Lore:Battlespire

The Battlespire, also called the Spire and the Celestial Citadel,  is the magical war academy of the Imperial Battlemages, and a testing facility for candidates seeking to join the Imperial Guard. The strongest mages in the Empire reside and train in the Battlespire. It is described as the fortress of all fortresses that encompasses the entirety of a realm, with ramparts that tower over the edges of Oblivion. Beyond them, only the Void. 

It is possible to access numerous realms of Oblivion from the Battlespire through the use of teleportals and voidgates. The facility is moored in place by five great Anchors, which assure its safety and stability in the surrounding flux.  Access to the edifice is granted via the Pillar of Light, a teleportation device linked to the  . 

Some sources place the Battlespire in a   deep in   , whereas the battlemages state that it intersects with several planes of Oblivion and others place it in Oblivion itself.  As the mortal mind can be driven to madness by Oblivion, the Battlespire is useful as it allows the mind to acclimate to the contradictory nature of the outer realms without the same levels of mental strain.   
 
History
Though the date of the construction of the Battlespire Academy remains obscure,  both the academy and the Weir Gate were known to exist as of  .  The institution was accepting recruits by the time of the Three Banners War in  . 

The institution was once again accepting recruits by the time of the Third Empire in  .  After numerous failed attempts in the past,  the Daedric Prince Mehrunes Dagon succeeded in capturing the Battlespire  during the Imperial Simulacrum.  Dagon had been instrumental in Jagar Tharn's imposture and assumption of the Imperial throne.  In return for his assistance, Tharn gave the Battlespire to the Prince, on the condition that Dagon eliminate Tharn's rival battlemages within.  In  , Mehrunes Dagon collected his prize.  The Prince's forces, led by Imago Storm of Clan Dremora, mustered in the Havoc Wellhead, then rampaged through two other planes of Oblivion—the Shade Perilous of Nocturnal   and the Soul Cairn—before invading the Battlespire itself. 

Shade Perilous was home to two Daedra clans, the lordless Seducers and the Nocturnals who had given them refuge. The Nocturnals were imprisoned in their own demense as the Seducers were bent to Dagon's will. However, some Seducers willingly entered his service, and these converts were remade in the image of Dagon's greed and treachery, making them much more powerful—and giving them wings.   These "Dark Seducers" joined the ranks of the invasion forces, with some being given Daedric Crescents to wield in battle.  One Dark Seducer in particular became Mehrunes Dagon's bodyguard and lover, and was entrusted by the Prince with one of his artifacts, the Sword of the Moon Reiver.   Once the Battlespire was taken, the Weir Gate, the portal to Tamriel, was sealed with Dagon's personal warding sigil.  

Unaware of these events, a pair of apprentice battlemages, Shadow Legion aspirants, entered the Battlespire after it had fallen. One apprentice went ahead, leaving behind notes and helpful items, but was ultimately captured by the Daedra and brought to Dagon's hunting lodge before the Prince himself.   The other apprentice went in search of the first (and for a way back to Tamriel) by fighting through, bluffing past, and making deals with the various forces, Daedric and otherwise, along the way. 

After following the trail back to the Shade Perilous, the apprentice befriended the Nocturnals and freed their leader, Jaciel Morgen.  Curiously, Clan Dremora also offered its assistance, for while Mehrunes Dagon had allowed his armies to enter Shade Perilous and use it as a waystation for the assault on the Battlespire, he had not sanctioned its overthrow or occupation. Instead of negotiating for passage or showing restraint, Dagon's protégés and adoptive children, Faydra Shardai of the Fire Daedra clan and Xivilai Moath of the Frost Daedra clan, decided to crush their long-time enemies, the Nocturnals. The Dremora believed this needed to be undone in order to rectify things. 

left|Mehrunes Dagon (Battlespire)|left|thumb
However, the path from the Shade Perilous led to the Chimera of Desolation, where the apprentice became the hare in a Great Hunt.  While the Dremora could offer little help there,  the apprentice was able to survive and locate Chimere Graegyn. Chimere drew on his past experience with Mehrunes Dagon to help the apprentice escape the realm, offering up the Savior's Hide, as well as knowledge of the Spear of Bitter Mercy to end the hunt. The most vital information he provided was Dagon's protonymic, which can be used to banish him. However, it is likely that by this time, the Prince had added an unknown neonymic as well.  

Once through the Chimera, the apprentice wound up in the Havoc Wellhead, and came face to face with Grand Vizier Imago Storm of the Dremora. Storm was of the opinion that with the conquest of the Shade Perilous combined with the taking of the Battlespire, Clan Dagon had "overreached its resources and  ". He felt it best if Faydra, Xivilai, and Mehrunes Dagon himself were temporarily removed from the picture so he could restore order and stability to Clan Dagon.  Storm then gave the neonymics of all three to the apprentice, as the mortal had little choice but to go along with this plan.  

