Lore:Deadlight

Deadlight is a shattered plane of  , destroyed in the ancient past by Mehrunes Dagon. 

The realm was once the domain of a forgotten Daedric Prince who earned Dagon's wrath. In response, Dagon made war upon the Prince, destroying him and his home. Nothing remained of his realm but a shattered fragment, a place illuminated only by a green, ghostly aurora. The realm possess a ruined keep, which stood beneath a starless sky. The plane itself is devoid of life and energy, which is unusual for a realm of Oblivion.  The surrounding landscape consists of jagged stone peaks, dotted with lightning rods and flora typical of the Deadlands such as bloodgrass. 

The only known entrance to Deadlight is a crumbling portal dias called the Western Gate, located in a region of the Deadlands known as  .  
 
History
At some point, a member of the   named   acquired a key that could open the forgotten Daedric portal daises scattered across the Deadlands. He explored the many locations and realms linked to this forgotten portal network, until one day he disappeared into a portal and never returned. Presumed dead by his fellow Gleaners in  , Hrofald had actually stumbled upon the entrance to Deadlight. However, the key he had used to enter became discharged, and the realm lacked the essential energies needed to recharge the device. As a result, Hrofald became trapped in the realm for many long years, slowly withering away. It is unknown how he survived in this dead realm, although it has been speculated that the rate of his starvation may have been slowed by the realm's total absence of light and life. 

During the   in the mid- , Mehrunes Dagon gifted the realm to the   to serve as a demonstration of his power.  Hrofald managed to escape when a   opened a portal to present the realm to a member of the Waking Flame cult, and he eventually made his way back to Fargrave as an old and broken man to tell the tale of the "plane of the dead lights". 

The Waking Flame subsequently built a citadel in Deadlight to serve as their stronghold.  Many Waking Flame cultists came to the realm during this time, along with their Daedric guardians.  The Citadel of Deadlight was used by the cult as a temple, novitiate, and headquarters.  For a time, the Deadlight Citadel served as the home of   (one of the Waking Flame leaders) and her daughter   (one of the Four Ambitions). Mairead eventually fled the realm, unwilling to be sacrificed to Dagon. 

Circa  , Sister Celdina and the Waking Flame were forced to retreat to Deadlight after they were driven from   by the Vestige. Fearing betrayal from her former ally  , Celdina severed all portals to the realm bar the Western Gate. She placed a powerful ward on the Western Gate portal dais, preventing any Daedra from entering the realm. She planned for Deadlight to serve its final purpose as an impregnable retreat until her moment of victory, namely the creation of an army of   to serve Mehrunes Dagon.  However, the Vestige and Mairead managed to enter the realm and defeated Celdina in combat. Valkynaz Nokvroz and his forces subsequently broke through the ward and entered the realm in force, kidnapping Mairead. Celdina's death displaced the Waking Flame as the favored servants of Dagon, allowing Nokvroz to assume control of the creation of Incarnates.  Nokvroz too was eventually defeated by the Vestige, ending the threat of the Incarnates. 
 

References