Netruk44/uesp-wiki-content huggingface dataset:
Lore:Dreamwalkers

They call them Dreamwalkers. Beings that can, with a simple spell, step into the dreams of another. Your darkest desires, your most bizarre fantasies, your true self, all revealed to these Dreamwalkers like an open book. Your most prized memories ransacked and picked through like the leavings of last night's feast.

Those who Dreamwalk are said to have sworn themselves to the Daedric Prince  . To have sold their souls for the ability to enter her plane, the Dreamstride. The veracity of this claim, I cannot say, but the similarities between what Dreamwalkers do and what the Priests of Vaermina accomplish is quite uncanny.

The only difference I could ascertain was how each entered the dream state. Vaermina's priests require nothing more than the drop of an   concoction, a draft prepared by the most brilliant alchemists. The  s, however, require no such potion. They conjure a magic that appears to be innate, not taught or passed down by some hereditary process. Were they blessed by the Daedric Prince? Did their parents perform some sacred ritual to acquire this power upon birth? None I have spoken to truly know. Or will say, one way or another.

But what of the Dreamwalkers themselves? What do they use this power to achieve? Think of the havoc one could cause by entering the dreams of another. That's a frightening thought, indeed.

Yet, the Dreamwalkers I met were kind and gentle. They use their powers to help others. They eliminate painful memories. Cure mental illnesses that not even the best healers can mend. They accomplish incredible things by simply touching a person's dreams. I know, for I saw a Dreamwalker in action.

My wife and children contracted the  . It was a terrible way to die, slow and painful. When they died, my reason to live died with them. But the Dreamwalker I met, he took pity on me. He gave me an opportunity to remember my family while forgetting the pain of losing them. To become numb to the loss and remember them as they were before the illness. To remember the happiness and the love.

The Dreamwalker entered my dreams. When I woke, a calmness had filled me. Everything was all right. I could go on with my life. I wanted to thank him, but he was gone. I never saw him again.

Whoever the Dreamwalkers are, whatever master they ultimately serve, I will forever be in their debt. But this fact doesn't eliminate the fear that lingers at the back of my mind. Was it right to take away the pain? Aren't memories the thing that makes us unique? Have I become someone else because my memories have been changed? It seems I have replaced pain with fear, and I'm not sure which I prefer.
Lore:The Road to Sovngarde

Loremasters hear tales of heroes who claim to have traveled to   and back, but their truth is uncertain. The greatest warriors stride the road to Sovngarde upon their deaths, but if the living can walk there and return, it has not yet been shown.

Yet loremasters know this: Sovngarde exists. So our gods promise, so we believe. Sovngarde lies in the heart of  , awaiting the souls of departed warriors.  s who prove themselves in battle awaken in the realm after death. Pain and illness vanish within the Hall of Valor. Revelry is never-ending, mead flows freely, and the greatest Nords of all time compete in tests of strength and prowess.

Spirits trapped in this world know torment, emptiness, and endless suffering, obsessing over lost battles, fallen kingdoms, and unresolved lives. Not so in Sovngarde! Even the tedium of immortality is unknown, for spectral foes wait in the surrounding shadows, waiting to do battle with those who would test their mettle.

  created the realm of Sovngarde with his clever magic long ago, but the trickster god has faded from our world. Others have attempted to part the veil of his deceit, practicing forsaken arts and seeking hidden paths into the afterlife. All such attempts end in tragedy. None can out-trick the trickster. For all we know, Shor retreated to that realm and laughs at all who would outwit him. He may even rule the realm, choosing heroes to honor according to his whims.

All this is speculation. Only those who are worthy know the truth, and they speak no more to the living. Through all the suffering and adversity in this world, true Nord warriors endure, for Sovngarde awaits.
Lore:Once

:Once, we were great.

:Once, our battlereeves were masters of warfare, and our sapiarchs were wise and learned. Once, we ruled all   from the   to the mountains of Wrothgar, and the  s were our thralls and concubines.

:Once,  , the Swan of  , discovered   and   and claimed it for her own, decreeing that all of   who came after would bear her name.

:Once, the art of   was all but undefined, until   compiled his "Compendious Almanac of Reagents," and was invited to join the first   on  .

