Lore:Four Ambitions

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Mysterium Xarxes depicting the Four Amibitions

The Four Ambitions are a quartet of powerful beings associated with Mehrunes Dagon.[1] They are symbolized by a boar, a fox and a pair of rams.[2] The Longhouse Emperors long conspired to prepare for their usage, and left their work to the Order of the Waking Flame, Dagonists seeking the Ambitions, for when they were finally ready to use their power to merge Nirn with The Deadlands.[2] The ritual to create the Ambitions was carried out by the High Priest of the Waking Flame, Ertus Vandacia and required the sacrifice of life.[3] During the ritual Vandacia also took a little of the power of the Egonymic for himself, granting him great power.[4]

The Longhouse Emperors once entered into a bargain with Mehrunes Dagon whereby Dagon's egonymic was split into four parts and hidden within four mortal infants known as the Four Ambitions, granting them untold powers of elemental destruction and the ability to absorb Daedric energies by mixing Daedric power with the essence of the four mortals,[5][4] a combined essence which would grow throughout their lives,[6] eventually threatening to ignite cities and consume the Ambitions themselves. Due to their volatile nature the powers of each Ambition would rapidly grow exponentially once outside the Doomvaults they were raised in, placing them and everyone around them in danger until they learned control. Another solution was to enter the Deadlands, as the realm would naturally siphon and stabilize their power for as long as they remained there.[5][4] Following the fall of the Longhouse dynasty, Dagon attempted to recover his egonymic by locating the Ambitions and harvesting the power they had nurtured, as each of the Ambitions had the power to merge Nirn with the Deadlands or even destroy both realms if the merging process was disrupted.[6] He planned to use this power to merge Nirn with his plane of Deadlands, the Ambition serving as the spark within Nirn that would summon Dagon's fire from Oblivion.[7][5] Dagon succeeded in obtaining the power of one of the Ambitions, starting a realm merging process which was stopped when an Ambition named Mairead instead used Dagon's egonymic to banish him from Nirn. The power of the four Ambitions was subsequently taken by Lyranth the Foolkiller, who planned to use it to "shift destinies" and fulfil a promise she once made. The Ambitions were described by Lyranth as the power to truly change one's nature, even that of a Daedra. They were said to bear part of something that wasn't themselves, Mehrunes Dagon, within them, and could sense that in each other. As the egonymic within an Ambition belonged to Mehrunes Dagon, the Ambitions could be influenced by the egonymic through Dagon's dark impulses.[8][9][10][5] The Ambitions possessed the power to sunder souls, as the Ambition Sombren did to the Longhouse Emperors, though not to truly destroy them as it is said the spirits would recoalesce and recover eventually.[4]

As Emperor Moricar did not trust Mehrunes Dagon to uphold his end of the bargain, he prepared Mairead as a weapon that could be used to banish Dagon as a contingency, modifying the ritual used to create her Ambition.[11][12] The same power and process which was used to create the Ambitions was also used to create the Incarnates, powerful Daedric beings described as living natural disasters.[13]

History[edit]

The power of the Four Ambitions: Dagon's egonymic, used to banish him from Nirn for his betrayal of the Longhouse Emperors' bargain

The Reachman chieftain Durcorach began building a following in the Reach, allying with the Tagh Droiloch coven in 2E 527 and subduing all rival clans with their help through means involving Daedric bargains.[14] A deal was struck with Mehrunes Dagon to have Durcorach crowned, with his sorcerers performing countless tasks in wait for the day when the "final part of the arrangement" would be carried out and Dagon will "claim his due" with the Four Ambitions.[15] With years of preparation, Durcorach summoned a great horde of Reach warriors and descended upon Cyrodiil in 2E 533, seizing the Ruby Throne for his own.[16] For the Four Ambitions to come to fruition, Leovic noted that everything "must be ready when the time is right". Within the Longhouse dynasty, "promises were made" and bargains were "set in blood and stone" with Dagon as the Prince's way of not accepting failure.[17]

