Duel in Paradise

"Let us see who at last has proved the stronger!"

- Mankar Camoran

The Duel in Paradise was a confrontation that took place near the apex of the Oblivion Crisis. It was the final battle between the Blades and the Order of the Mythic Dawn, and was fought primarily between Mythic Dawn leader Mankar Camoran and the Hero of Kvatch. Also present for the duel were Camoran's two children, Ruma and Raven, as well as disgruntled Mythic Dawn lieutenant Eldamil, who fought alongside the Hero. The duel took place in Camoran's other-worldly Paradise and ended with his death and the fall of the Mythic Dawn.

Prelude
At the start of the Oblivion Crisis, the Mythic Dawn Order conspired with the Daedra Lord Mehrunes Dagon in his plot to overthrow Tamriel. The Mythic Dawn were successful in assassinating the emperor Uriel Septim VII and his three heirs. They were unsuccessful in killing the fourth heir, however. Martin Septim was rescued from the Daedra's attack on Kvatch by the eponymously named Hero of Kvatch, and began preparing to take the throne and halt the Oblivion invasion. However, the Mythic Dawn were able to steal the Amulet of Kings from the emperor's bodyguards, the Blades. Mankar Camoran took it for his own and escaped into his Paradise, a part of Oblivion given him by Mehrunes Dagon.

The task fell to Martin to find a way of pursuit. This was helped by the Hero's retrieval of the Mysterium Xarxes, the Holy Book of the Mythic Dawn written by Mehrunes Dagon himself. With the Xarxes, Martin found a way to open a portal to Camoran's Paradise. He sent the Hero on several retrieval missions for artifacts necessary to complete the portal ritual: the blood of a Daedra and Aedra, and a Great Welkynd Stone.

The fourth and final component, a Great Sigil Stone, could only be recovered from Great Oblivion Gates, the kind used by Dagon and the Mythic Dawn to attack the cities of Cyrodiil. Martin allowed the Mythic Dawn to proceed with their plan to attack the city of Bruma, and the Battle of Bruma was fought. The Hero managed to get the Great Sigil Stone and the Daedra suffered a great defeat. Martin immediately prepared the ritual, and when the Hero was ready, Martin opened the portal to Camoran's Paradise. The Hero entered in pursuit of the Amulet of Kings.

Paradise
"So, the cat's-paw of the Septims arrives at last."

- Mankar Camoran

The Hero arrived safely in Paradise. There he beheld the seeming beauty of the place, as it looked heavenly. Immediately, the Hero was confronted by the voice of Mankar Camoran, who welcomed his foe to Paradise, or Gaiar Alata. The Heor proceeded swiftly into the Savage Garden, where he was met by the Ascended Immortals, Mythic Dawn members that had died in the service of the Order. In the Garden, they were constantly attacked and killed by Daedric creatures, only to be reborn by the magic of Paradise.

At length, the Hero managed to recover the Bands of the Chosen, wrist bands necessary to enter the Forbidden Grotto, from Kathutet, a Dremora in Camoran's service. The Grotto was the only way to reach Carac Agaialor, Camoran's mountain-top palace and seat at the pinnacle of Paradise. The Forbidden Grotto was a place of torture, where Immortals who showed mercy or deverence from Camoran's ideals were tortured for all eternity. As the Hero passed through the Grotto, Camoran spoke again, and this time spoke on the nature of Oblivion and Tamriel itself.

"How little you understand! You cannot stop Lord Dagon. The Principalities have sparkled as gems in the black reaches of Oblivion since the First Morning. Many are their names and the names of their masters: the Coldharbour of Meridia, Peryite's Quagmire, the ten Moonshadows of Mephala, and ... and Dawn's Beauty, the Princedom of Lorkhan... misnamed 'Tamriel' by deluded mortals. Yes, you understand now. Tamriel is just one more Daedric realm of Oblivion, long since lost to its Prince when he was betrayed by those that served him. Lord Dagon can not invade Tamriel, his birthright! He comes to liberate the Occupied Lands!"

