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Dragon Breaks: Daggerfall and the Warp in the West

  • Member
    July 2, 2014

    Disclaimer: This is an article of our former member, renown Loremaster Vix, acknowledged by Bethesda themselves. It ended up being deleted and I'm merely reposting it.

    The variation in endings within Skyrim begs the question 'what side will Bethesda chose to favor?' It might seem like a somewhat difficult problem after the linear main quests of both Morrowind and Oblivion, but there was a previous title which readily embraced diverse endings. Daggerfall surpassed Skyrim in the myriad of outcomes as well as the enormous discrepancy the point where phasing out any of them would have likely incited some anger and resentment in the existing fan base of the time (we'll talk about it in the Warp in the West section below). That said, they solved it by introducing a new phenomenon to the Elder Scrolls universe; they introduced the Dragon Break.

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    Definition:

    A Dragon Break (or middle dawn) is an event named after its principle patron, Akatosh, the father of time. It is caused by an event powerful enough to cause the decrystallization of linear time. In simple terms, it allows time to vary between individuals depending on personage or location.

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    The results of this action varies; time may fold back onto itself creating a loop or provide a sudden disappearance of others from view. Then again it may be as perceptible or imperceptible as a few moments differences between individuals a few miles apart when they rejoin recrystallized time. This very nature makes the Dragon Breaks difficult to legitimize and as a direct result there are only two known universal events in addition to many smaller localized instances. Because of the inherent non-linear nature of the event they are not even recorded in the Elder Scrolls, yet they continue in traditions of many peoples with a great deal of certainty. Oral traditions, memory stones, and even the Amulet of Kings recorded the events quite faithfully (Where Were You When the Dragon Broke?).

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    Coining the Dragon Break:

    One of the best known events, and the genesis of the name 'Dragon Break', occurred early in the first era around 1E 1200. A radical group known as the Maruhkati Selective (for more information refer to the last section in the Alessian article here) created the event from the conjuration of a ritual intended to exorcise the elven aspect of Auriel from Akatosh to destroy the mer not only physically, or userp their legacy, but to destroy their gods as well.

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    The Maruhkati Selective ritual is said to have shattered a mystical 'tower' into into eight pieces which came to a rest on Tamriel after 1008 years. This also happens to be the general consensus for how long the Alessian Empire was to last. It is a universal event though it has variations according to different peoples and texts; it's even debatable whether or not the ritual was successful. The 1008 year figure was from R'leyt-harhr the adjutant to the Khajiiti Mane and that figure was subsequently appropriated by the Elder Council. Because of the nature in which the Maruhkati Selective chose Akatosh as the focus of their ritual and the damage to time that it caused, the event was known as 'Breaking the Dragon'.

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    One of the interesting points of note is in the book The Dragon Break Re-Examined. It theorizes that the 1008 year long reign is in fact incorrect and the First Empire lasted a mere 150 years. In a certain light given the assumed informations' origin from the Crystal tower of Alinor in the Summerset Isles, that 150 year figure too may be correct too. This is due to the Dragon Breaks nature of causing a great deal of time to pass at different rates or simply leap forward to cover an enormous span. This is further corroborated by Tribunal records as well as the notes of Mannimarco (Where Were You When the Dragon Broke?).

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    However, it is not the first event, there was one before the 13th century. Another such Dragon Break was chronologically first. During the Dwemer-Chimer war and the battle of Red Mountain in approximately 1E 700 there may hae been another such event caused by the creation of the brass golem Numidium and the harnessing of the power of the Heart of Lorkhan for the purpose of creating the thousand foot tall machine. This may have, according to the Khajiit, created a Dragon Break that fundamentally erased the Dwarves from existence by propelling them forward, back, or giving them enough time to merely disappear at their own rate. It should be noted that the theory is not far fetched. The activation of Numidum has had that effect not once, or twice, but thrice. The first was potentially through the Dwemer, the second was at a Khajiiti city called Rimmen which achieved some 'unspeakable' act, and the third was in the Warp in the West (Where Were You When the Dragon Broke?).

