House Telvanni The Great House Telvanni is one of the Six Great Houses of Morrowind . Background . Traditionally isolationists , while most House Telvanni Wizard - lords pursue wisdom and mastery in solitude , some ambitious Telvanni members were actively involved in the colonization of Vvardenfell in the Third Era . They did so by building towers and bases all along the eastern coast of the island . The Telvanni believe that wisdom confers power , and power confers right . They work with the other Houses on some rare occasions , such as the breaking of the monopoly of the Mages Guild that House Hlaalu had the initiative to stand against . Many Telvanni were known to be necromancer s , some of which drove themselves mad with the practice , and their retainers were often involved in illegal activities that made House Telvanni unpopular amongst other Houses . Given their distrustful and xenophobic nature , this is likely the way they preferred it to be . House Telvanni was the main source of business for the Morrowind slave trade , a fact which likely led to their brutal crippling by Argonian invaders in the Fourth Era . Many , if not most , of the oldest Telvanni wizards living on the furthest eastern coasts of Morrowind were thought to be either Vampire s or Lich es . As a rule , House Telvanni was obscenely wealthy . Some accounts claim that as a whole , in the later years of the Third Era , the House had a net worth rivaling the riches of the Imperial Treasury . Much of this financial leverage was greatly mitigated by the fact that many Telvanni exhausted their resources with ceaseless bickering and in fighting . Entire cities had been known to change hands repeatedly between two or more Telvanni Wizard - lords over petty grievances and minor disputes that had , over the centuries , grown into major blood - wars . Often , the citizens of Telvanni controlled regions did not care much for or even especially notice the internal politics of the Great House , as abstract magical vendettas between lofty , never - seen plutocrats and their legions of paid pawns rarely interrupted the lives of the common Dunmer i serf . A few notable exceptions to this did occur in instances of Telvanni lords massacring each other ' s logistical assets , but the House had various ways of making such occurrences " disappear " when the public outcry became too great . Additionally , a great deal of Telvanni wealth was spent on purely hedonistic extravagance and many luxuries for which most Telvanni had no real use . Unlike other organizations in Tamriel , Telvanni did not bond themselves to each other . They valued their personal independence and privacy above anything else . Belonging to House Telvanni did not mean much for its members . They had just one rule : there are no rules . Telvanni described it with the following words : " " If you steal from another Telvanni , but still live , then clearly you deserve whatever you stole . Murdering your opponents by magic or treachery is the traditional way of settling disputes . If you win , then clearly your argument has more merit . You may be expelled as in any other Great House , but most Telvanni will not care or even know about it . " " Telvanni had only a formal administrative system , and their House served only to discuss common interests and share resources amongst the truly magically gifted . Most Telvanni wizard - lords loathed the Mages Guild , considering it a pedestrian organization filled with no - talent hacks , impotent old blowhards , has - beens , and other assorted conjurers of cheap parlor tricks . Telvanni Architecture . Telvanni architecture is dominated by the wizards ' tower , a fantastic organic form grown and sculpted from stems , caps , and root - like holdfasts of the giant native mushrooms . Telvanni villages are comprised of smaller mushroom pods hollowed out for craftsmen and commoners . Open - air markets often include the giant cages displaying the wares of the slave masters . Telvanni prefer to build their towers without stairs , forcing visitors to bring some sort of levitation with them . This not only granted them more seclusion , but also acted as a sort of test to see if their visitors are worthy . Telvanni Capitals . The House Telvanni have two capitals : Sadrith Mora on Vvardenfell and Port Telvannis , situated on Telvanni Isles in the Padomaic Ocean , north east of Morrowind . Third Era . In the Third Era , House Telvanni had a plan to peacefully occupy all uninhabited parts of Vvardenfell in their own distinctive way . Any major construction projects in Vvardenfell required the consent of the Duke of Ebonheart , which was patently hard to obtain , and all other organizations who were not particularly friendly to the Empire struggled to gain territory in that system . The Telvanni , however , had no fear or respect towards Imperial law , and younger House Telvanni retainers were frequently sent , occasionally with a contingent of slaves , to build their own towers across the remote regions of Vvardenfell , never asking or informing anyone . According to the House ' s plan , as the towers grew to towns , most of Vvardenfell would de facto become theirs . Almost all Telvanni were powerful , wealthy wizards , and could protect themselves against the law , but such expansion was a danger for all other Great Houses . As a result , the other Houses sometimes attacked less - protected Telvanni outposts . Fourth Era . The eruption of Red Mountain in the Fourth Era likely destroyed much of the Telvanni holdings on Vvardenfell and some on the continent . According to Lymdrenn Telvanni , the end came for House Telvanni shortly after the end of the Red Year , when the Argonian s invaded Morrowind to take revenge on the Dunmer , who had enslaved their people for hundreds of years . Being the greatest practitioners of slavery in Morrowind , the Telvanni received a great deal of the Argonians ' fury , some of which is described in the journal of Lymdrenn Telvanni . According to his description , the Argonian forces murdered the Telvanni without mercy . Their genocide was so great that as of 4E 201 , Brand - Shei , the son of Lymdrenn , and Brelyna Maryon are the only known few surviving members of House Telvanni in Skyrim . In , it is revealed that members of House Telvanni have settled on the island of Solstheim , led by Neloth from . This contradicts Lymdrenn Telvanni who said that the house is destroyed . Neloth also states that the Telvanni still have their holdings , which is also a contradiction to what Lymdrenn said about the house being destroyed . It seems likely that Lymdrenn merely assumed the House was finished due to his death in the initial invasion , and that due to their considerable magical and financial power the Telvanni were able to retain some measure of stability and control in their holdings . Interactions . The Nerevarine can join House Telvanni and advance to the rank of Archmagister in the House . The Dragonborn is made a Hireling of House Telvanni by Neloth after completing the quest " Old Friends . "