Morrowind:Therana

Therana is a Dark Elf mage and probably one of the strangest characters you will encounter during your journey through Vvardenfell. She is a Telvanni councilor involved in the Main Quest. As her peers will tell you, she has not aged well and has been growing increasingly insane. Despite seeming innocent and harmless when you talk to her, she is in fact very volatile, and given that she is a powerful mage - out-leveling even the Archmagister - her outbursts can prove deadly. She seems to have no material awareness, as she will hugely over-reward you for mundane tasks, giving you an enchanted Daedric cuirass and pair of greaves simply for retrieving a "bow that smells of Ash Yams", even though she no longer wants it when you bring it to her. She keeps a naked Khajiit slave, Ra'Zahr, in her room, and her stronghold is decorated with rotting Kwama eggs, which has infuriated the slaves who mine them for her. She ignores anyone's business other than her own, preferring to talk extensively about herself. For these and other reasons, many people — even in her own House — seem to want her dead, and there is an outstanding Morag Tong writ against her. She can be found in her tower in Tel Branora.

The other Telvanni Councilors often comment about how Therana has not aged well, and how she becomes more eccentric by the day. Her conversations with you will rapidly change subject; most options leading to an anecdote of her childhood. Even her Mouth, Felisa Ulessen, advises you to be cautious in your dealings with Therana, and upon giving you your first errand to Tel Branora, will provide you with a Scroll of Almsivi Intervention should things turn ugly.

She is wearing an exquisite robe with matching shoes, an amulet of spell absorption, a ring of firefist, and a ring of night-eye, she wields a daedric dagger, and she carries a scroll of black weakness, four exclusive restore magicka potions, and an Abebaal slave key. Aside from her natural resistance to fire and the sanctuary provided by her ancestors, she knows the following spells: Fifth Barrier, Llivam's Reversal, Absorb Spell Points, Fire Bite, and Firebloom.
 
Related Quests
Main Quest

House Telvanni


Mages Guild

Morag Tong

Miscellaneous


Dialogue
Greetings:
[If you have never spoken with Therana before.] "What are you here for? Are you here to feed the spiders?"
[If you have spoken with Therana before.] ''"Oh, it's you again."
-----
House Telvanni: "It's a funny sort of house, with all those glowing blue crystals all over it. Did I ever tell you about when I was a little girl? I always liked going to the house. That's where everyone keeps their toys. Are you listening to me? You'd better be. Yes, that's better. No need to do that. I'd offer you something, but I'm all out of kwama eggs."
join House Telvanni: "Join with the house? No thank you. I prefer to be in the house, not of the house."
Nerevarine: "Nerevarine? Is that a new play? I like plays."
Telvanni bride: "That's lovely, dear, but I don't think so. I have so much to do around here. Besides, I'm already married. I'm fairly sure. Avos. Or Aren. I think. Little fellow. He's around here somewhere. Some sort of magic thing. Quite funny, actually. Did I tell you? About how easy it is to get those caretellian coordinates mixed up? Oh, dear... really quite a laugh. Quite funny. Yes, indeed. Ehr.... What were we talking about?"
Telvanni councilors: "No, Telvanni make the worst councilors. I wouldn't listen to their advice if I were you."
Therana: "Eh? Yes? Therana? Yes? Yes. Of course."''

Quest-Related Events
Telvanni Hortator
As Therana's Mouth, Felisa Ulessen, will tell you if you choose to speak with her before going to Therana herself, getting the cranky (to say the least) sorceress to vote for you essentially boils down to keeping her attention long enough to ask the actual question. This end may be achieved in two ways: either her disposition towards you must be at least 80, or your Speechcraft skill must be at least 30:
Telvanni Hortator
''"It's a steel box, of course. You keep things like bittergreen roots in it, keeps 'em fresh, with a little netch blood. Or is that a hormador? Yes. Or spiders. In the box. Spider eggs. Keeps 'em fresh. With netch blood. You wouldn't have any with you, eh? Spider eggs? Nice fresh ones? So, go ahead. Show me the hordador. Hormador? You got it with you? Always happy to get some fresh spider eggs. Or spiders? When I was a MUCH younger, we grew our own spiders..."
Listen politely.
"...In hormadors. Big ones. Needed 'em big, for the spiders. What? Spiders? You listening? Spiders. That's what I said. Big ones. So you need a big hortator. Ours was steel, with silver plating. Kier-jo used to polish it. Cute little kitty. Had it since it was a bitty kitty. Gone now, of course. Dropped dead. They get old, and you have to get new ones. Never quite as good as the old ones, of course, but what can you do. Oh! There you are, %PCName! What was your name again? Are you listening to me?"
Continue to listen politely.
"[Mistress Therana continues to chatter amiably, with no sign of stopping. She looks like she could go on forever.]"
Stubbornly continue to listen politely.



