Raven Rock

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

History

Third Era

Raven Rock - Complete — Raven Rock in the Third Era.

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 the island. 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 Dagon's forces of destruction, as no known accounts of Oblivion Gates opening on the island have been 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 Redoran's group was lead by Brara Morvayn.

Fourth Era

After some negotiations with the East Empire Company, Brara's group of Dunmer were allowed to stay and work in the colony, and 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 wooden buildings and even stone structures were obliterated. Thankfully, most of the town's residents were down in the mines, and survived the blast. However, this did not 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 traveled 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. They have guarded Raven Rock ever since.^[1]

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, making 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, and because of this change almost the entire 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, allowing the Dunmer in the town to stay happy. After almost fifty years of prosperity, Brara succumbed to old age and passed away. She 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.^[2] 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 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 wreak 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 town's coffers on keeping the inhabitants of it fed. By 4E 181, the mines were completely dried up and Lleril ordered them to be shut down. Raven Rock then turned to hunting and fishing for its trade. A few Dunmer families left the town to return to the mainland, but most stayed behind.^[3]

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 were not 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.^[4] And because of the mines being shut down, House Redoran thought Raven Rock of very little economic importance to their house.^[5]

Raven Rock was also facing attacks by the Ash Spawn coming from the ruins of Fort Frostmoth.^[6] 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 and destroy Miraak, ending his influence on the people of the island.^[7] They were also able to reopen the mine by finding large deposits of ebony in an old draugr crypt.^[8] Soon, a plot was learned that members of the Ulen family plan to kill Lleril Morvayn via the Morag Tong. Their plan was eventually foiled, and the leader of the conspirators was killed.^[9]

Raven Rock Mine

The Raven Rock Mine in Raven Rock is the towns main source of gold, as the mines hold large quantities of ebony ore which is shipped to Cyrodiil.^[10] In 4E 181, the mines dried up and were closed by the East Empire Company. In reality a group of Miners broke into an old Nordic tomb, and the company sent Gratian Caerellius and Millius to investigate the ruins. Gratian and Millius were killed by the Draugr and the East Empire Company covered it up by saying the mines were dried up.^[11] In 4E 201 the Last Dragonborn arrived in Raven Rock and killed all the Draugr in the tomb, and revealing large amounts of untapped ebony. The mine was opened soon after.^[12]