Opening Author's Notes
General : Alright, so I wrote all of this towards the end of 2015 and promptly lost all interest in writing. I'm going to be attempting to get back into the habit over the holidays, and will be starting by reformatting my stories to make sure they're all properly legible. I was looking through a few of them and was almost ashamed at some of the mistakes I'd made, and the fact that, while it looked alright from my phone (where I had been typing and reading them) it looked awful when on a PC screen, so to anyone who had to sit through that I apologize.
I'm not actually British or American, but the English I speak is of the British variation. I'll try to stick to US spelling though, in part because those red squiggly lines annoy me, and because most of the readers are from the US. If I miss any, do tell me, and I'll try to fix that.

Specific to this story : This story is written from the perspective of a historian from a time after TES V : Skyrim, who has stumbled upon the journals of the Dragonborn and is translating them as he finds them. I've run pretty dry on ideas for following chapters and welcome any you might want to throw out there; I can't guarantee I'll use them, but I'll certainly appreciate them at any rate.

Fragments from the last Dragonborn's journal, placed in the order in which I found and translated them. It does not seem that he had any particular category in mind, and the writing resembles, more than anything, mostly unrelated rambling, ranging in category from opinions on races to all of existence, from disease-stricken people to empires and kingdoms, which is why I gave up on ordering them as they were written. I have collected and translated these to modern Tamrielic, as the originals are written in early fourth era Tamrielic, which lends further credence to my belief that these were truly written by the Dragonborn.

On Vampirism and Lycanthropy

In my travels I have come across a great many things, as you may have expected, and I have decided to record in writing the most important or interesting of those, for others to read, and experience, what I have seen.

As the title suggests, this volume shall concern those stricken with the disease Sanguinare Vampiris, Vampires, and those stricken with Lycanthropy, werewolves.

I have met a great many of these in the wilds, and in cities, you might he surprised to learn. While a great many lived up to their respective stereotypes; attacking on sight and without mercy, there were also those who simply tried to hide what they were, and live as peacefully as possible. Others came to terms with what they were, and used it to their advantage, often to aid others with the strength and speed granted to them by their affliction.
The greatest example of this was a group of Werewolves I met, and later joined. Yes, I was once a Lycanthrope, though I have since cured myself. The unique strain of the disease that had afflicted the group had been passed down between them for five centuries, willingly, from member to member. The first few had made a deal with a coven of witches to gain power, and they passed it on to those that followed them

None of them went out on killing sprees, and any murders they committed were to aid others, or out of self-defence. They were kind protectors of their area, not vicious beasts.

Whilst serving with the Dawnguard, I met an ancient vampire, whose mother had locked her away to keep her safe from her maddened father. She had been locked away for a great length of time, though I was unable to discover exactly how long it had been. She was certainly out of commission from before the time of Tiber Septim until I freed her.
This vampire, daughter of the Vampire Lord Harkon himself,was named Serana, and she was instrumental in his defeat. She aided me greatly in the finding of the Elder Scrolls foretelling the "End of the Tyranny of the Sun", and in the claiming and safeguarding of Auriel's Bow, the very bow that shot Lorkhan's Heart to its resting place under Red Mountain when he had been defeated by Trinimac, who became Mauloch, or Malacath.

It had been this weapon which Lord Harkon had intended to use to end the sun's reign, and allow the Vampires to rise.
Yet he was defeated, in part by a Vampire.

It is not right that society should so shun those afflicted; many of the newly infected Vampires have no desire to join a coven, but know that should they stay alone they will be found and killed.
Lycanthropes often fight themselves, hiding who they are, until they snap, go feral, and have to be put down.
If these men, woman and elves had a place to go, a place that would teach them to control their curse, or cure it where possible, there would be far fewer tragedies involving them, and the number of people changed against their will would be greatly reduced.

We cannot seek to exterminate them by force;their numbers are greater than any can ascertain, they blend in far too well, and should the feel truly threatened the more violently-inclined amongst them might attempt to forcibly turn as many people as they can to ensure the continuation of their kind.
But more importantly than the logistical reasons for not attempting to murder them are the ethical ones. What right have we to decide their fate? Should we be attacked we must defend ourselves of course, but their is no need whatsoever for there to be anything but peace between our kinds. Their strength and speed can be a great asset to anyone they choose to aid. They often did not choose to become what they are, and were forced to join covens or packs to avoid extermination.

From the Journals of the Dragonborn, Volume one.

On the Falmer, who are the greatest evil in Tamriel.

Before I explain why, let me tell you of the Falmer, and how they became what they are today.

The Falmer were once Snow Elves, and to the Altmer they still are. The name, 'Falmer', even means 'Snow Elf' in their tongue. They lived in what is now Skyrim long ago, during the Merethic Era, and had a civilisation on par with that of the High Elves today.
When the Atmorans came, they fought back and tried to push them away, the (in)famous 'Night of Tears' one example of such an event. But, as we all know, Ysgramor and his companions came to Tamriel, and they avenged their fallen kin. With weapons enchanted by the first great enchanter amongst Men, Ahzidal, they went to war, and they won.

When the Snow Elves saw they had been defeated, the survivors ran. Some hid in the mountains, some ran to the south, andmany of them sought refuge with the Dwemer, with whom they had long had an uneasy alliance.

The Dwemer welcomed them, but at a price. In return for being allowed to remain in their cities underground, the Falmer would give up their sight. From there the Snow Elves deteriorated further, until they became what they are today; hideous, dark-dwelling creatures.
They may not be the most powerful threat, or the strongest fighters, but none surpass them in sheer malignancy.

The Thalmor may be a threat, but they do so with a goal. They kill and fight for what they believe is their way to immortality.
The Dragons too, fight for what they believe is right. They see themselves as more powerful, and therefore believe they have the right to rule.

Many kinds of undead and creature will attack on sight, but they do not do so in a planned manner; they do not set up ambushes, or traps. They search for
food, or protect their territories. They do not have the intelligence to assess a threat, and can therefore not be blamed for killing a child; it does not know what it is doing.
We cannot hold that accountable which does not even know what it is doing wrong.

The Falmer kill most of those that enter their caves instantly, and had that been all they would not rate as any more evil than the undead do.
But this is not all; for they do not murder out of ignorance. They have intelligence, they have currency, they even have their own script! They leave their subterranean dwellings with the purpose of obtaining human slaves, they farm Chaurus for their chitinous shells.
They have the ability to smith their own armour and swords, bows and arrows, and so much more.
There is simply no conceivable way in which they would be able to do as they do, but be unable to communicate a desire for peace with Man or Mer, or a desire for an adventurer to leave them be.

All other beings kill out of a desire for either power, safety or instinct. For Falmer it is simply to kill. They gain nothing from killing anyone that enters their settlements, and they are intelligent enough to know better.

I met a Snow Elf once, a paladin of Auriel. He shared with me his hope that one day, perhaps in the near future, the Falmer, or Betrayed as he called them, would develop more of an intelligence, accept Auriel once more, and become as their ancestors once were.
I believe his hopes to be naive; the Falmer are already developed enough, they simply do not care to.
They are well beyond the level of intelligence needed to live in peace and perhaps even trade with the other races. They do not because they do not wish to.

- From the Journals of the Dragonborn, Volume two.

On CHIM, the realisation of truth.

"I breathe now, in Royalty, and reshape this land, which is mine, I do this for you, Red Legions, for I love you!"

Any who have been to a sermon on Talos or read the history of the Third Empire of Man will recognise this. The words of Tiber Septim as he swept the jungle from Cyrodiil, and erased it from the past, present and future.
He did this, not using Divine powers, as many believe, for he was at this time still Mortal, but through CHIM.

CHIM. Royalty in the tongue of the Ehlnofey. It is what many scholars and even Daedra have aspired to achieve, and the Psijic order today still focuses on it in their path to enlightenment. But many fail.

What is CHIM? I know many of you are wondering this. To understand CHIM, you must first understand that this land, Tamriel, Nirn, Oblivion, Aetherius and even the Void and Stasis, is, in fact, a dream.
It is not your dream. Nor is it mine. The Dreamer, or Godhead, as some call it, is not part of our world, nor has he control over it. He simply enables us to be here.

CHIM is achieved when you can see before you, the Wheel of Aurbis, with its eight spokes reaching out, turned so you face its side. Now you see the first tower. I.

This is what Lorkhan saw, what prompted him to trick or persuade, depending on who is asked, the other et'ada, first spirits, to create Nirn.

Aurbis lies in the space where Anu and Padomay meet. Where Stasis and Change clash. For in Stasis nothing is created, and in Change nothing can remain. Both are needed for any semblance of life.

When seeing this, the First Tower, one of two things will happen.
The first, less pleasant, option, is that you realize that as you are part of a dream, you do not exist. It is possible, likely even, that this realisation destroys you. You will, quite literally, realise yourself out of existence. This is commonly, amongst those learned in the subject, referred to as a 'zero-sum'.
The second, infinitely more pleasing outcome, is that you realize that since you are part of the Godhead's dream, you are part of the Godhead himself. This realization can lead to power such as Tiber Septim's, in erasing the Jungle, or Vivec's, who also achieved CHIM, in levitating the mountain Sheogorath cast at his city, also named Vivec. Later this mountain became home to the Ministry of Truth, Baar Dur.

Of course, that feat was less impressive as Vivec's disappearance led to it slowly falling down. The Dunmer managed to keep it in the air through a deal with Clavicus Vile, Daedric Prince of Power. When the machine that brought the souls the Daedroth demanded in return was broken though, the mountain crushed the city of Vivec utterly, and caused vibrations under the earth so violent they led to the eruption of Red Mountain, causing the infamous Red Year.

Not many even manage to see the First Tower though, as the concept of being a part of someone else's dream is too disturbing for them to handle. But for those who achieve CHIM, the world is open. For to realise you are essentially the Dreamer, is to realise you can control the Dream. In this though, I must advise caution, in the unlikely event that any of the readers achieves CHIM; one must not change too much. For to change too much risks the awakening of the Godhead, and therefore the instant deletion of our world, and all that reside in it.

CHIM is best known and understood by those who have achieved it, such as Vivec, or those beings old enough to recall the forming of the world, the vision of Lorkhan. 'The Commentaries of Mankor Camoran on the Mysterium Xarxes' and 'The thirty-six Sermons of Vivec' are some of the few books that refer to it with accuracy.

- From the Journals of the Dragonborn, Volume three.

On the Underestimation of other Races by Men.

While much of what I have seen on my travels was striking in beauty, skill, wisdom, or a combination of those, some things I have seen struck me in the utter idiocy they displayed.
Chief amongst these, as the title implies, is how Men think of Dunmer and the beast races, and how the Altmer think of everyone.

A grand example of this is Windhelm around the year 200, in the fourth era of course.
Many of the native Nords had developed both hatred and disdain for the Dunmer and Argonians that were native to their city. Argonians were relegated to the docks, Dunmer to the insultingly renamed Grey Quarter, formerly the Snow Quarter.
The Nords thought themselves by far superior, and many of them displayed outright hatred and disgust towards them. They thought themselves stronger, more courageous, and more honorable, though their actions seemed at odds with that.

Many of the Altmer, I should not need to tell you, believe that it is they who should rule. They see the Men and think them apes, they see the other Elves and think them amusing pets or a once-great race led astray.
They believe they are the true heirs of the great society of the Aldmer, and only they can lead all others to greatness, under their command, of course.

And many, many, many of both races see the Argonians as lesser, and the Khajiit as untrustworthy thieves. Khajiit are not even permitted within some cities!

Yet it is those races, in particular the Dunmer and Argonians, that have proven themselves to be extremely powerful. To put all on a fair playing ground, one needs to look at a situation in which they were all involved, and of course, it is the Oblivion Crisis that springs to mind.

The Altmer fought bravely and with great Magical strength, but were in the end almost overwhelmed. The Men did much the same, only they were saved by the Divine Intervention of Akatosh, who took Martin Septim's body as his avatar and ousted Mehrunes Dagon, shutting the Oblivion Gates across Tamriel.
The Argonians, in stark contrast, not only held their ground, but fought back with a ferocity that proved too much for the Daedric hordes. The Hist, trees older than anything else on Nirn, which I shall likely explain further in another Volume, recalled all Argonians to Black Marsh when first the Oblivion Gates were opened. The Argonians then pushed the Daedra back, and invaded a part of Oblivion. Eventually, the Daedra were forced to shut the portals to Black Marsh in order to survive the onslaught.

