Lore:Mask of Almalexia

The Mask of Almalexia is the ceremonial War Mask  (also known a killing mask)  of the Tribunal god Almalexia. It features serpentine aesthetics, fitting of the goddess's title of the Face-Snaked Queen. 

It is one of the Masks of the Tribunal, the other two being the Mask of Sotha Sil, and Vivec's Ash Mask.  

History
First Era
The The Thirty-Six Lessons of Vivec, Sermon Thirty-Six describes the events leading up to the Red Moment. The Mourning Hold was attacked by Dwarven Centurions and Dwemeri tonal architects, before being repelled by Almalexia. At this moment, she was described as becoming the "Face-Snaked Queen of the Three in One",  but is unknown if she had her war mask at this time.

In  , after being falsely led to believe that the massacre of her witch coven was at the hands of her former lover, Mehrunes Dagon was summoned by the witch   to destroy Mournhold for revenge, and he complied. 

During the carnage, Almalexia and Sotha Sil arrived to stop the Prince. Enraged, the two donned their killing masks, and the battlefield was soon lit by a barrage of flame which fell indiscriminately. Almalexia plunged Hopesfire into Dagon's flesh and carved him from within. Meanwhile, Sotha Sil, enacting vengeance for Ald Sotha, used "god-bronze whips" to lash the Prince into submission. Wounded, Sil allegedly whispered Dagon's Nymic, and the Prince "exploded throughout all time".  

Third Era
When the Nerevarine came to Mournhold after Dagoth Ur's fall in  , Almalexia sought to trick, entrap, and destroy him as part of this plot. She first turned on Sotha Sil and slew him in his Clockwork City, then unleashed its mechanical inhabitants into her own city in order to frame her old friend. Her ruse lured the Nerevarine to Sotha Sil's legendary home, where she hoped that the reincarnation of her husband would be killed by the inhabitants. When the Nerevarine persevered, Almalexia donned her killing mask, and tried to finish the job herself. But her powers failed her, and she died at the Nerevarine's hand in the Clockwork City. 

Almalexia and Sotha Sil's bodies were retrieved by Vivec, who interred them in the proper Velothi fashion. 

Fourth Era
Despite the rise of the New Temple, worship of the Tribunal continued into the Fourth Era and was driven underground. These cults were considered heretical by wider Dunmeri society and were persecuted by the New Temple.  One cult of Almalexia worshippers constructed a hidden temple in a cave on Solstheim known as Ashfall's Tear, just north of Raven Rock. The Ashfall's Tear cult gathered and preserved many relics of the old Tribunal Temple, such as Mother Morrowind’s mask.

Circa  , the Last Dragonborn was alerted to the cult's existence when they attempted to recover several additional artifacts. It is unknown if the Dragonborn agreed to help the cult or if it was wiped out.  One member of the cult, a Dunmer named Erden Relvel, became corrupted by the dangerous relics in the cult's possession and became a priest of Dagoth Ur. He created ash zombie minions and sent them to attack the temple at Ashfall's Tear, but he was ultimately killed by the Last Dragonborn.  The Masks of the Tribunal, along with the Sharmat's were recovered from this ordeal.

Notes
In The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, Almalexia's War Mask resembles the Daedric masks the Dunmer wear in tribute to various revered figures, such as the Daedric Faces of Inspiration (Boethiah), Terror (Nerevar), and God (Vivec). 
In The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, The material used in Almalexia's War Mask resembles oxidized bronze.

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References