Oblivion Crisis The Oblivion Crisis , also known as the Great Anguish to the Altmer or the Time of Gates by Mankar Camoran , was a period of major turmoil and armed conflict , fought between the Tamrielic Empire and the Planes of Oblivion , and encompassing the events of the Assassination of Uriel Septim VII , the Daedric Invasion of Tamriel , the Destruction of Kvatch , the Battles of Bruma , and the Battle of the Imperial City . The Oblivion Crisis is noted as being a significant event in Tamriellic history , as it marks the close of the Third Era and the end of the Septim Dynasty . The Crisis affected nearly all parts of Tamriel ; however , the bulk of the fighting occurred in the province of Cyrodiil . Overview . The conflict was sparked by the assassination of Emperor Uriel Septim VII in 3E 433 at the hands of the Order of the Mythic Dawn , a cult devoted to the worship of Daedric Prince Mehrunes Dagon . Dagon had conspired to conquer all of Nirn and Mundus , aided by Mankar Camoran , the leader of the Mythic Dawn . Dagon agreed to establish Camoran as the immortal ruler of Tamriel . Normally , the realms of Oblivion and Mundus are divided by a magical barrier that is impassable by both Daedra and mortals . The barrier only exists with the presence of a Septim on the Throne of Cyrodiil and while the Dragonfires are burning . With the last Septim Emperor and his only three heirs dead , however , Dagon was granted a means of access to the mortal world via the Oblivion Gates and was able to enter onto Nirn along with the Daedric Forces of Destruction to invade Tamriel . The task of combating the Daedra and the Mythic Dawn fell to Uriel Septim ' s last surviving son , Martin Septim , as well as his companion known only as " The Hero of Kvatch . " Together , Martin and the Hero recovered the Amulet of Kings from Mankar Camoran and the Mythic Dawn . The Amulet was a divine artifact required to rekindle the Dragonfires and restore the barriers between the two worlds . The Oblivion Crisis devastated all the provinces of Tamriel , but the main theater in which it took place was the Imperial province of Cyrodiil . One city was entirely destroyed and several others left in ruin over the course of the Crisis . Eventually , the Hero recovered the Amulet of Kings from Camoran . Martin defeated Mehrunes Dagon in the Battle of the Imperial City and sealed the Gates of Oblivion , thus ending the Crisis and preventing the Daedra from ever starting another invasion . Background . The Oblivion Crisis ' beginnings were mostly the work of Mankar Camoran , who set the stage for the invasion to commence . Camoran , learning that Dagon planned to attack and needed the magical barriers removed , immediately went to work on a plan to kill the emperor and all his heirs , darkening the Dragonfires for the first time in centuries . The Mythic Dawn , fanatical worshipers of Dagon , acted as the Daedra Lord ' s earthly agency , and they prepared for his coming , setting the stage for the conflict . The Assassinations . The Mythic Dawn proceeded to launch an attack against the royal family . The emperor ' s three heirs , Geldall , Enman , and Ebel Septim were slain before any attempt could be made to protect them . Concern immediately rose for the life of Emperor Uriel Septim , and his safety was made top priority . The emperor ' s organization of bodyguards , the Blades , planned to take Uriel into hiding . The Blades arranged for Uriel Septim to be spirited out of the Imperial City before any assassination attempt could be made . Three Blades , led by Captain Renault , took the Emperor away from the palace and down the secret escape route underneath the city ' s prisons . At the start of the escape route however , they were met by an unlikely obstacle : The cell that housed the secret entrance was mistakenly occupied by a prisoner . As they passed through , Uriel stopped to look at the prisoner , and declared that they had a great role to play in the coming events . Uriel asked the prisoner to come with them . The group left the prisons and entered the tunnels beneath the Imperial City . They were unfortunate in that the Mythic Dawn had caught up with them , and they were ambushed repeatedly as they made their escape . During the first ambush , Renault was slain , and Glenroy , another Blade , took point . Glenroy led them further along the passages until at last , in a passage called the Sanctum , the Mythic Dawn were successful in trapping them . While his guards fought desperately , Uriel turned to the prisoner and handed him the Amulet of Kings off his own neck . The emperor told the prisoner to seek out Jauffre , the Grandmaster of the Blades , who knew the location of the fourth and final heir . " Find him , " said the emperor , " and close shut the Jaws of Oblivion ! " At that moment , an assassin appeared from a secret entrance and stabbed Uriel Septim VII , killing him . Before the assassin could