The Dunmer did not do anything near as spectacular during the Oblivion Crisis, as their power had long since started to wane, with the death of Almalexia and Sotha-Sil, and the disappearance of Vivec, but if we look at a time before this, when they were attacked by Mehrunes Dagon, we will see their mettle.

This was a very long time ago, during the Reman Empire, and not many even know of this, but Mehrunes Dagon and his Daedric army once marched through Morrowind to Mournhold, and laid waste to it. Almalexia and Sotha-Sil, two members of the Dunmeri Tribunal, arrived at the scene of destruction too late to stop it, but together, they fought the forces of Destruction. Sotha-Sil held all the lesser Daedra at bay, while Almalexia single-handedly took on the Daedric Prince. And she won. Not a single other mortal* can lay claim to having defeated one of the Seventeen on their own.

The absurdity of Khajiit and Argonians being regarded as lesser is only more ridiculous when we remember that Tamriel was at first populated by nothing but the Hist, Argonians and Khajiit. It was those that were here first.
The Aldmer came from their continent when it sank, and the other Elves spawned from them.
The Nords came from Atmora, towards the end of the Merethic era.
The Redguards, or Ra'gara, warrior wave in their tongue, came from Yokuda.
The Imperials descend from Atmorans and Akaviri invaders.
And Bretons descend from unions of Man and Elf, long ago.
So before treating them as outsiders, or lessers, remember; they were here long before you, and they are likely to be here long after you, in the case of the Argonians.

*I use the term Mortal loosely here, as at this time she had, together with Sotha-Sil and Vivec, turned herself into a semblance of a God, though they remained killable, as proven by the Nerevarine.

- From the Journals of the Dragonborn, Volume four.

On the Hist.

One must take great care when discussing the Hist, especially when discussing it with an Argonian. While unlikely to take offence, as I have found them to be remarkably accepting, they may become confused if you refer to their language as if you spoke of their Gods. Their language is, strangely to us, named the hist. The important difference in writing is the lack of a capital, and in speaking the 's' sound in Hist is longer and more drawn out, whereas hist is said more shortly.
No large difference to us, but to a native speaker it truly means a lot.

The Hist. To truly understand how old they are, one must first understand the circle of Creation and Destruction our world is a part of.

Scholars refer to this cycle as the Kalpic cycle, and each individual 'turn of the wheel', in a manner of speaking, as a Kalpa.
Our world was created, it goes through its cycle, or Kalpa, and then it is destroyed, to start again at the same beginning. This is repeated again and again.

Nobody knows how old the Hist are, only that they are older than this world. The Hist has somehow released itself from the cycle, and exists both in and outside it. It interacts with it, develops with it, and influences it, but it is not destroyed with it. It was here at the very dawn of this Nirn, and shall likely be there at the dawn of the next, and any after that.
Another important distinguishing feature between Argonians and Men is how they treat their dead. The Argonians see a corpse as nothing but a bag of flesh and bones; anything of value left when the inhabitant died. Therefore, you are not like to find (m)any Argonian graveyards or crypts, as any dead are simply left in the Marsh, to serve as food and fertilizer to the inhabitants.

At first this seemed horrible to me; disrespectful, blasphemous even, but having thought it through, it makes perfect sense. The Argonians revere the Hist. They would feel no greater joy than to die knowing that their remains might be used to feed their Gods, of sorts.

While Men, on the other hand, have taken the odd path of believing that the spirit leaves the body after death, but that the body is somehow still important. I can confirm the existence of at least one afterlife, having been to Sovngarde myself, and not one of the heroes I spoke to had any form of knowledge relating to their corpses.
Why then, do we take such care with these remains? I myself would have been infinitely more happy had the remains of my people's ancestors been used as fertiliser or feed, having fought through what seems like thousands of undead.
What is less respectful, the return of your body to nature, or its resurrection to fight for another?

But back to the Hist. They are trees, or appear to be so to us, but are, at the very least, semi-sentient. They have a strong connection to each Argonian born within Black Marsh, as they ingest the sap of a Hist tree shortly after birth. It is through this connection that they could recall all Argonians to Black Marsh during the Oblivion Crisis.
The Hist trees can communicate with each other, and on rare occasions will call all Argonians back to Black Marsh. The Oblivion Crisis and subsequent invasion of Morrowind is one such example. They have even taken Argonians to Oblivion for protection on occasion, when a threat was insurmountable.

Much of what is written here I learned through conjecture with those who have studied it, and Argonians themselves.

- From the Journals of the Dragonborn, Volume five.

On the Dwemer.

The Dwemer. Many have grown up with tales of how they 'disappeared', mysteriously, at a time we do not know, in a way we do not know.

This is a lie. Perpetuated not out of malignancy, but ignorance. Of course it is known how and when the Dwemer disappeared; until a few hundred years ago there lived Dunmer who had spoken with them, and fought with them!
The Dwemer disappeared during the battle of Red Mountain, in the six hundred and sixty-eighth year of the First Era. The Dwemer had long had a fascination with machinery, logic and power, preferably mixed into one. They held no great stock with either Aedra or Daedra, and worshipped none. The only one they had any relationship with was Hermaeus-Mora, lord of Fate and Forbidden Knowledge.

While mining under Red Mountain, the Dwemer discovered an artifact of immense power. It held such power that it could turn those who wielded the correct tools into immortal Gods. A more religiously inclined group might have believed thoughts like these to be blasphemous, but not the Dwemer.
What object was it, that held so great a power? Lorkhan's heart. The Heart of a God lay below Red Mountain, having fallen there after Auriel shot it from his bow.

The greatest of Dwemer, high-priest Kagrenac, had smithed the tools he believed suited for the job. The hammer Sunder, the dagger Keening, and the protective Wraithguard. With those, he and his race could ascend to godhood, and crush those before them.

But the Chimer learned of his plans, and, thinking them blasphemous, set about stopping them. They attacked with all their might and conquered Red Mountain, taking the tools, but before they managed to do so, Kagrenac used the tools. But instead of reaching divinity, the Dwemer disappeared.

