Lore:Red Mountain

was a vast volcano that dominated the island of   in  , and was once the highest mountain in  .  The island actually took its name from the volcano: the original name of Red Mountain was Vvardenfell, which translates to "City of the Strong Shield" in  .  Red Mountain was also known as the Red Tower,  Mount Dagoth-Ur,          and Sahqo-Strunmah in the  .  On a clear day, Red Mountain's peak could be seen from the city of  , some 250 miles to the south.  The mountain was generally considered the most dangerous region in all of Vvardenfell, and has erupted twice in history: the   event of   and in the   of  .  It was very close to erupting during  's plot to drain  's power in  .  The Red Year eruption in particular was so devastating that Red Mountain's height was reduced, and the   claimed the title of Tamriel's highest mountain from then on. 

Access to Red Mountain became restricted in the late  : the   built the  , a giant Spirit Wall, around the perimeter of the mountain. The only way inside without extended jump or levitation was through   in the south. This region was marked by the steep climbs to the top of the mountain and by the   that filled the air and limited visibility to a few feet. Red Mountain was almost entirely uncharted, and few have ventured far within the Ghostfence's confines since its construction. It was known, however, that four ancient   Citadels were hidden in the region, three of which were residences for  's most trusted ash vampires; the fourth was the lair of Dagoth Ur himself. Even though this area was extremely dangerous,   and   mines were set up inside the Ghostfence, under   guard or by enterprising Ashlanders. 

Within the Ghostfence lay a wasteland of deep ravines, called  , and lava pools.   monsters ran free and the minions of Dagoth Ur, known as ash creatures, roamed the land. The   led from Ghostgate to the   near  , and an unnamed foyada followed the Ghostfence northwest to  . Just north of the Ghostfence was the lost Dunmer fortress of the  ,  . It was rumored that a secret entrance linked this structure with Red Mountain proper. Petals from the Fire Fern provide protection from the heat and fire of the lava pits and thermal streams around Dagoth-Ur.  
 

History

Red Mountain is said to have been formed at the time of the  , when  's   was removed and thrown into the sea; Red Mountain formed where the Heart of Lorkhan landed.   Long after, the   established themselves in Morrowind, and Red Mountain became a fortress at the heart of the Dwemer kingdom of Vvardenfell. The Dwemer eventually united with the   to expel the  s from Morrowind in  .   The two elven races coexisted peacefully under the banner of the kingdom of Resdayn for a time, until the Chimer general   learned that the Dwemer had found the Heart of Lorkhan and sought to use it to empower the  . This led to the  , which culminated in the  .  Coinciding with the war, Red Mountain erupted in  , reshaping the island of Vvardenfell and blotting out the sun for a full year. This event became known as the  .  

Battle of Red Mountain
thumb|left|300px|Red Mountain in the background, during the Battle
The Battle of Red Mountain was the climactic battle of the War of the First Council, and resulted in the sudden disappearance of the entire Dwemer race from Nirn.   The battle was fought at Red Mountain in Resdayn (present-day Morrowind) around    (or possibly earlier),  between the Chimer (led by General Nerevar, the Hortator) and the Dwemer (led by Dumac Dwarfking),   along with armies of Nords and Orcs.   The exact truth of what happened cannot be determined due to conflicting accounts,  but all agree that by the time the dust settled, much of that dust was all that remained of the Dwemer.  Though Nerevar died, his people claimed victory, and four Chimer were positioned to become living gods.  

The First Council was held together for hundreds of years thanks to the friendship between Dumac and Nerevar. However, through means lost to history, Lord Voryn Dagoth of   learned of a Dwemer scheme: deep in the bowels of   on the island of  , the Dwemer had found the  , and High Craftlord   planned to harness it and use it to power a giant  .    Lord Dagoth reported this to the Chimer leadership, and eventually, the Hortator Nerevar confirmed it with his patron  . Nerevar confronted his friend Dumac, and they quarreled bitterly (some sources assert Dumac did not know of Kagrenac's plan at the time and thus misunderstood Nerevar's concerns). As a result, Nerevar led the Chimer to war in order to stop this "profane" usurpation.  

At the start of the war, Dwemeri forces were concentrated in the northwest of the province, and their campaign initially had great success throughout the north.   There is speculation that many of the great metal automatons the Dwemer used as troops in the battle were built in the Great Workshops of Nchardak on the island of  . The coastal Dwemeri city was reputedly able to produce one automaton a day, an apparently impressive rate of production.  Many outlanders were at the battle, notably  s and  s, and sources often designate them as allies of the Dwemer. 

