Lore:House Telvanni

House Telvanni is one of the Great Houses of Morrowind. It governed the Telvanni District of eastern Morrowind, and administered the eastern portion of the Vvardenfell District from its council seat in Sadrith Mora. The house is comprised primarily of highly egocentric and ambitious mages, and is known to many as the house of the master wizard.  It was common for members of the House to rise through the ranks by eliminating or otherwise 'indisposing' other members.  Most Telvanni lords want little more than to be left alone to their research and ambitions.  The Telvanni lords had an isolationist outlook, and did not intend to be presided over by any other institutions, particularly the Imperial Mages Guild of the Third Era. 

In general, the Telvanni did not interact with other Houses or Guilds, nor did they have many enemies save for Abolitionists and the Imperial Mages Guild. However, the Telvanni themselves were universally disliked or disapproved of by all other factions found in Vvardenfell as late as  .  On the other hand, the Telvanni did not have the usual hatred of vampires that most other factions held. Their lords and Mouths were willing to speak to vampires; wizards did not fear vampires nearly as much as other folk did.  

Saint Vorys the Immolant was the patron saint of House Telvanni as late as  ,  but fell out of reverence by  .  

History
First Era
:"The forceful expression of will gives true honor to the Ancestors." — Mottos of the Dunmeri Great Houses
120px|thumb|left|The Telvanni Crest
House Telvanni was founded in ancient times, predating the War of the First Council. Prior to the War, thirty of the most influential and revered Chimer Clans worked together to build the fabled Library of Andule, a grand repository containing the genealogical records related to the earliest Velothi settlers and other assorted knowledge about the earliest history of the Great Houses.  Six of the thirty Revered Families hailed from House Telvanni; the Andas, Hlervu, Lleran, Releth, Sadryon, and Telvayn Clans.  The locations of the tombs were presumed lost in the aftermath of the War of the First Council, along with the Library of Andule and the records contained within.  The six tombs were rediscovered in  , alongside the other twenty-four families and the Library of Andule itself. 

In ancient times, the Telvanni built Heimlyn Keep, the site of a relic vault which the House was charged with protecting. The relic vault was used to seal away objects of mystical potency that were considered too dangerous to circulate in the world.  

House Telvanni was already an active Chimer House by the time the War of the First Council broke out in earnest, and fought alongside House Indoril, Dres, Redoran and Hlaalu against the secular House Dagoth and the Dwemer. Early in the conflict, they and the other Great Houses were considered dispersed and poorly organized, suffering multiple defeats until Indoril Nerevar was made Hortator. Nerevar eventually gathered the Houses and Ashlander Clans to attack the fortress of Red Mountain which led to a victory at the Battle of Red Mountain. When the nascent Tribunal Temple moved forward to re-create the First Council, which they renamed as the Grand Council of Morrowind, House Telvanni was admitted as one of the ruling Great Houses.  The House would at some point adopt brown as its official identifying color.   

At some point, a Telvanni wizard created a series of portals to various realms. Later this wizard went missing and was presumed dead, but his portals were later relied on and exploited by Divayth Fyr, who would go on to become one of the most powerful members of the House, alongside an ally.  Fyr himself had trafficked with the Daedra before by choice, although he only interacted with Azura and Mehrunes Dagon. 

Second Era
In the Second Era, a member of House Telvanni created the Vvardvark during an experiment. The creatures spread throughout the island of Vvardenfell, and were wiped out by the Ash Blight centuries later.   

During the year  , Morrowind was invaded by the Kamal of Akavir in what became known as the Second Akaviri Invasion. The invasion force completely bypassed the Telvanni Peninsula and Vvardenfell, both which had considerable holdings of House Telvanni, leaving the House unaffected by the conflict.  After the conflict, the Redoran, Indoril, Dres, and Hlaalu signed an alliance with the Nords of Eastern Skyrim and the Argonians of northern Black Marsh, creating the Ebonheart Pact. Much to the chagrin of the other houses, the Telvanni refused to join to alliance.  Around the same time, they were also pushing the Ahemmusa Tribe of Ashlanders out of their former grounds in the isle of Vvardenfell during a period of expansion. 

