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Lore:Heart of Lorkhan

<Lore:Artifacts:H
The Heart as depicted inMorrowind
"But whenTrinimacandAurieltried to destroy theHeart of Lorkhanit laughed at them. It said, "This Heart is the heart of the world, for one was made to satisfy the other." So Auriel fastened the thing to an arrow and let it fly long into the sea, where no aspect of the new world may ever find it.' "—The Monomyth
"Beneath Red Mountain, Dwemer miners discovered a great magical stone. By diverse methods, LordKagrenac,High Priest and Magecrafter of the ancientDwemer,determined that this magical stone was the heart of the godLorkhan,cast here in theDawn Eraas a punishment for his mischief in creating the mortal world. "—Kagrenac's Tools

TheHeart of Lorkhanwas the "divine spark" of the deity most commonly known by hisAldmeriname,Lorkhan.[1][2][3]It appears in other cultures as concepts such as Heart ofShor,[4]the "hunger" ofSep,[3]and others. The "star-wounded East"[5]gained its name when the Heart fell from the sky like ameteor,[6]crashing into theVvardenfellregion in ancient times, where it formedRed Mountain.[7]In the mythology ofthe Towers,the Heart of Lorkhan was known as the First Stone, the Stone of Red Tower (Red Mountain).[UOL 1][8]

The Heart of Lorkhan was discovered in theFirst Eraby theDwemer,who fashionedtoolsto harness its power.[9]The Dwemer wanted to use this power to create anew god of brass,butdisappearedbefore it could be activated.[10]The Heart was later used by theTribunalandDagoth Urto become gods themselves.[11][1]

Thereafter, the Heart of Lorkhan was visited annually by the Tribunal in order to renew their powers, until2E 882,whenDagoth Urawoke and ambushed the Tribunal. The event resulted in the Tribunal being cut off from access to the Heart of Lorkhan.[12]Sotha Silresponded by beginning development on a new Heart of Lorkhan, called theMechanical Heart,as a backup to the loss of the original.[13]Dagoth Ur would later attempt to create his own brass god,Akulakhan.[1][12]This plan was thwarted in3E 427by theNerevarine,and as a result, the Heart of Lorkhan seemingly vanished fromTamriel.[1]

HistoryEdit

Dawn EraEdit

EveryTamrielicmythic tradition has an archetypal Missing God in its pantheon. This god is credited with convincing or tricking the Original Spirits into creating theMundus,the Mortal Plane. He then died or was killed for doing so, was separated from his "divine center", and left to wander creation in this state.[3]Examples include:

LorkhanEdit

Adamantine Tower, site of Lorkhan's death
Red Mountain, where the Heart of Lorkhan came to rest

After the Mundus was created duringConvention,Lorkhan was slain byAurielandTrinimacatopAdamantine Tower;[14]it is said Trinimac reached into Lorkhan and tore out his Heart with "more than hands".[3]However, the Heart laughed at them and refused to die, for it was one with the new world. Instead, Auriel fastened the Heart to an arrow and shot it across the world into the sea.[3][14]

Sep, the Second SerpentEdit

Ruptga,the Tall Papa of theYokudanpantheon, createdSepout of past worldskins shed bySatakal,the First Serpent. Though Sep shared some of the hunger of Satakal, he helped Tall Papa guide the other spirits to theFar Shoreswhere they could avoid being eaten by First Serpent. Eventually, Sep grew tired of this, gathered all the old worldskins into a ball (the Mundus), and convinced many spirits to live there. However, they eventually began to die, and found it was no longer possible to reach the Far Shores. Ruptga refused to help them, telling them they had to find new paths or live on through their children. He also punished Sep, beating him to death with a stick, whereupon his hunger (the Heart of Lorkhan) fell out. The Second Serpent was left to "slink around in a dead skin".[3]

