Raven Rock

Raven Rock is a settlement built and founded by the East Empire Company, during the Third Era on the island of Solstheim in the Hirstaang Forest and soon became a mining colony.



History
Raven Rock was founded by the East Empire Company in 3E 427, in response to the discovery of vast resources of ebony ore in a  mine on the southern edge of Solstheim. The construction of the colony took several months, but with the help of a certain individual the construction of the settlement was complete. Soon the mine began to produce ebony ore, which was shipped to Windhelm in Skyrim. By 3E 432 the town was home to over thirty people, who were almost exclusively Imperial and a few Nords.

When the Oblivion Crisis occurred, Raven Rock was largely untouched by Mehrunes Dagons forces of destruction, as no known accounts of oblivion gates opening on the island was heard of. During this time the bulk of Imperial forces stationed at Raven Rock were called back to Cyrodiil to fight back the hoards of Daedra. In the first year of the Fourth Era, after the sacking of Ald'ruhn most of the Great Houses sent small groups of their own to find places to re-establish themselves. House Redorans group was lead by Brara Morvayn, who immediately set out for Solstheim.

After some negotiations with the East Empire Company, Brara's group of Dunmer were allowed to stay and work in the colony as they soon became a part of Raven Rock's daily life. Because of the Dunmer's hard work in the mines, the East Empire Company formed a good relationship with Brara's group. During the eruption of the Red Mountain, much of Solstheim was heavily damaged as the Hirstaang Forest along with Fort Frostmoth were destroyed by the wave of fury sent by the mountain. Much of Raven Rock was damaged as many of its stone structures, along with its wooden buildings were obliterated. Thankfully most of the towns residents were down in the mines, and survived the blast. However this didn't occur without a cost, as the colony relied immensely on the protection from the nearby fort of Frostmoth from bandits and marauders. The few soldiers from the fort that survived the eruption travelled to Raven Rock, and attempted to form a garrison. Due to the lack of soldiers in the town, Brara Morvayn with the permission of the East Empire Company brought some of House Redoran's elite Redoran Guard to fill in the place of the dead soldiers. Since then they have guarded Raven Rock ever since.

After a few years, the ash storms from the erupting Red Mountain turned the southern end of Solstheim into ash wastes reminiscent of Vvardenfell itself. The ash storms would leave behind deep dunes of sand, that made life very difficult for the inhabitants of the town. In order to protect the town from these storms Brara requested that the East Empire Company build a large wall on the east side of Raven Rock to defend against the ash storms. The company agreed to provide the funds for the wall, and after a year the wall was complete and named The Bulwark. The wall was extremely effective and allowed work to continue uninterrupted.

In 4E 16 when Solstheim was given to the Dunmer by the High King of Skyrim, the East Empire Company was forced to hand over the control of the colony to House Redoran and control of Raven Rock was given to Brara Morvayn. The council of House Redoran said that she could rule as she thought fit, because of this change almost all of the Imperial population of the town left and returned to Cyrodiil. Still Brara welcomed any Dunmer with open arms, and many chose to stay and work in the mines while others chose to live in the ash wastes on the island.

The next few decades were the golden age for Raven Rock, as the mines were producing large quantities of ebony and Brara was keeping the peace which made the Dunmer in the town happy. After almost fifty years of prosperity, Brara succumbed to old age and passed away and was laid to rest in her family's ancestral tomb. Brara's son Lleril Morvayn took her place as ruler of the colony, and he shared his mother's notions of rulership. His fair and compassionate ways kept people on the island happy for decades.

All was well until 4E 95 when an attempt on Lleril's life was made, but thanks to the prowess of the Redoran Guard the attempt was foiled. Under questioning by Captain Modyn Veleth, the assassin was revealed to be Vilur Ulen of House Hlaalu. House Hlaalu had been at odds with House Redoran since their removal from the Council of Great Houses. House Hlaalu believed that House Redoran was instrumental in the removal, and held a grudge ever since. The attempt on Lleril's life was meant to send a message to the council that House Redoran wasn't as mighty as they purported to be, and that they were vulnerable and weak.

The Redoran Guard investigated further and found out that Vilur had been organizing a coup, and were trying to wrest control of Raven Rock from Lleril's grasp. Vilur and his fellow conspirators were executed, and the coup was quelled. In 4E 130 The Bulwark began to show its age and began to crumble, Lleril elected to use some of his fortunes to repair the wall. In 4E 150 a small force of Argonians landed on Solstheim, with an intent to wreck havoc on the island. During this time Lleril personally led the charge against them. In 4E 170 when the mines finally began to dry up Lleril spent most of the towns coffers on keeping the town fed. by 4E 181 the mines were completely dried up and Lleril ordered the mines to be shut down, and Raven Rock turned to hunting and fishing for its trade. A few Dunmer families left the town to return to the mainland, but most stayed behind.

During 4E 201 Raven Rock was in a state of decline, as the colony's main source of sustainability was fishing and hunting. The Bulwark was in need of extensive repair, as the ash from the Red Mountain was seeping through the cracks in the wall. Because of the ash in the water, there wasn't enough fish to sustain a food source. The Redoran Guard had lost twenty six of its men in the last two years and had only received ten replacements in the last five. And because of the mines being shut down, House Redoran viewed Raven Rock as a very little economic importance to their house.

Raven Rock was also facing attacks by the Ash Spawn coming from the ruins of Fort Frostmoth. The citizens of the town were also being put under the influence of Miraak as most of them were made to work on reconstructing the Earth Stone. The Last Dragonborn arrived shortly after and managed to end the Ash Spawns attacks, destroy Miraak and ending his influence on the people of the island, and was able to reopen the mine by finding large deposits of ebony in an old Draugr crypt. Soon a plot is learned that members of the Ulen family plan to kill Lleril Morvayn, by using members of the Morag Tong to kill Lleril. The plan is eventually foiled, and the leader of the conspirators were killed.

By Game

 * Raven Rock (Bloodmoon)


 * Raven Rock (Dragonborn)