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Morrowind:The Path of the Incarnate

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Visit the Urshilaku Camp and complete the Third Trial of the prophecy.
Quest Giver: Nibani Maesa at Urshilaku Camp
Location(s): Kogoruhn, Cavern of the Incarnate
Prerequisite Quest: Mehra Milo and the Lost Prophecies
Next Quest: Urshilaku Nerevarine, Ahemmusa Nerevarine, Erabenimsun Nerevarine, Zainab Nerevarine, Hlaalu Hortator, Redoran Hortator, Telvanni Hortator
Reward: Moon-and-Star
Reputation Gain: +5
ID: A2_6_Ane_Teria, A2_6_Conoon, A2_6_Erur-Dan, A2_6_Hort-Ledd, A2_6_Idrenie, A2_6_Incarnate, A2_6_Peakstar
Required Items: Open (20)
Suggested Items: Restore Attribute (Strength, Endurance)
Difficulty: Medium-Hard
 
Kogoruhn

Quick WalkthroughEdit

  1. Return to the Urshilaku Camp and speak with Nibani Maesa about the lost prophecies.
  2. Learn of the Seven Trials (First and Second have already been completed).
  3. Find out about the Third Trial from Sul-Matuul.
  4. Obtain some Corprus Weepings, a House Dagoth cup, and the Shadow Shield from the ruins of Kogoruhn, southeast of the camp.
  5. Return to Matuul with the items to learn the riddle of the Third Trial.
  6. Talk with Ashlanders to decode the riddle and find the location of the Cavern of the Incarnate.
  7. Travel to the cavern to meet with Azura and learn of the Fourth and Fifth Trials remaining.
  8. (Optional) Report back to Nibani Maesa and Sul-Matuul.

Detailed WalkthroughEdit

Return to the Urshilaku CampEdit

After successfully rescuing Mehra Milo and learning the lost prophecies from Gilvas Barelo in the secret Holamayan monastery of the Dissident Priests, you should return to Nibani Maesa in the Urshilaku Camp. Again, there's no wrong way to get to the camp, though if you're in Holamayan still, the quickest way would be to use an Intervention scroll/spell to get out and continue on from there. One way to get to the camp is to just hop back on the boat to Ebonheart, then speak with a neighboring boatman Nevosi Hlan to travel to Hla Oad, Gnaar Mok, and finally Khuul which is the closest to the camp anybody will take you.

Learn of the Seven TrialsEdit

Once you arrive at the camp, go and see Nibani in the Wise Woman's Yurt again and talk to her about the lost prophecies. She says, in a round-about way, to come back in a day once she has thought about all you have told her. You do not actually have to wait a day. Just talk to her again, and she is ready to give you her judgment. It appears that you have at least convinced Nibani that you may become Nerevarine. Your task now, guided by Nibani, is to lift the Seven Curses of Dagoth Ur, walk the path of the Seven Visions, and pass the Seven Trials.

The First Trial is simple; you were born on an unknown day to unknown parents. You have also fulfilled the Second Trial as you are now immune to all diseases. For the Third Trial you must again talk to Sul-Matuul in the camp and, once fulfilled, return to Nibani for guidance in the remaining trials.

Sul-Matuul and the Third TrialEdit

Asking Sul-Matuul about the Third Trial reveals that he wishes you to pass a warrior's test by braving the halls of Kogoruhn, an ancient stronghold of the Sixth House, before telling you the Third Trial. You are to retrieve three tokens from there: Corprus Weepings from a corprus beast, a House Dagoth cup, and the Shadow Shield which lies in the tomb of Dagoth Morin, deep in the lava tunnels beneath Kogoruhn. Once this is done, Sul-Matuul will reveal the Third Trial to you. Once you ask him about Kogoruhn, he will mark it on your map, a ways southeast of the camp.

KogoruhnEdit

Kogoruhn is a large structure which is hard to miss and has five different entrances. There is also the corpse of Feril Salmyn on the structure which has some nice Indoril medium armor among other things which could be useful. The Dome of Pollock's Eve, the Dome of Urso, and the Temple of Fey are all small, one-room shrines, each with its own Dagoth. Fey and Urso contain Dagoths Uvil and Reler who are actually quite tough spellcasters, so be careful before you enter these rooms. Pollock has Dagoth Girer, who is not quite as tough as the other two (but no pushover at low levels).

The cup and the corprus weepings can both be found in the Dome of Pollock's Eve. The cup is on the table (named as a House Dagoth cup) and the weepings can be found under the urn in the center of the room. You can also find weepings on any random corprus monsters which wander around the other halls. Unfortunately, the Shadow Shield is buried much deeper within Kogoruhn.

