The Order of the Mythic Dawn[1] is a Daedric cult that follows the teachings ofMehrunes Dagon. They were responsible for the assassination of
Emperor Uriel Septim VII and his three sons, as well as
orchestrating the Oblivion Crisis. The leader of the Mythic Dawn was Mankar Camoran, whom they called "The Master".
Mankar Camoran created his own realm in
Oblivion, and called it "Paradise".
It is unknown when Mankar Camoran first
started the Mythic Dawn. It is possible that the Order dates back to the time
of Tiber
Septim, judging by Camoran's style of writing. What is known is that
Camoran studied the Daedra in some depth, Mehrunes Dagon in
particular. At some point, Camoran came in contact with theDaedric
Lord and was given the Mysterium Xarxes,
a tome of Destruction written by Dagon himself. With the Xarxes in hand,
Camoran increased his study and eventually began to gather followers. In time,
the Mythic Dawn Order became the greatest Dagon cult in existence. They settled
in the province of Cyrodiil.
In the caverns of the Lake Arrius, they
constructed their secret shrine to Mehrunes Dagon and it became their
headquarters and base of operations. Raven Camoran, Mankar's
son, was placed in charge of recruiting new members, while his daughter,Ruma Camoran, was
charged with initiating them.
Camoran wrote the Commentaries on the
Mysterium Xarxes, which were a reflection on the
Mysterium Xarxes itself. In his writings, Camoran not only educated potential
members on the nature of Dagon and Destruction, but also left hidden clues that
would test the novitiate with hidden clues to the secret Shrine of Dagon. As time went on, Camoran himself became
more and more powerful; by the end of the Third Era, it was said
that he dealt with Mehrunes Dagon as an equal. Whether or not this is true is
speculation, but what is known is that Camoran was allowed some measure
of Daedric power. Using the
Mysterium Xarxes, he created his own realm in Oblivion, calling
it Paradise. In this
Paradise, members of the Mythic Dawn that were killed in its service would live
on as immortals. They would be killed again and again by the Daedra in Paradise
as Camoran's way of tempering them for when they would rule over Tamriel when
Mehrunes Dagon overtook it.
The Oblivion Crisis
An Oblivion Gate pours Daedra into peaceful
Tamriel
It was prophesised in the Mysterium Xarxes that the time
would come when Mehrunes Dagon would walk the planet and his forces of Oblivion
would overthrow the mortal plane. The Mythic Dawn prepared for that time
ceaselessly, which they called the Time of Cleansing. At the end of the Third Era,
their Preparations came to an end. Mehrunes Dagon was ready to invade Tamriel,
and the Mythic Dawn were to be his earthly agents. He and Mankar Camoran
constructed a plot to lower the magical barriers that protected the mortal
plane from Oblivion. It involved the assassination of the entire Septim line,
removing the emperor's from the picture. With no emperor of the Dragon Blood on
the throne, the magical Dragonfires would not stem Dagon's invasion.
The Mythic Dawn were successful in killing the three known
heirs to the Septim throne, and so set their sights on the emperor himself.
The Assassination of Uriel Septim VII was conducted to
near perfection. While the emperor was killed, the Mythic Dawn failed to get
posession of the Amulet
of Kings, the divine artifact used by the next emperor to light the
Dragonfires. In the short term however, they had done what needed to be done.
The throne was empty, the Dragonfires dark. Mehrunes Dagon could now launch an
assault upon Tamriel. In this, Camoran saw an opportunity to kill two birds with
one stone. One heir to Uriel Septim still lived, an illegitimate son who had no
knowledge of his lineage. Martin Septim was
a priest at the Chapel of Akatosh in the city of Kvatch. The Mythic Dawn
prepared to open Gates to Oblivion at that city.
Kvatch and the final heir
In order for Mehrunes Dagon's forces to enter Tamriel,
Oblivion Gates had to be opened. It was the job of the Mythic Dawn to supply
the entry points for the invasion, and so they did, beginning at Kvatch.
