Prologue: Falion’s Journal
4E 199
First Seed
Entry One:
I’d be lying if I said everything was fine in Morthal when Seth, that strange boy, arrived in our town. The past few years have been grim; Necromages and vampires have been prowling our region, and with the mist season, their cruelty intensifies, ravaging our lands. At first, I thought the shadows were following me, drawn to my studies of the magical cure for advanced stages of vampirism. But now my suspicions turn elsewhere: to the family of Lami, our local alchemist. The story of Lami’s husband, Jorgen, is a constant topic of conversation in the village. Some say he left his wife and daughter, while others whisper that the mist consumed him for failing to pay his respects. But after much research, I have discovered a startling connection: Jorgen is descended from the heroes who fought the Mythic Dawn during the Oblivion Crisis. That would explain his strange disappearance. Did he flee to protect his family, or was he captured by enemies of his lineage?
Entry Two:
What motivates the Necromages and vampires to attack our village so relentlessly? They are not fanatics of Mehrunes Dagon, but sons of Bal. I’ve come up with a heretical hypothesis: that which is symbolised by Mehrunes Dagon is yet another facet of Malag Bal. It’s the rebellion of the slave, ready to impose his will and wrest the throne from the master. I believe their division is a power play, a dichotomy created by the powerful to maintain their dominance. But why do these attacks continue? An ancient legend states that after the Daedra was defeated, one of its artifacts was destroyed to prevent the corruption of mortals. The heroes who defeated the Mythic Dawn swore to keep the fragments separate. Could it be that one of thse fragments has been hidden here, in Morthal, all this time?
Entry Three:
The possibility that Jorgen is a descendant of these heroes, and that he left his family to protect them from a dark legacy, is beginning to make sense. It would also explain Athan’s interest in Jorgen’s young daughter. It was a devastating blow to all of us to lose Alicent during the Necromages’ attack last year. Though the village sees me as a monster, swayed by the lies of this diabolical child and their own ignorance, I know the truth: Seth is another son of Bal. And if my suspicions are correct, may Akatosh protect us, for this can only mean that the cruel Daedra is one step closer to the reconstruction of his cursed artifact.
