Lore:Planemeld

Dark Anchors surrounding the Imperial City

The Planemeld was a monumental Daedric invasion of Tamriel that took place in 2E 582, during the Interregnum. The Daedric Prince Molag Bal used Dark Anchors, huge Daedric interplanar machines of his own design, in an attempt to drag Nirn out of Mundus and into his realm of Coldharbour. Rifts of darkness that lead from Tamriel directly to Coldharbour appeared across the continent. Each death in Tamriel weakened the barriers between Nirn and the realms beyond, and the concurrent Three Banners War only accelerated the Planemeld. The scale of the Planemeld is comparable to that of the Oblivion Crisis. The Planemeld was ultimately stopped by the Vestige with Meridia's assistance.

Background

Varen's Rebellion

In 2E 576, Emperor Leovic of the short-lived Longhouse Dynasty legalized Daedra worship throughout the crumbling Empire of Cyrodiil. After hearing of this, Duke Varen Aquilarios of Chorrol mustered the forces of the Colovian Highlands to depose Leovic. Thus began a bloody year-long revolt, which Duke Varen waged with the necromancer lord Mannimarco's counsel. Varen based his rebellion out of Bruma, where he coordinated his troops as they liberated Cyrodiil's other cities to further weaken Leovic's hold over the Empire. The rebellion claimed victory when Varen's forces stormed the Imperial City, and Varen personally dispatched Leovic at the foot of the Ruby Throne before proclaiming himself emperor.

The Five Companions

After Varen claimed the White-Gold Tower, he wished to legitimize his claim to the Ruby Throne by lighting the Dragonfires, as all true Emperors must. This could only be done by a Dragonborn, one with the blood and soul of the dragons—which Varen was not, just like Leovic before him. Mannimarco, now the chief advisor of Varen's court, convinced the emperor that a modified version of the coronation ritual would not only light the Dragonfires, but convince Akatosh to grant him the Dragon's blood. To do this, they needed the Amulet of Kings, which was lost in the years following the fall of the Reman Dynasty.

Thus, the Five Companions were formed in 2E 577: Varen Aquilarios himself, the sorcerer Mannimarco, the half-giant warrior Lyris Titanborn, the Redguard blademaster Sai Sahan, and Grand Chancellor Abnur Tharn. They set out on a two-year quest to find the Amulet of Kings.

The Soulburst

The Soulburst

A vision of the Soulburst

The Five Companions were able to retrieve the Amulet of Kings, and begin the ritual in 2E 579. The Five gathered at the Temple of the One in the Imperial City, and began the ritual. At that moment, Mannimarco revealed his true intentions: he was an agent of Molag Bal. The ritual would not reignite the Dragonfires, but in fact did the exact opposite. Unbeknownst to the rest of the Five Companions, Mannimarco had corrupted the ritual, having spent weeks inscribing glyphs and incantantions that would weaken the ancient barriers protecting Nirn and tear the veil between worlds , setting the mortal realm adrift in Oblivion in an event known as the Soulburst.

This event allowed Molag Bal to initiate the Planemeld. As the Soulburst occurred, magical aftershocks swept across every corner of Nirn. Mages died or went mad, Red Mountain trembled, earthquakes shook Skyrim, heavy storms devastated the coastlines of Elsweyr and Valenwood, and Nirn came "unmoored from the fabric of the multiverse". In Chorrol, a great chasm split the city in two, and Flame Atronachs emerged from its depths, as daily quakes continued to take place. The constellation of the Serpent grew so large that it seemed to threaten every star sign at once. Through the Soulburst Molag Bal was given the opportunity to disconnect the Souls of Nirn's inhabitants from their living hosts. In the wake of the Soulburst, ghosts, wraiths and other revenants started manifesting with greater frequency and became visible and audible even to average mortals due to the fraying of the veil between Nirn and the Aetherial realms of the afterlife. The weakening of the veil also made it easier for necromancers to raise corpses on an unprecedented scale.

Consumed by the fires of the Soulburst, Varen Aquilarios vanished. He was officially declared dead—a fact which Mannimarco used to implicate Lyris and Sai in the emperor's supposed regicide. Lyris was captured by Mannimarco, while Abnur pledged his allegiance to Mannimarco in a bid to preserve the Empire. Sai Sahan fled with the Amulet of Kings, securing the artifact within the depths of Sancre Tor.