The Battle
of Kvatch was, by appearance, a stirring success. The Mythic
Dawn opened a Great Oblivion Gate, allowing Dagon's mighty Siege Crawler to
emerge and blast the walls of the city, virtually destroying it. Camoran was
pleased, and believed that the last heir had been killed. Martin, however,
managed to survive the initial conflagration. What the Mythic Dawn never
suspected was the intervention of the emperor's bodyguards, the Blades, via a
mysterious agent who would from then on be known as the Hero of Kvatch. Uriel
Septim, before his death, had given the Hero the Amulet of Kings, and in the
events that followed, the Hero would rescue Martin and break the ongoing siege
of Kvatch. Upon learning of this, the Mythic Dawn launched an assault on Weynon Priory, where the Amulet was being
kept, and they succeeded in recovering it. With the Amulet in their hands, there
was no way for the last heir to become emperor. The Amulet was delivered to
Mankar Camoran, and the Order focused its efforts on hunting down and
exterminating Martin Septim, while simultaneously opening more Oblivion Gates.
The Shrine and Bruma
The Sewers, where cult enthusiasts become
initiates.
Unbeknownst to them, they were being hunted also. The Blades,
mainly through the agency of the Hero, managed to discover the identity of the
Mythic Dawn, and began operating against them. The infiltration began with
the Skirmish in the Sewers, where Raven Camoran was killed,
and the Hero gained possession of all four volumes of the Commentaries on the Mysterium Xarxes. Using the
Commentaries, the Hero was able to find the location of the Shrine of Dagon.
The Hero, under the guise of a simple novitiate, successfully infiltrated the
Mythic Dawn Order. Within the Shrine, Mankar Camoran proudly spoke to his
followers, wearing the Amulet of Kings and preaching from the Mysterium Xarxes. At the end of his speech, Camoran
left for his Paradise, taking the Amulet of Kings with him, pledging to return
with Lord Dagon "at the coming of the Dawn." He left the affairs in
Tamriel to his daughter Ruma.
The Hero chose this moment to strike. During his initiation,
the Hero went on the offensive. Having failed to recover the Amulet, the Hero
instead took the Mysterium Xarxes. The Hero had to
fight through many a Mythic Dawn guard, including Ruma Camoran, but managed to
escape with the Order's Holy Book in hand. Enraged, the Mythic Dawn doubled
their efforts, opening Oblivion Gates outside of every city in Cyrodiil. Having
learned that Martin had gone to ground at Cloud Ruler Temple, outside the city
of Bruma, the Mythic Dawn prepared to attack that city. Camoran made its
destruction the Order's top priority, and Mehrunes Dagon committed whatever
resources were necessary. In time, they were ready, and launched the attack,
opening a Gate not far from Bruma.
The Daedra and the Mythic Dawn had not counted on the
vigilance of Martin Septim. With the aid of the Hero, Martin had gathered a
force of soldiers from each city in Cyrodiil. The Battle of Bruma was then fought between the Empire
and the Forces of Destruction. When the Great Gate was opened, the Hero entered
it and recovered its Great Sigil Stone, closing the Gate and destroying the
Daedric Siege Crawler. The Imperial forces won their first great victory, and
the Daedra were held back. The Mythic Dawn were left flabbergasted, and were
unable to prevent Martin from using the Xarxes to open a portal to Mankar
Camoran's Paradise.
Dawn's end
The Hero of Kvatch entered Paradise and immediately set out
to kill Camoran and recover the Amulet of Kings. Camoran watched the Hero as he
trekked through Paradise, and Camoran spoke to the Hero, telling the truth of
the Daedra and the Gods. Camoran attempted to stall the Hero by saying that
Tamriel was just one more realm of Oblivion, and it was Mehrunes Dagon's right
to invade and take it back from mortals. But the Hero was not stilled by
Camoran's speeches, or the attempts of the Daedra and immortals to prevent him
reaching Camoran's palace, Carac Agaialor. The Hero arrived at the palace and
was greeted by both Ruma and Raven. Within the palace, Camoran challenged the
Hero, and they fought. Camoran had his own strength, plus the might of his now
immortal children to aid him. The Hero had only Eldamil, a former lieutenant of
Camoran's who had been punished for regretting what happened at Kvatch. The
ancient Altmer wizard was strong, but the Hero succeeded in killing him. At
Mankar Camoran's death, Paradise collapsed, and with it the Order of the Mythic
Dawn. Not long after, Mehrunes Dagon and his Daedra were finally defeated,
bringing the Oblivion Crisis, and the Mythic Dawn's schemes, to a final end.