kill the prisoner , Baurus , the last surviving Blade of the group , came and killed the assassin . Baurus mourned his emperor , then listened to the prisoner ' s story and sent him off to find Jauffre . Kvatch . The Mythic Dawn , having succeeded in their first mandate of killing the emperor , now went to work on their second : the opening of the Oblivion Gates that would allow Dagon ' s forces to attack . This began at the Cyrodiilic city of Kvatch . The assault on Kvatch was both a way of opening the war and a method of killing the final heir . The Mythic Dawn launched the attack at night , opening three Oblivion Gates in front of Kvatch . Dagon ' s Daedric armies swarmed the city , and yet the three lesser Gates were just the beginning . The Dawn then opened a Great Oblivion Gate , a massive doorway which allowed Dagon ' s Daedric Siege Crawler to emerge . The Siege Crawler laid waste to Kvatch , setting the city on fire and destroying most of its buildings . By the end of the assault , few were left alive . Those that survived either managed to escape the city , or were holed up in the Chapel of Akatosh . When it was over and Kvatch was burned , the Daedra occupied the city . The Siege Crawler retreated into the Great Gate , which was closed along with two of the lesser gates . The Mythic Dawn left one gate open in front of the city ' s gate to prevent any attempt at it being retaken by what was left of the Kvatch guard , led by Captain Savlian Matius . The heir , however , was not dead . Martin Septim had managed to reach the safety of the Chapel but was closed in by the Daedra . He was to be rescued by an unlikely hero . The prisoner , who had reached Jauffre at Weynon Priory near the city of Chorrol , had learned that Martin was a priest in Kvatch and set out to recover him . Upon arriving at Kvatch , the prisoner learned the story of the attack and was told that Martin was trapped alongside others within the city . The prisoner then decided to work with Captain Matius to lift the siege by somehow destroying the Oblivion Gate that still blocked the way into Kvatch . The prisoner proceeded to enter the Gate seeking a way to close it , taking the fight to Oblivion itself . Within the Gate , the prisoner faced a great deal of resistance but was eventually successful in taking the Gate ' s Sigil Stone , which was the object that anchored the Gate to the mortal world . The removal of the Sigil Stone caused the Gate to be destroyed , and the prisoner went on with Matius and his troops to save the citizens in the Chapel and retake Castle Kvatch . With the victory at Kvatch , the Daedra suffered their first defeat , and the prisoner found Martin . After a short discussion , Martin agreed to accompany the prisoner to Weynon Priory and Jauffre . When he learned of this turn of events , Mankar Camoran made the death of Martin the top priority of the Mythic Dawn . He also ordered an assault on Weynon Priory , during which the Amulet of Kings , left in Jauffre ' s care , was stolen . Weynon Priory was saved from total ruin by the arrival of Martin and the prisoner . Upon learning of Martin ' s safety , Jauffre led them both to Cloud Ruler Temple , the fortress , and headquarters of the Blades . At this point , the Mythic Dawn began opening Oblivion Gates all across Tamriel . The Oblivion Crisis had begun . Hunting the Mythic Dawn . While Martin was getting settled at Cloud Ruler Temple , the prisoner , who became known as the Hero of Kvatch , worked with Baurus in the Imperial City to track down the emperor ' s assassins , whom Baurus had identified as the Mythic Dawn . The Hero managed to get hold of three of the four copies of the " Commentaries on the Mysterium Xarxes " , a Mythic Dawn compendium written by Mankar Camoran . The fourth volume was received when Baurus and the Hero proved victorious over Mankar ' s son and lieutenant , Raven Camoran , in a skirmish in the Imperial City sewers . With those four volumes , the Hero was able to divine the location of the Mythic Dawn ' s hidden base and Shrine to Mehrunes Dagon . The Hero infiltrated the Mythic Dawn ' s secret shrine and there witnessed Mankar Camoran leave the mortal world for his own personal realm of Oblivion , Paradise . Camoran took with him the Amulet of Kings , making it impossible to retrieve through ordinary means . He left behind the " Mysterium Xarxes " , the Holy Book of the Mythic Dawn written by Mehrunes Dagon himself . The Hero took the Xarxes , and was forced to fight his way out of the shrine through many a Mythic Dawn member , including Mankar ' s daughter and second in command , Ruma Camoran . With the Xarxes in hand , the Hero returned to Cloud Ruler Temple . Martin began to study the Xarxes for a way to enter Camoran ' s Paradise and recover the Amulet of Kings . At the same time , the Mythic Dawn increased their productivity , opening dozens of Oblivion Gates in Cyrodiil and the other provinces , including