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At one point in my rise through academia, Hermaeus Mora, the One Who Knows, offered me a unique opportunity. The Daedric Prince of Forbidden Knowledge proposed that I come to his Oblivion realm of Apocrypha and become one of the Ciphers of the Eye.
This was my first real encounter with the One Who Knows and my first glimpse at the untold secrets recorded in Apocrypha. As tempting as the offer was to a dedicated scholar and researcher, I decided to decline. I wanted to learn more about Apocrypha and the ciphers through my own efforts, and that research later assisted me when I did enter into my unique arrangement with Hermaeus Mora.
The Ciphers of the Eye consist of mortals from Nirn, personally selected and invited to Apocrypha by Hermaeus Mora. They become the caretakers and curators for the vast amount of knowledge that constantly rains down upon the realm from the rest of reality. No one knows why Mora decided to entrust mortals with this mountainous task, but soon the Ciphers grew from just a few to a small army of catalogers, researchers, and librarians. They created the settlement of Cipher's Midden and established a headquarters of sorts for their members.
In addition to their self-regulated duties sorting through the ever-changing stacks and volumes that form hills and canyons across Apocrypha's landscape, the ciphers offer hospitality and refuge to mortals who arrive in the realm—whether purposefully or by accident. Cipher's Midden is both a shelter and a place of learning in what can be a hostile and unrelenting land. Each cipher has their own area of expertise, and their own approach to the work they do. Sometimes they seem as disorganized and random as the great stacks that sort, but Apocrypha could not function as it does without them.