Mythic Dawn
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The Mythic Dawn are a Daedric cult who worship and eventually summon Mehrunes Dagon. They are responsible for the assassination of Emperor Uriel Septim VII. The Mythic Dawn can draw upon the demonic powers of their deity by binding a unique set of metallic armour and blood-red robes around them. This gives them a strong advantage in battle. The Mythic Dawn cult seem to have a pact with the other Daedra besides Mehrunes Dagon, as well. They are seen in Paradise. Both Mythic Dawn and Daedra coexist and live together. The Mythic Dawn live in Mankar Camoran's domain along with Dremora and other Lesser Daedra. However, these Daedra may be the servants of Mehrunes Dagon, yet it is mysterious why he would need such Lesser servants when he has his Mythic Dawn. They are led by the powerful archmage Mankar Camoran, who acts as Mehrunes Dagon's herald on the realm of Lorkhan.
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[edit] Purpose
The Mythic Dawn serve Mehrunes Dagon as his servants on Tamriel, known by the Daedra, Aedra, and other immortal spirits as Lorkhan. Mehrunes Dagon, the Daedric Prince of Destruction, (as well as Change, Energy, and Ambition) is bound by his fate to destroy all around him. Because the realms of Oblivion are the dimensions of immortality and divine, celestial beings, they cannot be destroyed. This frustrates Mehrunes Dagon because he cannot destroy them, for they will simply reform again. It is believed (by mentions of the Mythic Dawn, yet mostly fragments from various books across Cyrodiil) that he desires to enter the realm of Lorkhan so that he can actually destroy something without its immediate restoration. He wishes to be able to enter Tamriel so that he can show his power, his destruction, his ability to change, and drive all into chaos. The Mythic Dawn are warped, psychopathic beings who Mehrunes Dagon preys upon with promises of power and immortality. The horrors they see at the hands of the Daedric Prince of Destruction is often enough to drive them to the madness that so often consumes them. They are offered powers beyond the grasp of mortals to bring Mehrunes Dagon into Tamriel. Beyond their pacts with the Daedric Prince, this often causes many Mythic Dawn members to traffic with other Daedra, demons, undead, chaotic spirits, and other unspeakable horrors. Through all of this, the Mythic Dawn perseveres to re-create the Age of Myth for their Lord, Mehrunes Dagon and their Master, Mankar Camoran.
[edit] Worship
The Dagon Shrine that the main player encounters along the storyline of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is hidden underground. In fact, it is hidden under a mountain through a series of ingenious tunnels and pathways. Various corridors branch off from the main tunnel, and many of them are barracks and sleeping quarters for the many Mythic Dawn members that are found in the Dagon Shrine. However, at the heart of the mountain, lies a vast chamber adorned with dozens of torches, stone staircases, and a large stage that rests at the feet of a monstrous statue of Mehrunes Dagon. On this stage there are two notable objects: one is a preaching altar that holds the Mysterium Xarxes, the holy text of the Mythic Dawn (said to have been written by Mehrunes Dagon himself; surely, this is possible, for the writting in the book is of unnatural runes and symbols that are unknown to man), and a slab of cold rock that serves as a sacrificial altar. The main character meets an unconscious and constrained person there, and is told to kill the prisoner, an Argonian, in order to enter the ranks of the Mythic Dawn. They seem to refer to the blood of their victims as the "red-drink". Apparently, the Mythic Dawn are fanatics about sacrifices as offerings to Mehrunes Dagon. They also follow every word of the Mysterium Xarxes, yet only their Master Mankar Camoran seems able to read it. They perform whatever is told to them by Mankar Camoran or Mehrunes Dagon, regardless of how sinful it is, even if it is cold-blooded murder. They also believe that they shall be exalted above mortals for their service to the Daedra and Mehrunes Dagon, and take their rightful place as immortal spirits of untold power in the glorious Paradise of Mankar Camoran. Many Mythic Dawn members, however, are horrified at the Paradise, although it is beautiful beyond description and filled with wonderful gardens and lakes, they are truly immortal there. They are invincible, in fact, and many are tortured by the Daedra who force themselves and their power on the Mythic Dawn, often killing them - painfully and brutally. The Mythic Dawn respawn later, only to be mutilated by the angry Daedric spirits. Thus such a Paradise is not truly a wonder after all, the promise of Paradise seems too good to be true when mortal and stuck on the realm of Tamriel (where wars and thievery and killing and sinfulness are common), but it is actually a perpetual hell-on-earth when they finally enter.
