| Master Neloth | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Master Neloth circa 4E 201 |
|||
| Race | Dunmer | Gender | Male |
| Resided in | Sadrith Mora Tel Naga Tel Mithryn |
||
| Appears in | Morrowind Skyrim Castles |
||
- Dangerous knowledge is still knowledge and therefore useful. Usually turns out to be the most useful, in my experience. - Master Neloth[1]
Master Neloth is a Mage Lord and Councilor of House Telvanni.[2] In 3E 427, he was Master of Sadrith Mora, and resided there in the tower of Tel Naga where his Mouth was Arara Uvulas. Neloth is at least seven hundred and seventy five years old.[3] He sported a collection of rare treasures, which at one point included Mehrunes' Razor,[4] although these were often stolen by other Telvanni.[3] He also enjoyed kidnapping the daughters of Redoran Councilors, an interest he shared with another prominent Telvanni, Divayth Fyr.[3] A gifted enchanter, he studied and collected staffs made by Azra Nightwielder and showed a fondness for canis root tea.[5] Along with the other Telvanni councilors, he recognized the Nerevarine as Hortator.[3]
Neloth has difficulty with the concept that other people matter, and judges their health and well-being solely based on his personal comfort and needs. Despite his stubbornness, he is no fool, as he recognizes power and that power in others must be respected.[6]
During his time in Sadrith Mora, several of his fellow Telvanni councilors were thought to have been assassinated at the behest of Arch-Mage Trebonius Artorius of the Mages Guild.[3] Neloth survived and went on to become the most powerful wizard of House Telvanni, maybe even the most powerful wizard in all of Morrowind.[7] He currently has multiple goals, but all of them involve returning to Vvardenfell and becoming Arch-Mage, although to others it appears that he is accumulating power for power's sake.[6]
HistoryEdit
Neloth survived Trebonius Artorius' assassination attempt during the Vvardenfell Crisis.[8] At some point after the Crisis, he has since given up kidnapping women. He claims that it no longer interests him and just isn't worth it as once you've kidnapped someone, you "have to put up with their whining and complaining".[6]
Prior to the eruption of Red Mountain in 4E 5, Neloth moved to Solstheim where he grew his citadel, Tel Mithryn, and the surrounding buildings with cuttings he brought from Morrowind.[9] He was also responsible for transporting several silt striders to Solstheim, though none seemed to have survived.[1] It was around this time that he began studying the ash and molten rocks that landed on the shores of Solstheim from Red Mountain. He named them heart stones and learned that they had the capacity to raise ash spawn from pieces of bone buried in the nearby ash. Neloth deduced that because they lay next to the Heart of Lorkhan for millennia, some vestige of its power must have seeped into them. This led him to believe that they held secrets that had the potential to unlock great power.[1] Using his knowledge of heart stones, he created a staff enchanter, an exceptional feat beyond the skill of many wizards and mages. Powered by a large heart stone, it was capable of enchanting staves from all schools of magic, provided a heart stone was used in the imbuing process.[1][5]
In addition to his arcane research, Neloth also pursued an interest in acquiring Daedric artifacts, particularly those attributed to Hermaeus Mora. He spent many years searching for the Oghma Infinium without success, but did manage to recover a Black Book, one of the many tomes of esoteric knowledge scattered throughout the world. Using this book, he located another in the ruins of Nchardak, a Dwemer ruin on the east coast of Solstheim. After exploring a small part of the ruins, he discovered that the book was sealed within a protective case that he was unable to open. He elected to seal the ruins shut to keep out any meddlers until he could find a way to unlock the case.[1] Decades later, he took on the services of a mycologist named Elynea Mothren, who became responsible for nurturing his tower, and later an apprentice named Ildari Sarothril. Ildari was headstrong with a strong interest in magic, while her desire for power caused her to continually push Neloth to teach her more.[9][10]
Continuing his research into heart stones, Neloth began performing necropsies on spriggans, which led him to believe that a heart stone could be implanted in a person's chest, granting them great power. He considered replacing his own heart with a heart stone, but instead performed the surgery on Ildari. Although Ildari claimed that Neloth betrayed her, he and Elynea maintained that her desire for power led her to volunteer for the experiment.[9][10][11] In 4E 181, Neloth performed the surgery that resulted in Ildari's heart being replaced with a heart stone, but the experiment failed and Ildari seemed to die as a result. Neloth, mildly annoyed by the setback, had her buried in the cemetery behind Tel Mithryn.[9] It was after this that he took on Talvas Fathryon as his new apprentice, as he continued his research.[7] Neloth noted that Talvas should finish his apprenticeship in a "couple of decades".[1]
In 4E 201, he began to study the effects of Miraak's mind control on the residents of Solstheim, and its connection with Hermaeus Mora.[1] With the aid of the Last Dragonborn, he returned to Nchardak and was successful in recovering the Black Book that was held there. The book was instrumental in helping the Last Dragonborn defeat Miraak and break his hold over Solstheim.[5] Around this time, he also discovered that his former apprentice Ildari was still alive and sought revenge for his failed experiment on her. After the death of his steward and the withering of his tower, he was successful in thwarting her plans with the help of the Last Dragonborn.[5] He planned on returning to Vvardenfell in a few decades after finishing his research on heart stones and the ash spawn to become Arch-Mage. The position would supposedly be so high up that members of his household, such as the Last Dragonborn, would be seen as Morrowind nobility.[6][1]
GalleryEdit
-
Neloth, wearing the Robe of the Drake's Pride (Morrowind)
-
Neloth (Castles)
-
Neloth's personal Black Book,
The Hidden Twilight (Skyrim) -
Neloth finding Epistolary Acumen (Skyrim)
-
Tel Naga (Morrowind)
-
Tel Mithryn (Skyrim)
See AlsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
- ^ a b c d e f g h Neloth's dialogue in Skyrim: Dragonborn
- ^ Brown Book of 3E 426
- ^ a b c d e Events of Morrowind
- ^ Realizations of Acrobacy — Master Rhunen Zebavi
- ^ a b c d Events of Skyrim: Dragonborn
- ^ a b c d The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim: Prima Official Game Guide — David Hodgson
- ^ a b Talvas Fathryon's dialogue in Skyrim: Dragonborn
- ^ Kill the Telvanni Councilors
- ^ a b c d Elynea Mothren's dialogue in Skyrim: Dragonborn
- ^ a b Ulves Romoran's dialogue in Skyrim: Dragonborn
- ^ Ildari's Journal, vol. I — Ildari Sarothril