I know this to be the manner in which the Dwemer disappeared, for I had an acquaintance at the College of Winterhold who held great interest in the subject. He decided the best way to discover what happened would be to recreate the events leading up to it. Predictably this lead to the same result.
He used a warped soul stone as a substitute for Lorkhan's heart, and only Keening to extract the power within. But before my very eyes, he disappeared when he struck the stone.

Later the Tribunal used these tools for their own gain, but that is another tale.

From the Journals of the Dragonborn, Volume six.

On the Tribunal and the Dunmer

The Tribunal. Amongst the most powerful mortals ever to have been. Only Tiber Septim himself was unequivocally more powerful than any of them.

Now they have fallen, of course, but how did they gain their power? What could possibly raise a mortal to the heights of near-divinity?
The Tribunal used the Tools of Kagrenac, Sunder, Keening and Wraithguard, to tap into the Heart of Lorkhan, as the Dwemer had intended. They had sworn an oath to Azura not to, but Sotha-Sil convinced them it was the better choice, that they would not need the Daedra if they themselves held the power.

Almalexia. Sotha-Sil. Vivec. The Mother, the Tinkerer and the Poet. ALMSIVI.
That broken oath angered the Daedric Prince Azura, she changed the entire race of Chimer to show their infidelity. Their skin darkened to ash and their eyes lit with the fire of Red Mountain, the had become Cursed Elves. Dunmer.

But the Tribunal convinced the Dunmer it was no curse, but a gift.
The Tribunal then ruled over the Dunmer, and well, for centuries upon centuries, never being conquered, never being overthrown, their power keeping their place and their kind secure
The worst that happened under their rule was the destruction of Mournhold by Mehrunes Dagon, who, as discussed in my previous volume, was banished by Almalexia herself. Morrowind, like Black Marsh, was never invaded by Tiber Septim, but peacefully integrated through treaty.

The Dunmer have since the betrayal of the Tribunal ever looked as they do now, for better or for worse. It is unknown if their inherent resistance to fire also stems from this time.

But the General of Nerevar, Dagoth Ur, king of the Chimer at the time of the battle of Red Mountain, had also attained immortality. And as his power grew, the power of the Tribunal waned. Almalexia grew maddened, Sotha-Sil isolated himself in his City of Clockwork.
He lured Dunmer into his service with dreams, infected them with the Blight, a terrible disease that grotesquely changed their bodies and ate away at their minds. Nerevar was then reborn, the Nerevarine was come. He was sent by Almalexia to kill Sotha-Sil, and later killed Almalexia when she turned on him.
So most of the Tribunal had died.
Then Vivec left as well, and Dagoth Ur was defeated. The Nerevarine disappeared, and none know for certain where he went. This left the Dunmer without those who had lead them for so long, without those who had guided their kind for as long as there had been Dunmer.

And then, of course, after the Oblivion Crisis, the newly reunited Argonians came to avenge themselves. The Dunmer, especially those of House Dres, had long held to the practice of capturing Argonians as slaves and selling them. The Argonians wreaked havoc across the southern plains of Morrowind, until House Redoran, with their famous bone-mold armour, managed to push them back.

This was not the end to the tragedies that befell Morrowind, for shortly after that Baal Dur fell, and Red Mountain erupted.
And so, after so many years of peace and prosperity, it all fell apart rapidly, leaving the Dunmer as refugees in many places.

The information in this volume is in large part commonly known, and any who speak with a Dunmer will quickly learn this much, but it may be enlightening to some to learn that the Dunmer were not always as they are.

- From the Journals of the Dragonborn, Volume seven.

On the Orsimer.

It is a common mistake for people to assume that Orcs are a beast race, as they look so dissimilar to any other race of Man or Elf. But in fact, they are Elves, Orsimer, and they did not always look as they do now. But to explain how they came to be as they are, we must look at their God, Malacath.

Malacath, Daedric Prince of the Ostracised, Spurned and Cursed. Fitting then, that the other Princes would Spurn him, and consider him not to be one of them.

For Malacath was once Trinimac, a God of Elves so popular he was in some places more revered than Auriel himself.
But when his followers decided to leave, he advised against it, thinking it a bad idea.
But Boethiah, Daedric Prince of Evil Plots, overpowered him, and spoke with his voice, encouraging the followers to leave the Summerset Isles.

Boethiah defeated, and promptly ate Trinimac, horrific as that may be, and from the remains rose Mauloch, Malacath, the Spurned God. For so hideous was he to look upon, that none but his closest followers would associate with him freely. They too, changed, become the Spurned Elves, Orsimer.

They are known as excellent warriors and great smiths, meaning they are welcomed in the Imperial Legion, and they value strength above all.
In an Orc stronghold, each woman is either the wife or daughter of the Chief, other than the Wise Woman of the stronghold. Any son challenges his father for the chiefdom when he is grown, or will be ousted.

They place a strong value on blood, and should one commit a crime in one such stronghold they may find themselves paying 'The Blood Price', wherein they bleed until whoever they wronged is satisfied, and it is not easy to satisfy an Orc.

It is rare for outsiders to be accepted by a stronghold; while they will not attack you, they will make it very clear that they do not want you there. The way to be accepted is to be Blood Kin. This is, in essence, being named brother to a Stronghold Orc.
This is not done lightly, by any means. I once brought an Orc obsessed with books and knowledge three Elder Scrolls, and was still turned down! But for those that acquire this gift, it is exceedingly useful. You gain access to ore-filled mines, Orcish smithing techniques and, should one of the Orcs be so inclined, a very capable companion.

A Stronghold Orc has been trained from birth to fight, and he or she does it well and often.
Many an Orc have I heard shouting "No one bests an Orc!" as they ran into battle, and while this is an exaggeration, they do tend to be better fighters than any other race.

- From the Journals of the Dragonborn, Volume eight.

On the Thalmor.

The Thalmor ruled the second Aldmeri Dominion, and they now rule the fourth. They are not so well liked in Tamriel, not after the Great War, but very few people know why they do as they do.

I mentioned in an earlier volume that they believe this is their path to immortality, and now I shall expand on that.

