Dragon Break

"Every culture on Tamriel remembers the Dragon Break in some fashion; to most it is a spiritual anguish that they cannot account for. Several texts survive this timeless period, all (unsurprisingly) conflicting with each other regarding events, people, and regions: wars are mentioned in some that never happen in another, the sun changes color depending on the witness, and the gods either walk among the mortals or they don't. Even the 'one thousand and eight years,' a number (some say arbitrarily) chosen by the Elder Council, is an unreliable measure."

―Where were you when the Dragon Broke? (Kirkbride)

A Dragon Break, sometimes referred to as an un-time, is a temporal phenomenon that involves a splitting of the natural timeline which results in branching parallel realities where the same events occur differently, or not at all. This results in a return to the non-linear timeline of the Dawn Era. At the end of a Dragon Break, the timeline reconnects making all possibilities and outcomes truth, though contradictory to each other. The "Dragon" that is mentioned is a reference to Akatosh, the God of Time.

Dragon Breaks are utterly incomprehensible to all people they affect, other than extremely powerful individuals such as the Tribunal or the Shezarrines. After being affected by a break, some people have been known to forget the event ever even occurred, dismissing it as nonsense. It is known in some extreme cases of Dragon Breaks that the Elder Scrolls were unable to look back on the occurrence, and that during each un-time event, the Blue-Star Mnemoli has been recorded to appear in the sky. It is also known that every time the Brass-God, Numidium, is activated, a Dragon Break ensues. Despite the extreme effects Dragon Breaks have had on history, some scholars have been known to dismiss the Dragon Break phenomenon as a falsehood.

The Hurling Disk

The Hurling Disk is a conceptual state of the Aurbis, while in a Dragon-Break, in which mortals can utilize to manipulate the Aurbical entities or apotheosize, being 'hurled to reach heaven by violence'. When initiated, the Hurling Disk creates a strange mingling of magic from the solar and lunar spheres of the Aurbis. The concept relies on the representation of the Aurbis as a wheel in which the eight spokes of static-change, the gifts of the Aedra, are removed through invocation of Mnemoli, returning the Aurbis to the turbulent state of the Dawn Era and an axis for the spirits of the Foretime. This results in an 'instant of pure Aurbis' where a whole new universe legitimizes your desires, and the old universe warps itself to accept this, with the two merging togethor at the end of the Dragon Break.

Known Occurrences

The Time-Wound

Felldir uses an Elder Scroll to banish Alduin from Nirn.

The Time-Wound is often considered to be the oldest, and possibly smallest, Dragon Break to ever occur. Whether or not the Time-Wound actually was a Dragon Break could be disputed, but due to it being described as shattered time, it is normally speculated to have been a small Break, compared to the other Breaks. The Time-Wound was formed in the later years of the Merethic Era during the legendary Dragon War. At the peak of the Throat of the World, the first of the Nordic Tongues attempted to slay the Dragon-God, Alduin, with the help of the mortal-made shout known as "Dragonrend". The three tongues were unable to defeat Alduin and instead turned to other means to end the World-Eater's reign of terror. The eldest of the three, Felldir the Old, had brought an Elder Scroll with him, and he utilized its mysterious powers alongside the Thu'um to banish Alduin. The actions of Felldir created a small wound in time in the location where Alduin vanished, where it would remain until the present. This event has effected the Throat of the World in such a way that it has been said that its peak is no longer fully present within the world. It is possible that if the Time-Wound was a Dragon Break, it may have been responsible for the lack of knowledge regarding the period in which the Dragon War took place.

The Red Moment

The Anumidium

The Red Moment was a Dragon Break that occurred sometime near the year 1E 700, during the Battle of Red Mountain. The Red Moment was the first Dragon Break to be caused by the activation of Anumidium, due to it being the first time the Numidium was ever activated. Evidence of the Break's existence can be seen in the multiple conflicting accounts of what actually happened during the time period in which the War of the First Council occurred. Most historical conflictions surrounding the event revolve around the people most directly involved in the War, such as Nerevar, the Tribunal, Voryn Dagoth, and Dumac Dwarfking. Notable examples of questionable events would be whether or not Dagoth Ur was loyal to the Chimer or the Nords during the battle; when, and by who was Dagoth Ur killed, was it the Tribunal or Nerevar, as well as whether or not he died at all. Who was it that really killed Dumac; Nerevar, Wulfharth, or Dagoth Ur. Did Kagrenac or Dagoth Ur who used the tools to make the Dwemer vanish. Did Nerevar die of his wounds or was he murdered by the Tribunal, and whether or not Wulfharth, or the Orsimer were actually present during the battle. Due to the break, not one account of what happened at Red Mountain holds more truth than another.