Afterwards, the Tharn family, who were now the new rulers of Cyrodiil through Varen's widow, Empress Regent Clivia Tharn, made a secret pact with Mannimarco. The King of Worms agreed to strengthen the Imperial armies by resurrecting their fallen soldiers.^{[citation needed]} Abnur, Clivia's father, grew a deep hatred for Mannimarco after the Soulburst. He was soon brought to the Castle of the Worm in Coldharbour and imprisoned there.

After the fall of the Longhouse Dynasty but before the Soulburst, Mannimarco approached Ard Caddach of Markarth with a proposition. The Reachfolk were embittered by Varen's rise to power. Durcorach's conquest of Cyrodiil saw the Reachmen's land returned to them, and the rise of the Longhouse Dynasty was a point of pride for the Reach. Mannimarco pledged justice for Caddach's people in exchange for allowing the Worm Cult shelter in Markarth. Eventually, Mannimarco delivered: because of the Soulburst, Varen lost his throne, his lands, and (as far as the Ard was concerned) his life.

Following the Soulburst, Mannimarco spent a good deal of time in Markarth. He and his Worm Cult were granted access to the ruins of Nchuand-Zel by Ard Caddach, who was grateful to Mannimarco for bringing about the downfall of Varen Aquilarios. Caddach gave him a sizeable portion of land in the hills near Markarth for experimentation. Mannimarco performed a ritual to meld this land with Coldharbour, but his attempt failed; the land was sundered from Tamriel, but was not sent to Coldharbour, instead becoming lost in Oblivion. However, Mannimarco was able to use the knowledge he gained from this failure to initiate the Planemeld. This sundered land would become the lost realm of Grayhaven.

A Dark Anchor

The Planemeld

The Dark Anchors Fall

The Planemeld began in 2E 582. Transliminal portals called Dark Anchors were summoned throughout Tamriel, hooking into the ground, slowly ripping parts of Nirn away to float loosely in Oblivion and gradually drawing the realms closer together with each weakening the barrier between worlds further. Through the Anchors Daedra also crossed over into Nirn. These portals were all metaphysically moored to a colossal construction in Coldharbour called the Great Shackle, a device which existed in multiple locations at once and was thus capable of binding disparate realms together, which was meant to cast metaphysical chains that'd grip Nirn across the planar chaos and pull it into Coldharbour, completing the merging of worlds. The Planemeld was centered on the Endless Stair, a fortified impossibility constructed by the Mad Architect. Once an area was sundered from Tamriel, the pieces would reform as a pocket realm of Coldharbour before joining the Planar Vortex, an inter-planar realm where Tamriel and Coldharbour converged. The Vortex could only be accessed from within the Endless Stair and, like the Stair itself, was designed for Molag Bal by the Mad Architect. The largest Dark Anchor opened above the skies of the Imperial City, intent on pulling the White-Gold Tower, a metaphysical focus so important it had the potential to pull all of Tamriel in with it once taken, into Coldharbour. Under the influence of the Dark Anchor, part of the White-Gold Tower formed into a distorted space known as a Shattered Void. Concurrently, eruptions of darkness which allowed whoever passed through to enter directly into Coldharbour started spreading across Nirn. Around each Dark Anchor the Chaotic Creatia of Coldharbour started seeping into Nirn and, responding to the will of Molag Bal, gradually transformed the infested land to mirror Coldharbour itself. Each death further weakened the barrier between worlds and furthered Molag Bal's plan.. Some of the places taken from Nirn by the Planemeld were brought together to form border realms of Coldharbour, as was the case with the Village of the Lost, a border realm formed out of two villages and an Orcish stronghold, which were taken from Tamriel through rifts that formed when inhabitants of those places made deals with one of Molag Bal's Dremora servants. The border realm rose out of a sea of Azure Plasm.

The Shattered Void, the distorted space which formed within the White-Gold Tower due to the influence of the Dark Anchor

Red Diamond Guardians, strange beings that started appearing after the Soulburst

The Anchors fell upon virtually every region in Tamriel. Dolmen construction was interrupted in the Wrothgarian Mountains, as the Orcs of the newly-built Orsinium used the Black Worm Clan's ancient power stones to construct the city. The stones were stolen before the anchors even began to fall, forcing the cultists to start anew. The Tribunal protected Vvardenfell from Dark Anchors, forcing the Worm Cult to find other means of domination such as using an ancient shrine in Ashalmawia to summon Bal's minions.