Durcorach and Moricar continued the work of the Four Ambitions, Moricar having an annex built beneath Imperial City to house the last of their secrets, a safe haven for others to find so they can carry out the work. With Varen Aquilarios at the gates of the Imperial City in 2E 577 towards the end of Colovian Revolt, Leovic gathered those who knew part of the plan in the annex to appeal to the Prince of Destruction and seek his help again. Only his steward Farrul Lupus and the leader of the Order of the Waking Flame knew the entire truth, and even they weren't made privy to the changes needed to be made. The Four Ambitions weren't ready yet, with their "time" still a few years away, but had they been ready Leovic would have used them then to destroy Varen and save his legacy.[17][18] Leovic planned that if he failed, the High Priest of the Order of the Waking Flame would have to deal with the others and determine where he moved the Ambitions;[17][18] Leovic was killed by Varen not long after.[19]

In 2E 582, Farrul Lupus sent Eveli Sharp-Arrow to find a book that put her on the trail of Emperor Leovic's secret, informing her that the Emperor's secret concerns a deal made with Mehrunes Dagon and the Four Ambitions.[2] Lupus was assassinated by the Order of the Waking Flame posing as the Dark Brotherhood,[20] prompting Eveli and the Vestige to travel to the Ne Salas Cache Annex. They recovered a ritual that indicated that the cult planned to use the shrine there to learn the location of the Ambitions, and followed Doombringer Eshil into the Deadlands. Eshil spoke with Dagon, revealing that the High Priest sent him, with Dagon expressing that he invested a high amount of effort into the Ambitions and to his dismay the Ambitions were misplaced and the bargain struck remained unfulfilled, telling Eshil to kill the intruders to get the Ambitions.[21] Eshil was killed by Eveli and the Vestige, who planned to find the people on Leovic's list, warn them about the Dark Brotherhood, and find out what they knew about the Ambitions.[2][22]

The Vestige worked with Eveli Sharp-Arrow to uncover the mystery, and warn the surviving councilors, many of whom were known to be in the Cyrodiilic region of Blackwood. Most of the councilors had reconciled themselves to the fall of the Longhouse Emperors, and managed to hang on to positions of importance—for instance, Councilor Tarnian Lovidicus served as a legate in the Chamber of Legates of Leyawiin.[23] However, Councilor Ertus Vandacia, the High Priest of the Order of the Waking Flame, still harbored designs of seizing power for himself—the Daedric power of the pact with Dagon, the Imperial Throne, and the Four Ambitions. Vandacia and his Waking Flame murdered many of his fellow councilors, but framed the Dark Brotherhood.[24]

Mehrunes Dagon, invading Fort Redmane as the realms merge

The Vestige and their allies raced to find the Four Ambitions before Vandacia could acquire them. The Ambitions would turn out not to be conventional weapons but were instead people whose purpose was to be empowered at birth with power and later to be sacrificed themselves by one who sought to seize their power.[25] Vandacia deployed an army to capture the three known Ambitions, who were quickly moved from the indefensible city of Gideon to the much more sturdy Imperial-built Fort Redmane. The bulk of his army was defeated outside the walls, but Vandacia and a powerful group of cultists were able to get into the fort with portal magic.[26]

The Ambition, Destron, was sacrificed by Vandacia, who seized his power and attempted to merge Nirn into the Deadlands, a dangerous process which had the potential to destroy both realms if disrupted. This enabled Mehrunes Dagon to participate in the assault on the fort. However, Vandacia was slain, ending the merge and banishing Dagon. The two known surviving Ambitions, Sombren and Calia, realized that their power was too uncontrollable to remain in Tamriel until they could channel it, and they would have to hide in the Deadlands, where it seemed to be dampened; meanwhile, the Vestige resolved to search for the missing fourth Ambition.[26]

