clients". Telvanni mages, on the other hand, are all about power - personal power. Their house is ruled by the council, which consists of several very old and very powerful wizards. They use their magic to subjugate others and extend their own lifespan - some of them are, apparently, thousands of years old. And these wizards are not at all happy with the presence of the Mages Guild on their territory - they see them as a threat to their "magic monopoly" in Morrowind - which is the foundation of their power. The Mages Guild hall in the sprawling city of Sadrith Mora - the capital of Telvanni territory - has to rely on the imperial troops for protection: the hall is located inside the local imperial fort. Telvanni are not peaceful - given the chance, they would not hesitate to physically eliminate the annoying "upstart" mages of the guild.

Why am I writing all of this? Well, I just want to set the context for what comes next. For at the end of my 6th day in Morrowind, I hold the rank of Oathman in the Great House of Telvanni... while, of course, still remaining a journeyman of the Mages Guild.

This morning I started by studying the Pilgrim's Path - a book which lists all the sites that I need to visit in order to complete the Pilgrimage of the Seven Graces for the Temple. Some of them looked like they might be dangerous - or at least would require a lot of travelling. So, before continuing with this pilgrimage, I decided to visit Ald'ruhn and see what tasks Edwinna might have in store for me.

The teleportation services provided by the guild are a marvel - and by far the best form of transportation in this land. No inconvenience and no time lost. So it was still early morning when I found myself talking to Edwinna. Her first few assignments were quite boring , just some delivery errands, and one of them took me to the guild hall of Sadrith Mora. The local guild master, Skink-in-Tree's-Shade, had some work for me as well. He asked for my help in escorting a travelling scholar, Tenyeminwe, to the port. Apparently, for a fellow of the guild, even walking through the streets of this city was considered unsafe, hence the need for such an escort.

Despite the concerns of Skink, our trip to the port was uneventful. And yet it was by no means boring for me... this was my first time in Sadrith Mora, and I haven't seen any Telvanni architecture before. Not sure if the word "architecture" even applies. Apparently they use magic to fuel and guide the growth of some local fungi. Even the smaller houses of the ordinary citizens look quite impressive (just imagine a mushroom the size of a cottage) and totally bizarre. But the actual towers, those where the great wizards live... I struggle for words to even attempt to describe them. They are colossal in size and their shapes could have inspired Esher. There is something about them that makes you feel as if you are in a nightmare - but a nightmare not your own. One thing I can say for sure, if these wizards build them to assert their power, they certainly fulfill that purpose exceptionally well. 

After Tenyeminwe was safely aboard the ship that would take her away from the inhospitable Telvanni shores, I was supposed to make my way promptly back to the guild hall. Yet something made me pause. From my first (well, second) day in Morrowind, magic captivated and inspired me. And here, I could feel, was a place where magic prospered. The people in the Mages Guild treated it as a tool, a means to an end. Here, I felt - maybe wrongly! - it was something more. And I wanted more.

Shortly after, I was in the council chamber of Telvanni, talking to one of the "mouths" who represent the councillors (the great wizards themselves are apparently far too important to waste their time taking care of the actual council business). They were not very friendly but agreed to accept me in their ranks regardless. Not wanting to waste any time, I took some "chores" as they called them, from each of the mouths. I was an errand boy again, this time for Telvanni. 

One such errand deserves a special mention, though, as it involved delivering a message to Divayth Fyr. His residence was located on a separate island not too far away, and I had no trouble getting there thanks to my water walking spell. This tower was bigger and more than any I had seen before, a twisted amalgam of bulbous growths and curving tubes. I entered with some trepidation. The air inside was tingling with unseen energies. Wherever I looked, it seemed like there are weird things hiding at the edges of my line of sight - things that were never there if I tried to focus on them. And as I listened I seemed to hear some strange sounds, but even as I tried to focus on them, there was only silence. I felt out of place here, an intruder, almost an alien, and yet there was no sense of hostility, only strangeness. 

A woman met me, eying me with disinterested curiosity. I explained my errand and received directions to the chambers of Divayth Fyr. Getting there involved some levitation - luckily I had already learnt that spell earlier. 

What do I say about this renowned wizard? He is cryptic. As I approached, he was sitting at his desk, reading a book - as far as I could notice, it was written in some exotic ancient script. And even here, sitting in the safety of his chambers, he wore a full suite of daedric armor... what was it? A manifestation of immense power and immeasurable wealth? Or a real protective measure? Or he simply treated this priceless suite of armor - which, from what I knew, was also so heavy that only the strongest men could even stand in it - as his good old comfortable nightgown? 

Our exchange with him was very brief - he took the message, scanned, promptly wrote a response and handed it back to me. Then he sat down to continue reading: I was clearly dismissed. 

After I brought back the response, and fulfilled a few other mundane tasks, I got promoted to Oathman. I was now an established member of this ancient and powerful House, and I am looking forward to making further progress in their ranks.