Gates outside every major city in Tamriel . Dagon ' s forces began invading in earnest , and the Empire was hard pressed to retaliate . Other Fronts . Though the war ' s main theater was in Cyrodiil , the other provinces came under attack as well , albeit to a somewhat lesser degree . Not much is known about the Oblivion Crisis in the other provinces , though two of them , Morrowind and Skyrim , were mentioned as being hit hard . Reports from Skyrim indicated massive numbers of Daedra overwhelming the Nord s . Morrowind was also endangered , though more due to infighting than the number of Daedra . The political Great House s Hlaalu and Dres destroyed the House Indoril when Indoril objected to the abolishment of Morrowind ' s slave trade . The Nords of Skyrim besieged Morrowind ' s House Redoran . Somewhat ironically , House Telvanni was left to combat the Daedra , but had difficulties closing the Gates . Things were further complicated by the disappearance of two powerful Morrowind figures . Lord Vivec , the last Living God of the Tribunal , mysteriously vanished , and the Nerevarine , the Hero of Morrowind , left on an expedition to Akavir . Ultimately , House Redoran took the largest blow from the Crisis in the Fall of Ald ' ruhn . The Empire also withdrew virtually of its forces from Morrowind in order to defend Cyrodiil , leaving the Dunmer defenseless . This caused a lot of resentment among the Dunmer , with many continuing to hold hatred for the Empire . A different story was in evidence in the province of Black Marsh , however . The Argonian s rallied to combat the Daedra , led by a political faction called the An - Xileel . The Argonians defended their land , managing even to take the battle into Oblivion ; they struck with such ferocity that the Daedra themselves were forced to close many of their own Gates . Black Marsh was held until the end of the war , bringing the An - Xileel to great prominence . At the time of the Crisis , Daedra worship had become prominent in the Summerset Isles . A boycott of Imperial goods was already in progress when the Daedra struck . Summerset Isle was plagued by hordes of Daedra , with the Crystal Tower stood as the Altmer ' s last bastion of hope and thus housed many refugees fleeing the violence . Daedra surrounded the tower and after a few days launched a massacre that led to the slaughter of many elves and the eventual collapse of the Crystal Tower . The Ritual Quests . At Jauffre ' s orders , the Hero tracked down two Mythic Dawn spies that were operating out of Bruma . Intelligence gathered from these spies revealed that the Mythic Dawn were aware of Martin ' s presence at Cloud Ruler Temple and planned to attack Bruma in an effort to kill him . Not long afterward , an Oblivion Gate opened in front of Bruma . The Hero worked with the Bruma guard and Captain Burd to close the Oblivion Gate . Foreseeing that the Mythic Dawn would launch an even greater assault later , Jauffre tasked the Hero with gaining allies from the other cities of Cyrodiil to aid in Bruma ' s defense . Martin , meanwhile , was able to discern a method of following Mankar Camoran into his Paradise . In order to create a portal to Paradise , Martin required four objects of power : The Blood of a Daedra Lord , the Blood of a Divine , a Great Welkynd Stone , and lastly a Great Sigil Stone . The Hero quested for these items , receiving a Daedric artifact from one of Daedric Princes and succeeding where others had failed in cleansing the Shrine of Sancre Tor , a Blades pilgrimage site that had fallen under the thrall of evil . After the Hero got the Great Welkynd Stone from the Ayleid ruins of Miscarcand , Martin revealed that the Great Sigil Stone could only be obtained from a Great Oblivion Gate . Thus , they would have to allow the Mythic Dawn to proceed with their plan to attack Bruma . The Battle of Bruma . The Hero went to all the cities of Cyrodiil , and parlayed troops from closing the Gates that threatened the cities . When at last Bruma was as well defended as it could be , Martin , the Hero , and their Cyrodiilic army marched into battle against the Daedric Forces . The Second Battle of Bruma was fought then and was the largest engagement against the Daedra to that point . The soldiers managed to hold off the Daedric charge long enough for the Hero of Kvatch to enter the Great Gate when it opened . Passing into the Oblivion plane beyond , the Hero fought their way to the Sigil Tower and took the Great Sigil Stone . The Great Gate was closed even as the monstrous Siege Crawler emerged from it . The Siege Crawler was destroyed and the Daedra defeated . The Empire had won a powerful victory and with the final component for the portal ritual in hand , Martin opened a portal to Camoran ' s Paradise , which the Hero entered in pursuit of the Amulet of Kings . The Death of Mankar Camoran . In Paradise , the Hero had to fight their way through the utopian setting