thumb|left|A Second Era Telvanni
Ten years later in  , the Telvanni (now the main bastion of slavery in Tamriel) looked to provinces outside the Ebonheart Pact for slave labor. They employed slavers who sailed as far as High Rock and Hammerfell to acquire goods. Members of the House occasionally requested that their slavers acquire individuals of specific race, age, gender, build or personal background for a variety of reasons. A house member could be looking for healthy young men to perform physical labor, older men to serve as chaperones, or someone with specific knowledge to perform a specialized task, such as pigkeeping.  On Vvardenfell, the Cammona Tong was employed to recapture escaped slaves. The Tong was even more feared among slaves than the Telvanni.  At this time, House Telvanni was ruled by Archmagister Nelos Otheri. 
thumb|right|Nelos Otheri, Archmagister of House Telvanni circa  
Slavers employed by House Telvanni often used tactics such as extinguishing lighthouse beacons to bait incoming ships into wrecking, allowing the slavers to capture the disoriented survivors.  One such raid was conducted on Koeglin Village in the Illiac Bay in  .  

During the Three Banners War, Heimlyn Keep was attacked by a contingent of soldiers from the Daggerfall Covenant, who mistakenly believed Heimlyn Keep was a military training ground for mages.  Despite their refusal to join the Pact, House Telvanni still upheld their responsibilities in central Morrowind, which included tending to the relic vault.  A   aided House Telvanni after the raid, eliminating the source of the plague.  The vault was re-sealed and the people of Heimlyn Keep were saved from catastrophe. 

An agent of House Telvanni was sent to steal Covenant warship designs from the shipyard at Tava's Blessing in the Alik'r Desert. The agent was attacked by necromancers that had invaded the port, although she managed to get the designs.  It is unknown if the agent was able to bring the documents back to Morrowind. 

Concurrently, Magister Therana hoped to study the finger bone of Saint Felms. A traveler extracted the relic from Zaintiraris, a Daedric ruin in Redoran territory, on behalf of an Argonian slave named Sun-in-Shadow.  The Magister agreed to endorse Sun-in-Shadow's bid for freedom in exchange for the relic.   

That same year, Mistress Dratha was poisoned by a Telvanni wizard named Savarak who bargained with House Hlaalu to depose the Magister. House Hlaalu coveted Dratha's territory, and Savarak desired Dratha's position as Magister.  They infected Dratha's mushroom tower with infectious spores in an attempt to kill her, but their plot was stopped by Dratha's Mouth with the assistance of a traveler. After her brush with death, Mistress Dratha sought to prolong her life. She had the traveler retrieve the seven Stones of Cold Fire so she could bargain with the Daedra to achieve immortality.    

Near the close of the Second Era, the land-hungry Third Empire turned its attention to the unconquered nation of Morrowind. When war seemed inevitable, House Telvanni remained neutral, rejecting the Redoran approach of holding the invaders at the borders, the Indoril and Dres approach of fighting a guerilla war within Morrowind itself, and the Hlaalu approach of accommodation. When Vivec revealed his intent to willingly join the Empire with the Treaty of the Armistice, House Telvanni was the third Great House to accept the terms, following House Hlaalu and House Redoran. 

Third Era
:''The wizard-lords of House Telvanni have traditionally isolated themselves, pursuing wisdom and mastery in solitude. But certain ambitious wizard-lords, their retainers, and clients have entered wholeheartedly into the competition to control and exploit Vvardenfell's land and resources, building towers and bases all along the eastern coast. According to Telvanni principles, the powerful define the standards of virtue. — Great Houses of Morrowind

During the Third Era, the city of Sadrith Mora was the district seat of the Telvanni on Vvardenfell, even though the Archmagister, Gothren, did not live there, but resided in nearby Tel Aruhn. Sadrith Mora was home to the Council Hall, in which each Telvanni lord was represented by a lieutenant with the title of "Mouth". In general, the actual lords themselves lived in their own towers and did not attend the Council. Even Master Neloth of Tel Naga, who resided nearby in Sadrith Mora, did not attend the Council. Some great Telvanni  opted out of the rat race for power within the Council entirely due to their isolationism. But, among those who actually cared about who the leader was, the ever-procrastinating Archmagister Gothren of Tel Aruhn, few ever voiced their opinions. 
thumb|left|Master Aryon of Tel Vos