:Once, before   and her "Rules of Eldritch Binding," all   was unique, and enchantments failed nineteen times out of twenty.

:Once, during the  ,   stood up to the entire  . His   Legions, armed and commanded by   Elves, controlled all the land as far east as   and  . The  -hold of   has been sacked many times, but we Direnni sacked it first.

:Once, at the  ,  's vastly outnumbered troops routed the entire  , then chased them back to  .

:Once, before   codified the rules of  , every summoning of even a minor   was an act to be feared and avoided.

:Once,   drove an entire   flotilla back to   by merging her very will with the waves of the  .

:Once, in a single day,   built   from the scattered rubble of   ruins by summoning an army of  s.

:Yes, we were great once. But no matter what our individual achievements, every Direnni since Cygnus has been eaten from within by failure.
Because we cannot solve the mystery of the  , and use it to open the   which it wards.

:At maturity, every Direnni of high blood is brought into the Tower, conducted to the Foundation Vault, and shown the Zero Stone. We are allowed to touch it&mdash;once&mdash;so as to feel the transcendent mystical power that courses through it, a power we have never been able to tap. And we are shown the Argent Aperture in the adjacent metallic wall, that door with its lock of thirteen slowly counter-rotating rings, a portal we have never been able to open.

:And we console ourselves that if we Direnni have never been able to siphon the Stone or unlock the Aperture, well then certainly, neither could anyone else. We return to the world above, and we do something spectacular&mdash;so we will not have to face our failure.

:But once, as our lives near their ends, each of us gathers together all our knowledge, the fruits of all our achievements, and once more makes that descent to the Foundation Vault. To try it. Just once.

:Most are found within a day or two, dead and horribly distorted. Some, like my darling Heron, live on though terribly disfigured, too brain-blasted to understand what has happened to them.

:Me? I keep to our chambers in the  , caring for Heron by day, and translating   tomes in the library by night. And it's a good enough life, too.

:Though sometimes, when working on an ancient grimoire or librus magus I question whether the arcane writings of our long-lost cousins are not better left a mystery.

:But then I think, is not all knowledge useful for something? And I think, what might this knowledge be useful for?

:And I think I might take that long walk downstairs.

:Just once.
Online:…ine Commands of Eight Divines

from the personal library of   and  

may the   watch over them and their child,  

may the Divines protect us all

 

The Divines are a lie. There's no one watching over us. Our baby is dead, the food is gone, and the bears are at my door. I saw Hubert killed right before my eyes. I'd rather die peacefully than be torn apart.

There's naught left to drink but  . May my soul be released from its suffering.

Goodbye.

— Marisse
Online:A Call to Action!

s infest the caves to our north. They slip into   in the night and steal food, livestock, even people.

Turn your blades on the foul Goblins and you will be rewarded!

  will soon offer a bounty for slain Goblins. This is your chance for riches!

Addendum: Please do not ask Headman Bhosek about the bounty. When it is ready, we will spread word.

— Scribe  

 

Killed Goblins for years, but never been paid. Demand a reward, lose your fingers!
Lore:Ayleid Cities of Valenwood

An Excerpt

Written by the Esteemed Historian Homfrey at the  ,  

Being a Survey of the Triumphant Settlement of the Heartland High Elves in the Southern Regions

…At this point, we should mention the remarkable cities of  , and the   settlement beneath what is now modern  . These cities, along with the   cities of  ,  , and  , all flourished as a result of increased trade after the establishment of the great   in what is now the heart of  .

Of note in particular is the university and libraries at nearby  . The Ayleids there built their city in and around what is called the   or the First Tree, believed by many to be the tree that seeded all of Valenwood.

Both Haven and Woodhearth were destroyed utterly by the sieging  , who cared little for the advanced and enlightened ways of the Valenwood  . Marching inland, they plundered not only the Elden Root enclave, but also the Great Tree itself. What villainous tribe would injure and pillage such magnificence?

It is possible that the Maormer had broken the Aldmer traditions of racial purity and intermingled with indigenous, bestial tribes of  . This would explain their savagery and lack of regard for the greatness of mainland Elven culture.
Online:Pillagers of the Hist

My Dearest  ,

It is with great sadness I report the deaths of so many of our brethren throughout  . They fall like dead leaves in a burning forest as the invaders sear root and branch in their sacrilege.