Lorkhaj, the Moon BeastEdit

In theKhajiititradition,Lorkhajwas the last ofFadomai's many children, and his Heart was filled with a Great Darkness which was given the nameNamiira.Before her death, Fadomai told another child,Nirni,to bear many children. But Nirni had no place for them, so she sought Lorkhaj for advice; Lorkhaj createda place for Nirniand put her there to give birth. But due to the Great Darkness in his Heart, Lorkhaj was influenced to trick his other siblings into going there as well, and they became trapped.Some of Fadomai's childrendied to stabilize the new world, and the survivors punished Lorkhaj for his trickery by tearing out his Heart, hiding it deep within the new world, and cursing him to "walk Nirni for many phases".[15]Some ancient songs attributeMerid-Nundaas being the one that convinced the siblings to enact revenge.[16]Ancient Khajiiti scriptures predating theRiddle'Thar Epiphanystate that Lorkhaj survived this event, and fled to Azurah with the hole in his chest. Azurah saw that Namiira still dwelled within his wound, keeping him alive and corrupting him by imitating his heart. Azurah cleansed Lorkhaj of the corruption and flung hisDark Heartinto the Void, and Lorkhaj perished within Azurah's embrace.[17]From the Dark Heart came the twisted shade of Lorkhaj known as the Moon Beast, the firstdro-m'Athra.And so Lorkhaj represents the duality of Khajiiti souls and their susceptibility towards the Bent Dance.[18][19]

Lorkh, the Sower of FleshEdit

The Reachmen creation story speaks of Lorkh having an epiphany when he visited the darkness; that what is perceived as nothingness is ripe for possibility.[20]And so, Lorkh approached Namira, who ruled the world of spirit. Lorkh convinced her to grant him a place in the infinite void to create a realm for wayward spirits. To make this a possibility, Lorkh sacrificed himself to create a harsh realm, one that is unforgiving and intended to teach through suffering.[21]Although his endeavor led to his sundering, Lorkh "still believed in the light ofMan",whose ancestors fled into the mountains from the darkness emitted from Lorkh's heart.[22]Thus, to the Reachmen, Lorkh serves as an example to fight against the darkness in their hearts.[23]

Masser and SecundaEdit

Masser and Secunda

A more prosaic theory claims the moons,MasserandSecunda,were and are the two halves of Lorkhan's "flesh-divinity'" (his literal body). Where the otherEight Divines(here represented as plane(t)s) each gave a part of themselves to create the Mundus, Lorkhan's plane(t) was split in half; his divine spark fell to Nirn as a literal shooting star, in order to "impregnate it with the measure of its existence and a reasonable amount of selfishness."[6]

First EraEdit

At some point by the earlyFirst Era,Dwemerminers discovered a mysterious, magical stone beneathRed Mountain.The Dwemer Tonal Architect LordKagrenacdetermined that this stone was the Heart of Lorkhan, and constructed a set oftoolsto harness its powers. His goal was to create a new god for the Dwemer—Anumidium.[1][9][24]This god took the form of a colossal brass golem calledNumidium,[25]and was the key to the Dwemeri bid for ascension, be it godhood, immortality, or something greater.[24][26][27]

By some accounts, Kagrenac constructed Anumidium without the knowledge of the Dwemer KingDumac.TheChimerlearned of it, however, and Dumac's claims of innocence when confronted by his friend LordNerevarsparked theWar of the First Council.[24]The war culminated around1E 700with theBattle of Red Mountain;while again accounts vary widely, most agree that Nerevar,Dagoth Ur,and others made their way into the Heart Chamber beneath the Dwarven citadel.[4][11][24]

In the ensuing battle, Kagrenac (or Dagoth Ur, byAzura's instruction) used the Tools on the Heart of Lorkhan, which caused the Dwemer to immediately vanish from Nirn.[9][24]Nerevar died (or was murdered)[24]soon after, theTribunaltook possession of Kagrenac's tools, and used them to tap the Heart to fuel their apotheoses,[9][24]and thereafter made an annual pilgrimage to the Heart Chamber to recharge their powers.[12]

Second EraEdit

In2E 882,Dagoth Ur, who was believed to have died beneath Red Mountain during the battle, reawakened, along with numerous members of theSixth House,also thought wiped out during the battle. They seized control of the Heart Chamber, and Dagoth Ur bound them all to the Heart of Lorkhan, himself included, through unknown means. The Tribunal were driven off when they made their annual pilgrimage, and henceforth could no longer renew their powers. In an apparent adoption of the views and motivations of Kagrenac, Dagoth began construction of a Second Numidium,Akulakhan,to be powered by the Heart of Lorkhan.[12]

