Dunmer Law Primer [Added]

[gro-Dhal]

Dunmer Law: a Primer
by Galothis Omeyn, scholar of the Imperial University

The law of the Dunmer is not a single monolithic doctrine, rather it is as varied and obscure as the Dunmer people themselves. An unwary outlander scholar may find themselves hopelessly lost within Morrowind’s legal system, and it is my hope that this primer will familiarize visitors with some of the basic principles of law in this province.

In many ways, Morrowind itself is not one nation but five (or six, or seven depending on how one counts), and the competing legal structures of the province reflect the different values and ideals of its Great Houses. Thus one might expect a court and trial system not unlike that of Wayrest or Colovia in the lands of my kin, the Hlaalu. If you find yourself in legal difficulties in the Velothis Marches however, I pray that your sword arm is strong as disputes among the Redoran are often solved by honorable duels. The scandal of 3E297, when the East Empire Company delegate to Baan Malur was reportedly murdered by a councillor of that city, was to Redoran eyes an acceptable, lawful challenge to a tariff dispute over marshmerrow exports. Their response to the ensuing Imperial outrage was bemusement that the delegate, in his ignorance of legal custom, had not made more effort to seek a compromise on the issue.

The Telvanni, as usual, are another matter altogether. There are historically no laws in their domain, a civic freedom in which they take no small measure of pride. Of course, the power of the local wizard lord is absolute, and his or her word is final in all disputes. Tyranny, you might declare, but many a cruel or overmighty Telvanni lord has been dragged from his tower and dismembered by his angry subjects.

Order in the lands of the Dres is maintained by the accumulated legal wisdom and precedents of over three thousand years of history. This wisdom is rarely written down, and is instead called upon directly by the summoning of esteemed ancestor spirits to legal proceedings. This is naturally advantageous when mediating cases of inheritance or unlawful murder, and it is occasionally the case that necromancers have been denounced at trial by the souls of the dead they have attempted to bind to the mortal plane. Court meetings take place on holy ground and are ritually cleansed at the end of every hearing.

Indoril law is perhaps the greatest philosophical achievement of the Dunmer race. It entails an all-encompassing code that covers all functions of society and nature. Derived in part from the recursive algorithmic legal doctrine of the Aldmeri Dominion (which was also highly influential on the Dwemer), Indoril law requires study from birth in order to correctly grasp its axioms, as it seeks to provide a framework not only for mortal behaviour but also natural processes like the growth of flowers and the master-slave relationship which is inherent to all life. The much-publicized and misunderstood attempt by the Indoril to place the Thrassian Plague itself on trial in the First Era, on charges of existential disruption of the social order, has garnered some derision in the West. These outlander commentators fail to grasp the importance of the legal process in Indoril society, and the necessity that grotesque unpredicted occurrences be codified and incorporated into society’s worldview. Needless to say the relative vulgarity of Imperial law is looked on with disdain by Indoril savants, much as an artist might resent a tradesmer’s crude branding mark pasted across their life’s masterwork.

All Great Houses are obliged to implement the core Imperial legal code, the Juris Imperator Tamrielicus, and all grudgingly do so in their own fashion. Fines and imprisonment for crimes such as murder, theft and obstructing an officer of the Empire are standardized and will be familiar to any Imperial subject.

Disputes between members of different houses, or legal issues where house jurisdiction is in question, are often referred to the Court of Waters, a religious conclave that holds the final say in matters beyond the remit of the House councils. The power of this court has waxed and waned over time according to the strength of the Great Houses themselves, but in theory it carries the authority of the god-kings of Morrowind and now also the Empire, which is trying to consolidate the legal framework of the province into this one entity for administrative purposes. It was at this court that the historic accord was reached between Great House Dres and the Tribunal Temple itself, when they affirmed their legal right to practice traditional Dunmer Daedra Worship in a case where the deities Vivec and Boethiah were both called to the stand, and proceedings were temporarily halted when the court building itself was apparently briefly relocated to the moon Secunda by parties unknown. Other unusual cases heard here include a dispute over archaeological remains between Telvanni and Indoril plaintiffs, which caused outrage when the Telvanni delegation summoned a mechanical Dwemer centurion as a witness for their case.

It is difficult to say how the law will develop as Morrowind becomes a more settled member province of the Empire. The Hlaalu have led the way, becoming highly conversant in the Western system to the extent that they are now able to propose innovations within the Imperial Juris. However recent disputes about territorial control effected by the opening of Vvardenfell promise to create new crises and conflicts, and I believe that common understanding is now more essential than ever.

[Yeti]

Masterful as always, gro-Dhal. You've added plenty of colorful events to make this academic book interesting and fun to read. It doesn't seem dry at all to me.

Some of the details, like the courthouse being relocated to the surface of Secunda, strike me as a tad over-the-top, but I don't think it's a major issue. Morrowind, and TES in general, is a strange place after all.

