Netruk44/uesp-wiki-content huggingface dataset:
A Short History of Karthwasten

Travelling up the road to Karthwasten, the former capital of the Reach, you can see the layers upon layers of past battles display themselves before you.

Evidence of initial settlement in the area around Karthwasten seems to date back to the late Merethic as a farming settlement built by one of the early Aldmeri families of High Rock, whose name has been lost to the pages of history. During the expansion years of King Vrage, the town was absorbed into the newly established hold of the Reach. Dubbed Karthwasten, after the river Karth that it lays abreast to, the settlement grew as a flood of Nordic colonists intermingled with the original proto-Breton farmers. For centuries, Karthwasten would prove itself time and again as an important fortified town against the original Nedic tribes of Hammerfell, the Rourken Dwemer, and eventually the warrior wave of the Yokudans.

During the War of the Red Diamond, the King of the Reach (who at that time had his seat in the city of Karthwasten) entered a military alliance with the Queen Potema of Solitude. Weakened by the conflict, the county was overrun, sacked and annexed by Dragonstar forces in 3E 136. Despite requests and petitions by the King of the Reach, compensation was not granted as "punishment for the Hold's treason against the Ruby Throne was justified". Over the next few hundred years, the city would be rebuilt, taking on the cultural motifs from the many cultures of the Reach, though predominately Yokudan.

However, as any citizen of the empire knows, the people of the Old Kingdom do not take theft lightly. In the year 396 of the Third Era, the War of the Bend'r-Makh engulfed the Reach in fire. Despite early successes at the battles of Julfnar's Cowardice and Purewater Run, the Nordic vanguard of the combined forces of King Vyrnod of the Reach and King Eyrfin of Haafingar completely routed Breton-Redguard forces at the Second Battle of Dragonstar. As part of the Treaty of Chorrol, the town of Karthwasten would be incorporated into a newly created county of the Nordic Reach, Karthwasten County. It would be governed by a hero of the battle, now Jarla Jona the Ansei-Slayer, who would later move her seat of power to Dragonstar itself in 3E 424.

With the return of the Nords, crime has decreased, quality of life has improved, and trade has flourished, with only minor unrest in the poor quarter, where most of the original Redguard inhabitants have been relocated. It is believed by many, including yours truly, that the best days of the city of Karthwasten are ahead of her.
The Ancestor Moth Cult

Promulgated under the Authority of the Imperial Geographical Society

... For long the Cyro-Nordics had exported ancestor-silks to other regions, simple yet exotic shawls woven from the silks of an indigenous gypsy moth and inscribed with the requisite genealogy of its buyer. Under the Cult, however, ancestor and moth became synonymous: the singing and hymnal spirits of one's forebears are caught in a special silk-gathering ritual, the resource of which is used to create any manner of vestment or costume. The swishing of this material during normal movement reproduces the resplendent ancestral chorus contained therein-it quickly became a sacred custom among the early Nibenese, which has persisted to the present day. Monks of the higher orders of the Cult of the Ancestor-Moth are able to forego the magical ritual needed to enchant this fabric, and, indeed, prefer instead to wear the moths about the neck and face. They are able to attract the ancestor-moths through the application of finely ground bark-dust gathered from the gypsy moth's favorite tree, and through the sub-vocalization of certain mantras. They must chant the mantras constantly to maintain skin contact with the ancestor-moths, a discipline that they endure for the sake of some cosmic balance. When a monk interrupts these mantras, in conversation for example, the moths burst from him in glorious fashion every time he speaks, only to light back upon his skin when he resumes the inaudible chant.
A History of Saturalia

In the High Rock kingdom of Wayrest, few holidays are so beloved as the wintertide festival of Saturalia. Originally a regional festivity, Saturalia's undeniable appeals have broadened its popularity across much of the empire. Traditionally, Saturalia is a time for feasting, drinking, and exchanging gifts - a celebration of warmth in the deep of winter.