Long ago, before Nirn was made, there floated only Ada, spirits, in the place where Stasis and Change touched. There was no time, not in the sense that we know it. It flowed freely, doing as it liked. This means that nothing aged, and therefore all that was, was immortal.
This was because there was but one Tower, the first, as I mentioned in my volume on CHIM. Time did as it liked around it.
After Lorkhan caused creation, for which the Thalmor hate him, a number of Et'Ada left, Magnus and his Magna-ge chief amongst them. They tore a hole through creation and left the sun and stars in their wake.
Auriel/Akatosh called a meeting between those that remained. He created the first second tower, the Adamantine Tower. It is the single oldest structure in Tamriel.
All other Towers were built by different mer seeking to follow their chief deity after he, Auriel, ascended before them and left them.

The Aldmer built the Crystal Tower, the first place of study for arcana. It was destroyed by daedra during the Oblivion Crisis.
The Red Tower formed around the Heart of Lorkhan after it was shot to Vardenfell.
The White-Gold Tower was built by the Ayleids, and fell when the Amulet of Kings was destroyed during the Oblivion Crisis.
The Orichalc Tower was built by the Sinistral Elves on Yokuda, and fell when the continent was drowned beneath the waves.
The Walk-Brass Tower, the Numidium, was built by the Dwemer using the power of Lorkhan's Heart. It was destroyed by Zurin Arctus.

There are other towers too, but from these we can grasp the idea that Towers are not eternal, and are in fact falling one by one.
The Thalmor seek to expedite this process, as described in this passage of a commentary on Talos written by them

"To kill Man is to reach Heaven, from where we came before the Doom Drum's iniquity. When we accomplish this, we can escape the mockery and long shame of the Material Prison. To achieve this goal, we must:
1. Erase the Upstart Talos from the mythic. His presence fortifies the Wheel of the Convention, and binds our souls to this plane.
2. Remove Man not just from the world, but from the Pattern of Possibility, so that the very idea of them can be forgotten and thereby never again repeated.
3. With Talos and the Sons of Talos removed, the Dragon will become ours to unbind. The world of mortals will be over. The Dragon will uncoil his hold on the stagnancy of linear time and move as Free Serpent again, moving through the Aether without measure or burden, spilling time along the innumerable roads we once traveled. And with that we will regain the mantle of the imperishable spirit."

The "Dragon" refers to Akatosh, and as such, time. They wish to unbind time, and so free themselves from mortality.

- From the Volumes of the Dragonborn, Volume nine.

On the year 201 of the fourth era, as experienced in Skyrim.

What important things have happened in this year? A great many, I would argue. The Stormcloak Interregnum, the return of Dragons, the attempted return of Miraak and Lord Harkon's attempt to end 'The Tyranny of the Sun'. In this volume I shall only speak of the first of these, as the latter will fill another few volumes.

The Stormcloak Interregnum was Ulfric Stormcloak's attempt to kick the Thalmor, and the Empire, out of Skyrim. He did this from his seat of power in Windhelm, and claimed that any true Nord should join him.

It is clear though, from how he ruled in his hold, that the Altmer were not the only race he disdained. Both the Dunmer and Argonians were ill-treated under his rule, and it was, in part, this that caused me to take side with the Empire.
His reasoning was that the Empire was a Thalmor puppet kingdom, and that they had no right to ban Talos as Divine.

But it has become clear to me that he was as much of a Thalmor puppet as he claimed the Empire was: I myself found Thalmor documents naming him as a passive asset!
The war he was fighting was the reason for the Thalmor's presence in Skyrim, the Empire being forced to allow it by the White-Gold concordat. It all started with his reclaiming of Markarth from the Reachmen.

After he retook Markarth (see the book "The Bear of Markarth" for details) he demanded the right to worship Talos as his reward. Before this point, many Nords had taken to ignoring the White-Gold concordat on this point, and owned a small shrine to Talos or an amulet of some sort. It was this open declaration that led to the Empire having to crack down on Talos-worship.

This had all been part of the Thalmor's plans. They had known the Nords would never stand for the loss of Talos, and they forced the Empire to take the fall. And then, with both Skyrim and the Empire weakened, they would take Tamriel in one fell swoop.

As my previous volume on the Thalmor stated, they desire for Nirn to fall to the void, that all Mer may become immortal spirits. One of the Towers preventing this is The Snow Tower, known as The Throat of the World. The highest point in Tamriel is its peak. It is fortunate, I believe, that the rebellion was ended so quickly, for otherwise we may already have been at war with the Thalmor.

I do not believe though, that war has been avoided. The Thalmor doctrine has no place in it for peace. Their desire is for all of existence to fade. As long as they exist they will fight.
War has been postponed, until either the Empire or the Thalmor believe they are sure to win the next war.

- From the Journals of the Dragonborn, Volume ten.

On Dragons.

Being Dragonborn, I have a strong connection to this subject, and insider knowledge, insofar as that is possible, of their species. There is a reason, unknown to many, for the return of the Dragons. A prophecy long ago recorded by Akaviri Dragonslayers, the prophecy of the Dragonborn.

"When Misrule takes its place at the eight corners of the world,
When the Brass Tower walks and time is reshaped,
When the thrice-blessed fail and the Red Tower trembles,
When the Dragonborn Ruler loses his throne, and the White Tower falls,
When the Snow Tower lies sundered, kingless, bleeding,
The World-Eater wakes, and the Wheel turns upon the Last Dragonborn."

These lines refer to, respectively, the shattering of the Staff of Chaos by Jagar Tharn in the fourth century of the third era (the Imperial battlemage who locked up and subsequently impersonated Emperor Uriel Septim VII),
the use of the Numidium in Iliac Bay, causing the localised Dragon Break whereby men walked in more than one place and all endings were made true,
the fall of the Dunmeri Tribunal (ALMSIVI), as explained in my writings on the Dunmer,
the end of the line of Septim at the end of the Oblivion crisis (through Martin Septim's becoming the Avatar of Akatosh), the fall of the White Tower, the Imperial city, to the Thalmor,
and, the final straw, the civil war in Skyrim.

Skyrim being referred to here as "The Snow Tower", which is the Throat of the World, Skyrim's most iconic landmark. It being "sundered, kingless" refers to the Interregnum, so it is arguable that both the Thalmor and Ulfric Stormcloak did, in fact, cause the Dragon Crisis.