The first person to recognize that the Battle of Red Mountain was taking place during a Dragon Break was the Ash-King Wulfharth. During this Break, Vivec utilized the Hurling Disk to legitimize the Tribunal's divinity through Mantling the Reclamations. Vivec states that he purposely kept the two main contradictory accounts of what happened at Red Mountain, that of the Ashlanders and the Tribunal Temple, for the Nerevarine to make his/her own conclusion.

The Middle Dawn

The Middle Dawn was the longest and most destructive Dragon Break in all of Nirnic history, lasting 1008 years from its beginning in 1E 1200 to its end in 1E 2208. The Dragon Break began after a fanatical sect of the Alessian Order known as the Marukhati Selective attempted to remove specific aspects of Akatosh they did not approve of, most notably the god's connection to the Elven Time-God, Auriel. The Arch-Prelate of the Selective, Fervidius Tharn, and his subordinates, used the prophet Marukh's teachings to reach a state of "monothought" and channel the Aurbis directly. When they did this, a staff or tower appeared in front of them which they proceeded to dance upon until it broke into eight pieces and spoke its protonymic, creating what would be known as the Middle Dawn to utilize the Hurling Disk.

The Middle Dawn was a much more extreme occurrence than any other Dragon Break. According to some sources, the world slept through the disaster and had it not been for the Emperor-Oversoul that was held within the Amulet of Kings, the entire event may not have even been remembered, as even the Elder Scrolls were unable to look back at the time period in which the Middle Dawn took place. Most stories and texts that survived the Middle Dawn vary quite heavily on the events of what actually transpired during the Middle Dawn, normally conflicting on regards to certain people, regions, and wars. More unorthodox accounts claim that the sun may have changed color, that people birthed their own parents, that gods may have walked amongst mortals, that the Empire spread its reaches into the stars, and that Cyrodiil became an egg. The only consistent happening noted by folks across all of Tamriel, was the falling of eight stars, this being the only way most people could keep track of time. However, the Khajiit were said to have kept track of their days by looking upon the moons, which also kept a constant rate of movement. The province, Morrowind, was said to have been protected by the effects of the break by the Daedra and Tribunal, with the Tribunal Temple believing the eight stars represented each iniquity Lorkhan made clear to the world. Mnemoli was said to have burned so bright during the Middle Dawn, that she could be seen even in the daylight sky; this could possibly mean that Mnemoli was the reason for the reported changes in the sun's color.

While some dispute the Middle Dawn's existence, crediting it as a result of the rise of eschatological Lorkhanic Cults during the Third Era that were obsessed with the concept of "Numidiumism", the existence of multiple primary sources, predating the Third Era, that note the events surrounding the Dragon Break seem to prove otherwise, as well as the inability of the Elder Scrolls to look back to that time period. Other debatable instances involving the Middle Dawn was whether or not it actually lasted the 1008 years that the Elder Council claims it did, a number some believe to be an arbitrary and unreliable, despite the fact that both the Khajiit method of tracking the movement of the moons and the Elder Council's method of tracking the stars both point to the duration being 1008 years.

While it is normally accepted that the reason the Selectives created the break was to remove the aspects of Akatosh they viewed to not complement the newly-founded Cyrodiilic Pantheon, some people, most notably Mannimarco, believe that the Selectives may have had ulterior motives in creating the break. Mannimarco is quoted as saying "The Maruhkati Selectives showed us all the glories of the Dawn so that we might learn, simply: as above, so below". Whether or not the Selectives were successful in their main goals is unknown, as almost all records regarding their existence were destroyed in the War of Righteousness; Some Thalmor members of the First Aldmeri Dominion claim that they were responsible for ending the Middle Dawn, whether or not this is true is not known.

The Tiber Wars

The Halls of Colossus.