Saturalia began its long history as a midwinter festival among the Bjoulsae and sedentary Wayrest Nedics, dedicated to the god Sadhuill. A now-forgotten god of merriment, debauchery, and love, Sadhuill has in modern times been identified with Sanguine and even Dibella. For the ancient Wayrestians, Sadhuill's feast was a time for great indulgence in food, drink, and sex, a tradition that has filtered down to a degree into modern Saturalia traditions.

However, it was not until the early Third Era that the Saturalia we know came into being. When Tiber Septim brought Wayrest and High Rock into his empire, it was his lieutenant, Saturio, who was made interim governor of Wayrest. Aside from many advances in infrastructure and governance, Governor Saturio was noted for his great piety, and considerable effort in spreading the Imperial faith to the heathen Bretons, who then worshipped an ecclectic assortment of elven, nordic, and pagan-Nedic deities, resembling imprecisely the "modern" gods of the Bretons.

In early Third Era Wayrest, Sadhuill was one of these, highly popular during his midwinter festival. Saturio, noting this popularity, hoped to turn the religious dedication to Sadhuill's faith to the Imperial Cult, and was remarkably successful. So dedicated was he in his pursuit and emulation of Sadhuilli practices - distributing gifts to families across the city and drinking barrels of wine in company - Saturio could not but be welcomed into the Wayrestian tradition. But he had not, as some rivqls suggested, "gone native". As his position in the Wayrestians' estimations rose, his gods Dibella, Mara and Arkay seemed more and more to represent the spirit of wintertide merriment to the Bretons.

Within three years, Sadhuill's name had become to vanish from midwinter celebrations, and a great many Wayrestians began to follow Saturio's new cult, and after his death, the memory of Saturio had begun to replace the heathen festival deity.

For his role in bringing Wayrest into the Imperial fold, Saturio was declared a saint of the Imperial Cult, and Saint Saturio's Day a recognised holy day. But the memory of Sadhuilli traditions survives through Saturio's legacy, and Saint Saturio is today a jovial winter spirit, to whom the generous giving of gifts is attributed - good little children who keep the Nine and obey their parents will be given gifts by old Saint Saturio, or "Saturalisman", while their parents enjoy a hearty drink in his honour.
History of the Second Empire

Promulgated under the Authority of the Imperial Geographical Society

The Second Empire is divided into two stages: the Reman Dynasty and the Akaviri Potentate. After the Akaviri raiders had been defeated, Reman recruited many of them into his service. Later Cyrodiils traditionally kept a House Guard of Akaviri, and the Emperor's chief advisor, the Potentate, was usually of Akaviri descent. Other Akaviri slaves played a significant part in establishing the administrative structures of the Second Empire, as well as in the training of its military. The restructured Imperial legions, which learned an unparalleled measure of coherence, logistics, and discipline from the Akaviri, began to easily overwhelm the other regional armies; soon every region in Tamriel belonged to Cyrodiil except for Morrowind. After the assassination of Reman's last heir by the Dark Elven Morag Tong during the disastrous Four Score War, control of the Empire reverted to the Akaviri Potentate. They have left a visible mark on the Empire of today. The high crafts of daikatanas and dragonscale armor came from Akavir, as did the banners and military dress of Septim's shock troops, the Blades. The Red Dragons that have come to represent the Empire and the Imperial City were originally Akaviri war mounts. Akaviri surnames are rare and prized possessions among the Cyrodilic citizenry of today, and there are trace facial features of the Akaviri in many distinguished Cyrodilic families. Some colonies of "true Akaviri" still exist in both the Empire and its border regions, but they are named so only for their practices and customs than for the purity of their blood.
Online:Exile of Mauloch

Exile of Mauloch is a disembodied voice that mocks you throughout the ruins of Abamath during the quest, Arithiel.

As you place the first Welkynd Stone, he will say: "You dare approach my shrine, whelp? You stand no chance against Cassia Varo."

Placing the second stone will elicit: "So the weakling unsealed the doors. It takes more than that if you seek blood, whelp.".

