Lore:Light of Meridia

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A Light of Meridia

The Lights of Meridia are a series of powerful crystalline artifact associated with the Daedric Prince Meridia and filled with her power.[1][2]

The Lights of Meridia were initially a gift to the Meridia-worshipping Hollow City by their patron Prince, power that protected the city and made life easier for its inhabitants. When Meridia's rival Molag Bal sent his Daedric minions to attack the city, Meridia sensed an opportunity, she filled the Lights with even more of her divine power and used them to ward the city and push it into Coldharbour through Molag Bal's own portal. Encased by the power of the Lights this manner, the Hollow City became a part of Meridia's own domain in Molag Bal's realm, a "dagger in his side" which he could not touch.[1][2]

In 2E 582, after achieving a ceasefire in the Three Banners War on the island of Stirk, the forces of the Mages Guild and Fighters Guild ventured into Coldharbour in an attempt to put an end to Molag Bal's Planemeld.[3] Initially scattered by the realm's defenses, the guild forces gradually regrouped in the Hollow City, which provided sanctuary from the realm's dangers due to its warded nature.[1][2] At the urging of Meridia, who was disguised as the city's mysterious Groundskeeper and helped to nurture and maintain the protective magic, the Vestige ventured to the Lightless Oubliette where the last Ayleid king, Laloriaran Dynar, was imprisoned and set him free by using a Light of Meridia to dissolve the dark magics holding him.[1][4][5]

Through the efforts of Vanus Galerion and the Vestige the Great Shackle, which was meant to cast metaphysical chains that'd pull Nirn into Coldharbour across the planar chaos and so complete the Planemeld, was destroyed however, prior to its destruction, it had generated a Planar Vortex. Likened to an "Oblivion straw" that would pull Nirn and "its very essence" into Coldharbour by itself if not dispersed.[6][7][8][9]

Thus a small group entered the Planar Vortex with Meridia. Their goal was to unleash the Light of Meridia at the focal point of the Vortex thus dispersing it. However, before the Light of Meridia could be unleashed, the group needed to destroy the Dark Ancors that Molag Bal was using to bind the Vortex together as, otherwise, the resulting backlash would "destroy Nirn as surely as the Planemeld would". Meridia, whose power was greater in the in-between realm than it had been in Coldharbour, aided in this task by distracting Molag Bal and defending the group from him. After the destruction of the Anchors, the Light, magically prepared by Vanus Galerion and Gabrielle Benele, destroyed the vortex entirely, setting back all progress Bal had made on the Planemeld.[4][10][7]

After the Planemeld was thwarted, Sir Cadwell spent some time serving Meridia, and a Light of Meridia was placed in his care. Cadwell allowed the Vestige to use the Light of Meridia in his care in order to experience the events that would've occured had they woken somewhere else and been aligned with a different faction in the Three Banners War. Through the Light's power the Vestige experienced the world through the eyes of their foes, their identity obscured, seen once more not as a great champion but as a soulless drifter lost in an unfamiliar land.[11][12][8]

The Breton knight Darien Gautier was brought into existence as Meridia's vessel and champion, a living Light of Meridia within whom her magic was strong and vibrant.[13] Meridia described Darien as her will and power inserted into Nirn's reality whenever her light is needed to banish the darkness.[14] Darien's nature made itself apparent through a variety of strange abilities he exhibited throughout his adventures, such as prophetic dreams of the future,[15] unnaturally swift recovery from injury, immunity to the toxic mist of Angof, the ability to close portals and destructive bursts of light which would protect him from danger.[13][16][17] During the Daedric invasion of Summerset, Darien returned to Nirn as a Knight of Meridia. He promised to serve Meridia as her champion and stop the plot of the Triad in exchange for his freedom, and was given Dawnbreaker as a part of this deal. Unfortunately, the sword was stolen and corrupted into Duskbringer by Nocturnal, while the Triad invaded Meridia's realm directly to incapacitate her and Nocturnal imprisoner her in her shadows. Eventually Darien climbed the Crystal Tower with the Vestige and the ex-Psijic Leythen in order to stop Nocturnal from claiming the Tower's Stone, Transparent Law, and using it to attain omnipresence across Aurbis, absorb the power of the other Princes, and unravel reality. As they approached the top, Nocturnal attempted to consume the Vestige and Darien with her shadows. It was here that Darien's nature as a Light of Meridia manifested, repelling the darkness, and he came to understand his true identity. Darien sacrificed his remaining energy to purify Dawnbreaker for the Vestige, allowing for Nocturnal to be defeated and reality to be saved.[18] [18][13][19][20][21] In the wake of his sacrifice, Darien found himself back in the Colored Rooms where his light was fading fast. He used the last of his energy to transport a message with his last words to the Vestige.[22]

Gallery[edit]

  • Vanus readies the Light of Meridia with Gabrielle

  • The Light of Meridia is unleashed after being imbued into the Vestige

  • Cadwell with a Light of Meridia

  • Darien's true form as a Light of Meridia

  • Darien emits a destructive burst of light

  • Darien closes a portal

  • Darien's last words

  • The Hollow City

Notes[edit]

  • The function of the Light of Meridia to allow one to experience events that might've occured had circumstances been different is somewhat reminiscent of the function of Time Magic or the concept of the Many Paths, those alternate realities where fate takes a different course.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d The Groundskeeper's dialogue in ESO
  2. ^ a b c Events of The Hollow City in ESO
  3. ^ Events of The Weight of Three Crowns in ESO
  4. ^ a b Meridia's dialogue during The Final Assault in ESO
  5. ^ Laloriaran Dynar's dialogue during The Hollow City in ESO
  6. ^ The Source of Power
  7. ^ a b Vanus Galerion's dialogue in ESO
  8. ^ a b Cadwell's dialogue in ESO
  9. ^ Laloriaran Dynar's dialogue during the The Army of Meridia in ESO
  10. ^ Events of The Final Assault in ESO
  11. ^ Events of Cadwell's Silver in ESO
  12. ^ Events of Cadwell's Gold in ESO
  13. ^ a b c Darien Gautier's dialogue in ESO
  14. ^ Meridia's's dialogue during The Dreaming Cave in ESO
  15. ^ The Journal of Darien Gautier — Darien Gautier
  16. ^ The Fall of Faolchu quest in ESO
  17. ^ Angof the Gravesinger quest in ESO
  18. ^ a b Events of Summerset
  19. ^ Nocturnal's dialogue in ESO
  20. ^ Sotha Sil's dialogue in ESO
  21. ^ Veya Releth's dialogue in ESO
  22. ^ Words of the Fallen — Darien Gautier
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