[rot]

Nice!
Not boring. The ending is a bit abrupt?
The weirder thing about the moon story is the matter-of-factness from the author. Mebbe a "reportedly" or "allegedly"-

[Swiftoak]

I'd love to hear more about Dres and Indoril customs. Particularly their relationship to Temple law. This is really nice, and the over the top stuff doesn't bother me at all. In fact I think we need more things like this.

[Yeti]

I suppose we could use this text to replace the rather dull and gameplay oriented "Legal Basics" text currently in data?

[Nanu]

I suppose we could use this text to replace the rather dull and gameplay oriented "Legal Basics" text currently in data?

There's a great idea. The text is fine. Honestly it should be a bit longer if anything.

[Jule]

Doesn't Legal Basics deal with Imperial law instead of local law?

[gro-Dhal]

It will be longer, it's not finished yet

[Aeven]

Great stuff! Should be either a nice replacement for Legal Basics or as an entirely new work. Make sure it finds its way across the entire mod, not just new interiors

[Adanorcil]

Like it. Definitely not too boring.

I'd definitely like to see some discussion of the traditions of all the houses, plus some more notes on how the Imperial jurisdictional system in Morrowind is a square peg in a round hole. By the way, did you know that among the Dres, you're tried by actual ghosts?

Any reasoning behind "Court of Waters" apart from the association with honesty through the Water Face?

The thing about the Dres being allowed to practice traditional ancestor worship strikes me as a little odd. All the Dunmer still do traditional ancestor worship in concordance with their Tribunal faith. Maybe clarify the difference a bit?

The thing about relocating the courtroom to Secunda strikes me as a little out of place too. Normally I'd love stuff like that, but in the otherwise dry tone of the text, it sticks out a bit. Maybe I'd like it if I understood it more: why Secunda, why Vivec and Boethiah, etc?

[gro-Dhal]

By the way, did you know that among the Dres, you're tried by actual ghosts?

I did know that, as it happens. It will go in.

Any reasoning behind "Court of Waters" apart from the association with honesty through the Water Face?

Not really. Water symbolises the truth in Dunmer lore, and the courthouse is full of fountains maybe. The name of the main court building in the UK literally means 'old city wall', so I think anything goes if it sounds cool.

The thing about the Dres being allowed to practice traditional ancestor worship strikes me as a little odd. All the Dunmer still do traditional ancestor worship in concordance with their Tribunal faith. Maybe clarify the difference a bit?

Yeah I used the wrong terminology there.

The thing about relocating the courtroom to Secunda strikes me as a little out of place too. Normally I'd love stuff like that, but in the otherwise dry tone of the text, it sticks out a bit. Maybe I'd like it if I understood it more: why Secunda, why Vivec and Boethiah, etc?

The idea is that this is a rambling, ponderous account written by some old legal academic, but the further you read into the more bizarre it gets. I originally had the idea of writing about the Dunmer version of the Council of Nicaea, which of course would be attended by actual gods etc with all the ensuing shenanigans. But the Trial of Vivec has already done that.

[gro-Dhal]

Updated, and there's not really any more I want to add. Feedback welcome

[Bloodthirsty Crustacean]

Paragraphs on Indoril and Hlaalu lawmaking probably my new favourite pieces of ingame world-building since 'The Eastern Provinces Impartially Considered'.


I feel like because there was so much discussion about it that Uld Vraech tends to get namedropped a bit too much (it's definitely a cool area, but ought to be a periphery). I'd either go for "Velothis District" or just stick to the (great) anecdote about law in Baan Malur.

I'm ambivalent about the (admittedly cool) weirdness re: Secunda and Llothis in the penultimate paragraph. It feels a bit like 'weird for the sake of weird', especially when hot on the heels of Vivec and Boethiah being called to the stand. I like all of it, just not sure if there can be too much of a good thing. I'd maybe lose one or the other.

[gro-Dhal]

All good suggestions, thanks. Nobody seems to like the Secunda thing (except for me) and the bit about Llothis is redundant now i've added a Dres necromancy bit. I'll need to add something fun to that section as a replacement.

[Yeti]

In hindsight, I kind of like the Secunda teleporting section now too, if only because it's the kind of one-time batshit crazy event you'd expect someone like Vivec and the Daedra to be involved with. We shouldn't shy away from cool weird stuff, especially when we don't have to explicitly define it.

Similarly, I also don't think St. Llothas being called to the stands is redundant at all alongside the Dres practice. It's a thematically pleasing repetition on the Dunmer's focus on ancestral wisdom in their legal system. The dead have just as much voice in the process as the living, if not more so.

Overall this is some damn good stuff gro-Dhal. It's definitely one of the best TES-related literature pieces I've ever had the pleasure to read. The myriad ways it creates and ties cool lore together is brilliant.

Once your done with this, you should post it in our thread over at the official forums as a teaser of how we're fleshing out of the Great Houses. Perhaps you could also post it in the official lore forums too. We could use some exposure outside the Morrowind mod section.

[Bloodthirsty Crustacean]

I definitely like both things on their own merits; it's only that having all the weird clustered together like that skews the tone of the document a bit, and draws attention to itself.