[edit] Powers
Many members of the Mythic Dawn are adept at magecraft and can wield a wide variety of magic abilities. They have a perceptive grasp of lightning, and often throw bolts of it at the enemy. They can summon various Lesser Daedra in the form of demonic-looking weapons and their robe-armour. A portion of the Mythic Dawn have such power that they have transcended the realms of mortal existence; Mehrunes Dagon gives such gifts to his greatest of followers in the form of immortality. Several Mythic Dawn members are even invincible, and often rise from the dead mere minutes after being struck down. This is noted by a Mythic Dawn traitor met in the Paradise of Mankar Camoran. The Mythic Dawn may even infuse their magic-usage into their every action in the game, such as their stealth. The average commoner in the Imperial City can magically transform into a superpowered juggernaut with a wave of their hand, summoning various weapons and armour which can swiftly be dismissed. This gives them a large advantage over the opponent, because anyone can turn into a Mythic Dawn warrior without warning. Another power that is at the Mythic Dawn's command is the coveted gift of invisibility. Occasionally, a Mythic Dawn member may cast an invisibility spell, yet more often then not they will focus more on outright battle than abilities that give them covert advantages.
[edit] The Mythic Dawn armor
All members of the Mythic Dawn (except the main player) have the ability to draw upon the power of Mehrunes Dagon to defend them. This defence is shown when the Mythic Dawn member is covered in a sheet of shimmering air, which quickly forms to become a set of conjured Mythic Dawn armor. This is very similar to their normal blood-red robes, yet the robes are covered by plates of demonic-looking, metallic armour. The hood of the Mythic Dawn Robe is replaced by a demonic helmet. It does not cover the whole face, but receeds back to encompass the back half of the head. The front half is either uncovered or hidden behind a spiked, demon-like faceplate. While this armour itself offers little defense besides the normal Mythic Dawn robes, it serves to add intimidation and fear, which often act as enough to demoralize the enemy.
[edit] Daedric Summoning
The Mythic Dawn are all too familiar with the dangerous and seductive power of Daedra Magic. With the ability to summon demonic spirits to them at any time, the Mythic Dawn are arrogant and certain of their power. They traffic with such entities on a regular basis, it seems, because they must interact with the Daedra of Oblivion to open the Oblivion Gates across Tamriel. The Mythic Dawn are never seen with the hordes of Daedra that swarm from the Oblivion Gates, but it is mentioned in a letter from a Mythic Dawn agent (the letter is found during the quest Spies in Bruma) that they have arranged various pacts with the Daedra in order to open the Gates. The Mythic Dawn open so many Oblivion Gates, in fact, that the barriers between the world of Tamriel and the realms of Oblivion have weakened such that Mehrunes Dagon himself is able to pass through them. The amount of power that it would have cost Mehrunes Dagon to enter Tamriel is unknown, and perhaps that is why he barely fights back against Martin Septim when he transforms into the Avatar of Akatosh. Mehrunes Dagon did not seem overly powerful during that fight, for he swung his weapon merely twice while the Martin Septim/Akatosh Dragon-Avatar was able to rake him with his talons, fly, and breathe fire multiple times. However, while there are more Daedra than the Aedra, this may explain why. The Daedra have more quantity (amount of Daedra) while being weaker, and the Aedra have more quality (amount of power). The fact that eight Aedra were able to link together and end the Age of Myth by banishing sixteen Daedric Princes supports this fact as well.
