Vivec City (Morrowind)

Vivec City (often shortened to Vivec) is one of the major cities in. The city represents the seat of Dunmer religion on the island of Vvardenfell.

Named for one of the Tribunal gods, the floating city of Vivec lies on the southern coast of the island and projects well into the sea.

History
Vivec was the largest city in Vvardenfell, and was considered to be a holy relic. It was made up of separate islands that were united by walkways connecting the city. On each island was a single sprawling structure the size of a small town, as well as a vast population. Vivec was constructed almost like a maze, which was destined to become a quick challenge for outlanders.

The city was held in very high regard, both for relative prosperity and the fact that it was home to the God of the same name. Vivec lived in the city until his mysterious disappearance following the events of The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind.

Along with the Living God, Vivec played host to three of the Great Houses of Morrowind. Houses Telvanni, Hlaalu and Redoran all expressed their prowess through their Cantons, and held many attractions for members of their name.

The Cantons
The city itself is an artificial archipelago constructed of a large palace and eight large, multilevel buildings called cantons, "each the size of a small town". These cantons are called the Foreign Quarter, St. Delyn, St. Olms, the Arena, the Temple, and a further three cantons dedicated to each of the Dunmer Great Houses of Morrowind (Hlaalu, Telvanni, and Redoran). Each canton is divided into four sections. From the bottom up, these sections are: the Underworks, the Canalworks, the Waistworks, and Plaza. In the foreign quarter, the Waistworks is divided into Upper and Lower sections.

The Underworks are the lowest level of each canton, and provide drainage and wastewater removal services for the canton. The next level, the Canalworks, is often used for storage, although public-access multipurpose religious areas, shrines, temples, and even crypts are located in some canton Canalworks. Some small shops are located in the Canalworks. The waterline of the canton is about midway up the Underworks.

The populated layers of the cantons begin at the Waistworks. Residential flats, pubs and clubs, shops, and assorted other denizens populate the Waistworks. The Foreign Quarter divides the Waistworks in two, creatively called the Upper and Lower Waistworks. In most cases, the interior of the Lower Waistworks is given over to individual shops and other establishments, while the Upper Waistworks is an open-plan floor for shop stalls to be set up and a corridor going through the area, often ending and branching in shops or pubs. Residential flats are built on the outside of the canton at Waistworks level. St. Olms and St. Delyn have apartments not located in Waistworks, but rather built into the canton walls.

Above the Waistworks, the top level of the canton is called the plaza. The plaza is the high-rent district of each canton. Estates can be found in the plazas of most cantons, as well as prized shops or exclusive cornerclubs.

The House cantons are also home to the records and treasury vaults of the house. Cocooned deep within the heavy masonry of the canton and guarded by Temple soldiers called Ordinators, some of the fiercest guards there are, these vaults are among the most secure areas in all of Vvardenfell.

St. Olms and St. Delyn cantons are home to the guilds of craftsmen in Vvardenfell. The potters and glassworkers reside in St. Delyn, and produce the best examples of useful and decorative pottery and glass on the island. In St. Olms one can find both the brewers and fishmongers guilds.

The Arena
Combat games are a major source of entertainment for the citizens, and one of the central cantons of Vivec is given over entirely to an arena for these games. The Arena canton houses the most spacious and splendorous venue for these games. The entire Waistworks houses a two-story arena with ample seating for games. Also in the Waistworks are fighter housing and training areas, betting booths, and room for shop stalls.

Some of the finest fighters in the history of Vvardenfell have fought in the Arena of Vivec, and many more aspire to be seen there. Players are not able to join the Vivec arena, but some quests take place here. There is also presence of the Mages Guild, Imperial Legion and House Redoran, where you must duel an important figure in that faction to advance. Also, the Guildmaster of the Morag Tong is in the Arena Canton.

The Temple
The Temple of Vivec serves as the seat of the Dunmer religion on the island of Vvardenfell. Not only does it proclaim the Tribunal faith, it denounces the ideals of Dagoth Ur. Many citizens come to the Temple for peace of mind, proper worship, or to achieve enlightenment. Many also commute in the temple to seek cures and ailments for diseases, commonplace misfortunes in the world of growing fear.