In  , the House Telvanni Council formally ignored the repeated protests by Vedam Dren, Duke of Vvardenfell and Grandmaster of House Hlaalu, and other Great House representatives on the subject of the ambitions and enterprise of its individual members and Telvanni exploration and colonization of the wastes and wildernesses of Vvardenfell. The Telvanni Council refused to place restraint on both matters, citing "ancient law and custom." At the same time, the council renewed its objection to proposals placed before Duke Dren and the Grand Council concerning slavery and slave trading in Vvardenfell District. Their arguments cited the right to own and trade slaves being guaranteed by the terms of the Treaty of the Armistice, and would not entertain any discussion of abridgements of those rights. 
thumb|right|Areas of Vvardenfell controlled by House Telvanni in  (brown areas).
By  , all of the Telvanni Councilors on Vvardenfell lived in great towers which required levitation to ascend, with one leader in each of their main towns: Sadrith Mora, Tel Aruhn, Tel Vos, Tel Mora, and Tel Branora. None of the Telvanni towns were on the Silt Strider routes; the only transport available to them was by boat, except for Sadrith Mora itself. Being the only Telvanni town with a significant Imperial presence, it could be reached by Guild Guide from another Mages Guild to the nearby Imperial-controlled Wolverine Hall.  On the mainland, House Telvanni lands included the city of Firewatch, east of Tel Mora, and the islands to the northeast of the mainland which extend out into the Padomaic Ocean.  

Little is known of the fates of the Telvanni lords of mainland Morrowind. However, of those on Vvardenfell, it is known that Archmagister Gothren of Tel Aruhn refused to recognize the Nerevarine as Hortator for House Telvanni - choosing instead a fight to the death, which he lost.   Master Aryon of Tel Vos, by contrast, was the Nerevarine's greatest supporter in House Telvanni: and the others—Neloth of Sadrith Mora, Therana of Tel Branora and Dratha of Tel Mora—all were persuaded to back the Hortator.   Before or after the fall of Dagoth Ur, Arch-Mage Trebonius Artorius of the Mages Guild demanded that the remaining Telvanni councilors be assassinated, as the price for his retirement and replacement by the Nerevarine as head of the Mages Guild. However, the Nerevarine appears not to have complied with the request, for at least one—Neloth—is known to have survived, although shortly afterwards he left Morrowind and moved to Solstheim.    The Morag Tong had an outstanding writ on Therana's life, which the Nerevarine may have been the only one brave enough to attempt to carry out—it being generally accepted that she would be little loss to the house, with her advanced age and senility.  
thumb|left|Tel Uvirith, constructed in the late Third Era in an attempt to expand into the Molag Amur region of Vvardenfell
Throughout  , House Telvanni clashed with Houses Redoran and Hlaalu in the wilderness of Vvardenfell, as all three Great Houses attempted to secure land and resources on the frontier island. Conflicts arose over the occupation of old Velothi Towers, such as Shishi,  and the founding of settlements such as Rethan Manor by House Hlaalu or Indarys Manor by House Redoran, with the Telvanni attempting to kill the owners of both settlements with disputed success.  At the same time, House Telvanni attempted to expand into the Molag Amur region by constructing a stronghold called Tel Uvirith, something that both Houses Redoran and Hlaalu took exception to. Both Houses sent agents to kill the owner or the Tower, with unknown results.  The clashes in Shishi ended inconclusively, with the Redoran reporting the extermination of all Telvanni within, and the Telvanni claiming victory against the Redoran siege. The Telvanni hoped that the other House would not attack the location again, reasoning that Vvardenfell had enough land for all three Great Houses active on the island.  Further souring relations with House Redoran, Nartise Arobar, daughter of Redoran councilor Miner Arobar, was kidnapped and used as a political hostage by the Telvanni wizard, Neloth.  Delyna Mandas, daughter of Redoran noble Arethan Mandas, was held captive in Tel Fyr, causing Arethan Mandas to go mad and begin demanding tribute from passing travelers much as any common bandit.  