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    The Warp in the West (Miracle of Peace):

    The events of Daggerfall in 3E 417 were a somewhat complex array that were mostly achieved by players pursuing their own goals which led to 6 distinct courses of actions. Daggerfall began with the queen Mother Nulfaga having come across the location of the Mantalla (an incredibly powerful gem housing the spirit of the Underking Zurin Arctus, Tiber Septim's battlemage). The Blades have been slowly recovering all the pieces of Numidium since the Underking destroyed it early in the third era and had recovered the golem's control rod, the Totem of Tiber Septim. It was lost by the Blades and was soon possessed by a number of different factions. This led to any one of several situations unfolding:

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    • The Blades regain control of the totem and reactivate Nimidium which destroys Orsinium, as well as Hammerfell and High Rock. This creates a unified 'Tamrielic' province.
    • The Underking regains the Mantalla and reabsorbs the soul, killing himself and creating an anti-magic area several miles wide.
    • The Orc leader Gortwog seized control of the totem and Numidium defeats the Imperial army before the Underking destroys Numidium again. This leads to the rise of Orsinium and weakening of the Empire.
    • One of the regional Kings gains control of Numidium, it defeats its opponents army and weakens the strength of the Empire. Numidium once again is destroyed by the Underking.
    • Mannimarco gains the Mantalla for himself and becomes a god.
    • The player's character attempts to seize control of Nimidium through the totem, it crushed the player and goes on a violent rampage through Tamriel before being defeated by a combined army. Of all of the scenarios that takes place, this one is the only one which is mostly neglected.

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    The Warp in the West made most of these events canonical to some degree. The 44 squabbling principalities were unified into four distinct areas: Sentinel, Hammerfell, Wayrest in south-eastern High Rock, and Orsinium. It is attributed officially to the intervention of Mara, Stendarr, and of course Akatosh. Each of these principalities pledged loyalty to the Imperial crown; though it is just as widely known that there was an enormous mix of factors contributed to the event and not all of them were strictly divine. There was an enormous amount of destruction and death in the course of a short time including “mass disappearances, armies mysteriously transported hundreds of miles or completely annihilated, titanic storms and celestial phenomena, apparent local discontinuities of time” (The Warp in the West). The events seem to have unfolded, the disaster met out, and the player character (a Blades agent) was lost.

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    Between the 9th and 11th of Frostfall 3E 417 everything culminated into the Miracle of Peace. During which time several peculiar events took place that will illustrate just some of the effects of this disruption in time. A Blades agent in Hammerfell's Alik'r desert near the town of Bergama recalls that on the 9th there was a sandstorm and earthquake. The agent returned to the town only to find it had been entirely taken over by Sentinel soldiers. The Bergama garrison hadn't had time to react to the sudden invasion and fell in short order. The surrendering garrison claimed that they had been attacked on the 10th much like the Blade's agent but the Sentinel soldiers claimed it was the 11th. The Warp had given the soldiers of Sentinel an extra day to prepare and launch the attack. A second Blades agent in the Wrothgarian mountain had her eyes burned out of their sockets in a sudden immense battle between armies that hadn't existed nearby prior to the engagement, one of seven such battles in the region. Each of these areas show signs that Numidium was involved and had caused massive fires and an inordinate amount of damage (The Warp in the West). Despite this it amalgamated the Iliac bay area to create a number of regions willing to work together under the Imperial banner which allowed for a period of peace.

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    Some people may call the whole situation an insipid afterthought. However, these events showcase a certain level of rare power that has sufficient merit to how it was explained. Rather, much like the title 'the Elder Scrolls' itself, the Dragon Break event owes itself to a sudden inventive origin that has nevertheless added a deeper meaning to the greater Elder Scrolls universe. There may be many instances where other events can be explained as such; perhaps it's worth a second look and to all pat and future evidences including Skyrim.

  • Member
    September 5, 2015

    What about the Shezzarine? I remember reading somewhere that the Shezzarine are capable of remembering an entire Dragon Break, and all the events related to it. I interpreted is as an ability they have being the "reincarnation" of Lorkhan. Since Lorkhan's heart was used to form Mundus, the Shezzarine should be capable of understanding an event like a Dragon Break, which happens purely on Mundus. What I mean by "purely on Mundus" is that a Dragon Break happens without a god's intervention, especially when Numidium is involved, when you consider that Numidium's power is largely based off of the heart of Lorkhan, which - as I mentioned, was used to create Mundus. I'm hoping someone would like to discuss this with me.

  • Member
    September 7, 2015

    I think that idea comes from Where Were You When The Dragon Broke as it names a few Shezarrines in there.