Lore:Kragenmoor

Kragenmoor is one of the eight major cities on the mainland of Morrowind,  located in the ash wastes of Stonefalls. The city is the great nexus of the region's farming industry and it has historically been occupied by the Great House Dres. While some accounts described Kragenmoor as wretched and downtrodden, others such as the one from Flaccus Terentius noted the miles of saltrice plantations that stretched across the fertile valley. For a time in the mid-Second Era, Kragenmoor was the capital of House Dres and was the home of the Dres Grandmaster.  
 

Layout & Geography
thumb|left|Kragenmoor Manor
thumb|right|The House Dres Crypts
Kragenmoor is located in the territory of House Dres, who occupied portions of central Morrowind many years ago in history.  The city itself is nestled in a fertile valley that is part of the   and is surrounded by miles of saltrice plantations.  The region around it is very rural and far removed from the larger cities on the coast. The main road runs through the greater expanse and passes Kragenmoor to the north. But on the east end of that road is the path to the southern grazelands and also the  , a cursed mountain that is sealed in a mystic veil by the Lorddom of Kragenmoor. In fact, the city is also called the "gateway to the Tormented Spire." 

The city is built on a mountain in the middle of a valley and it has a large stone foundation around it to level it out. The city is split between an upper district and a lower district. The upper portion is on the stone foundation and it connects to other parts of the valley through bridges. Here lies the grandiose Kragenmoor Manor is located and it overlooks the main road from the high precipice. Meanwhile, the lower portion is located underneath these bridges and around the base of the stone foundation. This area is where slaves and the lower class generally live and it is not as nicer as the above ground level.  Kragenmoor is neighbored by several settlements, including   to the north,   to the northeast,   to the southeast, and the   to the southwest, toward the  .  

Notable Locales


History
Kragenmoor is an ancient city that dates back to at least the early  . Even though House Dres have been historically associated with southeast Morrowind, around their ancestral capital,  , they have been known to expand their reach into central Morrowind where Kragenmoor is located.  But when exactly the city was founded is currently unknown. In the years after the   and after the  s were vanquished from ancient Resdayn, the city was under the rule of Queen   of  .  In ancient times, the royal cadet branch of House Dres, the venerable   came to Kragenmoor after they relocated from   in the northeast. But despite this, their ancestral tomb is still located there, on the coast south-southwest of  .  In the mid-First Era, the vast crypt of the royal Dres families was re-discovered in the mountains just west of the city and was promptly excavated beneath Kragenmoor by their   and   slaves.  It was reportedly built during the time of the   to honor the  . 

During the   in  , Kragenmoor was the capital city of House Dres and by this time, they were led by Grandmaster   and in an alliance called the  . After a decisive battle in   to the north, the Indoril Vanguard led by   traveled south to Kragenmoor with the  , on their way to the summit of the Tormented Spire. When the Grandmaster refused Tanval access to the mountain, the vanguard took Omin's son hostage deep in the House Dres Crypts. Not long after, an   of the Pact followed them to Kragenmoor and offered to rescue  . After delving into the crypt, they were able to secure Sen Dres and acquire access to the Tormented Spire for a final confrontation. 

In the late- ,   and his   massed in great numbers west of both Kragenmoor and  , as well as in the northernmost borderlands. However, while the Great   was willing to face the grand army right on the front, the other Great Houses of Dres and   preferred to bolster the interior for guerrilla warfare instead of placing garrisons across the western front, where they were invading from. Whereas the Great House of   would rather make peace with the burgeoning  . In the end, the Dark Elves had fallen and their country was incorporated into the Third Empire as the Imperial Province of Morrowind. 

During the  , the city-state of Kragenmoor was an active settlement. It was ruled by King Shalpar and it had a rivalry with  .  On the 2nd of  ,   and his   gathered in Kragenmoor before they advanced onto   and the abandoned waystation,   in the  .  The city saw little disturbance with the   later in the year compared to Cyrodiil, but the events that transpired in the capital city and Akatosh's intervention had increased interest for the local shrine ten-fold and many people, ranging from skeptics to old Tribunal worshippers. 

Gallery
 

Notes
Kragenmoor is the ancient home of the  , a group that protected the rite of a performance. If the performance was not prepared properly or not said verbatim, the Mirthless Order will kill the performer.  
Despite the very similar names, there is no discernable connection between the Dark Elven city of Kragenmoor and the Dwemer clan,  . 
Even though modern lore very much describes Kragenmoor as occupied by House Dres, there have been instances where the city is associated with House Hlaalu, albeit in unofficial lore that predates ESO.  
Arena was originally conceived as a fighting game featuring a tournament that took the player to each of Tamriel's cities to challenge different gladiatorial teams. According to a file from that stage of development left behind in the final game, Kragenmoor's gladiatorial team would have been called "the Warhammers". 

References