When the Emperor Tiber Septim formed his peace treaty with Vivec during the ending years of the Second Era, one of the conditions of the treaty was that the remains of the Numidium were to be put into the possession of the Empire. Tiber Septim gave his battlemage, Zurin Arctus, the task of studying the Numidium, learning whatever he could from the massive automaton. In doing so, Zurin discovered the reason why the Dwemer had built the construct in the first place and of the great power it potentially held as a weapon. Tiber Septim tasked the Blades to annex and remove the population of a wide area of land near Rimmen and then begin to build a secret testing warehouse/laboratory. The massive warehouse, named the Halls of Colossus, was used by a group of battlemages led by Zurin Arctus to rebuild and test the Numidium. Zurin crafted an item known as the Totem of Tiber Septim in order to control the Numidium, and when the Numidium was first activated by utilizing the trapped soul of the Underking held in the Mantella, it caused a Dragon Break that would result with the region becoming inhospitable, being heavily contaminated with what was only called "poisoned glow-rock". For many years the Khajiit native to this region despised the Empire for their actions there. During the Break, Tiber Septim utilized the power of the Numidium to conquer the rest of Tamriel and purge all the royal families who did not vehemently support Tiber's reign. Due to the memory altering effects of a Dragon Break, and the possible use of the Hurling Disk and CHIM by Tiber, very few inhabitants of Tamriel know this Dragon Break even happened. How long this break lasted is not known exactly, but it most likely lasted throughout the entire period Numidium was active, ending only when the Underking temporarily destroyed the Brass-God. According to some sources, the second heaviest hit area by the Break was the Altmeri city of Alinor, which was sieged by Numidium resulting in the city surrendering within an hour of the attack but a battle that lasted from the Merethic Era to the Fifth Era due to the Numidiums time-wrecking capabilities. This siege may have inadvertently caused the future event known as Landfall.

The Warp in the West

The Warp in the West, sometimes referred to as the Miracle of Peace, or the 'Second Numidium Effect', was the most recent and well known of the Dragon Breaks. The break's origins trace back to the events of 3E 405, when an unknown Blades agent acquired the Totem of Tiber Septim and was given the choice as to who the totem would be delivered to. After the Numidium was reunited with the Mantella and walked again, a Dragon Break was created, centering around the Blades agent's choice and splitting the Iliac Bay region into six, seven, or eight separate timelines, all occurring simultaneously (the amount varies by source). While the actions of the Blades agent took place in 3E 405, the actual event apparently didn't occur until twelve years later in 3E 417, more specifically the 10th of Frostfall, a day completely unknown and lost to all those who did not participate in the Numidium's battles. Despite some claims that the Warp only lasted a day, other sources seem to imply that it may have subtly lasted much longer than it is said to have. When the break began, six Numidiums were created as well as six Totems, each being gifted to different kingdoms or individuals; each of the four great warring-kingdoms of the Iliac Bay, Sentinel, Wayrest, Daggerfall, and Orsinium were each gifted Totems and waged war on each other with their respective Numidiums creating battles of incomprehensibly epic proportions, while the Empire also gained control of the Numidium, using it to fight the Bay-Kings. Both the Underking and the Worm-King Mannimarco gained possession of the Totem and Mantella; the Underking using them to grant himself death, and the King of Worms using it to make himself into a god; the Blades agent who the Warp was centered around was apparently killed by the Numidium.

The Underking dies.

The Break ended after the six Numidiums were either killed by each other or the Underking, and resulted with the region being heavily transformed. The area which had once been made up of over forty-four petty kingdoms, now encompassed only four equal-footed and well organized kingdoms, with Wayrest controlling the eastern coast of the Iliac Bay, Orsinium controlling the Wrothgarian Mountains, Sentinel controlling the Southern coast, and Daggerfall controlling the west. The Bay-Kingdoms remained part of the Empire, and stability was brought to the Iliac Bay. While the King of Worms did temporarily become a god, this aspect of the Dragon Break was eventually fixed by the Jills of Akatosh and Mannimarco was made into a mortal again. Some claim that the Warp in the West heralded the fall of the Empire, and certain sources even seem to imply that in a separate timeline, the Empire may have fallen during the Warp. It is known that the god Talos was formed after the Warp, most likely caused by the accession of the Underking.

Trivia

• When The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall was in development, Bethesda wanted to give the player the option for multiple endings. Rather than choose one specific ending as "canon", Bethesda canonized all the endings and made them all truth by introducing the concept of the Dragon Break.

References

Notice: The following are unlicensed references. They are not copyrighted by a ZeniMax Media company, but can still be considered part of The Elder Scrolls lore and are included for completeness.