After dealing with the lesser Daedra, the apprentice portaled into the Deadlands near Dagon's hunting lodge, the Prince's personal pleasure palace.  According to the Dremora, banishing Mehrunes Dagon required the Armor of the Savior's Hide, his proto- and neonymics, the "aid of absent friends", a bit of hope, and a weapon made from Dagon's own substance, the Sword of the Moon Reiver.  This last item was soon taken by force from Dagon's Dark Seducer lover, and the apprentices battled up a mountainside and entered the lodge to face Dagon himself. 

Mehrunes Dagon was waiting in his inner sanctum with the first aspirant, who was chained from the ceiling and paralyzed. The Lord of Destruction smugly thanked the mortal for bringing him so many valuable magic items, though he was perturbed that the Savior's Hide prevented the paralytic effect. And more so when the apprentice revealed knowledge of Dagon's nymics. But the Prince remained smug until the apprentice revealed the Moon Reiver, at which point he decided to take action. But in that moment, the apprentice summoned Jaciel to the battle; her sudden appearance momentarily distracted Dagon, giving the apprentice enough time to strike.  Dagon was sucked back into the Void, being "compressed into an ever-smaller volume" before vanishing. 
 
The Battlespire was partly destroyed during the invasion's aftermath. The Empire reclaimed the ruins, and gathered up all the Daedric Crescents to be destroyed, bar one.  These events led to the conclusion that investment into its reconstruction was both unfeasible and undesirable at the time, due to the installation being a great temptation for Daedra to target. Therefore, discussions were brought up to leave the gates to the Spire sealed indefinitely. 
 

Organization
The Battlespire is administered and maintained by five powerful battlemages called the Spire Council, with the five in    being: 
Clarentavious Valisious, Venerable Artificer
Samar Starlover, Armsmaster, Master of the Serpent Blade and a Dragoon (Elite Imperial Dragon mount guard) 
Grad Helthen, Spellmaster and Grand Ipsissimus of the dissolving fires.
Paxti Bittor, Exalted Summoner and Lion-Lord Invoker Pursuivant.
Mactana Greenway, Gatekeeper

Recruits of the Battlespire are known as Potentials and are usually identified as such around the age of 12. These Potentials learn magic, magical and martial warfare, and contemporary studies. Every year there is a Potentials Battle Tourney, where single combat is known to be a part of it. 

The Emperor also has a personal liaison to the Battlespire, with the title of this position being the Imperial Secretary. Lomegan Marie held this position circa 3E 398. 

Some of the Battlemages, including the ones above known to have been at the Battlespire during its invasion, are:
Arcem Terastang
Kirel Aman, Praeceptor Superior
Tuscan Daphsir
Tutawan Soal

Notable Locations
The Battlespire consists of many notable locations, with a lot of these relating to the daily function of the college, for example, the High Court Room. The Battlespire also contained a large room for dragons such as Dragonne Papré.

The Star Galley Crib
thumb|left|The Star Galley
Aside from the Weir Gate itself, the only access to the colleges was via the Star Galley, a magic boat which could navigate the surrounding environs.   The vessel was constructed by Battlemage and Artificer  ,  and was kept in the Star Galley Crib near the Weir Gate, though access was normally restricted. 

This section of the facility is also notable for being the home of the gigantic Mock Turtle.
 
The High Halls and Librarium
thumb|right|A college library
The upper sections of the Battlespire consist of the war college itself. Here are found dormitories, mess halls, libraries, lecture halls, an infirmary. Other areas found here are the Great Hall, the Conjury Hall and the Summoning Hall.

Of particular importance was the voidgate. This device, powered by artifacts known as voidguides, allowed passage to Oblivion. The   was accessed in this manner during Mehrunes Dagon's invasion, but it is not known which other realms the voidgate was able to reach. 
 

Other Realms
Several realms of   were known to be accessible from the Battlespire or from each other. These include the  ,  , the  , the  , and   in the  .
 

Gallery
 

Notes
According to  , years after Dagon's invasion was defeated, the mage   and his apprentice attempted to use the remains of the Battlespire to enter Oblivion. They found that although the Weir Gate still stood and the shattered academy remained accessible from Mundus, the link to Oblivion had been broken. However, this is contradicted by the   series, according to which the two lived in the Second Era. Copies of The Doors of Oblivion were also available at this time, but no mention of the Battlespire was seen within.

See Also
Tiber Septim's Sword-Meeting with Cyrus the Restless
Books
 
 
 
 

References