2920 , vol 03 - First Seed A part of the twelve volume set " 2920 " . It is one of three books in the series that does not teach a skill . This book describes the events that took place in the third month of 1E 2920 . It starts with Emperor Reman III marshaling an army to fight the Duke of Mournhold in Morrowind . He has an Akaviri councilor who is a Tsaesci . Vivec is leading an army against the Emperor of Cyrodiil . Vivec constructs a massive trap for the Imperial Army . The Imperial Army is completely slaughtered by the Dunmer trap and the general retreats to regroup . The Emperor receives word of the army ' s failure . Content . First Seed Book Three of 2920 , The Last Year of the First Era 15 First Seed , 2920 Caer Suvio , Cyrodiil From their vantage point high in the hills , the Emperor Reman III could still see the spires of the Imperial City , but he knew he was far away from hearth and home . Lord Glavius had a luxurious villa , but it was not close to being large enough to house the entire army within its walls . Tents lined the hillsides , and the soldiers were flocking to enjoy his lordship ' s famous hot springs . Little wonder : winter chill still hung in the air . " Prince Juilek , your son , is not feeling well . " When Potentate Versidue - Shaie spoke , the Emperor jumped . How that Akavir could slither across the grass without making a sound was a mystery to him . " Poison ed , I ' d wager , " grumbled Reman . " See to it he gets a healer . I told him to hire a taster like I have , but the boy ' s headstrong . There are spies all around us , I know it . " " I believe you ' re right , your imperial majesty , " said Versidue - Shaie . " These are treacherous times , and we must take precautions to see that Morrowind does not win this war , either on the field or by more insidious means . That is why I would suggest that you not lead the vanguard into battle . I know you would want to , as your illustrious ancestors Reman I , Brazollus Dor , and Reman II did , but I fear it would be foolhardy . I hope you do not mind me speaking frankly like this . " " No , " nodded Reman . " I think you ' re right . Who would lead the vanguard then ? " " I would say Prince Juilek , if he were feeling better , " replied the Akavir . " Failing that , Storig of Farrun , with Queen Naghea of Riverhold at left flank , and Warchief Ulaqth of Lilmoth at right flank . " " A Khajiit at left flank and an Argonian at right , " frowned the Emperor . " I never do trust beastfolk . " The Potentate took no offense . He knew that " beastfolk " referred to the natives of Tamriel , not to the Tsaesci of Akavir like himself . " I quite agree your imperial majesty , but you must agree that they hate the Dunmer . Ulaqth has a particular grudge after all the slave - raids on his lands by the Duke of Mournhold . " The Emperor conceded it was so , and the Potentate retired . It was surprising , thought Reman , but for the first time , the Potentate seemed trustworthy . He was a good man to have on one ' s side . 18 First Seed , 2920 Ald Erfoud , Morrowind " How far is the Imperial Army ? " asked Vivec . " Two days ' march , " replied his lieutenant . " If we march all night tonight , we can get higher ground at the Pryai tomorrow morning . Our intelligence tells us the Emperor will be commanding the rear , Storig of Farrun has the vanguard , Naghea of Riverhold at left flank , and Ulaqth of Lilmoth at right flank . " " Ulaqth , " whispered Vivec , an idea forming . " Is this intelligence reliable ? Who brought it to us ? " " A Breton spy in the Imperial Army , " said the lieutenant and gestured towards a young , sandy - haired man who stepped forward and bowed to Vivec . " What is your name and why is a Breton working for us against the Cyrodiils ? " asked Vivec , smiling . " My name is Cassyr Whitley of Dwynnen , " said the man . " And I am working for you because not everyone can say he spied for a god . And I understood it would be , well , profitable . " Vivec laughed , " It will be , if your information is accurate . " 19 First Seed , 2920 Bodrum , Morrowind The quiet hamlet of Bodrum looked down on the meandering river , the Pryai . It was an idyllic site , lightly wooded where the water took the bend around a steep bluff to the east with a gorgeous wildflower meadow to the west . The strange flora of Morrowind met the strange flora of Cyrodiil on the border and commingled gloriously . " There will be time to sleep when you ' ve finished ! " The soldiers had been hearing that all morning . It was not enough that they had been marching all night , now they were chopping down trees on the bluff and damming the river so its waters spilled over . Most of them had reached the point where they were too tired to complain about being tired . " Let me be certain I understand , my lord , " said Vivec ' s lieutenant . " We take the bluff so we can fire arrows and spells down on them from above . That ' s why we need all the trees cleared out . Damming the river floods the plain below so they ' ll be trudging through mud , which should hamper their movement . " " That ' s exactly half of it , " said Vivec approvingly . He grabbed a nearby soldier who was hauling off the trees . " Wait , I need you to