With Cyrodiil in ruins and the provinces divided by the Alliance War, few were left to oppose the invading Daedra. Meridia had her servant, Sees-All-Colors, assassinate the leader of the Fighters Guild in order to assume the role of guildmaster. Under Daedric command and funded by the wealth of Meridia's worshippers, the guild began refusing all other contracts and focused its efforts on destroying Dark Anchors and opposing Molag Bal's schemes. Meanwhile, the Five Companions were reformed by the arrival of the prophesied Soulless One, who freed the Companions from Bal's clutches and reclaimed the Amulet of Kings, defeating Mannimarco in the process.

At some point after the Soulburst, mysterious slate-skinned figures, known as Red Diamond Guardians, periodically appeared in the Imperial City to fight the Daedra. Each one had the Red Diamond encrusted upon their torso. No one knew where they came from or where they went after each fray.

Tamrielic Invasion of Coldharbour

The Planar Vortex

The Guilds teaming up to fight the Daedra

As the Alliance War dragged on, Molag Bal's power over Tamriel continued to grow. Together with the Fighters Guild, the Mages Guild under Vanus Galerion and the Soulless One finally arranged for a meeting of the three alliance leaders on the island of Stirk to discuss a potential counter-invasion of Coldharbour. Before an agreement could be reached, Molag Bal sent Daedra to the island to kill the alliance leaders. Although the attackers were repelled, the leaders quickly consented to a guild-led invasion, having seen Bal's influence firsthand.

Though initially scattered across Coldharbour by the realm's defenses, the invasion force was gradually reassembled within the Hollow City, a sanctuary of Meridia within Coldharbour which, encased by the power of the Light of Meridia and pushed into Molag Bal's realm long ago by its Prince, served as a piece of Meridia's realm within the domain of the God of Schemes, and so could not be touched. The last Ayleid king, Laloriaran Dynar, who had been brought to Coldharbour alongside the Hollow City and been kept alive for centuries to be tortured by the Daedra, was also rescued from his prison in the Lightless Oubliette through the use of one of the Lights of Meridia, and went on to assume leadership of the force assembled in the Hollow City.

During the invasion circumstances that threatened to accelerate the completion of the Planemeld emerged. Vanus Galerion, who had been teleported outside the Black Forge of Coldharbour alone by the realm's defenses, attempted to disable it to help stop the Planemeld. He was soon captured by the Daedra, who intended to use him as a power source, believing that powerful mortals and especially magic users were the most efficient power source for the Planemeld and that, as the "quintessential mortal mage", the power raging inside Galerion would allow them to complete the forging of the Great Shackle and power it with Galerion's magic, thus allowing them to complete the Planemeld in mere hours instead of months. To prevent this outcome Galerion separated his being into its constituent essences of magicka, health and stamina, which the Daedra could not use to complete the Planemeld individually. Despite this, the overseers of the Black Forge imprisoned the separated essences and used them to power the Black Forge itself, using them to craft Dark Anchors and components of the Great Shackle, to power their Soul Shriven slaves so they'd keep working tirelessly, and to feed their vampiric servants. The Vestige freed him, restored and reunited his essence, and journeyed with him, when he personally destroyed the Great Shackle that was intended to bind Coldharbour and Nirn together by sending metaphysical chains across the planar chaos to latch onto the world. With this task accomplished, Galerion also joined the force assembled in the Hollow City.

The Great Shackle

Molag Bal battles Meridia in the Planar Vortex

Though the Great Shackle had been destroyed, it had generated a Planar Vortex prior to its deactivation. Likened to an "Oblivion straw" that would pull Nirn and "its very essence" into Coldharbour by itself if not dispersed.

The guild forces, the "Army of Meridia", crossed the Chasm of Coldharbour but were met by the vampires of the Orchard which were controlled by one of Molag Bal's Harvest Hearts. Vanus proposed enacting a ritual that would destroy the Heart and target the blood of all vampires connected to it, rendering them mindless and allowing the guilds to pass through. The vampire leader Virgar proposed using a method that would free the vampires from the Heart instead, allowing them to become allied to the guild forces. It is unknown what the Vestige ultimately chose, but the vampires were severed from Molag Bal's control, allowing the guilds to enter the Reaver Citadel, which they captured to gain access to the Endless Stair, to which they were granted access by the restored Foolkillers Clan.