Trying to enter the Shrine of Mauloch, he'll mock: "Did you think it would be easy to enter my shrine? Your pain amuses me."
 

Related Quests
The Holy Brothers of Marukh

Volume IV 
Or, The Cleansing of the Fane

[Editor's Note: This is the only surviving fragment of the chronicle of this First Era sect of the Alessian Order. It seems to have been kept at their great monastic complex at Lake Canulus, which was razed during the War of Righteousness (1E 2321) and its archives destroyed or dispersed.

Note also that Alessian scribes of this time customarily dated events from the Apotheosis of Alessia (1E 266).]

Here is recorded the events of the Year 127 of the Blessed Alessia.

In this year was the day darkened over all lands, and the sun was all as it were Masser but three days old, and the stars about him at midday. This was on the fifth of First Seed. All who saw it were dismayed, and said that a great event should come hereafter. So it did, for that same year issued forth a great concourse of devils from the ancient Elvish temple Malada, such had not been seen since the days of King Belharza. These devils greatly afflicted the land such that no man could plow, or reap, or seed, and the people appealed to the brothers of Marukh for succour. And then Abbot Cosmas gathered all the brothers and led them to Malada, also known as the High Fane in the Elvish tongue, and came against it with holy fire, and the foul demons were destroyed, and many devilish relics and books found therein were burned. And the land had peace for many years.
The Illusion of Death

[Fragment]

... then, because he had toyed with the ape-maiden Dulsa, did Maruhk spend his Century of Penance upon the Stonemeadows, and his sight was seared, and his tongue was swollen, and his pelt was mottled, and his left thumb pointed ever at the stars of the Tower. And ever did the shade of Al-Esh speak to him, serrated words that rasped his concept-organ and brought him to wisdom through affliction.

And he recorded her words in his simian gore with glyphs on the Beseeching Scarp, and the fire in his blood did etch the lithic face with the Seventy-Seven Inflexible Doctrines. And though the labor depleted, yea, even consumed his very substance, he stinted not, for he knew that death is an illusion. For did not Al-Esh persist, speaking knives, though dead? And had not Pelin-Al been witness to her death, although dead himself at the death of Umar-Il? Then did Maruhk know a Right Reaching, that one devoted to Proper-Life and Ehlnofic Annulment shall persist beyond the illusion of death—for indeed, the drive to expunge corruption can conquer even the Arkayn Cycle.
Imperial Proverbs

[A collection of moralizing sayings and aphorisms from across Cyrodiil, illustrating various aspects from the worldview of the common Imperial.]

Do not mistake red for ripe.

By the color of their silk will you know friend from foe.

Give to the Emperor that which belongs to the Emperor by right.

As a lamp lights up a dark room, so does law shine upon the people.

As with red dye, the first coloring is never lost.

Blessed forever are they who are blessed from the first hour.

Beware the saint who knows no patron.

The pilgrim purchases divinity by walking the correct road, which has been prepared for him in advance.

Heed the jungle, crouched in hostility.

A blind man eats until he is sated, for he cannot see the feast before him.

Beware he who builds his house with the words of another.

If three men claim to have seen a tiger in the market, a tiger there will be.

The wound of the knife will heal, but not that of the tongue.

Better a cunning foe than a foolish friend.

A broken blade, when kept in its sheath, can still keep enemies at bay.

Measure all you posses, even that which you throw away.

The word "rice" has never filled a belly.

There is a hole in every law.

Profit is also what you carry from a burning house.

Poison and wine pass through the same throat.

There is no work for a coutal in a silkhouse.

The runner may be fast, but the jungle is deep.

A jug of wine can work more miracles than a temple full of saints.

A drawn sword is the greatest shield.

Wisdom is a coin not easily stolen.

Better to die as a beggar than to live as one.

If you cannot speak, don't show your tongue.

He who excuses himself, accuses himself.

If the wood doesn't burn, throw it back into the jungle.

When one generation eats with much salt, the next will thirst for water.