of Camoran ' s realm . While there , the Hero was constantly confronted by the voice of Mankar Camoran , who told him , among other things , that Dagon ' s invasion was justified , that Tamriel was in truth another realm of Oblivion , and Dagon sought to liberate it . In the Forbidden Grotto , the Hero received help in the form of Eldamil , a former lieutenant of Mankar Camoran ' s that had had a change of heart and now wanted to redeem his past deeds . Together , the Hero and Eldamil escaped the Forbidden Grotto and confronted Mankar Camoran . The fight against Camoran was difficult , due in part to Ruma and Raven Camoran , who had been resurrected by the power of Paradise . But the Hero was victorious ; Mankar Camoran was killed . At his death , Paradise crumbled , and the Hero was transported back to Cloud Ruler Temple with the Amulet of Kings . With the Mythic Dawn defeated , Martin and the Hero turned their sights to the Imperial City , where the Dragonfires were waiting . The Defeat of Mehrunes Dagon . In the Imperial City , Martin and the Hero appeared before High Chancellor Ocato , who acted as regent in the Emperor ' s absence . No sooner had Ocato accepted Martin ' s claim to the Dragon Throne than a messenger reported the Imperial City was under attack . Oblivion Gates had appeared " inside " the walls . The capital was burning . In the fighting that followed , Martin , the Hero , and Ocato made their way to the Temple of the One , where the Dragonfires were . There they beheld the true form of Mehrunes Dagon , as he emerged from Oblivion to take part in this last , desperate fight . At first , it seemed that all hope was gone ; Dagon ' s appearance meant that the barriers between worlds were completely obliterated . But Martin was struck by an idea and asked the Hero to get him past Dagon . The Hero did so , and in the Temple , Martin bade the Hero farewell and ran to the Dragonfires . At that moment , the Temple dome collapsed , and Dagon stepped inside . But Martin shattered the Amulet of Kings , and in a great burst of flame , the Dragonfires transformed him into a flaming dragon : the Avatar of Akatosh . In the Temple of the One , the Dragon and Daedric Prince struggled , Aedra versus Daedra , until at last the Dragon cast Dagon back into Oblivion . At that moment , every Oblivion Gate was closed , and the magical wards against the invading Daedra were restored . In the Temple , the dragon turned to stone , and the Oblivion Crisis was over . Aftermath . Following the final battle , the Empire was left without an Emperor . Martin had no heir , and so the throne lay empty . But the dire need for an Emperor was gone , the Gates of Oblivion were sealed forever , and the Daedra could never attack Tamriel again . The Hero of Kvatch , for the services rendered during the Crisis , was declared the Champion of Cyrodiil . The Septim Empire , bereft of its god - blessed dynasty , fell on hard times after the Crisis ' end . Political and cultural wounds left by the war would continue to fester long after the Crisis abated . In particular , the secession of Black Marsh and the subsequent fall of Morrowind left the east in doubt . Tamriel would enter a state of disarray not seen since the fall of the Potentate s and the Second Empire . But the majority of the empire would be restored under Titus Mede , using conquest to re - establish control . Tactics . The main tactic of the Daedra and the Mythic Dawn seemed to be the opening of Oblivion Gates and the attacks on the cities of Tamriel . In the wilderness , Oblivion Gates were opened to allow Daedric creatures to menace the countryside . Dagon and the Mythic Dawn focused their attention on the major cities , using the Daedric Siege Engine to lay waste to them . Currently , the only times known where this has been used were Kvatch and Bruma . Beyond that , the evil forces focused all their power on killing Martin and ending the Septim bloodline . Had they succeeded , the Crisis no doubt would have been even more destructive . On the other hand , the Empire , having no knowledge of how exactly to defeat the Daedra , did the best they could to hold off the attacks . Though Oblivion Gates were closed , there seemed to be no permanent way of ending the Crisis . The rulers of cities commanded their guards to remain in the walls in the event of an attack , and by the midpoint of the war , the entire Imperial Legion was fully committed to the provinces . It was not until Martin ' s public appearance that victory seemed possible . Battles and Conflicts . While little is known of battles in the other provinces , in Cyrodiil there were many clashes between the Empire and the Daedra with their Mythic Dawn allies . They are as follows ( major conflicts in bold ) : In addition , there were numerous occasions where Oblivion Gates in the wilderness were entered , as well as the Hero ' s closing of the Gates outside of all Cyrodiil ' s cities .