The Battle of Red Mountain , Part 2 Summary . The battle of the red mountain is an excerpt from a larger edition Content . After hearing Nerevar , we gave our counsel as he requested , proposing , " We should preserve these tools in trust for the welfare of the Chimer people . And who knows , perhaps the Dwemer are not gone forever , but merely transported to some distant realm , from which they may someday return to threaten our security once again . Therefore , we need to keep these tools , to study them and their principles , so that we may be safe in future generations . " And though Nerevar voiced his grave misgivings , he was willing to be ruled by our counsel , under one condition : that we all together should swear a solemn oath upon Azura that the tools would never be used in the profane manner that the Dwemer had intended . We all readily agreed , and swore solemn oaths at Nerevar ' s dictation . So then we went with Nerevar back into Red Mountain and met with Dagoth Ur . Dagoth Ur refused to deliver the tools to us , saying they were dangerous , and we could not touch them . Dagoth Ur seemed to be irrational , insisting that only he could be trusted with the tools , and then we guessed that he had somehow been affected by his handling of the tools , but now I feel sure that he had privately learned the powers of the tools , and had in some confused way decided he must have them for himself . Then Nerevar and our guard resorted to force to secure the tools . Somehow Dagoth Ur and his retainers escaped , but we gained the tools , and delivered them to Sotha Sil for study and safe - keeping . For some years we kept the oaths we swore to Azura with Nerevar , but during that time , in secret , Sotha Sil must have studied the tools and divined their mysteries . And at last he came to us with a vision of a new world of peace , with justice and honor for nobles , and health and prosperity for the commoners , with the Tribunal as immortal patrons and guides . And dedicating ourselves to this vision of a better world , we made a pilgrimage to Red Mountain and transformed ourselves with the power of Kagrenac ' s tools . And no sooner than we had completed our rituals and begun to discover our new - found powers , the Daedra Lord Azura appeared and cursed us for our forsworn oaths . By her powers of prophecy , she assured us that her champion , Nerevar , true to his oath , would return to punish us for our perfidy , and to make sure such profane knowledge might never again be used to mock and defy the will of the gods . But Sotha Sil said to her , " The old gods are cruel and arbitrary , and distant from the hopes and fears of mer . Your age is past . We are the new gods , born of the flesh , and wise and caring of the needs of our people . Spare us your threats and chiding , inconstant spirit . We are bold and fresh , and will not fear you . " And then , in that moment , all Chimer were changed into Dunmer , and our skins turned ashen and our eyes into fire . Of course , we only knew at that time that this had happened to us , but Azura said , " This is not my act , but your act . You have chosen your fate , and the fate of your people , and all the Dunmer shall share your fate , from now to the end of time . You think yourselves gods , but you are blind , and all is darkness . " And Azura left us alone , in darkness , and we were all afraid , but we put on brave faces , and went forth from Red Mountain to build the new world of our dreams . And the new world we shaped was glorious and generous , and the worship of the Dunmer fervent and grateful . The Dunmer were at first afraid of their new faces , but Sotha Sil spoke to them , saying that it was not a curse but a blessing , a sign of their changed natures , and sign of the special favor they might enjoy as New Mer , no longer barbarians trembling before ghosts and spirits , but civilized mer , speaking directly to their immortal friends and patrons , the three faces of the Tribunal . And we were all inspired by Sotha Sil ' s speech and vision , and took heart . And over time , we crafted the customs and institutions of a just and honorable society , and the land of Resdayn knew millennia of peace , equity , and prosperity unknown to other savage races .