I do not know what the   intends to do with the   it collects from our  , but I must warn you: your secluded hamlet may be next. The blood-trail of tapped Hist trees winds through Shadowfen and shows no sign of stopping. Red ants on a blood trail, they are. Make certain they do not consume you.
Lore:Remnants of Cyrod

When  's   sent the     fleeing from their manses, they took their knowledge with them.

While some fled to the fens of   and others to the northern reaches, most flew to  . After many years amongst the  , they amassed a storehouse of information.

Realizing a need to preserve our knowledge against the ages, they excavated a cavern east of the mighty  . There, in its alabaster depths, they   and sealed them against the ravages of erosion and time.

They summoned our greatest architect to do these things, and a great enchantment was placed upon its walls to stave off putrefaction and decay.

The ruins would stand until the   fell to dust and bone in the ashes of old  . They would deliver our memory for generations to come, and seal us as the immortal masters of  , itself.
Lore:Legacy of the Dragonguard

As all schoolchildren know, northern   was invaded by a legion of  i raiders in  . Mighty warriors with potent powers, these Akaviri cut a swath through  , defeating all opponents, until they were met at   by a   army under the command of General  . After a brief battle, the Akaviri surrendered en masse to Reman, saying that in him, they had found what they had come to Tamriel to seek.

With the Akaviri added to his own army, Reman marched on, pacifying most of Tamriel, becoming Emperor, and founding the  . The best and wisest of the Akaviri became the  , under the Emperor Reman's personal command.

For the next two centuries the Dragonguard protected the  , defending the Emperors with abilities said to have been learned from the   themselves, which persisted in Akavir far longer than they did in Tamriel.

But when   was assassinated in  , that was the end of the Reman Dynasty (as well as the  ). Officially the Dragonguard was disbanded, some said in shame at having failed to protect the Emperor. However, when the Potentate   assumed the Ruby Throne, the Dragonguard was unofficially reactivated, more as an intelligence network than as an honor guard.

Other former members of the Dragonguard followed different pursuits. Some joined their former centurion,  , when he founded the organization that would come to be known as the  . Others became roving adventurers, selling their services as combat trainers or swords-for-hire.

One of these was a former Dragonguard whose name is now lost, and is known only to this chronicler as the Grandmaster. He took it upon himself to ensure that the martial and mystical arts of the old Akaviri would survive into the new and turbulent  . However, he would teach his skills only on condition that those he taught would go on to teach others. This was the origin of those whom we now call "the  ."
Lore:Temples of the Dragon Cult

In the distant reaches of  , beyond the remote farming communities and hunter shacks, you may stumble over a broken stone, half buried and covered in moss and ivy. Look closer, in case these are effigies to animal gods, worshiped by  's primitives. The deification of the  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , and   have all been recorded by our field agents, and many believe these totems stand as sentinels over lost ruins. These tumbledown temples, guarded by half-woken   and worse, are from a time when the   supposedly ruled this province.

While no modern  an need believe these hopelessly fanciful fables, the  s' simple-minded veneration for these places betokens their fear of the return of the  s. During the worship of   (the dragon) as god-kings over men, these priests were the conduit through which dragons spoke, made laws, and were honored with grand and elaborate temples. When  , Akatosh's firstborn, was defeated atop the   during the mythical  , the cult that sprang up around these dragon guardians soon receded into the soil, buried among dragon mounds with the remains of these beasts. They were finally vanquished in   mountains by High King   in  . The veneration of animal gods was soon replaced by the  .
Lore:Tower of Adamant

There is nothing like the   anywhere in  , save for   itself. Unlike the  , which is a thing of nature, the tower is a structure—but one not constructed by   or  , if the legends speak true, but by the   themselves.

It rises, stark and sheer, from the high center of   in the  , where it has stood since the   itself.   Tower, it is called, for the unknown, ageless material from which it is built, and Tower Zero, as the edifice that predates all other buildings on  .