"The Wheel", as it is called here, refers to Aurbis, the eight spoked wheel of Nirn. And the last Dragonborn is, apparently, me.

A Dragon is by its very nature destructive. It is a creation of Akatosh, meant to devour the world at the end of its cycle, so that a new one may be born. The leader of Dragons, "Thur", they call him, is Alduin, the infamous world eater.
Alduin is the one Dragon able to go to Sovngarde when injured, to replenish himself using the souls of the dead, meaning a lasting victory over him is even more challenging than a victory over any other dragon.

The reason the world was ruled by Dragons during the Mythic era is that the Dragons lost sight of their purpose, and rather than destroying the world fully, they decided to rule over the broken remains of it.
Until, that is, their rule was broken. By Gormlaith, Felldir and Harkon, who fought their way to the top of the Throat of the World and 'defeated' Alduin, whereafter the other dragons were hunted down and killed.

I say 'defeated', because he was not truly gone. They used an Elder Scroll, a remnant of creation, to send him adrift on the sea of time, until he resurfaced in ours. He could not truly be defeated, of course, because they had neither a dragonborn, nor a passage to Sovngarde. Without both, they could not possibly cause his permanent downfall.

There are exceptions, of course, to the stereotypical dragon. Paarthurnax, for example. Brother to Alduin and the Dragon who taught Man to use the Voice, through Kynareth's blessing. Odahviing too, is an exception. This is the Dragon that brought me to the entrance to Sovngarde, in order to fight Alduin. And of course, the famed Nafaalilargus, the Red Dragon of Tiber Septim.

But each of those was still destructive, in a way. Paarthunax was constantly at war with himself, a struggle on its own. Odahviing still fought, but on the other side. Nafaalingus killed any who attempted to steal what he was charged with guarding.
All Dragons fight, with Men, Dragons, or themselves, there are no exceptions.
It is what they were made to do.

On their Magic.
A Dragon's magic is his voice. He uses Rotmulaag, words of power, to create the effect he desires. These Shouts are almost always made up of three words. The most used one is Fire Breath. Yol Toor Shuul. Fire Sun Inferno. This Shout is used by many Dragons, but not all, to create a stream of fire that can incinerate almost anything in its path. Others use a different shout to create blizzards from their maw, as the rhyme mentioning the Jagged Crown describes,
"Maw unleashing razor snow, of Dragons from the blue brought down, births the walking winter's woe, the High King in his Jagged Crown."
This covers the shouts most dragons use, but not all. Some unique dragons will deviate from this; Durnehviir has been in the Soul Cairn since the Mythic era and can practice necromancy through his Voice.
Alduin himself could recall the souls of dragons slain by any other than a Dragonborn through use of the shout "Slen Tiid Vo", bringing flesh to their bodies and undoing the damage done to them by time.
The most powerful Dragons use "Wan Lah Haas", Magicka Stamina Life. It drains these three things from its victims.

Contrary to what might be expected, Draconic magic is not limited to Dragons. Any mortal with a voice can learn to channel their life force through Words of Power. Alduin was first defeated by those three mortals I named earlier with the aid of the words "Joor Zah Fruul", and the meanings behind those words are so foreign to Dragons that they cannot make use of it themselves.
To use a Shout one must take the meaning unto themselves, they must understand what is meant by it, what is felt, what the implications are behind it.
Or so I've been informed; as the Dragonborn I need merely slay a Dragon to steal some of his understanding. The words "Mortal, Finite, Temporary" are so foreign to the mind of an immortal Dragon that he cannot comprehend them.

On fighting Dragons.
The safest way to fight a Dragon is to make use of wards. Because a Dragon's Breath attack is a continuous stream, it does little damage per second. This means that even a lesser ward is enough to keep yourself safe from it. This does not help against teeth though, so I'd advise caution on that.
Beware the tail as well, I have seen many a would-be Dragonslayer thrown wide by a swipe of the tail.

I do not, of course, condone people going out to find and kill Dragons. It is a highly dangerous thing to attempt, and there are those who have made a career of killing them. The Blades are a highly capable group, though we have fallen out over my refusal to kill Paarthurnax for crimes committed eras ago, and they are fully able to kill most any Dragon.
With Alduin gone there is no Dragon that could raise others, so there is no need to devour its soul.

From the Journals of the Dragonborn, Volume eleven.

On the Failings of the Empire, and those of the Stormcloaks.

The civil war in Skyrim is, of course, not only the Stormcloaks' fault. The Thalmor had their role in it, as did the Empire. The Empire should never have agreed to a peace treaty with the Aldmeri dominion, for there would never be a fair peace treaty between the two powers.

The Empire would always give up far more, for as long as the Thalmor ruled the Dominion, for the Thalmor desire nothing less than the fall of the Empire and all it stands for.
What then, should the Empire have done?
The Empire would have been best off finding alliances with other lands, the Argonians, for example, or the Dunmer. The Argonians have oft proved themselves to be great fighters, and the Telvanni battlemages can equal the Altmer in destruction magic, if not exceed them.

The Altmer are not indefeatable, as Hammerfell's resistance has proven, and the Empire should not have allowed itself to fall so, by allowing Thalmor Justiciars to exercise violence, torture and murder with impunity, it has only shown itself to be weak, in the eyes of the Thalmor, and in the eyes of its subjects.
No empire can afford to be seen as weak in the eyes of the groups it rules. While a nation can be ruled easily through use of soldiers and other armed forces even when faith is lost in the central government, an empire is too far-reaching for any force to cover all of it. It is why Cyrodiil allows governing systems like the Houses in Morrowind or the High King and Jarls in Skyrim to exist even when direct subjugation might be more favourable. A populace used to living in freedom under their own rule will fight against any infringement of that, so any invader is best served keeping those institutions intact but under their thumb.
This is why the Thalmor demand to allow justicars in all corners of the empire is so subversive; it served as a constant reminder to the Nords that they did not have full control over their lands.
They did not have control before, true, but it was the sight of High Elves everywhere, in foreign armor speaking foreign tongues, that reminded them of this fact, that riled them up every time they crossed one on the road.