A man's tongue has the power to cleave the world.
Indoril Book of Passing

All are destined to die but the acceptable ways are few. The Great House of Indoril has always and will always uphold the standards of a good death. They are recorded here.

FIRE. The Indoril of Khalaan (which the foreign Legions called "Ebonheart", now "Old Ebonheart") bathed in holy oils and walked into great fires. The wind carried their ashes to Necrom, which tells us that they died honorably.

SLEEP. Saint Delyn died in his sleep on a pilgrimage. There is no shame in silence and serenity. From his servants' writings we have learned that he died well.

BATTLE. Lord Dorom of Almalexia died by the hand of Mehrunes Dagon. Dagon severed his head, his arms and legs, yet Lord Dorom's face did not yield to a gruesome expression. There is no shame in dying in pain.

HOUSE WAR. The Indoril of western Aanthirin were marked for death and, one by one, they were martyred. This bore testament to the honor they had brought to the House in life. No unworthy mer ever perished by the assassin's blade.

SELF-MURDER. After Lord Nerevar died of his wounds, his shield-companion Alandro Sul carried his body to a room with candles, clothed him with ceremonial robes and cried tearful invocations. He should have pierced his own liver with a blessed blade. This would not have been a traitor's death.

It is a consolation to know that far greater mer than you have died before you. They are looked after. May all who die be looked after.
Industries: the Rivermen

Produced by order of the Conclave of Arts and Artificers 


 Fishermen are an ubiquitous sight along the Niben river banks. Wearing loose clothing and coarse silken knee-high pants, they float along the stream in flat-bottom boats and skiffs, casting their nets and laying their lines. Fish, beside the equally omnipresent rice, is the dominant component of the Niben diet. Common catches are the Chrysophant, Slaughterfish, and the common Mudcrab. The catching and processing of fish are a major industry, indeed, the only industry in many villages of the river. Along the brackish southern parts of the river, the growing of Kollops is also undertaken in large hatcheries and breeding grounds along the banks. These mollusks are prized as a source of food for the lower classes, and for the reddish-brown Tinmi pearls they produce, favored by the Niben jewelers.

The Chrysophant is considered an expensive fish, rarely eaten by the common folk. Instead, their diet focuses on the humble meat of the Kollop, Mudcrab, and Slaughterfish, for which they know many unusual preparations. Of note is the famous Nibenese fermented fish-sauce, also known as Mokre, said to be an invention of the Keptu tribes. This oily sauce is made by gathering fish guts and leftovers in large clay jars, mixing them with salt, sugar and local spices, and leaving the jars suspended for several months from eaves and tree branches, in sight of the sun. This preparation is said to soften the bitter taste of Slaughterfish meat, while the often tasteless Mudcrab meat becomes in turn more palatable. The Niben Valley is one of the few places where these base kinds of meat are commonly eaten, and even considered a delicacy. Nevertheless, the traveler unaccustomed to this dish is advised to be cautious around the Niben kitchen, and never to look in any unlabeled pots found hanging around the villages, lest he encounters a particularly putrid surprise.

Another reason why   is considered a treasured catch are the particularly lustrous scales of the Rumare breed. Besides their potent alchemical applications, these scales are another prized components for jewelry and clothing ornament among the trader caste, who consider them emblematic of cunning and forceful behavior. These scales are also prized among certain Argonian tribes in the Blackwood and Argon border with whom the Nibenese sometimes trade, where they are used as a highly symbolic from of currency.
Industries: the Soap Refineries

Produced by order of the Conclave of Arts and Artificers


 Alchemists accustomed to the rarity and high price of Sload soap elsewhere in Tamriel are often surprised at this product's abundance in the Niben Valley. In truth, this version of Sload soap is alchemically less valuable than the "true" product, due to its degenerate origins and the Nibenese focus on cosmetics over alchemical usage. Trade with the Sload has been illegal across the Empire since the First Era, and any samples to be found in alchemists' or perfumer's workshops today are more than likely acquired through illegal means. Not so in the Nibenay, where purified, low-grade oil forms the basis of a thriving market in salves and lotions, all guaranteed to keep the skin young, increase agility and virility, and cloud the mind to the best of Niben ability.

