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Long before Skyrim's Civil War and Alduin's awakening, the Oblivion Crisis sundered a dynasty's strength forever. Several years beforehand, the province of Morrowind played host to dramatic events of their own. A prophecy foretold, a warrior reborn, and a religion imperiled — the game that put Bethesda's famous Elder Scrolls series on the mainstream map has it all.
Arriving in Morrowind, the realm's alienness is instantly apparent. Giant mushrooms, colossal tick-like mounts, an eerie tint to the sky, it's all so breathtaking. Here is the story of Vvardenfell's legendary guest, the Nerevarine reborn, and their journey through such strangeness en route to their destiny.
The Before Times
Morrowind's lore is rich with truths and half-truths alike. Many in-game books tell tales that blatantly clash with those written elsewhere; indeed, this is all quite intentional on the writers' part. What is known beyond doubt is that two ancient elven races, Chimer and Dwemer, once warred. The Dwemer, largely victorious, ruled the land that would one day come to be called Morrowind for many years, but when the Nords of Skyrim came upon Morrowind in force from the west, the victorious dwarven elves united with their former enemies to defend their turf, forming the First Council.
At the center of this war was a Chimer named Indoril Nerevar. His successes, and those of his close allies like Voryn Dagoth and Vivec, Almalexia, and Sotha Sil, proved instrumental. Many years after the war's end, the Dwemer find an ancient artifact called the Heart of Lorkhan, a remnant of the Chimer's revered creator spirit. A Dwemer named Kagrenac attempts to utilize the artifact's power to grant his kind immortality.
Nerevar, Moon and Star
Nerevar and Dagoth fought hard against such blasphemy, dealing the Dwemer a crippling blow only for the Heart of Lorkhan to be tapped into anyway. In a mystery to dwarf all mysteries (no pun intended), the entire Dwemer race instantly vanished. Out of fear that the same fate would befall the Chimer, a dying Nerevar entrusted Kagrenac's tools to Dagoth. According to "The Battle of Red Mountain," a transcript of the words spoken to a dissident priest by Lord Vivec, Nerevar intended for the tools to be given not just to Dagoth but to Vivec and his other companions as well.
But Dagoth, perhaps driven mad by the tools, demanded that he be the one to solely guard them. Conflict erupted between Dagoth and the others, but the exact outcome is unknown. Indeed, even Nerevar's precise cause of death is uncertain; records agree that he had already been badly wounded battling the Dwemer king Dumec, but did he simply succumb to those wounds in the days and weeks to come? Or was he finished off by Vivec, Almalexia, and Sotha Sil when they used the tools to become living gods? Accounts differ.
Vivec and the others, now formally known as the Tribunal, were soon accosted for the crime of self-divined godhood by the Daedra Azura. The Chimer people in full were made to pay the price, being transformed into the red-eyed, ashen-skinned Dunmer.
Arrival at Vvardenfell and Rumors of the Sixth House
The story told over the course of the game itself begins centuries later when an outlander "born on a certain day to uncertain parents" is transferred from the prisons of Imperial City in Cyrodiil to the distant realm of Morrowind by way of one of the empire's many seaworthy ships. Orders for this strange action stem from as high up the chain as the chain can ever reach — Emperor Uriel Septim VII himself.
Upon their arrival in Morrowind, the former prisoner is sent to meet with Caius Cosades in the city of Balmora. Caius serves the emperor as a spy here, but his real title is far loftier; he is the Grand Spymaster of the Blades, an organization of warriors sworn to protect the royal family at all costs.
Caius isn't quite sure what to make of all this, either, but has the outlander participate in a string of missions designed to familiarize them with the island of Vvardenfell upon which he resides, specifically with the mysterious cult called the Sixth House, whose members claim that Dagoth Ur will smite the land from his domain at Red Mountain.
During the outlander's travels, they learn much of the Tribunal, whose living gods rule Morrowind to this day. Caius is recalled to the Imperial City, leaving the outlander as de facto head of the Blades in Vvardenfell. A confrontation at the capital city of Vivec and subsequent events compels the outlander to realize their destiny is far more complex than they ever could have imagined.
Three Houses, Seven Trials
The outlander soon learns of the Seven Trials which will prove that they are the resurrection of Indoril Nerevar, thus labeling them the Nerevarine and the Hortator of all Dunmer people. This long and perilous quest brings them into contact with every major faction on Vvardenfell, including the Ashlanders, a collection of tribes whose strong belief in the Nerevarine has made their philosophies the bane of a zealous and ever-watchful Tribunal.
The Nerevarine must convince the three Great Houses — Redoran, Hlaalu, and Telvanni — of their rightful claim as the reborn war hero. Meanwhile, the Sixth House's threat increases and the Tribunal's godlike powers continue to wane due to how long it has been since last they touched the Heart of Lorkhan. At the Red Mountain, Dagoth Ur, in truth the tainted immortal form that Nerevar's former friend Voryn Dagoth has taken, guards the Heart and hopes Nerevar will join with him once more to destroy the Tribunal for their treachery.
Hortator and Nerevarine
With the aid of the Great Houses and Ashlanders alike, the Nerevarine travels to Vivec and speaks with its eponymous deity, their ancient companion Vivec himself. Vivec offers assistance in destroying Dagoth Ur. Depending on the player's inclinations, it's possible to deny Vivec's help, slaying him and finding a different way to bring down Dagoth. Regardless, a plan is hatched to defeat Dagoth's top-ranking Ash Vampire generals and ultimately pursue the demigod to his lair beneath the Red Mountain.
Armed with a trio of powerful weapons called Wraithguard, Sunder, and Keening, the Nerevarine — who, not so very long ago, was looked upon as naught but a filthy outlander — confronts Dagoth Ur directly. Dagoth, hopeful, offers the Nerevarine a chance to fight by his side. But it's as clear as it's always been that this scarred remnant of Voryn Dagoth is not the hero he seems to perceive himself to be, and the wickedness he has committed cannot be sanctioned.
Continuations
With Dagoth Ur well and truly dead, the Nerevarine may move on to Mournhold, capital of all Morrowind, if the player has installed the Tribunal expansion. Further adventure awaits, including contact with the other members of the Tribunal, Sotha Sil, and Almalexia. Additionally, the Bloodmoon expansion pits the Nerevarine against the Daedric Prince Hircine.
As for the Nerevarine's ultimate fate, Bethesda prefers to keep all that up to the player's imagination. But when we consider that not only are they the rebirth of a fabled unifier but that they've also accomplished a hundred great deeds in their own right, it's hard to believe they will have gone quietly into the night.