I myself, have experience with this. During my quest to slay Alduin, it was necessary to infiltrate the Aldmeri Embassy in Skyrim to find documents pertaining to a member of the Blades, and, ever since that event, I have been occasionally beset upon by Thalmor extermination squads, often with a death warrant signed by Elenwen herself.
I would also like to note that it was very soon after this that the Dark Brotherhood started sending assassins after me, but I have no conclusive evidence that this is the Thalmor's doing.

I chose to fight for the Empire despite these facts because, while the Empire was faulty, the Stormcloaks were a lost cause entirely, as far as ruling a country goes.
To see this clearly, one need only look at the utter disaster that was the city they ruled; Dunmer confined to the Grey Quarter, Argonians confined to but a single house outside the city limits, and a Jarl who approves of it all.

A charming Nord, Rolff Stone-Fist I believe was his name, had the rather intriguing habit of heading out to the Grey Quarter at night, often drunk, and 'telling those bloody grey-skins' what he thought of them, in what weren't the kindest of terms.
Now, many of you may wonder why the guards didn't put a stop to this; this clear breech of the peace. The answer is simple. There were no guards in the Grey Quarter. None.
But you can bet they came running when I stopped Rolff from assaulting some poor Dunmeri lass, in his favour of course.

This then, was part of my problem with them, their 'Skyrim belongs to the Nords' ideology.

Another was the fact that I simply could not stand Ulfric Stormcloak. His personality and lack of honour simply made it impossible for me to spend long stretches of time near him, and his shortsightedness made it impossible for me to see him as a viable candidate for High King.

I speak of a lack of honour, for when he learned to control the Voice from the Greybeards he swore an oath to them, to use it solely to honour the gods, as the Way of the Voice instructs. His use of it against Torygg is a flagrant breaking of that oath, and therefore, to me, despicable. I would like to point out, before anyone asks why I had no compunctions using the Voice as a weapon, my gift comes from Akatosh for my power comes from being Dragonborn.
The Greybeards', and by extension Ulfric's, comes from an entirely different Divine, Kynareth. They are, in effect, two different things.

I speak of an unlikable personality, in that one of his many sayings was 'If he's not with us, he's against us.'. This is, in my view, a way to justify attacking any who refuse to take up arms with you, even if they do not take up arms against you.
And his shortsightedness was in his not seeing the fact that all he did was essentially playing into the Thalmor's hands, as I have discussed in an earlier volume.
These are all, to me, things that at the very least strongly imply an ineptitude at ruling, for a ruler must be fair, able to see the value of peace, and able to see both the causes and consequences of his actions, and to whom those consequences are advantageous.

- From the Journals of the Dragonborn, Volume twelve.

On Daedra.

The most important misconception about Daedra is that they are inherently evil, a stereotype brought about in large part by Molag Bal and Mehrunes Dagon, when they attempted to invade Tamriel.
This is not true. Some have desires and natures that we consider evil; the aforementioned Daedric Princes, to name but two, but they are not all evil.

While when one says 'Daedra' they generally think of the Deadric Princes, the most powerful amongst the Daedra, there are many more, as any Conjuration Mage of note would tell you. Atronachs for example, oft summoned as protectors or attackers, are Daedra of a lower order.

Some Daedra have done almost nothing but aid us, as mortals, through limiting the harm that others would do unto us.
Barbas, for example, the canine companion of Clavicus Vile (Prince of Power and Tempting Pacts), works tirelessly to limit the amount of damage Clavicus does in his pacts with mortals.

Azura too, a Prince greatly revered amongst Dunmer, is a kinder Daedroth. I say 'kinder', because no Daedroth is truly kind by nature, but some are more reasonable or fair than others.
She works closely with Akatosh, the Divine of Time, in her sphere of Dusk and Dawn, a fact that will surprise many who believe the Aedra are good and the Daedra bad.
But no Daedric Prince is wholly evil. I myself have had encounters with many, for it was necessary for me to acquire objects of power in my quest to vanquish Alduin.

In all honesty, and against popular opinion, it is my belief that Hermaeus Mora is the worst amongst the Princes.

While most Princes are content within their plane of Oblivion, being served by the lesser Daedra that call it their home, Hermaeus constantly lures others into his realm, mortals, to serve him. Also, in my contact with him, he killed a man for the sole purpose of gaining knowledge; a truly unnecessary evil, for surely the Daedric Prince of knowledge could obtain it peacefully?

Other Princes lure mortals to their realm, Hircine, to name one of them, but those mortals go entirely willingly, many enjoying the Hunt for all eternity.

But though I find Hermaeus Mora the most distasteful amongst Princes, there are, or is, one I find worse. The Ideal Masters.
Unknown to most outside the necromantic circles, they rule their plane of Oblivion, the Soul Cairn, a dark, lifeless place, and trap those desiring power within. Humans, Elves, Vampire and even Dragons are fair game, being tricked into eternal service to them. Nobody is quite sure what their physical form is, or even if they need one, but that is a discussion for another time, if I ever write of it at all. There are, after all, those who have spent decades, even centuries, studying necromancy, where I have spent next to no time studying the subject; and all my knowledge is second hand and from a short trip through the Soul Cairn.
Necromancers will occasionally attempt to bargain with these Masters, exchanging souls for power, though all are eventually lured to exchange their own soul for power, and are kept there forever.

But to speak of Daedra is to speak of what makes them different from Aedra, and to speak of that properly we must go back to the creation of Nirn.

It was Lorkhan who either tricked or convinced the other Aedra into creating Nirn, and Magnus who orchestrated the design. What the Aedra were not told was the amount of power it would take to create Nirn. It was at the point that they discovered this that they left, returning to their planes, the planets.
The Sun and stars we see were created by Magnus and the Magna-ge, as they ripped their way from Nirn and left holes in creation on their way out.

Each Star is a hole in Nirn, opening us up to Aetherius, the realm of magic, and it is from there that Magicka in our world comes.

Aedra are those who, if you ask the Elves, procreated to create lesser spirits, which they descend from, and if you ask Men created them. It is therefrom that the term 'Aedra' comes, 'Our Ancestors' in old Aldmeris.

Daedra are those who stayed within Nirn, creating their own pocket worlds in Oblivion, who did not contribute to the creation of life, and are therefore 'not our ancestors', Daedra.