The     have ruled Balfiera since the beginning of the  . In common parlance the tower bears their name, though they can claim only the construction of the more recent keep that clusters around the tower's base. (Who is responsible for delving the catacombs beneath the keep is a matter of debate with no definitive consensus.)

I have not consulted with the High Elves of   (who has?), but the noble  , Elden Antiquariat of the Direnni, deigned to answer a few questions. According to him, the tower was erected in the   when the   met to decide the fate of Mundus. At its apex,  , the great god of the  i, slew the trickster  , impaled his   on an arrow and launched it across the world. The heart merely laughed and lived on.

The Aedra then withdrew from the affairs of Mundus, leaving behind the tower for the Direnni to discover and take for their own. What secrets did they find there? What have they concealed to this day? Whatever the secrets may be, the Direnni didn't reveal them to this humble   architect.

However, secrets there must be, for I took sight-and-angle measurements of the Direnni Tower from the eight points of the compass. According to my calculations, and given the known characteristics of all available materials, building an edifice of its proportions should not be possible.
Lore:Exodus from Summerset

Those who dare can achieve greatness.

  the Prophet was scorned by those who were blind to the corruption and spiritual bankruptcy at the heart of their society. Veloth was cast out, cast off, by those with no interest in truth and even less interest in the betterment of all, who sought only to preserve their pride and place by keeping others in poverty, ignorance, and slavery. Veloth was highborn, but he dared to cast off the decadent chains of  i society.

Veloth the Mystic called out to those whose souls were weary, whose lives were ground out with no hope of improvement in a society founded on ambition, greed, and decadence. To those who hoped for a society that preserved traditions, praised honesty, and rewarded the just, Veloth's voice was as a golden note among a cacophony.

Veloth the Pilgrim led his followers across the seas and away from the lands they had known with the promise of a   and a better future.
Lore:Ice Elves: Fact or Fiction?

Are there  ? I have heard of these strange creatures but until recently, I dismissed the stories as myths. But now I am pretty sure I met one.

My cousin Knudek and I were hunting   south of   with little luck. Knudek was determined to bag something bigger than a  . After a few bottles of   and feeling encouraged, he ran off waving his bow, telling me he would return with a fine buck before the sun fully set. I decided to make camp, figuring my cousin would soon tire of hunting as evening fell.

The snow started just as I finished off another bottle of mead and crawled into our small tent. Not long after, I heard some strange beast thrashing about in the woods nearby. I called out, thinking it was Knudek. An eerie moan was the only response, making the hairs on my arms stand up.

I grabbed my bow, determined to face the creature. As I leapt out, a strong gust of wind caused the snow to swirl. I became tangled up in my tent and pitched forward, my hand landing in the small campfire. I screamed in surprise, startling the creature as it paused near the camp.

The creature was too small to be a  . It made some odd noises and I yelled at it to go away. I could not see it clearly because of the snow and my eyes streaming from the pain of my burns. The creature made more unintelligible noises.

In desperation and in fear for my life, I grabbed a handful of hot embers with my uninjured hand and flung them at the creature's head. The pain caused me to scream even louder than the creature, which began to thrash around, flailing into a snowdrift. I managed to stand as the creature struggled to its feet. It was pale-skinned and hunched. It did not attack me. The pain in my hands had rendered me speechless.

In spite of my pain, I decided to make a run for it. I fled toward Fort Amol. Luckily, I ran into a group of soldiers heading back to the fort. They got me to healer, who tended to my hands. Knudek showed up several days later. He said he'd gotten lost, fallen and broken his arm, and was later attacked by a rogue mage who flung fireballs at him repeatedly. He was sorry he missed the Ice Elf. He wants to go looking for it again, after we both heal.
Lore:Rajhin and the Stone Maiden, Pt. 1

Many years ago, as   passed by a river, he heard weeping from the far shore. There, a woman filled her pockets with stones. When she finished, the woman walked into the river.

Rajhin could not let her drown, so he ran across the river's surface and pulled the woman from her would-be grave.

"Why did you save me, my lord?" she asked. "Does Rajhin, the Trickster God, not know my intent?"

"I know the what, my lady, but not the why."

The woman frowned and turned her back. "You could not possibly understand my plight. Please, let me gather my stones and continue on my way."