Tell your story and ask to be confirmed as Hortator.
[Disposition -10.]  



"Goodness. Where did you learn how to do that? Can you do it again? Oooo! Very pretty! Do it again! Oh, please? Please? Oh, certainly. I have a hormador around here somewhere, if you'll just.... Oh. You want to be a Hortator? Certainly. Go right ahead. Right after you do that thing again. That's amazing! Oh, goody, goody...."

Once you have secured her vote, you may (try to) revisit the topic with her, although she will make just as little sense as she did thus far:
Telvanni Hortator
"You want to see my hormador? Oh, dear, where did I put it? In the basement? What did you say? You want to BE a hormador? Well, if that's what you want, go right ahead. I remember my first hormador. I used to have a little baby scrib, and I kept him in my hormador, but he was eaten by spider. With a man's body. Down in the basement. What were you saying? Where did you go?"


Moreover, you can mention the topic to her after you have secured enough votes to officially be named Telvanni Hortator, in which case she says the following:
"Oh. Goody, goody. Are you going to show me that thing you did again?"
Telvanni Hortator
"You gave all the councilors a hormador? No? That thing you showed me, then? I'm glad, dear, really."


And finally, if you discuss the topic with her after you have actually been named Telvanni Hortator, she will say:
"Are you here to show me that thing you did? Or did you want to feed the spiders?"
Telvanni Hortator
"That's nice, dear. Is the Hortator that silly thing you showed me? Would you do it again? Ooooo! Thank you! Oh. Dear. Tired now. *Zzzzzz.* [Mistress Therana has apparently fallen asleep in mid-sentence.]"''

New Clothes
Speak with Therana with her new skirt in your inventory to offer it to her:
''"Oh, are those my new clothes? I've waited ever so patiently for them."
new clothes
"Oh, is that my new skirt? How do I know it's not cursed? Why don't you put it on."''

At this point, you can either do as Therana says and put on her new skirt, or have her slave, Ra'Zahr equip it instead. If you give the skirt to Ra'Zahr, the hapless Khajiit meets a swift demise at his mistress's hands. If you put on the skirt yourself and subsequently speak with Therana, you'll quickly learn why Felissa gave you two Scrolls of Almsivi Intervention:
''"You're wearing me skirt! How dare you wear my skirt!"''


When you later return to Therana, she will no longer be hostile, evidently having forgotten about the whole affair. If you try to discuss the topic with her, she will make as little sense as usual:
new clothes
"New clothes? What new clothes? Oh, yes, I wanted a Khajiit fur skirt. Are you listening? Yes, pay attention. A Khajiit fur skirt. Tell Felisa that I already have one, thank you."


Auriel's Bow
Once you have become Aryon's Mouth, you may speak with Therana again to receive a chore from the eccentric mage herself:
chores
''"Have you ever heard of Auriel's Bow? I've heard it's made of ebony and smells of boiled ash yams."
Auriel's Bow
"No, no, no. I knew you wouldn't understand. I want a bow that smells faintly of ash yams."
Ash Yams
"Ash yams have the strongest smell in Ghostgate near Ralyn Othravel."

Return to Therana with the bow in your inventory in order to finish the quest:
"Weren't you the one who was going to deliver my ash yams? What took you so long? I've got all these kwama eggs and no ash yams because I hate ash yams."
Auriel's Bow
"Yes, I can definitely smell the ash yams that bow was baked in."
Ash Yams
"I *smell* ash yams but I don't *see* ash yams. Are you lying to me?! I don't like people who lie to me... But if you give me the bow, I might let you go."
Give her Auriel's bow.
"Oh, dear. This bow smells like ash yams. This isn't any good to me at all. I hate ash yams. If I gave you a little present would you go away and promise never to bring me any ash yams ever again?"
Yes.'''
[Auriel's Bow has been removed from your inventory. An enchanted Daedric Cuirass and enchanted Daedric Greaves have been added to your inventory.] "Here, take these old things and leave me alone."

No.
[Auriel's Bow has been removed from your inventory. 11,111 Gold has been added to your inventory.] ''"Let's pretend I paid you to go away. Here, take this sack of drakes and take that horrible stench with you."

Keep Auriel's bow.
"Then I will have to clear out that horrible ash yam smell myself."''


After the end of this quest, Therana has the following things to say about this topic:
Ash Yams
"No thank you. I already have some."
'''Auriel's Bow
"No, not right now, thank you."
chores
"Chores? Do I look like a servant? I don't have to take orders from you! Did you hear what I said?! Yes, that's better. I remember when I was a little girl, and I had to do chores. "Stir this netch blood, Therana." "Grind these diamonds, Therana." "Nice girls don't keep spiders as pets, Therana.""

Notes
Therana also appears in ESO, as Magister Therana 
Therana reappears in Legends''  as a  .