The reason Men see Daedra as bad and Aedra as good is the fact that Men often dislike change, and Daedra are, if nothing else, forces of change, where Aedra are forces of Stasis, constants. Time, Love, Work, Wisdom, all these are constant forces in the life of Mortals.
Intelligence changes, Dusk and Dawn change between one another, and Revolution speaks for itself.

Man fears change, for change is the unknown. It is the space under the bed, the shadow in the corner, the sound you hear but can't quite place. There is no true justification for it, for Molag Bal and Mehrunes Dagon were feared long before they attacked, but it is simply there.
Constancy, or Stasis, is the blanket at night, or the familiar dripping of water. A sensation you feel comfortable with, that you know and understand.
And that is why Aedra are oft revered, while Daedra are most always feared.

- From the Journals of the Dragonborn, Volume thirteen.

On Miraak.

Miraak was amongst the First Dragonborn. Thousands of years ago, when Dragons still ruled over Man, he was amongst those 'Dragon Priests' that worshipped them. He was unique though, in two ways.

The first was that he was Dragonborn, and the second was that he went against the Dragons, eventually. He rebelled against their rule, with the aid of Hermaeus Mora, and attempted to overthrow them.
This did not go well for him. At all.

The Dragons burned his Temple to the ground, razing all that was not hidden beneath the earth entirely, and almost killed him.
I say almost, because just before he died, he was swept away by Hermaeus Mora, and taken to live within Apocrypha, Hermaeus' realm of Oblivion, to await his return.
Hermaeus took him as his servant, his slave. He taught Miraak forbidden and forgotten knowledge.

Towards the end of the year 201 of the fourth era Miraak returned to Nirn. He came to Sovngarde, where once he ruled as though he was a king. He controlled villagers to create spireas

A large part of Miraak's power came through a Dragon Shout, Bend Will, which was, and is, so powerful that it can force even the most berserk fighter to calm, the most frightened animal to stay still, and even some of the most powerful dragons to allow you to ride them, as though they were mere horses.

This power came at a price of course; he gained it from a Daedric Prince, and they very rarely simply give things away. He became Hermaeus' instrument on Nirn.

I eventually travelled to Apocrypha and killed him, having learned the Bend Will Shout from Hermaeus myself. I worry to this day that all my deals with the Daedra will catch up with me, but that day has not come yet. Hermaeus, it seemed, had discovered Miraak planned to rise against him, a discovery that granted me far more support from Hermaeus than Miraak was given.

Here we see another example of Hermaeus Mora's cruelty; a servant who had been loyal for thousands of years, put down at the first thought of rebellion.

- From the Journals of the Dragonborn, Volume fourteen.

On Draugr, and other Undead.

Draugr, the bane of many a would-be treasure seeker, who guard the crypts within which they have been buried. Overwhelming popular opinion is that undead are evil; they attack on sight, do they not?

But popular opinion is not always correct. I believe that Draugr, and indeed many undead, do not often wish to do what it is they do. A necromancer's thrall has on more than one occasion said 'thank you' or something pertaining to being free once more after attempting to kill me, and failing.

Popular opinion on Draugr is that they had served the Dragons in life, and were cursed with undeath as a punishment. This has always rung false to me; why punish an enemy by allowing him to fight you forever? I believe that Draugr are as much of a thrall as a necromancer's resurrection. A spirit present in a body, but not in control of it.

What pushed me to this conclusion is what Draugr say as they fight. Most only note 'Draconic battle cries', but if we look at their translations they seem to be either Nordic battle cries or apologies, translated to Draconic. "Sovngarde Awaits!" for example, sounds more Nordic than Draconic.

It seems to me that, as with thralls, some retain their part of their own mind, but not control of their body, and the rest retain neither. Some Draugr can be heard saying "Unslaad Krosis." over and over again as they go to battle, Draconic for 'eternal sorrow', the equivalent to a heartfelt apology, insofar as Draconic has one.

I can not tell you with certainty why it is that Draugr speak Draconic; the fact that I ran into some in a poor man's family crypt that was being used as a necromancer's lair argues against it having anything to do with serving Dragons, but while some crypts hold a strong connection to Dragons, holding either a Word Wall or a Dragon priest, many more do not, and yet hold Draugr despite that fact.

The most logical sounding conclusion that I have been able to think of is this: the raising of Draugr is a form of Draconic magic, rather than necromancy. Similar in use to necromancy, and similar in effects, but different in roots and working. Tamrielic necromancy leaves those with the mental capacity to do so apologising in Tamrielic, which I believe is the root of this branch of magic, rather than it being Elven in origin.

Conversation with Durnevihr, the Dragon of the Soul Cairn and one of very few Dragons to have mastered a form of necromancy, lead me to believe that necromancy is originally an Atmoran form of worship, by which spirits would be called to give final goodbyes. The reason for the mind being lost on occasion is, I therefore surmise, a result of the perversion of this religious ritual in order to guarantee the raised body would do battle for it's reanimator.

- From the Journals of the Dragonborn, Volume fifteen.

This is all that I have thus far discovered in a legible state; other books have either crumbled, burned, or faded away to a point where only a few words can we recognised. I could attempt to translate those and from there conclude the general idea, but I fear to so distort the original message that it would go against every oath of honesty I swore when I became a translator.

There are some errors that I have noted already in this, though I do not know whether this is because those were the most accurate or accepted answers at the time, or because the Dragonborn was, first and foremost, an adventurer, rather than a scholar.

It is interesting to note that these journals mention a previous Altmeri Dominion ruled by the Thalmor, as our own records state that the regime in charge at the time of the Stormcloak Interregnum was the first Thalmor regime. Perhaps we have lost records pertaining to the first two Dominions?

Signed, Maros Dyrenus, Master Historian at the Grand Library of Iretius, in the year 519 of the fifth era.

Authors Note: After having had a lovely review stating that (s)he wished that this was an official part of Tamriel lore, so that (s)he could cite it, I felt that it would be best to state very clearly that a large part of this is (almost the entirety of the part on Undead really)made up of musings on my part, and should probably not be taken without a grain of salt. The more factual parts are as correct as I could make them, though there may still be mistakes in there, hence Maros Dyrenus' note about mistakes possibly having been accepted answers at the time and that the Dragonborn wasn't a scholar, but an adventurer.