In the 4th era, the mythic Dawn exists only in name as a museum.
Lorkhan's sacrifice
Mehrunes Dagon.
A rather interesting story is said by Mankar Camoran when
the main character enters his world of Paradise. Mankar
Camoran explains that Tamriel, the world which Mehrunes Dagon attempted
to enter Oblivion, is not really a realm for the men, mer, mortals, and common folk, but is yet another
dimension of Oblivion. Mankar Camoran explains that Tamriel's true owner is not
the mortal folk that walk about its ground, but Mehrunes Dagon. Mankar Camoran
goes on to explain that Mehrunes Dagon was "cast out" of his realm
of Oblivion/Tamriel and
"lost" it to the sacrifice of Lorkhan. Apparently, Lorkhan created
the Tamriel/Oblivion realm but was unwilling to let Mehrunes Dagon destroy it,
and banished him to another dimension of Oblivion. Thus, Mehrunes Dagon
"lost" his realm of Oblivion to Lorkhan when the latter "cast
him out". Mankar Camoran explains that his purpose, along with that of his
Mythic Dawn, is to aid Mehrunes Dagon in reaching his old realm and reclaiming
it. However, it is possible that Mankar Camoran was simply lying to make the
player question their morals.
Age of Myth
Before the ages of man, and long before the glorious days of
the ancient elves, the worlds that span the cosmos were not separate. They were
one large, churning sea of chaos and horror and glory. Great beings of terrible
power swam in the ever-changing sea of turmoil, beings that would be called
Daedra and Aedra in the millenias later. The powerful spirits destroyed one
another, only to reform, only to destroy, only to reform. Spirits would be
spawned from the wondrous powers and energies that were common in that era, and
others were obliterated by them. This era of utter disarray and power would
later be called the Age of Myth. Only
through the agreements laid down by the great spirits and powers that made this
reign of chaos end and slowly reform into an order. This would cause some of
the Aedra and Daedra to rise in power, and cause others to become weakened. Only
the most powerful of the great spirits could survive the terrible wars that
were constant in the Age of Myth. These
wondrous and terrible entities were the eight Aedra who would form the Nine
Divines (the ninth being Tiber Septim) and the fourteen Daedra (the fifteenth
being a mortal who was ascended into demi-godhood with the other Daedra, and
the sixteenth being created as a counterpart to the Daedric Lord of Madness during
a great inter-Daedra civil war). The Daedric Lord of Destruction, Mehrunes
Dagon, formed the Mythic Dawn cult, by using Mankar Camoran as his avatar,
desires to re-create the Age of Myth and restore the chaos. As the patron
entity of Change (as well as Ambition and Energy), this is one of his desires:
and as the patron entity of Change, chaos would serve him well. For what is
chaos if not change? A re-creation of an age of chaos would suit the Daedric
Prince of Change well. His greatest ambition, (as the patron deity of Ambition)
is to cause the cosmos to reform into such an era, and his Mythic Dawn are the
mortal agents on Tamriel he needs. (It is noticed that the Mythic Dawn greet
each other with the phrases "Dawn is Breaking" and "Greet the
New Day" to refer to the new age that approaches, the Age of Myth.
Beliefs and practices
The Mythic Dawn were fanatic worshipers of Mehrunes Dagon.
They believed that any work they did in his name was part of a time called the
Preparation. The Time of Cleansing would come when Dagon at last entered
Tamriel and laid waste to the mortal world. Mankar Camoran preached that once
that happened, the Mythic Dawn would rule the earth as immortals. Due to their
closeness with the Daedric Prince they worship, the Mythic Dawn could be
considered the greatest of all Daedric cults.
The Order followed the teachings found within the Mysterium
Xarxes. As an initiation rite, a potential member would have to sacrifice one
of Dagon's enemies on his statue, sating him with "red-drink". They
also believed that weakness was something to be severely punished, as seen in
Eldamil's punishment.
One of the most defining things about the Mythic Dawn is
their style of dress. They wear red robes unlike any other. But their most
unique feature is their ability to summon personalized bound weapons and armor.
It is possible that these unique bound items were commissioned from Mehrunes
Dagon by Mankar Camoran.