One would be forgiven, however, for abstaining from these products after learning the way in which they are produced. The Niben soap industry, being denied the natural source for its soap, now relies on a limited number of Sload grubs, alchemically suspended in an embryonic, non-sentient state, all of which were plundered ages ago during the Thrassian War. In the great soap-tanks of Lake Rumare and the Niben Bay, these grubs are fed on masses of rotting fish and crab dredged from the river, until they grow to gargantuan proportions. When a grub has reached a sufficiently massive size, the so-called soap-cutters come to lop large pieces off the creature, leaving the kernel mass to regrow, and process the cut pieces into the oil so beloved by merchants and priests.

In this way, the Niben refineries have made a profit from the same regenerating grubs for centuries. Soap refineries of this type can be found in Bravil, Delodiil and on the Imperial City's poorer, more industrial islands. Since each refinery only uses its own specimens, a piece of soap can often reliably be traced back to its firm of origin due to the signature features each grub imparts on its product.

These unique features also serve as a means of trade protection. The limited resources and esoteric trade secrets of the soap-cutters make this profitable industry very entrenched and resistant to growth. It is in practice impossible to start a new firm in a legal manner, since obtaining a grub requires one to either deal with the Sload (which is illegal), buy from the refineries (who never sell), or steal from them (whereafter the product would be instantly recognized). The existing refineries live in constant fear of  sabotage: an expertly used bag of salt could very well decimate an entire grub population. Indeed, recent aggressive business practices have all but destroyed the Bravil firms, putting further strain on a limited market. These unpleasant business practices, coupled with the occasional rumor of escaped feral Sload in the Imperial City's underground, have given the refineries an unpleasant reputation as of late.
Julianite Number-Spells

1. 
Within the heart of men there lives the number called one, the irrelevant I.

2. 
Two is the number that lives in their heads, 
called fear that drives men forward, 
and endeavor, the virtue of saints.

3. 
Fear is made of the number three, 
fear of the strong, who usurp, 
fear of the weak, who desire, 
and fear of the self, most unreliable of all.

4. 
Four things endeavor, 
the fire desires, 
the waters thirst for memory, 
the air longs for him who is lost, 
the forest untamed is a great devourer.

5. 
Five times was man betrayed, 
by the spirits unwilling, only themselves, 
by the courts of regret, who cursed the telling of stories, 
by the golden usurpers, name-thieves, 
by the singularites, the breakers of bells, 
and in the hour unsung, which is yet to come.

6. 
The engine of the world feeds on the number is six things, 
the song of the people, 
the silk that they weave, 
their dreams unstringed, 
their children reborn, 
the blood that they spill, 
the names they lose and learn again.

7. 
The nature of things is fixed and unchanging, save for these seven mysteries, 
the slave who becomes queen, 
the covenants of saints, 
the solace of the moth, 
the evil lamp of tigers, 
the moment broken, 
the submission of serpents, 
the road that leads to the sacred places.

8. 
Eight is the number of your inheritance, 
the hours and minutes, 
the circle of endings, 
the grain and the rice, 
the lashing wind, 
the rapture, 
the mercy of justice, 
the coin and its value, 
and the word of knowing, through which we may come to understand.
The Kendhall Book of Riddles

Loadbearer, Warrior 
Spirited, Brave 
Fleet-foot, Ironshod 
Faithful One, Slave

Answer: Horse

I rise above the roofs below 
Finger up-raised to heaven. 
I speak in clear tones 
That aim for others 
To gather where I call.

Answer: Bell Tower

Some live in me, some live on, 
And some shave me to stride upon. 
I rarely leave my native land. 
Until my death I always stand. 
High and low I may be found 
Both above and under ground.

Answer: Tree

Armor bright 
Gleaming white 
A single rank 
Their faces blank 
Now hid by night 
Now bold by light 
Bright red the land 
Where soldiers stand

Answer: Teeth