Nerevar

Nerevar Indoril is a character in the fictional game Morrowind. He was the first Hortator, or leader, of the Chimer.

Legendary Origins

According to official Temple accounts, Nerevar was the Hortator and General of the Chimer. Featuring prominently in the negotiations for the creation of the First Council and the united kingdom of Resdayn, he was a friend of the Dwemer leader, Dumac Dwarf-Orc. However, the Chimer eventually went to war against the Dwemer (ironically, the Dwemer King would have aided Nerevar had he known what his lead Mage-Scientist was undertaking), culminating in the Battle of Red Mountain, where Nerevar fell after the death of Dumac.

In Ashlander texts, however, the death of Nerevar is attributed not to wounds he received during the Battle, but to the treachery of his three advisors, Vivec, Almalexia, and Sotha Sil. After the Battle, Nerevar and Dagoth Ur proceeded into the heart of the Dwemer stronghold, where they discovered the Heart of Lorkhan, as well as Kagrenac's tools. Nerevar commanded Dagoth Ur to guard the tools, as he went back to his advisors for instruction on what to do next.

When he reached his advisors, he conferred with them for some time. They decided to leave the tools alone, vowing to Azura, but secretly conspired to murder Nerevar. When attempting to call Azura, Nerevar was foiled- Almalexia used poisoned candles and Sotha Sil used poisoned robes and Vivec used poisoned invocations. Nerevar was killed, however, Azura came anyway and, for their actions in betraying their vow, turned the skin of the Chimer gray, and turned their eyes firey red. However, the Tribunal (that is, Vivec, Almalexia and Sotha Sil, the three of them together) went on to use the power of the tools and the Heart to become immortal. Afterwards, they set themselves up as the new gods of the Dunmer, claiming superior divinity to the Daedra, whom the Chimer had self-exiled for the worship of. Eventually, their Tribunal Temple took control of all of Morrowind, becoming the monolithic and seemingly infallible entity it was by the end of the Third Era, and leaving only isolated pockets of Ashlanders to maintain the old beliefs.

Nerevarine

For their treachery, Azura proclaimed that, someday, Nerevar would be reincarnated, and would make things right again. The Tribunal had laughed at this, and it took a great while for any thought of this to be taken seriously.

For a long while, the Ashlanders, and the Cult of the Nerevarine, continued to believe in the eventual reincarnation of Nerevar, despite the oppression of the Temple. Several people appeared claiming to be the Nerevarine, but none were able to withstand the tests. Then, during 3E 426, a prisoner born of uncertain parentage but on a definite day, was sent by the ailing Emperor, to Morrowind; arrived in the port city of Seyda Neen. The Septim dynasty had long possessed the Elder Scrolls, and thus had limited prophetic abilities. Uriel Septim VII, of the day, although quite advanced in years, had a sharp mind and knew quite well the value of the wrong man in the right situation. He sent the prisoner there as a form of religious manipulation: to meet the criteria of the Nerevarine, to rise to the occasion seemingly ex nihilo, all the while being a secret inductee of the Blades, the elite spy-network of the Empire. This would ensure he was under constant Imperial supervision and observation, and that he would have no choice but to act in the best interests of the Empire. To the surprise of all involved, save perhaps the Emperor and the Elder Council, the prisoner began to accomplish more and more tasks the Nerevarine was prophesied to complete. When he obtains a ring from the Cavern of the Incarnate, it is revealed that the Prisoner is Nerevar reincarnated, or, at least as close as was mortally possible.

Eventually, guided by the Dunmer spirits, the Nerevarine accomplished almost every prophecy the Nerevarine was intended to do. If the player plays the Tribunal expansion pack, and completes the parent game in a certain fashion, the Nerevarine accomplishes every prophecy.