Board Thread:Lore Discussion/@comment-24597741-20140106210548/@comment-10207438-20140108204944

maybe the adversary is Herma-Mora, he enters a man and becomes the greedy man, Miraak become power hungry and devours the dragons he once swore alegiance too, Miraak also stole the stones of the all-maker.

Unholy beasts could mean Daedra, of which Herma Mora being a Daedric prince, may control many lesser Daedra(like the Seekers and Lurkers) the incurable plague part though... not sure.

Also, Herma-Mora is said to be the enemy of all the skaal/nords, so him being the driving force behind the night of tears wouldn't seem too out of character for the Skaal portrayal of Herma-Mora.