Nerevar, meanwhile, led his united people, the nomadic   as well as the   ( , in particular, likes to trumpet its substantial contribution of warriors to the battle).    Nerevar did not have full control of the Chimer forces until a series of defeats convinced the Great Houses to relinquish command.  Once he had full command of the Chimer forces, Nerevar carefully orchestrated a confrontation at Dumac's citadel, a great Dwemer stronghold within Red Mountain where the Heart was being kept.  

The bulk of Nerevar's troops left Narsis and headed north at roughly the same time as a horde of westerners entered Morrowind from the west and began crossing the  .   Some sources claim that all who opposed Nerevar's forces in the battle were exterminated.   Others state that while all enemies of the Chimer forces were decisively defeated, only the Dwemer were wiped out completely. 
:→'' For more accounts of the battle see: Battle of Red Mountain

Second Era
Long restive, Red Mountain awoke again briefly in  , an apparent consequence of Vivec's power being siphoned away. The culprit behind the Warrior-Poet's debilitating affliction was the   Clavicus Vile, who needed Tribunal power to find and enter  's  . This resulted in Vivec being severely weakened, to the point that   threatened to fall and Red Mountain erupted, endangering Vvardenfell. Fortunately, Vivec's powers were restored through the actions of an   and disaster was averted.  

In  , the Tribunal journeyed to Red Mountain to renew their connection to the Heart in a bathing ritual, they  encountered Dagoth Ur, reborn to a new incarnation, and with divine power that could more than match their own.    Unable to enter Red Mountain's Heart Chamber, they were forced to retreat. Dagoth Ur had sole control of the Heart from this point on and grew stronger while the Tribunal grew weaker. 

Third Era
During the  ,   used the Dwarven mines beneath the mountain as a hiding place for a piece of the shattered  . The   discovered the entrance to the mines by striking the   against the   to produce a ringing which would reveal its location. The hero retrieved the piece, completing the Staff, only to discover that Tharn had drained its power into the  .  After their victory over Tharn, many Imperial-loyalists had retraced their steps throughout the adventure. Among these places would include the Dagoth-Ur mines. 

Between   and  , the Tribunal erected the Ghostfence around Red Mountain to contain the spread of the Blight and the   monsters.   In 3E 417, the worst blow  came to the Tribunal as they attempted to recapture the Dwemer citadels within Red Mountain. The Tribunal ended up losing Sunder and Keening, two of Kagrenac's Tools in this attempt to retake the Heart of Lorkhan from Dagoth's forces. 

The Nerevarine would arrive in Morrowind circa  .   This outlander to Morrowind was the reincarnation of Nerevar prophesied by Azura who would return to rectify the dishonorable acts of his councilors.  Knowing better than to dismiss the Goddess of Dusk and Dawn, both Vivec and Dagoth Ur prepared for the Nerevarine's arrival as best they could, though they did not know when, where, or by whom the prophecy would be fulfilled. The Nerevarine met with Vivec, who offered him advice concerning how to defeat Dagoth Ur, even though he knew that the Nerevarine's success, and the destruction of the Heart of Lorkhan, would mean the loss of his power as a demigod.  

The Nerevarine would ultimately sever Dagoth Ur's connection to the Heart of Lorkhan, after recovering Sunder and Keening from Dagoth's forces. Dagoth Ur became mortal once more, losing his divinity. Although he was nonetheless a mighty sorcerer, the Nerevarine bested him in combat and brought a final end to the ancient evil.  After Dagoth Ur's defeat, the Ghostfence's magical shield was deactivated (although its physical, non-magical structure remained) and the blight stopped being spread, making conditions within the Ghostfence much the same as the rest of Vvardenfell. 

Fourth Era
In  , recorded by the   as the  , Red Mountain erupted shortly after Baar Dau, since converted into the  , completed its descent and impacted into  .  The eruption produced massive amounts of smoke and toxic ash that smothered much of Morrowind and left Vvardenfell almost entirely uninhabitable.  The portions of Morrowind that survived the initial calamity were not spared for long, as ash from the continually-erupting mountain poisoned the land and sea over the following decades.  . As of  , the volcano was still experiencing ongoing eruptions with ash reaching as far as  . 

Gallery
 

Notes
While not accessible, Red Mountain is clearly visible from Solstheim in the Dragonborn expansion for TES V: Skyrim, from Stonefalls in Elder Scrolls Online, and throughout Vvardenfell in Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind.
There was a  ic clan known as  . The figure known as   brought great honor to the family. Whether they are related to Red Mountain itself is unclear. 

See Also
For game-specific information, see the Arena Dagoth-Ur article and Morrowind, ESO, and Legends quest and   articles.

References