[edit] Lorkhan's Sacrifice
A rather interesting story is said by Mankar Camoran when the main character enters his world of Paradise. Mankar Camoran explains that Tamriel, the world which Mehrunes Dagon attempted to enter in Oblivion, is not really a realm for the men, mer, mortals, and common folk, but is yet another dimension of Oblivion. Mankar Camoran explains that Tamriel's true owner is not the mortal folk that walk about its ground, but Mehrunes Dagon. Mankar Camoran goes on to explain that Mehrunes Dagon was "cast out" of his realm of Oblivion/Tamriel and "lost" it to the sacrifice of Lorkhan. Apparently, Lorkhan created the Tamriel/Oblivion realm but was unwilling to let Mehrunes Dagon destroy it, and banished him to another dimension of Oblivion. Thus, Mehrunes Dagon "lost" his realm of Oblivion to Lorkhan when the latter "cast him out". Mankar Camoran explains that his purpose, along with that of his Mythic Dawn, is to aid Mehrunes Dagon in reaching his old realm and reclaiming it.
[edit] Age of Myth
Before the ages of man, and long before the glorious days of the ancient elves, the worlds that span the cosmos were not separate. They were one large, churning sea of chaos and horror and glory. Great beings of terrible power swam in the ever-changing sea of turmoil, beings that would be called Daedra and Aedra in the millenias later. The powerful spirits destroyed one another, only to reform, only to destroy, only to reform. Spirits would be spawned from the wondrous powers and energies that were common in that era, and others were obliterated by them. This era of utter disarray and power would later be called the Age of Myth. Only through the agreements laid down by the great spirits and powers that made this reign of chaos end and slowly reform into an order. This would cause some of the Aedra and Daedra to rise in power, and cause others to become weakened. Only the most powerful of the great spirits could survive the terrible wars that were constant in the Age of Myth. These wondrous and terrible entities were the eight Aedra who would form the Nine Divines (the ninth being Tiber Septim) and the fourteen Daedra (the fifteenth being a mortal who was ascended into demi-godhood with the other Daedra, and the sixteenth being created as a counterpart to the Daedric Lord of Madness during a great inter-Daedra civil war). The Daedric Lord of Destruction, Mehrunes Dagon, formed the Mythic Dawn cult, by using Mankar Camoran as his avatar, desires to re-create the Age of Myth and restore the chaos. As the patron entity of Change (as well as Ambition and Energy), this is one of his desires: and as the patron entity of Change, chaos would serve him well. For what is chaos if not change? A re-creation of an age of chaos would suit the Daedric Prince of Change well. His greatest ambition, (as the patron deity of Ambition) is to cause the cosmos to reform into such an era, and his Mythic Dawn are the mortal agents on Tamriel he needs. (It is noticed that the Mythic Dawn greet each other with the phrases "Dawn is Breaking" and "Greet the New Day" to refer to the new age that approaches, the Age of Myth.
[edit] Ranks
Although only joinable as part of the main quest, the Mythic Dawn has two ranks you can achieve:
- Initiate
- Acolyte
[edit] Members
Mythic Dawn members often have a copy of the Mythic Dawn Commentaries either with them or at their home.
The following Mythic Dawn Agents will become active after the Dagon Shrine quest and will attempt to attack you on sight (Due to a 100 point faction-wide disposition decrease when you pick up the Mysterium Xarxes):
- Cingor, Leyawiin
- Else God-Hater, Skingrad
- Eugal Belette, Chorrol
- Hans Black-Nail, Castle Bravil
- Isolde, Anvil
- Jearl, spy at Doomstone, south of Cloud Ruler Temple
- Marguerite Diel, Imperial City
- Ranaline, Bravil
- Saveri Faram
- Styrbjorn, Imperial City
- Tanasa Arano, Cheydinhal
- Tolisi Girith, Cheydinhal
- Ulen Athram, Imperial City
