Queen Almalexia ☆ Alandro Sul ☆ Sotha Sil ☆ King Dumac ☆ Voryn Dagoth ☆ Vivec
Aka I’ve seen so many people described as his close companions, I’m convinced it’s an allegory atp.
Headcanons/Straight up fanfic about these relationships
Almalexia
I feel like her ruthless/soft duiality was there from the beginning, but she never showed the latter due to being afraid of any sort of vulnerability. I think maybe she was threatened by rumors of some upstart warrior preaching unity and organizing on her land and she might have even tried to kill him. I think then Nerevar would drop everything and march up to her castle dropping a blade of the assassin by her feet. Almalexia would ask "What else is a queen to do in a situation like this?" Maybe Nerevar says “A queen is to elect a general.” To which Almalexia would respond “It I would be scandalous to elevate and outsider to such a prestigious role.” Then Nerevar would go like “Then we’ll have to remedy that.” with bedroom eyes etc etc. I think maybe she was able to feel vulnerable around him for the first time, which scared her. Also possibly what here corruption spiral was about that she got from the tools. Something about expecting Nerevar to betray her first. And then later her motherly nature as a god is another mask on top of her ruthless self so she could be in total control.
Alandro Sul:
We do not know much about him but I suspect he met Nerevar when he was uniting the Ashlander tribes. I personally see one of the tribe tasks be something like defeating Alandro Sul in battle of honor, which proved his strength and resolve. I like to also think that like the claim that he was Azura's son is mainly because he was serving her to the very end, pursuing the tribunal after what happened at red mountain.
Sotha Sil:
In my mind's eye he was very reclusive and resigned due to a chronic and potentially terminal illness(an interpretation of his childhood) and perhaps offered to help Nerevar who was traveling with Vivec at the time with magical aspects of their adventures? something something, navigating ancestral tombs and dealing with daedric shrines. Maybe he taught Vivec to read and write? Idk I see Nerevar inspiring Sil to feel life and passion again. I picture his corruption train of thought to be that despite his resignation as a sagely character prepared for his fate, he still wanted to live so much and seeing godhood as his way to do it.
Dumac:
We don't know much about him but I think that perhaps he enjoyed Nerevar's company precisely because he wasn't highborn and knew of other places in the world. I picture them playing some kind of strategy board game and having long conversations. Nerevar would intently listen to everything Dumac would say about the Dwemer society(He was eager for his society to thrive too) and that intrigued Dumac. At some point he was spilling secrets he was not supposed to, and I think when Dumac realize that Nerevar did not expose that information to anyone, that he could really trust him. I think maybe he was one of the few people that Nerevar expressed doubt about not feeling confident enough to accomplish his task of unification causing Dumac to commission the Moon-and-Star ring which turned out to be a placebo, because Nerevar already had what it took. (Seriously the stats on that ring are hilarious)
Voryn Dagoth:
So before meeting Nerevar, he was a leader in his own right and a powerful mage. I feel like the way they met was: Nerevar wanted an in with the dwarves but he needed an introduction. House Dagoth was supposedly the only house the Dwemer had good relations with and so Nerevar went to Kogoruhn. I think his house would be very very traditional and uptight, without any nonsense but sort of had a strange nobility to it. Nerevar would aproach Voryn and before he would even say anything, Voryn would straight up go "Are you just here to butter me up for a reference" and Nerevar would go "So it's not working?" And I think this sort of like honest disregard for procedure and playfully terrible diplomacy is what drew him in. Eventually he would soon go from a solemn, responsible leader, to Nerevar's servant wrapped around his finger. Nerevar's advances at first would be treated without any regard for the longest of time. "I'm not your wife" Voryn would say and then one day he found himself by Nerevar's side, ready to move mountains for him. And his corruption would be around being tired of feeling like a servant and wanting to feel more equal to him.
Vivec:
I like to picture him having like a Senpai/Kouhai thing with Nerevar with a serious case of hero worship.(Based on even his name being inspired by Nerevar) To me, before ages made him the person we meet in Morrowind, he had sort of the same vibe as a kid that got famous online too soon and too far, stunting hisdevelopment in weird ways. Maybe Nerevar saw the potential in him and asked Sotha Sil to teach him how to read and write. Maybe after a lifetime spent as a brute, his creativity exploded leading to him eventually becoming worthy of being Nerevar's advisor. I do think that at first it was Vivec reading a bunch of bad poems to them and Nerevar encouraging him. And his corruption would probably have to do with wishing for Nerevar's spotlight. Like I feel like Vivec was not a balanced and wise sounding god figure for the longest of time judging by his writing and what people say about him. I also like to picture him and Almalexia competing for Nerevar's attention.
Anyway, that's what I've got, feel free to add or correct or anything.
I still can't figure out which version of this story is more accurate for me. I tend to believe that at first Dumac didn't know anything. And then he just decided to deserve all the accusations when it smelled fried. But at least before Dagoth Voryn and Kagrenak stirred up their intrigues, Dumac was a good friend to Nerevar, and a good ruler to his people.
Also, while I was drawing, I got a few headcounts about Dumac, but there aren't any obvious ones:
- he has the only beloved daughter
- he has a beautiful deep resonant voice
- he often participated in concerts hosted by his subjects, and sang both solo and with his daughter
- he's not very belligerent in everyday life, but he's a skilled warrior when needed
- he paints his palms and feet with gold paint, and often renews it to leave traces. Nerevar failed to wean Dumac from this habit when communicating with himself - every handshake and hug left golden traces