Farthest from the Foreign Quarter, the temple spans two unique cantons. The main temple complex is broken into two halls: the Hall of Wisdom, and the Hall of Justice. These unique cantons feature separate measures of their own elegance. Each of them represents the source of information, gathered, and given, throughout the whole of Morrowind.

The Hall of Wisdom is home to the Temple Library, one of the largest libraries in Vvardenfell. Many rare books are available here, and the library is the largest known storehouse of knowledge on such topics as the Dagoth Ur crisis, the Dwemer, the Nerevarine Prophecy, Ashlander Cult beliefs, History of the Empire, and the story of the Tribunal.

Next to the Hall of Wisdom lies the Hall of Justice. This serves as headquarters and barracks of the Ordinators that serve as Vivec's police force as well as the Tribunal Temple's guard.

Behind the Temple canton lies the last canton in Vivec, and certainly the one most shrouded in mystery and reverence. Connected to the Temple canton by bridge, but otherwise isolated in deep water, the Palace of Vivec is one of the most stunning architectural artworks in the district of Morrowind. A stepped pyramid featuring cascading waterfalls and majestic spires, the awe-inspiring Palace canton is home to the demigod Lord Vivec, one of the pillars of the Tribunal, along with Sotha Sil of the Clockwork City and Almalexia of Mournhold.

The Ministry of Truth
The final landmark of Vivec is possibly its most visible of all. Above the Temple canton floats what appears to be a massive boulder. This is actually a small moonlet, and this celestial object is said to have been stopped in its fall towards the city of Vivec by Lord Vivec himself, who brought it to rest several tens of meters above the Temple canton, where it has hovered since. The Temple has dug many tunnels and chambers into the moonlet and converted it into a maximum security prison for dissidents.

The security of the Ministry is obvious to any who see it as the only way to reach the moonlet is by flight. Although the moonlet looks quite majestic hovering sedately above the city, local legend maintains that, should the populace cease to worship Vivec, the moon will complete its fall and raze the city. After the events of Morrowind and the disappearance of Vivec, it eventually resumed its fall, with exactly the same momentum it had when it was stopped. All that remains from the city itself now is a bay of boiling waters.

Politics
The city of Vivec lies firmly in the jurisdiction of the Tribunal Temple. Ordinators serve as both temple and city guards, and operate in dual capacity. In one sense, the Ordinators are tasked with keeping the peace and maintaining law. In the other sense, they are theocratic police, and are charged with identifying, arresting, detaining, and processing dissidents of the Temple.

Although the guilds hold sway in the St. Olms and St. Delyn cantons, independent craftsmen are welcome throughout Vivec. This relatively open economic system allows for healthy and, occasionally, extremely lively competition.

Outsiders from Vvardenfell are welcome in the Foreign Quarter, but there are no travel restrictions in Vivec, save access to the Palace of Vivec and Ministry of Truth. Gondoliers provide transport between all cantons except the Palace canton.

Fall of Vivec
Sometime after the events of, Vivec was not considered a god by his people anymore. The Ministry of Truth, a falling moon that was kept afloat by Vivec himself, completed its fall and destroyed Vivec City, creating a large, flooded crater.

The Argonians performed a strange ritual on the crater itself, turning it into what they called the "Scathing Bay." The waters in the newly formed crater are constantly boiling.

Trivia

 * The name "Ministry of Truth" is a reference to the propaganda ministry in the book 1984 by George Orwell, which went by the same name.

Sub-sections

 * Vivec, Foreign Quarter
 * Vivec, Hlaalu Canton
 * Vivec, Redoran Canton
 * Vivec, Arena Canton
 * Vivec, Telvanni Canton
 * Vivec, St. Delyn Canton
 * Vivec, St. Olms Canton
 * Vivec, Temple Canton
 * Palace of Vivec
 * Puzzle Canal