Lore:Nycotic Cult

The Nycotic Cult was an organization of daedra worshippers that were active during the middle of the Second Era and had activities to the west of the region of Vvardenfell in Morrowind, with bases both in the Shulk Ore Mine and in and around the ancient Hlormaren Stronghold.  Despite being daedric worshippers, they pledged their allegiance to none of the known princes and instead worshipped a being known only as "Nycot" which is also the origin of the name of the organization and could be a mistranslation of Clavicus Vile, the Prince of Bargains.  

History
The exact point of the founding of the cult is unknown, but by   they were already active in the region around the city of Balmora and were believed to have been created by members who had been able to acquire an ancient scroll or a forbidden text and transformed a Daedric word into Tamrielic, with that word being Nycot, formed by the first letters of Clavicus Vile's name in daedric, although it was not believed that they actually knew they worshipped Clavicus. Despite the confusing start, they were already causing problems from Balmora to the Bitter Coast and it was recommended by Ordinator Alurua of the Order of Doctrine and Ordination that the Order of War should act against them to cause their complete extermination. 

It is unknown how, but the Nycotic Cult was somehow able to acquire the artifact known as Sunna'rah, a staff that was created by the Tribunal God Sotha Sil as a tool for him to experiment with his own powers.  Conoon Chodala, the Ashkhan of the Urshilaku Tribe, later discovered through a benefactor about the staff and wished for it to be acquired, with the Ashlander later offering a proposal to the Red Exiles who were sent by him in order to retrieve the staff from the cult, but not before the cultists first prepared a ritual that was able to allow the object to channel unfathomable power, with the plan calling for the exiles to let the cultists start the ritual but not allow it to be finished. 

By that point, the activities of the cult in Shulk Ore Mine and the disappearing of several miners had been noticed by House Redoran who issued a proclamation that closed the mine and suspended any operations for its reopening, with works being advised to stay away until further notice and visitors being warned to avoid the area or risk fine, imprisonment, or even both.  Their invasion of the mine was described as violent, with them trapping several miners inside not long before they started their ritual and called forth Sunna'rah in hopes of attaining the power of gods, but the ritual was interrupted by the Ashlanders. 

Later, thanks to a divination ritual, the Tribunal Temple confirmed that the divine energies of one of their god-monarchs, Vivec, was being stolen, with one of the images that appeared during the ritual being one of a daedric cultist.  With that information, the Vestige was sent by Archcanon Tarvus to investigate several locations, including the region of activities of the Nycotic Cult in Balmora as the priest believed that the daedric cultist that was seen in the vision might have been part of the cult active in Balmora. 

After the investigations led the Vestige from Balmora to the Shulk Ore Mine due to the cult's presence, the hero attacked the mine in order to save the miners that were trapped inside and to defeat the cult, killing several of their members alongside the leader of the cultists in the mine, Curate Erydno. Ritual items recovered in the mine by the Vestige included a small and ornate rod alongside a Dwemer crystal and the burnt remnants of a ritual scroll.  

Concurrently, the cult was also occupying the Hlormaren stronghold which is located in the Bitter Coast and captured a group of civilians and Redoran soldiers that had been sent to scout the ruin, killing several of them and imprisoning others. The Vestige and the Morag Tong assassin Veya Releth later attacked the cultists and entered the fort to free the soldiers and acquire information that they were looking for. 

The fate of the group is unknown, but by the year   Shulk Ore Mine had already been retaken by the House mer and was turned into a kwama egg mine managed by House Hlaalu while Hlormaren stronghold was occupied by bandits and outlaws but not by the cult. 
 

Notes
Although it was claimed by an Ordinator that they worshipped "Nycot", which was believed to just be a mistranslation, at least one of their members appeared to be aware of their dedication to Clavicus Vile or at least was himself a follower of the Prince of Bargains. 

See Also
For game-specific information, see the ESO article.

References