The realms merging at Fort Sundercliff

Mehrunes Dagon made moves to claim the demi plane of Fargrave, as it was a convenient way station between Nirn and the rest of Oblivion, which would ally him to bypass the restrictions Sotha Sil had imposed on his realm due to his breaking of the Coldharbour Compact, sealing the planar connections between the Deadlands and Nirn.[10] The Waking Flame, attempted to seize control of Fargrave through the inscription of "Votive Runes", glyphs containing Dagonic prayers. in various locations. The runes would siphon the emotional energy of the mortal inhabitants, placing them in a state of increased emotion before overwhelming their minds and rendering them unresponsive. The drained energy would than sweep across Fargrave, discorporating all Daedra, including the Grasp of the Stricture at once, leaving the realm defenseless for Dagon's followers to seize. This plan was ultimately foiled by the Vestige[10][27] Unfortunately for the Prince, infighting erupted between Sister Celdina's Waking Flame and Valkynaz Nokvroz of the Ruinblood Clan over who would take credit over the utilization of the Cataclysts; machines that remake Daedra into living disasters known as Incarnates. Valkynaz Nokvroz seized the Ambition Mairead and used her blood to transform himself into a "Perfected Incarnate", an elemental incarnation of fire, but was defeated by the Vestige.[28] In the end the infighting only hampered Dagon's plans, and allowed for the defeat of both factions.[29] After it was discovered that the Four Ambitions were actually imbued with Dagon's nymic, the Prince of Destruction was summoned to Tamriel by the Ambition Sombren, who had been influenced by his study of the Mysterium Xarxes,[5] using the power of the Four Ambitions. A portal was opened between Fort Sundercliff and Dagon's capital of Destruction's Solace in the Deadlands, resulting in the instant destruction of the fort and the surrounding town. Upon manifesting on Tamriel, Dagon once more began the process of merging his realm with Nirn using the power of the Ambitions. However, Dagon and Sombren were followed by a force of mortals and Daedra led by the Vestige, who interrupted the ritual. Another Ambition, Mairead, was able to steal power back from Sombren and used Dagon's egonymic to bind and weaken the Prince. With the help of the Vestige, Dagon's physical form was destroyed and he was banished to the furthest corner of the Deadlands via the use of his egonymic. This reversed the attempted merging of the realms, mitigating the destruction that had been caused to Sundercliff and the surrounding landscape.[30]

List of Ambitions[edit]

There are four known ambitions. They are powerful, so they need to either stay in the Deadlands, or learn how to control their power to not be consumed by it.

  • Destron Brolus
  • Calia Brolus
  • Sombren
  • Mairead, the Anchorite

Gallery[edit]

  • Symbols of the Four Ambitions, (The twin Rams are in the top left corner, the other two are unknown)

  • Destron, one of the Four Ambitions

  • Calia, one of the Four Ambitions

  • Sombren, one of the Four Ambitions

  • Mairead, one of the Four Ambitions


References[edit]

  1. ^ Lyranth's dialogue during The Emperor's Secret in ESO
  2. ^ a b c d Eveli Sharp-Arrow's dialogue during The Emperor's Secret in ESO
  3. ^ Events of Weapons of Destruction in ESO: Blackwood
  4. ^ a b c d Sombren's dialogue in ESO
  5. ^ a b c d e Calia's dialogue in ESO
  6. ^ a b Councilor Vandacia's dialogue in ESO
  7. ^ Sister Celdina's dialogue in ESO
  8. ^ Ambition's End quest in ESO: The Deadlands
  9. ^ The Anchorite's dialogue in ESO
  10. ^ a b c Lyranth's dialogue in ESO
  11. ^ Emperor Moricar's dialogue in ESO: The Deadlands
  12. ^ Partially Hidden Journal — Moricar
  13. ^ Lyranth's dialogue during The Key and the Cataclyst in ESO
  14. ^ High Chancellor's Papers: The Tagh Droiloch — Abnur Tharn
  15. ^ A Deal is Struck
  16. ^ History of Markarth: A Story in Stone — Consul Cardea, the Ard's Administrator
  17. ^ a b c Deciphered Imperial Document — Emperor Leovic, deciphered by Beragon
  18. ^ a b The Journal of Emperor Leovic — Emperor Leovic
  19. ^ Eulogy for Emperor Varen — Lord Abnur Tharn, Chancellor of the Elder Council
  20. ^ Renna's dialogue in ESO
  21. ^ Dialogue between Doombringer Eshil and Mehrunes Dagon in ESO
  22. ^ Events of The Emperor's Secret in ESO
  23. ^ Captain Rian Liore's dialogue in ESO: Blackwood
  24. ^ An Unexpected Adversary quest in ESO: Blackwood
  25. ^ A Hidden Vault, A Mysterious Event and Weapons of Destruction quests in ESO: Blackwood
  26. ^ a b Pyre of Ambition quest in ESO: Blackwood
  27. ^ The Celestial Palanquin quest in ESO: The Deadlands
  28. ^ Valkynaz Nokvroz's dialogue in ESO: The Deadlands
  29. ^ Against All Hope quest in ESO: The Deadlands
  30. ^ Ambition's End quest in ESO: The Deadlands
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