Third EraEdit

In3E 417,two of Kagrenac's tools,KeeningandSunder,were stolen by the forces of the Sixth House.[12]Ten years later, an outlander sent by EmperorUriel Septim VIIarrived inVvardenfell,and was believed by many to be the reincarnation of Nerevar—theNerevarine.After many trials, the Nerevarine recovered Kagrenac's stolen tools and used them to disrupt the enchantments on the Heart of Lorkhan,[28]destroying Dagoth Ur and Akulakhan in the process.[1]Some claim that the Heart of Lorkhan was destroyed,[29]though Azura claims it was merely freed from its prison[30]of the mortal plane.[UOL 2]

Fourth EraEdit

Many years prior to4E 201,the Heart was rumored to have been found by an unknown entity and sealed within a Dwemer lockbox buried deep in the ice in theSea of Ghosts.[31]The renowned scholarSeptimus Signusuncovered the lockbox and spent many years attempting to open it.[32]He succeeded in 4E 201 with the help of theLast Dragonborn,but was turned to ash upon discovering his folly: the lockbox did not contain the Heart of Lorkhan, but rather theOghma Infinium,an artifact ofHermaeus Mora,who had manipulated Signus for all those years.[33]

The replica Mechanical Heart was completed circa 4E 201 in the depths of the ruinedClockwork City.[34]For more information, see theMechanical Heart article.

NotesEdit

GalleryEdit

  • Dagoth Ur with the Heart of Lorkhan (Legends)

  • The Dark Heart (ESO)

  • A dro-m'Athra, associated with the Dark Heart of Lorkhaj

  • A Voidmother, associated with the Dark Heart

See AlsoEdit

ReferencesEdit

  1. ^abcdefEvents ofMorrowind
  2. ^Varieties of Faith...—Brother Mikhael Karkuxorof the Imperial College
  3. ^abcdefThe Monomyth
  4. ^abFive Songs of King Wulfharth
  5. ^The 36 Lessons of Vivec—Vivec
  6. ^abThe Lunar Lorkhan—Fal Droon
  7. ^Pocket Guide to the Empire, 1st Edition: Morrowind—Imperial Geographical Society,2E 864
  8. ^Red Mountain's Might—Anrunn Frozen-Cove
  9. ^abcdKagrenac's Tools—Gilvas Barelo
  10. ^Baladas Demnevanni's dialogue inMorrowind
  11. ^abThe Battle of Red Mountain—Vivec
  12. ^abcdeDagoth Ur's Plans—Tribunal Temple
  13. ^Events that occur in the missionThe Red MountaininReturn to Clockwork City
  14. ^abTower of Adamant—Hrerm House-builder,Bards College,Solitude
  15. ^Words of Clan Mother Ahnissi—Clan Mother Ahnissi
  16. ^The Adversarial Spirits—Amun-dro,the Silent Priest
  17. ^The Favored Daughter of Fadomai—Amun-dro,the Silent Priest
  18. ^The Sky Spirits—Amun-dro,the Silent Priest
  19. ^The Dark Spirits—Amun-dro,the Silent Priest
  20. ^The Dark Descent's loading screen inESO
  21. ^Great Spirits of the Reach: Volume 5—Vashu gra-Morga,Chief Daedrotheologist at theUniversity of Gwylim
  22. ^Nchuand-Zel's loading screen inESO
  23. ^Ardanir's dialogue inESO
  24. ^abcdefgNerevar at Red Mountain—the Tribunal Temple
  25. ^Progress of Truth—Dissident Priests
  26. ^Yagrum Bagarn's dialogue inMorrowind
  27. ^People of Morrowind— Various
  28. ^Plan to Defeat Dagoth Ur—Vivec
  29. ^Dialogue in the missionThe Heart, RevealedinReturn to Clockwork City
  30. ^Azura's dialogue in theMorrowind
  31. ^Septimus Signus' dialogue inSkyrim
  32. ^Urag gro-Shub's dialogue inSkyrim
  33. ^Discerning the Transmundanequest inSkyrim
  34. ^Return to Clockwork Citystory inLegends

Note:The following references are considered to beunofficial sources.They are included to round off this article and may not be authoritative or conclusive.

  1. ^Nu-Mantia Intercept
  2. ^Kurt Kuhlmann's comments onDecrypting The Elder ScrollsGame Informerarticle
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