Rising Threat , Vol . I Series . This book is part of the " Rising Threat " series . Content . The following is the account of Lathenil of Sunhold , an Altmer refugee from Summerset Isle who came to Cyrodiil in the early years of the Fourth Era . According to Lathenil , he did not flee the aftermath of the Oblivion Crisis in Summerset - rather he fled " the darkening shadow of the Thalmor upon my beloved homeland . " Lathenil had a very intese presence , to put it politely , and some of his accusations of Thalmor involvement border on madness . This may be why his fervent warnings and outspoken criticisms of the Thalmor and the Aldmeri Dominion went unheeded , but history has at least partially vindicated Lathenil ' s claims . Praxis Erratuim , Imperial Historian I was barely more than a child when the Great Anguish fell upon us . The very air was torn asunder , leaving gaping , infected wounds that spewed daedra from the bowels of Oblivion . Many flocked to the shores , seeking escape from Dagon ' s murderous host - but the seas betrayed our people , raising up to smash our ships and our ports , leaving us to fates so vile and wicked that death would seem a mercy . The Crystal Tower stood as our last bastion of hope , in both the literal and figurative sense . Refugees filled the Crystal Tower until it could hold no more . I could taste the fear hanging in the air ; feel the pall of despair suffocating us . We could see the daedra moving through the trees in the distance , but they did not come . Days passed , and still the daedra would not approach within arrow - shot of the battlements . Hope began to grow . " They fear us , " some would say , " even a daedra knows not to trifle with the wisdom and magicks of the Crystal - Like - Law ! " It was as if the foul denizens of Oblivion had been waiting for this very spirit to stoke our hearts before they acted . As we slept , innumerable legions of daedra amassed around us . . . and they were not alone . Hundreds of Altmer prisoners were gathered with them . As dawn broke , we were awoken by their screams as the daedra began to flail them and flay them . We watched in abject horror as our kinfolk were defiled completely . . . carved up and eaten alive , impaled on their depraved war machines , and worried apart as meals for their profane beasts . This bloodletting was only a prelude to whet their appetites . Once the daedra finished with our kinfolk , they turned their eyes to the Crystal Tower . Our great and noble bastion proved as much of an impediment as a mighty oak to a landslide - standing tall for but a few moments , appearing almost able to ride the tide of destruction around it , but ultimately being swept away . Our exalted wizards decimated the fiends , roasting them by the dozens . Archers were finding the narrowest of chinks in their daedric armor at over a hundred paces , felling their captains and commanders . The might and skillfulness of our heroic defenders was astonishing to behold , but it was not enough . The daedra clambered over the corpses of their cohort . They marched headlong into death and destruction that would make the mightiest armies in all of Tamriel quake with fear . When they breached the walls , I fled along with the other cowards . I take no pride in that act . It has haunted my existence ever since , and I burn with shame to admit it , but it is truth . We fled in mindless panic - abandoning those stalwart Altmer who held the line against the onslaught , to preserve and defend our illustrious Crystal Tower . We raced through cleverly concealed passageways and emerged well away from the chaos that had descended upon the tower . That is when it happened . It started like a gust rustling through the leaves of a dense forest , but the sound did not taper off . It rose into a roar as the very ground on which I stood began to shudder . I turned to look , and the world held its breath . . . I stood transfixed as the heart of my homeland was torn as if from my own breast . The unthinkable , the incomprehensible . . . the tower of Crystal - Like - Law cast to the ground , with all the dignity of a beggar meeting an iron - clad fist . An eternity I watched , trying to reconcile what I knew with what I saw . Sobs racked my chest and weeping filled the air around me as the spell loosened its hold and I realized where I was . There were scores of other refugees mesmerized by the horror that had likewise ensorcelled me . " Go , " I croaked out as my heart - the heart of my land - shattered . No one moved , not even me . I mustered what will I could and bellowed all the fear and hatred and agony at what had just happened , turning the word into a mindless shriek : " GO ! " I ran then , feeling more than seeing that the others had followed .