Despite the conflicts with Hlaalu and Redoran, House Telvanni still managed to make agreements with the Hlaalu and convince the councillors of House Redoran to end the monopoly of the Mages Guild, as one interpretation of the Armistice only allowed the Guild to offer spells and train non-members. With the support of three Redoran councillors, the Telvanni acquired enough support in the Grand Council to remove the monopoly.  House Telvanni was also able to defend its own lands several times, as they managed to heal the blighted kwama queen of the Mudun-Mul egg mine located near Tel Vos and defended one of their members against a Hlaalu attack in the Velothi tower of Odirniran.   Rebellious conflicts also happened, with one slave rebellion near the Telvanni tower of Tel Branora being stopped, although the slaves might have escaped. 

Aryon himself was scheming at the time to fill the vacancy created by Gothren's death (and was backed by Baladas Demnevanni of Gnisis, whom he had persuaded to join the Council), and planned to introduce many reforms to Telvanni ethics and practices: although he would not stand against the Nerevarine if the latter were interested in the job—however the Nerevarine left Morrowind not long afterwards and Baladas himself might have been killed by the hero.   The subsequent documented existence of a Telvanni ship named The Pride of Tel Vos indicates that Tel Vos, Aryon's tower and town—originally a comparatively small and unimportant settlement—had risen to become a place to be proud of: and therefore that Aryon must have been held in considerable respect by the Telvanni, as Tel Vos was nothing without him. 

During the Oblivion Crisis in  , the Telvanni did their best to close the Oblivion Gates on Vvardenfell, but it was to no avail and the Daedra swarmed the land. The Dunmer would instead by saved by the recently revived army of Great House Redoran.   During the same year, a Telvanni Arch-Mage Frathen Drothan turned rogue and gathered a band of mercenaries called the Drothmeri army in an attempt to topple Imperial rule. He led an expedition to   in the Valus Mountains of Cyrodiil to search for Mehrunes' Razor, but he was slain by the Champion of Cyrodiil before he could retrieve the artifact. 

Fourth Era
thumb|right|Tel Mithryn on Solstheim in 4E 201.
The Telvanni suffered greatly during the Red Year in the early Fourth Era. All of the settlements on Vvardenfell were obliterated, but the Telvanni survived and attempted to rebuild. Morrowind was then invaded by the Argonians of Black Marsh, and in an act of revenge for centuries of slavery, the Argonians focused on wiping out the weakened House Telvanni. Circa  , the last remaining stronghold of the House was sacked by the Argonian invasion force and Great House Telvanni fell. It is documented that some survivors attempted to flee aboard The Pride of Tel Vos, a ship which was later found wrecked along the coast of Skyrim, east of Winterhold. By this account, a single heir of the house survived: Brandyl Tenvanni, son of Lymdrenn Tenvanni, who was found as an infant by Argonians. He grew up in Black Marsh under the name Brand-Shei.  Brelyna Maryon is also a descendant of House Telvanni.  As of the Fourth Era, the holdings of House Telvanni are all on Vvardenfell,  although it is unknown what or where they are. Despite these setbacks, House Telvanni remains a ruling Great House of Morrowind. 

In  , the High King of Skyrim ceded control of Solstheim to Morrowind. Ostensibly a sign of compassion for the suffering Dunmer people, the act served a pragmatic political purpose: Skyrim could not deny Dunmer refugees access to Solstheim without sparking an unwanted conflict with Morrowind, which had long maintained a theoretical claim to the island, nor could it stand by and allow the Dunmer to settle its territory without losing face.   Though the island passed to the control of House Redoran and was ruled from Raven Rock by Councilor Brara Morvay and later her son, Lleril, Neloth had also traveled there to research the ash deposits from Red Mountain, bringing much of Morrowind's exotic flora and fungi to the now partially ash-damaged island. During his time there, he has been studying Heart Stones, fallout originating from the center of Red Mountain, and has learned how to use magic to weave living things from the ash.  

By  , Neloth had finished growing the settlement of Tel Mithryn on Solstheim. Though the people of Solstheim view him as possibly mad, he was still well respected by the other Telvanni wizards. He often took apprentices, though he used them in painful experiments more often than he actually taught them. Neloth planned on returning to Vvardenfell after finishing research on the Ash Spawn, which started to appear on the island after the Red Year. Tel Mithryn remained cordial with the Redoran rulers of Solstheim, with the local Redoran city of Raven Rock and Tel Mithryn content to ignore each other. 

