The Towers

The Towers are a concept in The Elder Scrolls lore that focuses on the metaphysics surrounding the creation of Mundus. It draws largely from a series of texts known as Nu-Mantia Intercept written by Michael Kirkbride, former writer and designer for Bethesda Softworks.

According to these texts, a mysterious character named Nu-Hatta addresses a letter to Chancellor Ocato and the Elder Council warning that the barriers between Mundus and the realms of Oblivion are weakening. The letter forshadows the invasion of Mehrunes Dagon during the events of and explains the creation and purpose of the Adamantine Tower.

What are the Towers?
The Towers are various constructs, both natural and artificial located all across Nirn. Their existence ensures Mundus remains stabilized as they uphold the barriers between the mortal plane and the realms of Oblivion.

Each tower bears a stone that provides it with stability and power. If a stone is ever removed from a tower or destroyed, the tower becomes innert or deactivated. Should all existing towers fail, Mundus itself would cease to exist.

Creation of Mundus
To fully grasp the concept of the Towers, it's important to understand their origins. When Mundus was originally created, several Et'Ada became dissatisfied with their creation and left the mortal plane. One of the most notable was Magnus, the god of magic and the architect of Mundus. In his departure to Aurbis he tore a hole into Aetherius, which became the sun. Soon after many other Et'Ada followed him, they became known as the Magna Ge and left smaller holes in the sky, which became the stars.

Convention
After the departure of the Et'Ada, Akatosh/Auri-El returned to Mundus and arranged a meeting of the remaining Aedra outside aurbic time. The purpose of this meeting, known as Convention, was to decide Lorkhan's punishment for his involvement in the creation of Mundus.

According to Nu-Mantia Intercept, Letter #4, Akatosh's vessel planted itself into Nirn and became the Adamantine Tower, also known as Ada-mantia or Ur-Tower, and it was on this first tower that the Convention took place:

The Zero Stone
The concept of the Stone is also introduced in Letter #4, specifically, the Zero Stone. When Ada-mantia was created, its stone was the Convention itself. This Zero Stone also became the basis for every other stone that came after:

Stones themselves are magical or physical constructs that allow a tower to focus its energy in order to mold creation. The stones are imbued with creatia magic that comes directly from Aetherius, however stones were often borrowed from Oblivion and grafted to the tower, as this was much easier than trying to access Aetherius.

Heart of Lorkhan
The outcome of the Convention was to seperate Lorkhan from his divine heart as punishment for his role in the creation of Mundus. Trinimac tore out Lorkhan's heart and Auri-El fastened it to an arrow and shot it into the sea where Red Mountain eventually formed.

The Red Mountain became the second Tower and its stone was the Heart of Lorkhan, also known as the First Stone. The Heart of Lorkhan granted Mundus with a special kind of divinity and allowed the remaining Et'Ada to leave without it becoming unraveled, while the Zero Stone provided linearity of existence. The Et'Ada who remained either died or eventually degenerated into the Ehlnofey, the progenitors of man and mer.

Each tower bears one of these focusing stones that provides it with stability and power. If a stone is ever removed from a tower, the tower becomes innert or deactivated.

Aldmeri schism
The most powerful of lesser spirits in the time after the Convention were the Aldmer. Upon witnessing their chief deity, Auri-El, leave Mundus, they were eager to follow in his footsteps. They sought to emulate the two existing Towers so they built several of their own in order to achieve divinity.

Eventually, the Aldmer began to split into distinct cultural groups that gave birth to the various races of Mer, such as the Altmer, Dwemer, Chimer. Nu-Hatta asserts that the continent of Aldmeris, the supposed original homeland of the Aldmer, is a myth. He explains the "destruction of Aldmeris" was in fact the schism that took place between the Aldmer, and that the concept of Aldmeris or Old Ehlnofey was simply a set of shared ideals Elves held at the beginning of time. He concludes this with the statement that all mortal life began on Tamriel.

Known Towers
The exact number of towers is unknown. Ada-Mantia and the Red Tower are the only two that were created by the Et'Ada, most of the others were made by the various races of Mer.

