True Introspection of Telvanni Nobility:
An Educational Tract and a Warning

by Indalen Hlormayn

A malicious pack of wolves is stalking Telvannis as of late.  Envious and frightened of the eons-old wizard lords of House Telvanni, they seek to neuter us with their regulations and moralities, and ultimately to cast down our great works.  I speak, of course, of the Cyrodilic hordes, those inexhaustible malcontents that torment all of Tamriel, seeking to remake all lands in their lame image.  Recently, Cyrodilic arrogance has grown beyond the pale -- their agents are now brazenly accusing us of necromancy, while ever-growing numbers of slippery abolitionists are inciting riot in our countryside.  Many would justly argue that these slanderers and criminals deserve to be driven from our shores with prejudiced force.  Yet, one must despair at the prospect -- the Empire does not lack bodies to throw into such a fight, so even though ultimate victory is not in doubt, the struggle will be prolonged and costly.  I nurture a desperate hope that words can still disarm the situation -- that the Cyrodilic can be educated to respect Telvanni superiority, or at least, that a healthy fear of death can be instilled in them to dissuade them from further meddling.  Hence, this tract will make abundantly clear to all such trespassers -- if any can string more than two thoughts together, that is -- that the Telvanni will accede to absolutely no restraint on their freedom and any attempt to do so will come at a woeful price to would-be-offenders.

The clowns in the Imperial government would have you believe that the current conflict is in some way "precipitated" by the Telvanni; nothing could be further from the truth.  In fact, the Great House Telvanni is famed throughout all of Tamriel for its splendid isolation, as we have since millennia disavowed any pretense of seeking dominance over other lands.  Our very founding dates back to the decision of the wisest Chimer wizards to abstain from the foolish War of the First Council that wreaked such havoc on Morrowind.  In fact, we would be delighted to utterly ignore all of the myriad barbarians of Tamriel, were they not themselves so intent on banging on our gates!  Protestations that we are enslaving "Imperial citizens" are, likewise, malicious and utterly stupid.  Telvanni slaves are purchased on legal slave markets; where these creatures come from is not our business.  Even if some former "citizens" find their ways to the pits, the very fact they succumbed to this fate is the surest condemnation of their worth -- what an absurd Empire it is that would defend the "rights" of such wretches.  No, it is abundantly clear that any cause for strife stems singly from the twisted degeneracy of the Cyrodilics.
These mongrels are confused and intimidated by the grand designs of the Telvanni, and as is natural to all imbecils, they seek to cast down works of beauty and awe that go beyond their abilities.

In fact, the institution of slavery itself, which all Telvanni nobles rightly acknowledge as benevolent, but which the abolitionist scum believes a topic worthy of self-immolation, perfectly illuminates the contrast between Telvanni brilliance and Imperial lunacy.  You see, despite what the Empire tries to brand us as, the Telvanni are fundamentally a selfless people: our exclusive aim is to understand the cosmos, and for that, we are willing to give all.  Over the centuries, many, myself included, have poured into this sacred goal every shred of our health and every drake of our fortune.  Not unheard of are cases where the quest to unlock deep revelations has cost the blood our own sons and daughters; the self-sacrifice is unimaginable to all not part of our Great House.  It is absurd, insulting, and downright malevolent of the Cyrodilic abolitionists to suggest that we are now not allowed to spend the lives of our slaves, that their supposed "suffering" is cause enough to arrest our aspirations.  How can the pathetic whines of Argonian beasts outweight a millennium of toil from the greatest wizard-lords?  Or how can the miserable, brutish life of a Khajiit be compared to a relevation on the nature of the planes or of the origin of disease?  That these outlanders put so much stock on these trivial, mundane sufferings only reveals their utmost antipathy to intellectual pursuit.

Perhaps it is not surprising that the abolitionist would sympathize so deeply with the Argonian -- the former is, after all, hardly higher than the latter in the hierarchy of intelligence.  This criminal crowd of would-be moralists, in their quest to "enlighten" Morrowind, commit the most revolting acts of dishonesty and deceit -- they come disguised as traders or labourers, yet clutch a dagger poised to strike at the heart of Telvanni nobility.  Until recently, the abolitionists' insanity was held in check by the armistice, but ever since the opening of Vvardenfell, the Empire has made a mockery of this document, letting ever increasing numbers of these criminals wash up on our shores.  Now they roam Telvannis unchecked, free to infect misguided dunmer with their intellectual rot, inciting slave riots as they go.

These outrages will not be allowed to continue.  Any sort of compromise on slavery is abhorrent to Telvanni nobility and completely out of the question.  In fact, so are any rules or regulations which hold the hint of arresting our scholarship.  We have no patience for tender souls or the ignorant, outraged mob, nor will we submit ourselves to the judgement of the Imperial governors, those babbling idiots.  Why would we let those inferior to us decide what is "right" and what is "wrong"?  We will decide only for ourselves where our limits lie.  If the abolitionist scum continues in their provocations, we will have no recourse but to blast them off our shores.  Such a contest will not even close -- House Telvanni in its incessant exploration of cosmic mysteries has gained a profound understanding of the arcane schools that no feeble "Battle Mage" will ever dream of.  This empire of men, furthermore, strikes us as teetering on the edge of a well-deserved demise -- an emperor emasculated by that hedge wizard, Tharn, with daedric doppelgangers for heirs.  This is scene better fit for a minstrel show than an "imperial" court.  No, if there is any sense in them, the Cyrodilics must see that driving the Telvanni to violent means is not remotely in their interest.  Let the abolitionists heed my warning then and crawl back to the hovels they came from, while we still allow them to.

[Editor's note on the 2nd edition -- whereas Master Hlormayn's tract did not find the wide readership among outlanders it intended to, its popularity in Telvanni households has made it worthwhile to print a second edition for the benefit of this discerning market.]