Thus a small group entered the Planar Vortex with Meridia. Their goal was to unleash the Light of Meridia at the focal point of the Vortex thus dispersing it. However, before the Light of Meridia could be unleashed, the group needed to destroy the Dark Ancors that Molag Bal was using to bind the Vortex together as, otherwise, the resulting backlash would "destroy Nirn as surely as the Planemeld would". Meridia, whose power was greater in the in-between realm than it had been in Coldharbour, aided in this task by distracting Molag Bal and defending the group from him. After the destruction of the Anchors, the Light, magically prepared by Vanus Galerion and Gabrielle Benele, destroyed the vortex entirely, setting back all progress Bal had made on the Planemeld.

Thinking themselves victorious, the invasion force returned to Tamriel. However, Molag Bal had simply retired to his palace at Heart's Grief, and planned to attempt a second Planemeld when he eventually recovered his strength.

The Planemeld Obverse

Molag Kena atop the distorted Tower

White-Gold Tower

In a final attempt to restart the Planemeld, Bal sent a Xivkyn called Molag Kena to pose as the seemingly-deceased Empress Regent Clivia Tharn and "retake" the White-Gold Tower. In truth, Kena sought an Elder Scroll within the Tower and planned to use its power to initiate the "Planemeld Obverse" and begin simultaneously pulling Coldharbour into Tamriel. However, a moth priestess called Terran Arminus had read the scroll before the Daedric occupation of the Imperial City, and had learned that she would need aid in order to save the scroll. This aid arrived in the form of a group of Undaunted, and the prophesied Soulless One, who helped Clivia's entourage ascend the shattered reality of the Tower's upper levels before being betrayed by the imposter. These heroes defeated Molag Kena atop the Tower before she could fully complete the ritual, and in the process destroyed the Anchor above the city.

Coinciding with the events at White-Gold Tower, Bal's forces began to search the city for a relic called the Sublime Brazier. Housed in the hidden Dragonfire Cathedral in the Ayleid ruins beneath the city, this brazier was key to relighting the Dragonfires. If it was destroyed, Akatosh's Covenant would be broken and Mundus would be eternally vulnerable to Daedric invasion. This plot was uncovered by the Drake of Blades, a mysterious Dragonguard agent still operating within the city. With the help of the Vestige and other allies, the Drake entered Dragonfire Cathedral and performed a ritual to become the brazier's immortal guardian. The Daedric siege of the cathedral was lifted in the process, and the leader of Bal's forces, Xivkyn General Malivus, was banished. The Drake would serve as guardian for all time, effectively foiling Molag Bal's plot.

Banishment of Molag Bal

The Vestige, imbued with the power of the Divines, fights Molag Bal

Though the immediate danger had been quelled the powr Molag Bal had gained over Nirn was still prodigious. In order to stop any future attempts at another Planemeld and restore protection to Nirn, the Five Companions journeyed to Heart's Grief and confronted Bal using the Amulet of Kings. Mantling the power of Akatosh via the Amulet, made possible through the sacrifice of one of the Companions and a ritual performed by Abnur Tharn, the Vestige faced the Prince in single combat and banished him to the Void, freeing the souls and restoring the land he had captured, and ensuring the erasure of what remained of Molag Bal's hold over Nirn. The event gravely wounded Molag Bal, whose power would take some time to recover, and expended the energies of the Amulet of Kings for a generation or more.

Notes

• It has been theorized that the increased number of Arcanists during the Planemeld may have been the result of a change in the relationship between Nirn and the Daedric realms, causing more tomes from Apocrypha to appear on Nirn.
• The blurring of the veil between worlds caused by the Planemeld had other unforeseen consequences, such as a number of artifacts disappearing and reappearing in places where they shouldn't be, as was the case with Sheogorath's Nightlight and the pocket realm of Crow's Wood.

Books

• Dream Journal of Firilanya by Madam Firilanya — A clothier's dream journal
• From the notebooks of Flaccus Terentius, Scholar by Flaccus Terentius — A scholar recounts his nightmares surrounding the Planemeld

Gallery

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  A portal to Coldharbour beneath the Imperial Prison

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  Molag Bal's forces besiege the Dragonfire Cathedral

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  The Imperial Sewers, corrupted

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  The Memorial District in shambles

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  Cloud Ruler Temple being pulled by a Dark Anchor

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  The Village of the Lost, a border realm of Coldharbour formed during the Planemeld

References

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.