It is possible that the Mythic Dawn have some ties to the End
of Times cult in Morrowind, which also believes in the Time of Cleansing, when
the Daedra will walk the mortal plane. The difference in the two cults is that
the End of Times recognizes this as a bad thing, while the Mythic Dawn revels
in it.
Powers
Mythic Dawn apparel.
Many members of the Mythic Dawn are adept at magecraft and can
wield a wide variety of magic abilities.
They have a perceptive grasp of lightning, and often throw bolts of it at the
enemy. They can summon various Lesser Daedra in the form of demonic-looking
weapons and their robe-armor. A portion of the Mythic Dawn have such power that
they have transcended the realms of mortal existence; Mehrunes Dagon gives
such gifts to his greatest of followers in the form of immortality. Several
Mythic Dawn members are even invincible, and often rise from the dead mere
minutes after being struck down. This is noted by a Mythic Dawn traitor met in
the Paradise of Mankar Camoran. The Mythic Dawn may even infuse their
magic-usage into their every action in the game, such as their stealth. The
average commoner in the Imperial City can magically transform into a
super-powered juggernaut with a wave of their hand, summoning various weapons
and armor which can swiftly be dismissed. This gives them a large advantage
over the opponent, because anyone can turn into a Mythic Dawn warrior without
warning. Another power that is at the Mythic Dawn's command is the coveted gift
of invisibility. Occasionally, a Mythic Dawn member may cast an invisibility
spell, yet more often then not they will focus more on outright battle than
abilities that give them covert advantages.
The Mythic Dawn armor
Mythic Dawn armor.
All members of the Mythic Dawn have the ability to draw upon
the power of Mehrunes Dagon to defend them. This defense is shown when the
Mythic Dawn member is covered in a sheet of shimmering air, which quickly forms
to become a set of conjured Mythic
Dawn armor. This is very similar to their normal blood-red robes,
yet the robes are covered by plates of demonic-looking, metallic armor. The
hood of the Mythic
Dawn Robe is replaced by a demonic helmet. It does not cover
the whole face, but recedes back to encompass the back half of the head. The
front half is either uncovered or hidden behind a spiked, demon-like faceplate.
While this armor itself offers little defense besides the normal Mythic Dawn
robes, it serves to add intimidation and fear, which often act as enough to
demoralize the enemy.
Daedric Summoning
The Mythic Dawn are all too familiar with the dangerous and
seductive power of Daedra Magic. With the ability
to summon demonic spirits to them at any time, the Mythic Dawn are arrogant and
certain of their power. They traffic with such entities on a regular basis, it
seems, because they must interact with the Daedra of Oblivion to open
the Oblivion
Gates across Tamriel. The Mythic
Dawn are never seen with the hordes of Daedra that swarm from the Oblivion
Gates, but it is mentioned in a letter from a Mythic Dawn agent (the letter is
found during the quest Spies in Bruma) that
they have arranged various pacts with the Daedra in order to open the Gates.
The Mythic Dawn open so many Oblivion Gates, in fact, that the barriers between
the world of Tamriel and the realms of Oblivion have weakened such that Mehrunes Dagon himself
is able to pass through them. The amount of power that it would have cost
Mehrunes Dagon to enter Tamriel is unknown, and perhaps that is why he barely
fights back against Martin Septim when
he transforms into the Avatar ofAkatosh. Mehrunes Dagon
did not seem overly powerful during that fight, for he swung his weapon merely
twice while the [Martin Septim/Akatosh Dragon-Avatar was able to rake him with
his talons, fly, and breathe fire multiple times. However, while there are more
Daedra than the Aedra,
this may explain why. The Daedra have more quantity (amount of Daedra) while
being weaker, and the Aedra have more quality (amount of power). The fact that
eight Aedra were able to link together and end the Age of Myth by
banishing sixteen Daedric
Princes supports this fact as well.
Members
Mythic Dawn members often have a copy of the Mythic Dawn Commentaries either with them or at
their home.
The following Mythic Dawn Agents will become active after
the Dagon
Shrine quest and will attempt to attack on sight (caused by the
theft of the Mysterium
Xarxes):
§ Jearl, spy at Doomstone, south
of Cloud
Ruler Temple
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