Society
The Telvanni are said to have adapted the Dwemer style of the Four Tests convention as an aesthetic element in their defenses and the approach to their towers. Those tests include the analyzation of patterns, a need to proceed systematically if no pattern is found by ordering actions to be done, requiring the observer to examine obstacles to see if a path around the difficulty is needed, and confronting the obstacle directly if no path is found.  Those Telvanni towers were notable enough to be mentioned among other wonders in a recommendation of travel to Vvardenfell. 
thumb|left|Magister Therana, an example of a powerful Telvanni mage.
At the time of the Ebonheart Pact, thieves and outlaws were said to think House Telvanni was useful as they did not care about it and only cared about their sanctuary on the Telvanni Coast. The formation of the Pact also meant that the troopers they had from other houses were fired. At the time, they were also described as being friend with neither the Argonians nor the Nords, both races being members of the Pact. 

A hope of the Tribunal Temple in the Second Era, or at least one of their canons, was that House Telvanni would be wise, forbearing and that they would share their insights and enchantments, remembering that although they were not part of the Ebonheart Pact, they were still part of the Dunmer people. The sermon where this hope was published was in response to the growing concern over the trembling of Baar Dau, the appearance of unknown daedra in the land, and the rise of a false incarnate of the Nerevarine. 

Telvanni did not shy away from dark powers, and one of their members even reported that he was able to sense the energies of the Icereach Coven and the Gray Host during a visit to Skyrim when those factions became more active there. This Telvanni Mouth also wrote that others had studied such kinds of powers but did not think that anyone had been so close to it as he was. 

Their slaves were often used for experimentation and without any choice on the matter, with one Telvanni "invitation" to their slaves including the practices that they would have to go through, including a test involving corrosive spores to the skin and possible combustion of the lungs. Rewards included reduced lashings and extra portions of food for their meals.  Other poor treatment of slaves included exposing them to the sun for long hours and even preparing chestplates to dry the Argonians and others, but making sure they would not die even if they wished for it. 

House Telvanni was among the staunchest defenders of slavery, which they saw as an ancient Dunmer right.  However, both Khajiit and Argonians, the two most common slave races, could join House Telvanni and advance to the same level of respect as other races. Many Telvanni towns, notably Sadrith Mora and Tel Aruhn, housed slave markets. Telvanni holdings were also worked by slaves, whereas the other Great Houses preferred to use generic workers. Unsurprisingly, Telvanni were strong enemies of abolitionists.  Fear or worry of Telvanni slavery in the Second Era reached as far as Summerset, with their mages being known for buying people. 

Telvanni art can be three-dimensional via the creation of magical paintings.  Another curious item that they often use are the elegant pristine netch-hide handkerchiefs, which are used by the upper echelon of the House. 

Telvanni wizards prize red star shells, which are exceedingly rare. Slaves are trained to comb the shallows for them, and it is considered a marvel to be able to find three of these shells in a month. Red star shells are considerably valuable due to their rarity.  Nix-hounds can be trained to find these shells quite effectively.  
 

Equipment
thumb|right|Examples of Telvanni arms and armor during the Second Era
The look of the weapons and armor of House Telvanni in the Second Era was meant to be distinctive and awe-inspiring. One of their sayings, “The powerful define the standards of virtue”, was used to describe their style active in 2E 582. 

Armor
For belts, their war-girdles were thick and strong, using flexing and overlapping plates to support the front and the rear, protecting abdomen and a small part of the back, being shaped like woody bodies of bracket fungi, displaying radiant patterns of spore gills. For the lower body, they wore kilts of mail inspired by the robes of their Wizard Lords.

Their boots were flexible and thick due to the rugged terrain of their lands, with sabatons being used for heavier armor which used overlapping metal plates to protect the instep and had their forward end pointing upward and this pointing was meant to echo the style of the pauldrons and evoke the idea of their master wizards. Those upward-pointed pauldrons, specially on the heavier armors, helped to show the distinctive silhouette of a Telvanni armor, with their troopers being broad-shouldered.

