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Lore:Ardent Hope

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Ardent Hope
Type Settlement
Realm Oblivion
Plane Deadlands
Region The Burn
Appears in ESO
Ardent Hope ca. 2E 582

Ardent Hope is a large fortress that imposes over the Burn; a scorched wasteland in the Deadlands of Oblivion. Some have considered Ardent Hope the strongest out of Mehrunes Dagon's seven-hundred and seventy-seven citadels.[1] Ardent Hope is both the seat of power for Valkynaz Nokvroz, who commands the Ruinblood Clan of Dremora[2] as well as the home of the Ravener, a Dremnaken that consumes knowledge with blood magic and stores it in the Tower of Conviction.[3][4] There is a subsection of the fort called the Path of Cinders, which leads to the volcano; Xarxes Crucible.[5]

HistoryEdit

Ardent Hope was built around a network of portal daises that once connected all throughout the Deadlands. And although they have long since been abandoned, the magic is still very much active.[6] Mehrunes Dagon established the Tower of Conviction in a section of the fortress, his library of vast knowledge and created the Ravener to not only safeguard it but to also gather more information from across Nirn. As a means to ensure his success, he makes oaths to Mehrunes Dagon[3] and should he fail, the Ravener will cease to exist as his Vestige would dissipate.[7]

Over the years, the Ravener had been nothing successful. But that streak's end had almost come to an end when in 2E 582, he failed to consume the Totem Spirit of the Kalmur clan; Atrozu. In his wake, the clan was destroyed save for the aspiring wise woman; Khazasha and two warriors. Atrozu guided them to the Deadlands and Ardent Hope, where Khazasha planned to avenge her clan and slay the Ravener. The warriors died during the journey so she enlisted the help of an adventurer. The three enter the citadel through the storm drain and while Atrozu tracked the Ravener, Khazasha and the adventurer devised a plan to kill it. It is unknown if they destroyed the Orb of Vows that not only prevents the Ravener from hunting its prey ever again but destroys the spirits of her clan, or if they gave Atrozu to the Ravener to not only keep the Kalmurs' spirit alive but also fulfilling the Vow of Consumption.[8]

In that same year, allies against Valkynaz Nokvroz and Mehrunes Dagon assembled outside of Ardent Hope and planned an attack to defeat the Valkynaz and rescue the Anchorite. With the old portal daises outside of the fort, a band of warriors entered Ardent Hope while Kynreeve Rynkyus, his Bladebearer warriors and Arox the Mutilator assaulted the citadel. An adventurer confronted Nokvroz in the caldera of Xarxes Crucible and in a last ditch effort, the Valkynaz transformed themselves into an Incarnate with the Perfected Cataclyst. He was defeated but before the adventurer could destroy the Perfected Cataclyst, Mehrunes Dagon appeared before them. They managed to escape to Fargrave before he could attack them.[5]

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