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Lore:Heiruna

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Heiruna the Merciless
ON-npc-Heiruna the Merciless.jpg
Heiruna the Merciless
Race Nord Gender Female
Born 2nd Era
Resided in Skyrim
Appears in ESO
Dragonhome
"Kindness is to those who deserve it. Punishment to all the rest." —Heiruna[1]

Heiruna was a character from a popular Nord children's story. Dolls that resembled the heroine were commonly found in the province of Skyrim in Second Era.[2][3]

The real individual known as Heiruna the Merciless was an accomplished Nord mage and scholar active in Second Era, during the period of Interregnum.[4][5][6] Heiruna the Merciless was a traveler and vigilante who delivered justice to countless criminals without the approval of local authorities through methods that could be seen as unsavory by some.[7][5][4]

She described herself as a powerful, stunningly beautiful enforcer of justice who eradicates evil in the world as she sees fit.[7][5][4]

She exposed the resurfacing Dragon Cult in Dragonhome in Karthald.[4][7][6]

HistoryEdit

 
Heriuna trapped inside a doll
 
Heiruna levitating in the doll form

Little is known of Heiruna's past, but she was an accomplished scholar and mage as well as a traveler. She was known to be a vigilante, delivering justice swiftly and without cooperation with local authorities, which often caused her to get into trouble.[4][5][7]

In 2E 582 she came into contact with a group claiming to be Dragon Cult. They were revivalists unrelated to the cult of old, who believed that they could summon a Dragon and return the Dragon Cult to prominence.[4][8] At first Heiruna considered them dangerous and delusional and tracked them to their hideout in the northwestern corner of Karthald Hold. The organization occupied Dragonhome,[7] an ancient bulwark of the Dragon Cult.[9] She infiltrated the ancient ruin with the intention to massacre the cultists.[7]

She approached the secretive group and threatened to expose them, which began the skirmish. Although she put on a fight, she was ultimately overwhelmed by the cultists, who punished her for her attempt. Rather than outright kill her they decided to humiliate her. One of the mages of the Dragon Cult bound her soul to a doll and condemned her to spend the rest of her life in that state for all eternity.[4][1] One of the cultists, Valdrrold, was ordered to toss the doll that contained Heiruna's soul out of the Dragonhome's perimeters. Her transgression caused the cult to make their operations more carefully planned and more secretive, causing them to lay low.[10]

Eventually, she was found by an adventurer who agreed to help her reclaim her human form and defeat the resurgent cult.[4] In order to free Heiruna from her new form they retrieved the items that were previously stolen from her by the members of the secret organization: a heavy, jewel-encrusted goblet with ornate carvings etched along the stem,[11] the intricate and beautiful, but delicate knife she used to defend herself against the cultists.[12][4] and a broken,[4] mirror made of dark, nearly black glass and silver.[13]

Once they retrieved the stolen items they arrived at the ritual altar site in the Dragonhome. There they placed the three items that once belonged to her. Once the goblet, knife, and mirror were placed at the altar the curse was broken. She regained her human form.[6][4][5] The adventurer defeated several cultists while saving her. After their numbers were reduced she did not see them as a serious threat any longer. Nonetheless, she still resolved to ensure that none of the remaining cultists survive.[5][6]

It is unknown whether she carried out her resolve, but the presence of the cult in the Dragonhome was exposed.[14] Although the curse was initially broken, it seems that it wasn't a lasting remedy. Eventually, she found herself ensnared once more, transformed into a doll once again. In this new form, she had to learn the art of levitation through magic to gain independent movement. She plotted revenge against those responsible for her curse.[1]

NotesEdit

  • Similar dolls cursed by the Dragon Cult were known to transform those who touch them into dolls for a short period of time. They were also attributed to the Reach, however.[15]

See AlsoEdit

BooksEdit

ReferencesEdit

  1. ^ a b c Heiruna the Merciless's houseguest dialogue in ESO
  2. ^ Heiruna Doll item description in ESO
  3. ^ Doll, Heiruna item description in ESO
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Heiruna Doll's dialogue in ESO
  5. ^ a b c d e f Heiruna the Merciless' dialogue in ESO: Greymoor
  6. ^ a b c d Events of Spellbound in ESO
  7. ^ a b c d e f Heiruna's JournalHeiruna
  8. ^ Draugr and the Dragon Cult — Dragon Cult Chronicler, Skormvnir Kyrrund
  9. ^ Dragonhome's loading screen in ESO
  10. ^ About That Doll
  11. ^ Heiruna's Goblet item description in ESO
  12. ^ Heiruna's Knife item description in ESO
  13. ^ Heiruna's Mirror item description in ESO
  14. ^ Hydrik Deep-Delve's Wit and WisdomHydrik Deep-Delve
  15. ^ Cursed Reach Doll memento description in ESO