The Dowry Summary . This book is titled " More than Mortal " in , but is otherwise identical . Content . Ynaleigh was the wealthiest landowner in Gunal , and he had over the years saved a tremendous dowry for the man who would marry his daughter , Genefra . When she reached the age of consent , he locked the gold away for safe - keeping , and announced his intention to have her marry . She was a comely lass , a scholar , a great athlete , but dour and brooding in aspect . This personality defect did not bother her potential suitors any more than her positive traits impressed them . Every man knew the tremendous wealth that would be his as the husband of Genefra and son - in - law of Ynaleigh . That alone was enough for hundreds to come to Gunal to pay court . “ The man who will marry my daughter , ” said Ynaleigh to the assembled . “ Must not be doing so purely out of avarice . He must demonstrate his own wealth to my satisfaction . ” This simple pronouncement removed a vast majority of the suitors , who knew they could not impress the landowner with their meager fortunes . A few dozen did come forward within a few days , clad in fine killarc cloth of spun silver , accompanied by exotic servants , traveling in magnificent carriages . Of all who came who met with Ynaleigh ' s approval , none arrived in a more resplendent fashion that Welyn Naerillic . The young man , who no one had ever heard of , arrived in a shining ebon coach drawn by a team of dragons , his clothing of rarest manufacture , and accompanied by an army of the most fantastical servants any of Gunal had ever seen . Valets with eyes on all sides of their heads , maidservants that seemed cast in gemstones . But such was not enough with Ynaleigh . “ The man who marries my daughter must prove himself a intelligent fellow , for I would not have an ignoramus as a son - in - law and business partner , ” he declared . This eliminated a large part of the wealthy suitors , who , through their lives of luxury , had never needed to think very much if at all . Still some came forward over the next few days , demonstrating their wit and learning , quoting the great sages of the past and offering their philosophies of metaphysics and alchemy . Welyn Naerillic too came and asked Ynaleigh to dine at the villa he had rented outside of Gunal . There the landowner saw scores of scribes working on translations of Aldmer i tracts , and enjoyed the young man ' s somewhat irreverent but intriguing intelligence . Nevertheless , though he was much impressed with Welyn Naerillic , Ynaleigh had another challenge . “ I love my daughter very much , ” said Ynaleigh . “ And I hope that the man who marries her will make her happy as well . Should any of you make her smile , she and the great dowry are yours . ” The suitors lined up for days , singing her songs , proclaiming their devotion , describing her beauty in the most poetic of terms . Genefra merely glared at all with hatred and melancholia . Ynaleigh who stood by her side began to despair at last . His daughter ' s suitors were failing to a man at this task . Finally Welyn Naerillic came to the chamber . “ I will make your daughter smile , ” he said . “ I dare say , I ' ll make her laugh , but only after you ' ve agreed to marry us . If she is not delighted within one hour of our engagement , the wedding can be called off . ” Ynaleigh turned to his daughter . She was not smiling , but her eyes had sparked with some morbid curiosity in this young man . As no other suitor had even registered that for her , he agreed . “ The dowry is naturally not to be paid ' til after you ' ve wed , ” said Ynaleigh . “ Being engaged is not enough . ” “ Might I see the dowry still ? ” asked Welyn . Knowing how fabled the treasure was and understanding that this would likely be the closest the young man would come to possessing it , Ynaleigh agreed . He had grown quite found of Welyn . On his orders , Welyn , Ynaleigh , glum Genefra , and the castellan delved deep into the stronghold of Gunal . The first vault had to be opened by touching a series of runic symbols : should one of the marks be mispressed , a volley of poisoned arrows would have struck the thief . Ynaleigh was particularly proud of the next level of security - - a lock composed of blades with eighteen tumblers required three keys to be turned simultaneously to allow entry . The blades were designed to eviscerate any who merely picked one of the locks . Finally , they reached the storeroom . It was entirely empty . “ By Lorkhan , we ' ve been burgled ! ” cried Ynaleigh . “ But how ? Who could have done this ? ” “ A humble but , if I may say so , rather talented burglar , ” said Welyn . “ A man who has loved your daughter from afar for many years , but did not possess the glamour or the learning to impress . That is , until the gold from her dowry afforded me the opportunity . ” “ You ? ” bellowed Ynaleigh , scarcely able to believe it . Then something even more unbelievable happened . Genefra began to laugh . She had never even dreamed of meeting anyone like this thief . She threw herself into his arms before her father ' s outraged eyes . After a moment , Ynaleigh too began to laugh . Genefra and Welyn were married in a month ' s time . Though he was in fact quite poor and had little scholarship , Ynaleigh was amazed how much his wealth increased with such a son - in - law and business partner . He only made certain never to ask from whence came the excess gold . Publisher ' s Note The tale of a man trying to win the hand of a maiden whose father ( usually a wealthy man or a king ) tests each suitor is quite common . See , for instance , the more recent " The Four Suitors of Benitah " by Jole Yolivess . The behavior of the characters is quite out of character for the Dwemer . No one today knows their marriage customs , or even if they had marriage at all . One rather odd theory of the Disappearance of the Dwarves came from this and a few other tales of " Marobar Sul . " It was proposed that the Dwemer never , in fact , left . They did not depart Nirn , much less the continent of Tamriel , and they are still among us , disguised . These scholars use the story of " Azura and the Box " to suggest that the Dwemer feared Azura , a being they could neither understand nor control , and they adopted the dress and manner of Chimer and Altmer in order to hide from Azura ' s gaze .