To reach the shield, you can enter the Hall of the Watchful Touch or the Hall of Phisto sections. Either way, you will need to reach the Bleeding Heart section by passing through the Hall of Phisto, Hall of Maki, Nabith Waterway, Charma's Breath. If you kill Dagoth Ulen (who is actually an ascended sleeper) in the Vault of Aerode, you will get a key to the Nabith Waterway; otherwise you can just pick the lock or use an Open spell. It's quite a walk and there are a number of monsters which you must pass along the way.

There is also a good deal of loot along the way, including some ebony weapons and glass armor. The Shadow Shield is lying on a stone near where you encounter Dagoth Elam. There are also some Daedric Gauntlets and an Orc Warhammer in the same area. Once you get all three items, return to Sul-Matuul in the Urshilaku Camp. One item to avoid if you are playing on a pre-1.10 patch version of the game is Fury (found on one of the dead adventurers in the Hall of Maki), as it will cause permanent damage to your armor skills if equipped. (you can fix this by praying at an Imperial Cult Altar or making a restore attribute spell or potion).

Note that you can also enter Kogoruhn from a cave entrance to Charma's Breath near Vemynal inside the ghostfence. This way, you bypass the vast majority of the dungeon. Just be ready to fight the Ash vampire inside.

Learn the Third TrialEdit

Sul-Matuul congratulates you on acquiring the three items and rewards you with Malipu-Ataman's Belt. He proceeds to tell you of the Third Trial. The Third Vision states In caverns dark Azura's eye sees/and makes to shine the moon and star. You are to travel to the Cavern of the Incarnate and look for the Moon and Star. The secret of the cavern is set in a riddle:

the eye of the needle lies in the teeth of the wind
the mouth of the cave lies in the skin of the pearl
the dream is the door and the star is the key

This riddle is known as Wisdom's Test. You must find the moon and star of the prophecies, and return it to Nibani Maesa.

Third Trial RiddleEdit

To solve the riddle, talk to the Ashlanders in the camp as suggested by Matuul. You may need to speak to several people to obtain enough information. If you are carrying Malipu-Ataman's Belt when you speak to them, they will notice it and open up to you. Otherwise you may have to raise their dispositions in order to get information from them. The eye of the needle refers to a tall rock column in the Valley of the Wind. The skin of the pearl refers to a pale rock on the very top of the column. The teeth of the wind refers to Airan's Teeth, two rock spires marking the entrance to the Valley of the Wind. The spires are named after a seer, Airan, who was blessed by Azura. The valley is on the northeast slope of Red Mountain in the center of the island. The mouth to the valley is just east and south of the Daedric Shrine of Zergonipal, which should now be marked on your world map. The last clue refers to the star which is actually Azura's Star that is visible only at dawn and dusk (6 to 8 am and pm).

The riddle tells that a door to the Cave can be found at the base of the needle and will be open only during the dawn and dusk hours. To reach it, start at Falasmaryon and head towards the Daedric Shrine of Zergonipal and just east of it you should find two parallel valleys leading towards the south. Take the one to the east, marked by two tall rock spires (Airan's Teeth). Walk all the way to the end of the valley, and wait for the correct time for the door to open.

A quicker and easier way to get there would be to start from Tel Vos and just hike over the mountains to the west. If you go directly west, you should wind up midway through the Valley of the Wind. Simply follow it south the rest of the way.

Another quick way is if you have the Propylon Index or the Master Index is to teleport to Rotheran and go due south. Levitation or water walking will help with the first part of this trip.

Cavern of the IncarnateEdit

Once you enter the Cavern of the Incarnate, you will see a huge statue of Azura. Pick up the Moon-and-Star in its hands to start a cut-scene. You have now passed the Third Trial and have indeed become the Nerevarine. Don't forget to talk with the ghosts of failed incarnates to obtain some enchanted items (each one has a different phrase that will trigger them to give you the gifts, but usually the phrase is "my story"). Some aren't particularly useful, but if you don't want to use them you can sell them.

Report back to Nibani Maesa and Sul-MatuulEdit

It is not necessary to report back to the Urshilaku, but it makes the Fourth and Fifth Trials a little easier. Speaking to Nibani Maesa will create empty topics in your journal for all of the later quests that will allow you to bypass a little dialogue with the later givers. If you do not have the other Ashlander camps on your map, speaking to Sul-Matuul of those camps will add them to your map.

Persecution of the NerevarineEdit

Once you have finished the Third Trial, you will be subject to The Persecution of the Nerevarine. Both the Tribunal Temple and House Redoran become your enemies (unless you are already a member of the House) and the other factions don't seem to be pleased either. You will not be able to join the Tribunal Temple and, if you are already a member, you will not be able to finish any quests, or receive new ones. Once you have progressed further in the main quest and/or regained the trust of the Houses and the Temple, this lockout will be lifted.