But Rajhin would not let her continue until she shared her story.

The woman, Munilli, had a fiancee named Mazaram, and the two were much beloved. But Munilli's step-father Azelit-ra  was a greedy man. Before he would give them permission to marry, he insisted on a bride-price beyond Mazaram's considerable means, and well beyond all reason.

Azelit-ra was headman of the village in which they lived and none dared speak against him for his injustice. But Mazaram was not cowed by Azelit-ra, which made the step-father hate him all the more. Still, Mazaram would not dishonor Munilli by eloping. Rather than see her fiancee ruined by her step-father's demands, Munilli chose the river.

"You say your step-father rules your village?"

"With an iron paw, my lord," Munilli replied sadly. "Those he does not bribe owe him money. Only a few, such as Mazaram, remain free of his grasp … and he does what he can to ruin them."

"Do you think your step-father is satisfied ruling a tiny village?" Rajhin asked.

"Satisfied?" Munilli scoffed, wiping her tears away. "He does not know the meaning of the word."

"Then perhaps I can help. Come, let us find Mazaram."

As they went to the village, Rajhin explained his plan to the young woman.

That afternoon, Mazaram and Munilli approached Azelit-ra upon the porch of his great   plantation house. Seeing   hand-in-hand angered Azelit-ra, even though they were properly affianced. "So, my little pauper," the step-father greeted Mazaram, "have you agreed to my bride-price, or shall we finally see the last of you?"

Mazaram refused to take offense and instead bowed briefly. "While it is true I cannot meet your bride-price, my lord, I can offer you something better."

Azelit-ra's ears twitched, but he sneered with skepticism. "Better? Better than the sum I demand for my only daughter? Fine, tell me of this offer. If it is generous, then so be it. But if not, I would see your tail as you leave forever!"
Lore:The Moon Cats and their Dance

A hairless scholar came from his   to   and said, "I want to know the truth about the  ."

And the   said, "Only one? You are not very curious, hairless scholar."

The hairless scholar peered at the Clan Mother through little windows on his nose and said, "I want to know about your different breeds. Is it true that what phase of the moons you are born under determines your  ?"

And the Clan Mother said, "Indeed, hairless scholar. I was born as   was waxing and   was new, so I am an  . My daughter here was born when Jode was waxing and Jone was full, so she is a  . Thus we are nothing alike."

The scholar peered at mother and daughter and said, "You look very much the same to me."

And the Clan Mother said, "I have heard that those with round pupils have poor vision. It is a sadness."

The hairless scholar tapped his chin and said, "I want to know about your so-called  . Is it true that the phases of the moons regulate every aspect of your lives?"

And the Clan Mother said, "Indeed, hairless scholar. Today is  , when Jode is new and Jone is new, and we never stir the stew winter-shines."

The hairless scholar blinked and said, "You mean withershins, or retrograde? But that is exactly the way you're stirring your soup."

And the Clan Mother said, "But only from above. Perhaps your eyes only let you see things from one direction? That is a sadness."

The hairless scholar adjusted his nose-windows and said, "All right. Fine. Tell me of the  . Is it true you Khajiit dance at the midnight hour to the light of the moons?"

And the Clan Mother said, "Indeed not. We dance the Two Moons Dance in every hour. It is our delight."

The hairless scholar said, "You're not dancing. You're sitting by the fire. Tell me when you're going to dance, so I can join you."

And the Clan Mother said, "My daughter and I dance to the moons at this moment, but you cannot join us, for you do not have a tail. It is a sadness."

The hairless scholar gnawed his knuckle and said, "Very well then. I hear that you have curious beliefs about the moons. Tell me of them."

And the Clan Mother said, "As you wish. When   made a place for  i's children, the darkness in his   made it also a prison. So his heart was cut out and   in Nirni, and his body was hurled to the moons but could not pass them, for it did not know the  . Thus is his body the   in the Lunar Lattice. See it, just there?"

The hairless scholar peered at the sky and said, "I see no moons at all—  and   are both new. What do you mean?"

And the Clan Mother said, "Hairless scholar, this one forgot again about your eyes." And she sighed, and her tail danced, and she shrugged. And she said, "It is a sadness."