- Mankar Camoran

The Hero's reaction to this revelation is unknown. But the Hero proceeded anyway, and in the deeper reaches of the Grotto, he met Eldamil, one of Mankar Camoran's chief lietutenants. Eldamil had led the Mythic Dawn at the Battle of Kvatch and had opened the Great Gate there. After being killed, he came to Paradise, and there began to regret his evil deeds. For that weakness, he was sentenced by Camoran to torture others in the Grotto. But Eldamil saw in the Hero a chance for vengeance, and so helped the Blade evade the Dremora in the Grotto, and later removed the Bands of the Chosen, allowing himself the Hero to leave the Grotto. Outside, the two proceeded immediately to Carac Agaialor, and on the Terrace of Dawn were met by Ruma and Raven Camoran, Mankar's children, both of whom had been previously slain by the Hero. Ruma and Raven directed the Hero into the palace, where Mankar Camoran was waiting.

The Duel
"I have waited a long time for you, Champion of Old Tamriel. You are the last gasp of a dying age. You breathe the stale air of false hope. How little you understand! You cannot stop Lord Dagon. The walls between our worlds are crumbling. The Mythic Dawn grows nearer with every rift in the firmament. Soon, very soon, the lines now blurred will be erased. Tamriel and Oblivion rejoined! The Mythic Age Reborn! Lord Dagon shall walk Tamriel again. The world shall be remade. The new age shall rise from the ashes of the old. My vision shall be realised. Weakness will be purged from the world, and mortal and immortal alike purified in the refiner's fire. My long duel with the Septims is over, and I have the mastery. The Emperor is dead. The Amulet of Kings is mine. And the last defender of the last ragged Septim stands before me, in the heart of my power."

- Mankar Camoran before his duel with the Hero of Kvatch

In Mankar's throne room, the Master of the Mythic Dawn faced the Hero as he entered, proudly wearing the Amulet of Kings on his neck. He greeted the Hero with a final speech, saying that Dagon's invasion would soon be complete, and that he and the Mythic Dawn would stand as rulers of Tamriel. He taunted the Hero, saying that Martin had no hope, and challenged the Hero to stop him. Then he took a seat on his throne and ordered Ruma and Raven to attack.

The Hero faced off with the two Camoran siblings once more, and with the help of Eldamil, once more managed to prove victorious. Then Mankar himself stood and moved to challenge the Hero. Armed with staff and magic, he proved a terrible opponent. What's more, Ruma and Raven, now Ascended Immortals in Paradise, returned to life and set upon the Hero. Mankar summoned powerful Daedra to assist him, and cloaked himself in magical wards. At this, the apex of his power, he was near invincible.

But Mankar Camoran had not counted on the drive and power of the Hero. The fight was long and strenous, but in the end, the Hero proved victorious. Mankar Camoran, Master of the Order of the Mythic Dawn, lay dead at the heart of his Paradise. At his death, Ruma, Raven, and Eldamil all fell dead as well, and Paradise began to crumble. Carac Agaialor began to fall apart around the Hero as all of Paradise was destroyed. But as it fell, the Hero was transported out of the realm, and back to the great hall of Cloud Ruler Temple with the Amulet of Kings in hand.

Aftermath
The Amulet of Kings was as last recovered and was safely in the posession of Martin and the Blades. Not long after the Hero's final battle with Camoran, Mehrunes Dagon himself was finally defeated in the Battle of the Imperial City, bringing an end to the Oblivion Crisis. With the deaths of its leader and his heirs, the Mythic Dawn Order effectively ceased to exist. With Mankar died the last vestige of Dagon's most devoted cult, and the Mythic Dawn faded from view.

Behind the Scenes

 * The duel is seen in the mission "Paradise", which is the penultimate quest in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivon. It could be considered the climax of the player character's story, due to the Mythic Dawn being the main mortal enemies of the game, and Mankar Camoran the main antagonist besides Dagon.


 * Mankar Camoran can be difficult to defeat, seeing as how he is protected by powerful enchantments and wields powerful magic. Ruma and Raven also prove a problem, though Eldamil is a help. Perhaps the best way to face Camoran is with an unenchanted weapon, as he has resistances to most everything else.


 * Mankar's speech on Tamriel and Oblivion is one of the heaviest debated pieces of Elder Scrolls lore. While it makes enough sense, he contradicts other sources that attribute the Daedric realms mentioned to other Daedric Princes. Also, it is unknown as to whether Lorkhan is in fact a Daedric Prince. Lorkhan did create the mortal plane, but was defined as Padomaic. The Daedra also came from Padomay, and so Mankar may be making a misassumption on Lorkhan's nature. He also might be trying to trick the Hero. And he also may be telling the truth, as he has been in close communication with the Daedra for some time, and so may have learned a great deal more than other mortals. Indeed, he may have learned it all from Dagon himself.

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 * Mankar Camoran's Speeches