Sul-Matuul will kindly warn you of this before he names you Nerevarine of the Urshilaku, but when he tells you to "finish your dealings with the Houses and the Temple", it's actually already too late.

The Fourth and Fifth TrialsEdit

Your mission now is to be acknowledged by three Great Houses as Hortator (or war leader) and by the four Ashlander tribes as the Nerevarine. These are the Fourth and Fifth Trials, and they can be done in any order or worked on concurrently. Since you're already at the Urshilaku Camp, the Urshilaku Nerevarine quest is the logical first one to complete. After each is complete, you can return to Nibani for more guidance.

Bypassing the Fourth and Fifth TrialsEdit

If your level is 21 or higher and you have at least 50 Reputation, then you do not have to complete the Fourth and Fifth Trials. Either Nibani Maesa, the Dissident Priests, or the Great House Councilors will tell you that you should see the Archcanon, Tholer Saryoni, in Vivec High Fane right away. This will save a lot of hiking around the various camps and councilors.

You can complete these trials anyway, regardless of whether you go to the Archcanon immediately or delay the trip. Doing so will allow you to obtain some rare loot and additional Reputation points. If you do these trials after going to see the Archcanon and receiving the Plan to Defeat Dagoth Ur from Vivec, a few NPCs may express concern that you haven't yet fulfilled the prophecy – haven't faced Dagoth Ur – but that is the only consequence (and a few may repeat that you need to go to the Archcanon despite you already having done so). There is no deadline, and you can put the Main Quest on hold to pursue other aspects of the game, or work on your stats.

BugsEdit

  • If you talk again with Nibani Maesa, after taking the ring, and select "pass the test" topic, she'll answer you in the same way as during the Meet Sul-Matuul quest. She'll also give you other copies of The Stranger and The Seven Visions, anytime you ask about "pass the test". The same bug happens with "My judgement" topic, where she answers in the same way as during the Mehra Milo and the Lost Prophecies quest.

Quest StagesEdit

The following Quest_ID and Index codes can be used with the Journal Console command to manually update the quest to a certain point.