break off the straightest , strongest branches of the trees and whittle them into spears . If you recruit a hundred or so others , it won ' t take you more than a few hours to make all we need . " The soldier wearily did as he was bade . The men and women got to work , fashioning spears from the trees . " If you don ' t mind me asking , " said the lieutenant . " The soldiers don ' t need any more weapons . They ' re too tired to hold the ones they ' ve got . " " These spears aren ' t for holding , " said Vivec and whispered , " If we tired them out today , they ' ll get a good night ' s sleep tonight " before he got to work supervising their work . It was essential that they be sharp , of course , but equally important that they be well balanced and tapered proportionally . The perfect point for stability was a pyramid , not the conical point of some lances and spears . He had the men hurl the spears they had completed to test their strength , sharpness , and balance , forcing them to begin on a new one if they broke . Gradually , out of sheer exhaustion from doing it wrong , the men learned how to create the perfect wooden spears . Once they were through , he showed them how they were to be arranged and where . That night , there was no drunken pre - battle carousing , and no nervous neophytes stayed up worrying about the battle to come . As soon as the sun sank beneath the wooded hills , the camp was at rest , but for the sentries . 20 First Seed , 2920Bodrum , Morrowind Miramor was exhausted . For last six days , he had gambled and whored all night and then marched all day . He was looking forward to the battle , but even more than that , he was looking forward to some rest afterwards . He was in the Emperor ' s command at the rear flank , which was good because it seemed unlikely that he would be killed . On the other hand , it meant traveling over the mud and waste the army ahead left in their wake . As they began the trek through the wildflower field , Miramor and all the soldiers around him sank ankle - deep in cold mud . It was an effort to even keep moving . Far , far up ahead , he could see the vanguard of the army led by Lord Storig emerging from the meadow at the base of a bluff . That was when it all happened . An army of Dunmer appeared above the bluff like rising Daedra , pouring fire and floods of arrows down on the vanguard . Simultaneously , a company of men bearing the flag of the Duke of Mournhold galloped around the shore , disappearing along the shallow river ' s edge where it dipped to a timbered glen to the east . Warchief Ulaqth nearby on the right flank let out a bellow of revenge at the sight and gave chase . Queen Naghea sent her flank towards the embankment to the west to intercept the army on the bluff . The Emperor could think of nothing to do . His troops were too bogged down to move forward quickly and join the battle . He ordered them to face east towards the timber , in case Mournhold ' s company was trying to circle around through the woods . They never came out , but many men , facing west , missed the battle entirely . Miramor kept his eyes on the bluff . A tall Dunmer he supposed must have been Vivec gave a signal , and the battlemages cast their spells at something to the west . From what transpired , Miramor deduced it was a dam . A great torrent of water spilled out , washing Naghea ' s left flank into the remains of the vanguard and the two together down river to the east . The Emperor paused , as if waiting for his vanquished army to return , and then called a retreat . Miramor hid in the rushes until they had passed by and then waded as quietly as he could to the bluff . The Morrowind army was retiring as well back to their camp . He could hear them celebrating above him as he padded along the shore . To the east , he saw the Imperial Army . They had been washed into a net of spears strung across the river , Naghea ' s left flank on Storig ' s vanguard on Ulaqth ' s right flank , bodies of hundreds of soldiers strung together like beads . Miramor took whatever valuables he could carry from the corpses and then ran down the river . He had to go many miles before the water was clear again , unpolluted by blood . 29 First Seed , 2920 Hegathe , Hammerfell " You have a letter from the Imperial City , " said the chief priestess , handing the parchment to Corda . All the young priestesses smiled and made faces of astonishment , but the truth was that Corda ' s sister Rijja wrote very often , at least once a month . Corda took the letter to the garden to read it , her favorite place , an oasis in the monochromatic sand - colored world of the conservatorium The letter itself was nothing unusual : filled with court gossip , the latest fashions which were tending to winedark velvets , and reports of the Emperor ' s ever - growing paranoia . " You are so lucky to be away from all of this , " wrote Rijja . " The Emperor is convinced that his latest battlefield fiasco is all a result of spies in the palace . He has even taken to questioning me . Ruptga keep it so you never have a life as interesting as mine . " Corda listened to the sounds of the desert and prayed to Ruptga the exact opposite wish . The Year is Continued in Rain ' s Hand .