Ada-Mantia
The Adamantine Tower, also known as the Direnni Tower was the first Tower. It was created on the island of Balfiera in the Illiac Bay and is believed to be the oldest known structure in Tamriel. It is considered an active tower and its stone is known as the Zero Stone, which is the Convention.

Red Tower
The Red Mountain was the second Tower that was created when Auri-El and Trinimac killed Lorkhan and shot his heart into Vvardenfell. Red Mountain grew around its stone, the Heart of Lorkhan, and it granted a special kind of divinity to Mundus. With two Towers in place Mundus was stable, so Auri-El and several other Aedra left the mortal plane. The Aldmer, seeking to follow Auri-El and achieve divinity, began to construct their own Towers.

It was deactivated after the events of when the Nerevarine destroyed the Heart of Lorkhan. The Tower itself was destroyed when Red Mountain errupted in 4E 06.

White Gold
The White-Gold Tower is the ancient structure which dominates the Imperial City in Cyrodiil. It was built by the Ayleids as a means of refocusing the powers of creation to reach divinity, rather than let the power of magic disseminate.

Although the tower was built with a central spire the structure itself resembles the Wheel, with eight lesser towers forming a ring around it. This formation is described as a unique "Wheel within the Wheel" and gives the White-Gold Tower a power over creatia unlike any of the other Towers. While other Towers bind magic and bleed it, the White-Gold Tower harnessed the power of creation.

Its stone is the Chim-el Adabal, the central gemstone within in the Amulet of Kings. The Amulet was destroyed during the events of, which in turn deactivated the Tower.

Crystal-like-Law
The Crystal Tower is located in Alinor in the Summerset Isle. It was built by the Altmer in ancient times and served as the pinnacle of arcane research, predating the Arcane University and College of Winterhold. During the Oblivion Crisis, it was turned over to the Thalmor, however it was attacked and destroyed by legions of Daedra. It remains unknown what its stone was.

Orichalc
The Orichalc Tower was said to have been located on the continent of Yokuda. It was built by the Left-Handed Elves and is likely to have been constructed from Orichalcum. The Tower was deactivated when Yokuda sank into the ocean.

Green-Sap
Green-Sap is said to be the giant walking tree city in Valenwood known as Falinesti. It's unknown what its stone is. In the late Third Era the city stopped walking and rooted itself for the first time in recorded history. It is unknown if this is an indication of its deactivation.

Walk-Brass
The Walk Brass, also known as the Brass Tower, is the Numidium - the brass god created by the Dwemer. During the Battle of Red Mountain in 1E 700, the entire Dwemer race dissapeared. It sat dormant until it was traded to Tiber Septim by the Tribunal for autonomy from Cyrodiil. It was used to assault the first Aldmeri Dominion, however it was destroyed by Ysmir, the Underking.

During the events of it was used again, which resulted in the Warp in the West, after which it dissapeared from existence. Its stone was the Mantella, a powerful soul gem that contained the oversoul of Talos, Zurin Arctus and Ysmir.

Snow Throat
The Snow Throat, also known as the Snow Tower, is typically interpreted as the Throat of the World in Skyrim. According to the Prophecy of the Dragonborn, the Snow Tower lies "sundered, kingless, bleeding" in the Fourth Era. Its unknown what the stone is, but the peak is described as being only half there - this alludes to the time wound and the Dragon Break that occured at the summit.

Deactivation of the Towers
Another text written by Michael Kirkbride, called the Altmeri commentary on Talos, talks of a Thalmor plot regarding Talos:

"To kill Man is to reach Heaven, from where we came before the Doom Drum's iniquity. When we accomplish this, we can escape the mockery and long shame of the Material Prison.

To achieve this goal, we must:

1) Erase the Upstart Talos from the mythic. His presence fortifies the Wheel of the Convention, and binds our souls to this plane.

2) Remove Man not just from the world, but from the Pattern of Possibility, so that the very idea of them can be forgotten and thereby never again repeated.

3) With Talos and the Sons of Talos removed, the Dragon will become ours to unbind. The world of mortals will be over. The Dragon will uncoil his hold on the stagnancy of linear time and move as Free Serpent again, moving through the Aether without measure or burden, spilling time along the innumerable roads we once travelled. And with that we will regain the mantle of the imperishable spirit."