The Path of the Incarnate (A2_6_Incarnate)
Index Finishes Quest Journal Entry
1 I told Nibani Maesa of the lost prophecies, and what Gilvas Barelo said about them. She has told me to leave her while she consults the ancestors in her dreams. I'm to come back when the moons have come and gone to hear her judgement.
3 The moons have come and gone, and it is time to return to Nibani Maesa and hear her judgement.
5 Nibani Maesa says she has been chosen as my guide on the path of the Nerevarine. She says I must pass the Seven Trials of the Seven Visions. The first two trials, my particular birth and my cured corprus disease, are already passed. For the third trial, I must go to Sul-Matuul, the guardian of the Nerevarine cult, and he will tell me what to do. When I have fulfilled the third trial, I must return to Nibani Maesa for guidance with further trials.
10 Sul-Matuul has given me the following quest. Go to Kogoruhn, the ancient halls of House Dagoth. Get three tokens: 1. corprus weepings from a corprus beast, 2. a cup with the mark of House Dagoth, and 3. the Shadow Shield, which lies on the Tomb of Dagoth Morin, in the lava tunnels deep beneath ruined Kogoruhn. If I bring him these three tokens, he will reveal to me the secret of the Third Trial of the Nerevarine.
15 I have passed Sul-Matuul's Warrior's Test. Now I must find the Cavern of the Incarnate, a secret place sacred to Azura, and look for the moon and star of the prophecies. To find the Cavern of the Incarnate, I must solve a riddle: the eye of the needle lies in the teeth of the wind -- the mouth of the cave lies in the skin of the pearl -- the dream is the door and the star is the key. Sul-Matuul called this riddle 'Wisdom's Test,' and says take counsel of the wisdom of the tribes to find the way.
20 An Ashlander says the 'eye of the needle' in the riddle may be a tall rock column in the Valley of the Wind. The Valley of the Wind is a valley on the northeast slopes of Red Mountain. The entrance to the valley is marked by Airan's Teeth, two tall rock spires.
22 An Ashlander says there is a place called 'Airan's Teeth' in the Valley of the Wind. Two rocks spires mark the entrance to the Valley of the Wind, and they bear the name of the seer, Airan, who is blessed by Azura. These might be the 'teeth of the wind'. The Valley of the Wind is a valley on the northeast slopes of Red Mountain.
24 I was asking about the skin of the pearl when I mentioned the Needle, in the Valley of the Wind. The Ashlander said there was whitish rock at the top of the Needle. That might be the 'skin of the pearl' I'm looking for.
26 Nibani Maesa thinks that 'the star is the key' refers to Azura's Star that appears in the sky only in the magical hour between day and night, at dawn and twilight.
28 Nibani Maesa says that, if the star is the key -- Azura's Star -- then the door may be seen only at dawn and dusk, when Azura's Star is in the sky. Then the star would be the 'key' that opens the door.
29 Nibani Maesa says, if the door is only seen at dawn and dusk, then it may be that the mouth of the cave is hidden or magical, and cannot be seen except when it is 'opened' by the 'key' -- Azura's Star.
50 I saw Azura in the Cavern of the Incarnate. I received the Moon-and-Star, an enchanted ring, and I am the Nerevarine. I have passed the first three trials. Now I must show Moon-and-Star to the ashkhans of the tribes and the councilors of the houses. Each tribe must call me Nerevarine. Each House must call me Hortator. These are the next two trials. Nibani Maesa shall be my guide. I must return to her and seek her counsel.
52 The spirit of Peakstar warned that now that I bear the Moon-and-Star, and will be recognized as the Nerevarine, I must be ready for hatred and fear from the Temple, from Ordinators, and from Tribunal Faithful of the Great Houses.
54 Peakstar says I must be chosen as 'Nerevarine' by the Ashlanders and 'Hortator' by the Great Houses. These are titles of war leaders chosen to unite the Dunmer in times of need. I must prove a war leader is needed, and be chosen as that war leader. I must tell how the Tribunal used profane tools of the Dwarves, and betrayed and misled the people. I must tell about the threat of Dagoth Ur and the Sixth House, and how the Tribunal can no longer contain them.
60 Nibani Maesa reminded me of the Fourth Trial of the Seven Visions: 'A stranger's voice unites the Houses./Three Halls call him Hortator.' When I have been named 'Hortator' by each of the three Great Houses of Vvardenfell, I will have passed the Fourth Trial, and should return to Nibani Maesa for further guidance.
62 When a greater enemy threatens, the Great Houses put aside their quarrels and choose a Hortator, a single war leader to lead all the Houses. Only a Great House council can name a Hortator, and all councils must agree. Nibani Maesa says I must go to Redoran Council, Hlaalu Council, and Telvanni Council, prove to each that the threat of Dagoth Ur warrants uniting under a Hortator, and persuade each to name me 'Hortator'. This is how I must pass the Fourth Trial.
64 Nibani Maesa reminded me of the Fifth Trial of the Seven Visions: 'A stranger's hand unites the Velothi/Four Tribes call him Nerevarine.' The Four Tribes are the four tribes of Vvardenfell, the Urshilaku, the Ahemmusa, the Zainab, and the Erabenimsun. When I have been named 'Nerevarine' by each of the four Ashlander tribes of Vvardenfell, I will have passed the Fifth Trial, and should return to Nibani Maesa for further guidance.
66 In times of great danger, the Ashlander tribes unite under a single war leader. If I can prove to the Urshilaku, Ahemmusa, Zainab, and Erabenimsun tribes that I am the Nerevarine, and that the tribes must unite against the threat of the Sixth House, then each ashkhan will declare me 'Nerevarine' and war leader of all tribes. This is how I must pass the Fifth Trial. I must go to all the tribal ashkhans, but my friend Sul-Matuul should be the first and easiest to persuade.
70 Finishes quest  The ghost of Peakstar gave me a belt and pants.
72 Finishes quest  The ghost of Hort-Ledd gave me a book and a robe.
74 Finishes quest  The ghost of Erur-Dan gave me a spear and cuirass.
76 Finishes quest  The ghost of Idrenie Nerothan gave me a probe and lockpick.
78 Finishes quest  The ghost of Ane Teria gave me a book and a mace.
80 Finishes quest  The ghost of Conoon Chodala gave me an axe and a pair of boots.
The Path of the Incarnate (A2_6_Peakstar)
100 Finishes quest  The ghost of Peakstar gave me a belt and pants.
The Path of the Incarnate (A2_6_Hort-Ledd)
100 Finishes quest  The ghost of Hort-Ledd gave me a book and a robe.
The Path of the Incarnate (A2_6_Erur-Dan)
100 Finishes quest  The ghost of Erur-Dan gave me a spear and cuirass.
The Path of the Incarnate (A2_6_Idrenie)
100 Finishes quest  The ghost of Idrenie Nerothan gave me a probe and lockpick.
The Path of the Incarnate (A2_6_Ane_Teria)
100 Finishes quest  The ghost of Ane Teria gave me a book and a mace.
The Path of the Incarnate (A2_6_Conoon)
100 Finishes quest  The ghost of Conoon Chodala gave me an axe and a pair of boots.


Prev: Mehra Milo and the Lost Prophecies Up: Main Quest Next: Urshilaku Nerevarine