On the chest, their armor was layered with flexible leather and plates of chitin, ferrofungus or metal with shapes inspired by shelf fungi or toadstool caps, scored by spore gill lines with lacquer overpainting being optional. This was complimented by their gauntlets which displayed the same contrasting nature as the rest of the garments, being made out of guar hide for dexterity while the back of the hand was defended with plates with the same style of shelf fungus.

Helmets were either hoods of mail with rigid faceplates for lighter armor or “mushroom-mask” full helms with toadstool silhouettes for heavier helms which caused their heavy troopers to inspire awe on observers.

The rigid and light shields of the House were heart-shaped and also made out of plates of chitin or ferrofungus, with a brazen central boss displaying the House’s symbol. Edges of the shield were reinforced with steel for extra protection. 

Weapons
House Telvanni archers and thralls used simple recurved bows made out of protective metal in mushroom-cap shapes with quivers decorated to match. Meanwhile, their daggers were long and curved with an end to made them distinctively Telvanni with swirling patterns on their metal between the hilt and the blade resembling a spell and the House symbol. 

Their axes resembled sharp-edged shelf or bracket fungi, being made of forge-hardened ferrofungus if metallic ore was unavailable and were no bigger than they needed to be as Telvanni warriors should use them with precision and finesse to instill awe with use and not appearance. Another option included mushroom-cap maces shaped like the fungal scepters of the Telvanni Councillors, although they were larger with a heavy end strong enough to crack skulls.

Swords were long with curved edges, with the end being backed by a hook or barb useful for dismounting riders or toppling heavy knights, with traditional Telvanni swordplay favoring cut over thrust so the point was not often used. Similarly to their daggers, swirling spell patterns were also included to the hilt and the blade of the swords.

Magical users could count on their staves which had the House symbol wrought in gilded silver and made sure that even when the mages were not using uniforms, they would still be recognized and there would be no need to guess their house.  

Ranks
Archmagister, is the head and leader of House Telvanni. 
Magister, is a title that announces that the wielder of it deserves the title of Archmagister more than the current one. 
Master, A member of the ruling Telvanni Council, traditionally those that reach the rank may never move further to Magister or Archmagister, although this rule was ignored in 3E 427. They and the Archmagister are also responsible for choosing a Hortator.   
Wizard 
Spellwright 
Mouth, is the rank of representative of the Masters and Magisters of the Telvanni Council who handle business outside the towers as the Masters usually prefer to be left alone although the wishes of Master and Mouth are not always the same.  Despite representing the Council, they do not have the authority to select a Hortator. 
Lawman 
Oathman, members of this rank and up are able to buy slaves as of 2E 582.  
Retainer, is a low-ranking position, retainers are said to be able to make gold easier if compared to their lower ranking counterparts. 
Hireling, is the lowest rank of the House, they are constantly circled as any sign of weakness allows the Magisters to eliminate them. Hirelings are able to earn a wage and study in peace and refuse tasks if they so choose. 
To join House Telvanni and become a Hireling, one can either advance from slave to hireling by being sponsored by a high-ranking individual or, if they are free, by speaking with a Mouth to be accepted into the House.   Members of other Great Houses cannot join House Telvanni. 

Gallery
 

Notes
A Telvanni city named Port Telvannis appeared in pre-release and datamined maps of Morrowind as a port city in the Telvanni District of eastern Morrowind, located on the southern coast of the largest of the three islands in the northeast of the province.  
One of the stories of Almalexia mentions a Telvanni who claimed that he was a master of all alchemy and potions and could cure all diseases, but he was rebuked by Lord Vivec himself who claimed that he was sick with foolishness and arrogance. 
The Telvanni have their own vessels for seafaring, during the Second Era, they used to travel to the Nordic city of Windhelm. 
Telvanni wizards cultivate the largest and majestic mushrooms of Morrowind which are located in Zafirbel Bay, these fungi take a thousand years to grow and have special ecology of their own. 
One Telvanni apprentice was rumored to have been able to transform a guar into a pure metallic statue, this theory was created as a way to explain the realism contained in a statue recovered in the Second Era. 
The High Telvanni wizards call themselves the Parliament of Bugs. 

See Also
For game-specific information, see the Morrowind and ESO articles.

Books
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

References