Raid on the Fountainhead

"Once the source of Madness becomes the Font of Order, Jyggalag has won."

- Haskill

The Raid on the Fountainhead was the penultimate conflict of the Fourth Era Greymarch. It was a last-effort operation by the Forces of Order to use subterfuge in defeating the Forces of Madness. Multiple Priests of Order infiltrated the Palace of Sheogorath and entered the Fountainhead. Though they succeeded in poisoning the Pools of Madness that fed the Shivering Isles, they were ultimately defeated by the Hero of Kvatch.

Prelude
Having failed at an offensive in the Fringe, the Forces of Order began contemplating more indirect methods of infiltrating and destroying the Shivering Isles. It was with the aid of one of the traitor duke of the Shivering Isles, either Thadon or Syl, that the plan was conceived to take out one of the strongholds of the Forces of Madness. When this failed, the traitor duke again thought of a plan that would nullify the very power of the Isles. The Priests of Order would poison the Font of Madness, cutting off the magic that fed the Isles.

By this point, Sheogorath had already turned into Jyggalag, and the Throne of Madness was empty. With the aid of the chamberlains of both Madness and Order, Haskill and Dyus, the Hero of Kvatch successfully recreated the physical form of the Staff of Sheogorath, which would allow the Hero to claim the Throne of Madness and stop the Greymarch. In order for this to commence, the Staff needed only to be dipped in the Font of Madness, imbuing it with the power of the Shivering Isles.

The Fountainhead
Upon returning to the Palace with the Staff in hand, the Hero was greeted by Haskill, who immediately drew attention to the fact that the Font and Tree of Madness were both covered with crystals. The Priests of Order had successfully entered the Fountainhead and poisoned the Pools of Mania and Dementia. The Hero promptly gave chase, entering the Fountainhead and seeking out the enemy.

It wasn't long before the Hero was confronted by the Gnarls of the Fountainhead. While some remained tame, most had been corrupted by the Priests and transformed into servants of Order that summarily created blockades to limit the Hero's passage. The Hero had to fight through these Ordered Gnarls, as well as rely on the tame ones to remove the blockades. Deeper in, the Hero discovered smaller Pools of Madness that were Ordered. By killing the Priests guarding the pools, the Hero cleansed them. The same was done in the Pools of Mania and Dementia, where the Ordering was at its worst and the Priests were gathered in plenty. It was here that the Hero also had to contend at last with the traitor duke, either Thadon in Mania's Pool or Syl in Dementia's Pool.

The traitor gave a lengthy speech, telling how they had been blinded to, led on, and fooled by Sheogorath, and how the Hero was nothing but a usurper that had killed the other duke in cold blood. The traitor told that Jyggalag was coming, and that the days of Madness were over. Then the Hero and the traitor dueled in the respective Pool. The traitor showed surprising strength, supported by a magic item in their possession, but the Hero was ultimately the victor. At the traitor's death, the respective Pool was cleansed.

Aftermath
With the Fountainhead cleansed, the Font of Madness flowed freely again. The Hero was able to imbue the Staff with the power of Sheogorath. At that moment, the Staff came fully into the dedication of the Hero, who was now officially Madgod of the Shivering Isles. None too soon, as Order chose then to launch its final assault. Seeing this latest plan fail and the death of his greatest lieutenant, Jyggalag decided that the direct approach was the only option, and subsequently commenced the Battle of New Sheoth, which would bring the Greymarch to a truly final end.

Behind the Scenes

 * The Raid is seen in the second to last Main Quest mission, "The Roots of Madness".


 * Which duke is fought, Thadon or Syl, is determined by the choice of the player earlier in the Main Quest to become either the Duke of Mania or Dementia. The duke of the player's choice is killed, and the surviving duke joins the Forces of Order and meets their end here.


 * This battle bears a certain similarity to the Duel in Paradise, as the Greymarch as a whole does to the Oblivion Crisis. In both cases, the battle involves the need for a mystical artifact (Amulet of Kings and Staff of Sheogorath) that is essential to defeating the attacking [[Daedra Lord. The Hero must also contend with the Daedra Lord's chief lieutenant, either Mankar Camoran or the traitor duke.


 * It is also possible to remove the Order blockades with the Shards of Order found on the bodies of the Priests, bypassing the Tame Gnarls, which can sometimes take a while to reach a door.

Appearances

 * The Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles

Source

 * The Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles