History of Raven Rock , Vol . I Content . Forward Raven Rock is one of the more interesting colonies of Morrowind of the last two centuries . So much has happened to this tiny town in such a short amount of time , and so many lives have been affected by it , I felt it necessary to describe its rich history within these volumes . During my research , I lived in Raven Rock for almost three years , and I got to know many of my fellow Dunmer who call Raven Rock their home . I hope that my readers will appreciate the amount of fortitude and perseverance that it must take to endure life in such an inhospitable and untamed land . Raven Rock was founded in 3E 427 by the East Empire Company in response to the discovery of a rich ebony mine on the southern edge of the island of Solstheim . The construction of the town took several months , and the mine immediately started yielding ebony ore that the miner ' s shipped to Windhelm in Skyrim . By 3E 432 , the town was home to over thirty people , all of whom depended on the mine for their livelihood . At this time , Raven Rock was almost exclusively inhabited by Imperials and a few Nords who were drawn to the mine ' s wealth . When the Oblivion Crisis arose in 3E 433 , Raven Rock remained largely untouched by Mehrunes Dagon ' s forces and work continued as usual . The bulk of the Imperial Guard that was stationed in Raven Rock was recalled to Cyrodiil to fight the invading forces , but a few soldiers remained behind in order to protect the ebony mine from bandits . It ' s uncertain whether any Oblivion Gates ever opened on Solstheim , as there appears to be no record of such an event ever occurring there . In the first year of the Fourth Era , after the destruction of Ald ' ruhn , many of the Dunmer Great Houses sent out small groups of their own to seek places to reestablish themselves . House Redoran ' s group was led by Brara Morvayn who immediately struck out for Solstheim . After some quick negotiations with the East Empire Company ( and some speculate quite a bit of coin changing hands ) , Brara ' s group was allowed to settle in Raven Rock where they quickly became a part of the mining colony ' s way of life . The Dunmer proved to be both hard - working and reliable when it came to working in the mines , impressing the East Empire Company and solidifying their relationship . All was going quite well until that fateful day in 4E 05 when the Red Mountain suddenly erupted , sending a massive blast across the Sea of Ghosts that struck Solstheim with its full fury . Raven Rock was heavily damaged by this wave of force , which toppled several of its stone structures and obliterated many of the wooden ones . Ironically , the mine once again proved to be the town ' s saving grace , as most of the population of Raven Rock was working underground at the time , and was completely shielded from the blast . This event wasn ' t without cost , however . Raven Rock was heavily dependent on nearby Fort Frostmoth for its defense , but the eruption had almost completely wiped it from the face of Solstheim . The few soldiers that survived took residence in Raven Rock itself and attempted to set up a makeshift garrison there , but these scant few were hardly a match for potential threats to their town . With the East Empire Company ' s permission , Brara brought in some of house Redoran ' s elite " Redoran Guard " to fill the void . The guard proved to be an ideal replacement for the fallen Imperial soldiers and have been guarding the town ever since .