Stormhold Crystals are strange magical blue crystals found deep underground in the Shadowfen region of Black Marsh, particularly in the tunnels beneath the city of Stormhold. These minerals are rare, volatile rocks, said to be able to contain corruption or harness the power of "evil" itself.[1][2]:27, 33 There are two types of Stormhold Crystals: Filled Crystals and Hollow Crystals. Filled Crystals have many different enchantments, such as healing, magical buffs or teleportation; some crystals can also be used for offensive purposes, killing opponents instantly.[3][1] Hollow Crystals are used to store evil and corruption.[1][UOL 1][UOL 2] The Storm Crystal is a large Stormhold Crystal which glows with distilled power and has the ability to hold vast amounts of corruption.[4][5][1]
HistoryEdit
OriginsEdit
The origin of the crystals is a mystery. They were created by the priests of a nearly forgotten religion.[4] Given Stormhold's origins as a Barsaebic Ayleid city,[6] the priests could have been Ayleids, a race known for harnessing Meteoric Glass to create magical crystals.[7] Similar crystals include Welkynd Stones, Varla Stones and Star Teeth.
Deslandra's ExperimentsEdit
The ancient Argonians wrote a book of wisdom which discussed secrets relating to Stormhold Crystals and their link to the natural energies of Black Marsh. Despite the dangerous information this book contained and its status as an invaluable cultural artifact, its existence was largely forgotten following the Duskfall due to Argonian society's disinterest in the past and focus on the present. It was subsequently lost in the labyrinthine caverns beneath Stormhold.[2]:33, 42
At some point circa 2E 582, the Bosmer mage Deslandra set up an underground laboratory in western Black Marsh.[2]:21 Here, she conducted experiments designed to corrupt the roots of Black Marsh's most mystical trees in an attempt to sever their connection to inter-planar forces, destroying the links between Nirn and the realms of magic. In doing so, she hoped to cause the magic of Black Marsh to fall, allowing her to achieve her ultimate goal of fully cleansing Nirn of all magic during the Great Nullification.[2]:48, 50 As part of this plot, Deslandra planned to use Stormhold Crystals to siphon off the worst effects of sundering the world from Oblivion.[2]:37
In order to make use of the crystals, Deslandra sent mercenary agents into the caverns beneath Stormhold to search for the ancient Argonian book.[2]:37 At the same time, Cyrodilic Collections hired the Undaunted to recover the book for display in their newly-established museum in Lilmoth.[2]:20 A member of the Outer Watch accepted this job on behalf of the Undaunted and succeeded in obtaining the book before Deslandra's agents could locate it. The book was given to Famia Mercius of Cyrodilic Collections, who decided not to display it publicly due to nature of its contents. Instead, the book was stored away for safekeeping and for use by researchers of Argonian antiquity.[2]:42 Deslandra's plot to corrupt the roots of Black Marsh was ultimately thwarted by the Outer Watch.[2]:52
The Mad WardenEdit
—Helga[1]
Some time after the extinction of the Ayleids, the Empire set up a prison in the old ruins beneath Stormhold.[4] In the late Third Era circa 3E 427,[UOL 3] Warden Quintus Varus learned of the Storm Crystal and used the prisoners as slave labor, forcing them to dig in the tunnels. Varus has great success extracting Stormhold Crystals, and planned to locate the Storm Crystal and use it to store all the evil in the Empire, titling himself the Slayer of Evil. The prisoners who dug in the tunnels, nicknamed "tunnel rats", kept some of the crystals for themselves, for use in smuggling or exploring the dangerous undead-infested tunnels. Varus overlooked this theft as long as tunnel rats were not greedy.[5][4]
Varus attempted to use the minor Crystals to contain corruption, removing evil from one man to place into another, but this backfired horribly. The earth itself began to ooze corruption due to how many were afflicted from his scheme. Over time, prisoners and their overseers began to go mad, fleeing into the tunnels and attacking workers clearing the ruins. Digging in the tunnels caused corruption to infect the workers, which led to madness and lizard-like deformities over time. Varus afflicted far too many, and the prison camp's healer, Helga, was unable to cure all of them. Many of the overseers began to show horrific deformities, and prisoners weren't expected to survive long.[1][4][UOL 4]
Varus, driven insane in his search for the Storm Crystal, continued to open new tunnels and eventually succeeded in tracking it down. A prisoner nicknamed the "master tunnel rat", with the help of Helga and several other prisoners, gathered enough equipment from the ruins to defeat the overseers and confront Varus. The two fought for the Storm Crystal, and the prisoner was victorious. Although the Crystal was unable to hold the evil of the Empire, the prisoner was able to use it to clear the prison camp of corruption, letting the inmates go free.[4]
See AlsoEdit
- For game-specific information, see the Stormhold article.
ReferencesEdit
- ^ a b c d e f Helga's dialogue in Stormhold
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Betrayal of the Second Era Black Marsh Gazetteer
- ^ Filled Crystals in Stormhold
- ^ a b c d e f Main Quest story in Stormhold
- ^ a b Varus' dialogue in Stormhold
- ^ Pocket Guide to the Empire, 3rd Edition: The War with the Trees: Argonia and the Black Marsh — Imperial Geographical Society, 3E 432
- ^ Magic from the Sky — Irlav Jarol
Note: The following references are considered to be unofficial sources. They are included to round off this article and may not be authoritative or conclusive.