Ulliceta

Without me knowing, Leythen got Darien to help him contact Mephala. I only got involved because they failed to get into her shrine at the Cathedral of Webs, and called for my help.

Mephala, naturally had a price for her assistance. She could attune a pair of Diamonds for us, but one would be attuned to Leythen, and the other to me. That meant she'd have her agent in the Tower interior, too. It wasn't clear if entering the Tower from Vile's realm gave him any advantage, but she'd take that risk. She was still working with him, at least until Nocturnal was dealt with.

So now I had to go back to Ceporah Tower and persuade the Psijics to give me the Diamonds. I was certain they'd regard themselves as the only safe custodians, so this would not be easy.

How many different sides were there now? Four Daedric Princes, each with their own agenda. The Psijics, the Sapiarchs, and the common people, whose interests seemed to be ignored ny everyone else. And of course, they had their own factions, as the three-way contention for the Ruby Throne was still ongoing. Queen Ayrenn apparently had internal opposition in Summerset, as there had been opposition to her decree. Seryn had suggested that the other two alliances were showing signs of internal dispute, too. Slave-holding was still an issue in Morrowind, and Hammerfell would always have remnants of the Crown/Forbear split.

I didn't know it, but I was about to learn of division in the Psijics. A mer approached me, and asked if I'd assist his colleague, Ulliceta. She was at a doorway just around the corner from where I'd arrived at the portal from the Keep of the Eleven Forces.

She had been inside, exploring. but had had to leave, as there were too many undead in there for her to handle alone. She wasn't carrying a staff, and had quickly run out of magicka doing everything by hand. I helped her out with a bit more healing.

"Exploring here?" I asked. "Isn't every part of this island well-known?"

"Well, yes, but this Traitor's Vault was sealed off not long ago, and I wanted to know why. Nobody would answer my questions, so when I found this memory stone in the grand reliquary, I came to find out for myself. It's called the Eye of Remebrance, and I gather it can be used at various places in the Vault to reveal what happened here."

"All right, if it will keep you out of harm's way. What do you need me to do?"

"What luck! I finally found a fellow trouble-maker on this stiff-necked isle! There will be pedestals around the place that will activate the Eye and show some of the events that took place there. I'll be able to join you via projection, and help you make sense of them."

I asked who she was, surprised to find an Orc studying here.

"Ulliceta, formerly of clan Kogg. The Psijics want you to renounce those old affiliations, you see? Don't want that sort of thing to interfere with your dedication to the Old Ways. I've been here something like three hundred and fifty years, and still just an apprentice. Long life comes with the robes. The Psijics don't think you can learn much in a normal lifetime."

"You say there are undead in there, " I continued.

"Yes, and banishing them isn't the most efficient method of dealing with them. Uses to much magicka. You'll do better, just hitting them with a sword."\line

I found the first location fairly quickly, only having to deal with a few undead along the way. There weren't a lot, but Ulliceta had come in here unarmored, and without a staff. The Eye glowed, and showed me a pair of young mages in conversation.

"That's Mannimarco, and Vanus Galerion, founder of the Mages Guild" Ulliceta informed me. I'd heard the name Mannimarco before, or possibly in future. It suggested trouble, and this little scene agreed.

Vanus Galerion: "Oh, not this again \'85. Come, let's explore further!"

"Mannimarco does seem to have an inflated opinion of himself," I remarked.

"Perhaps not inflated, considering what he's caused more recently. They say he's responsible for making Molag Bal's invasion of Tamriel possible, with the Soulburst. A villain is as 'important' as a hero, and Mannimarco did not care what anyone else thought of him."

I hadn't any experience of the Soulburst, which happened before I arrived, and it appeared that most of the subsequent events had happened on the continent, with islands, even ones as large as Vvardenfell, being ignored. Ulliceta informed me that Auridon had its dolmens, even if Summerset Isle itself didn't.

I found a second pedestal and another scene played out before me. The same two elves, and a raised guar.

Vanus Galerion: "What have you done? This is just ... repugnant."

Vanus Galerion: "I'm not going to ... Please, just find a new avenue of research. All right?"

Ulliceta cut in with her interpretation: "I'd always heard that Mannimarco and Vanus were friends, but this looks like something more complex. It's fascinating! Let's see what else you find."

"I assume that necromancy isn't allowed here, but Vanus seemed more appalled by Mannimarco using it than studying it. Do you think he had some sympathy for the research? If so, that's not quite how I'd pictured Vanus."

"Hard to say from just these glimpses, but I think Vanus' view was that no knowledge was off-limits. The rules should rather restrict how you used that knowledge. Mannimarco, it seems, just ignores rules anyway."

The third pedestal revealed more. In this scene, Mannimarco had Vanus by the throat, and lifted off the ground.

Mannimarco: "You tattled, didn't you? You're a greater fool than I thought."

Mannimarco: "Now, to my masterwork. If Iachesis does not see the genius of my work, he can rot with the rest of them."

"So these are the events that lead to Mannimarco's exile," Ulliceta cut in. "let's keep exploring."

"Exile? That's all they did?" I asked. "It appears that Vanus would not be pleased with that outcome. I wonder if that started his falling out with the Psijic Order."

"I think there was more to it than that," she told me, "but it would certainly be a contributing factor."

I followed through the door the projection of Mannimarco had entered. Beyond it was a chamber containing a giant bone collosus. Nasty piece of work, presumably Mannimarco's. Maybe that was the reason this place was sealed? No, the Psijics could have dealt with this if they wanted to.

Ulliceta told me she hadn't been expecting that, and I should meet her outside to discuss events. When I got there, I found her arguing with an Altmer official.

"I'm tired of you hiding knowledge away, and punishing us when we discover it. Now I understand why Vanus Galerion left here. This isn't safeguarding knowledge, it's hoarding. Denying it to others so you can keep it for yourselves."

"Some knowledge is too dangerous, ..." the other began.

"And you're the exclusive ones with right to determine that? I doubt it."

He led her off to be punished, but I suspected she'd be leaving here soon. That part about hoarding was likely the same thing that Vanus Galerion would believe, and he'd left of his own accord, too.

Now I recalled why her name was familiar. I would read in a book, presumably in one of the Oblivion realms where my memory worked. Not very well, as I couldn't remember what the book was about.