Lore:Ciannait

Mother Ciannait
Mother Ciannait
Race	Reachman	Gender	Female
Died		2E 582 Icereach
Resided in		Icereach Imperial City Falkreath
Appears in		ESO

Mother Ciannait with her Sisters

"I caught only a fleeting glimpse of her, lit by bursting flames and blasts of lightning. She wore a twisted wicker mask and the elements roared and danced around her like shrieking lunatics. I see her still when I close my eyes." —Optio Cornelia Midara

Mother Ciannait was a stern and powerful Reachfolk witch and a leader of the Icereach Coven, a group of witches active during the 6th century of the Second Era. During her tenure the Coven gained a reputation as formidable advisers and mages, particularly during their service to the Longhouse Emperors. Mother Ciannait and the Icereach Coven were responsible for training the last of the emperors of the Longhouse Dynasty, Leovic, and mastering the Harrowstorms together with the Gray Host.

History

Icereach Coven performing a ritual

Emperor Leovic

Little is known of Ciannait's history, but she was already a leader of the coven before the 2E 577, when Emperor Leovic was deposed. She was known for her powerful magic and a low tolerance for failure.

She and her coven were driven from Cyrodiil along with the other Reachmen after Varen's Rebellion in 2E 577. During their escape from the Cyrodiil they wound up in the area west of Falkreath. They had taken refuge among the graves west of the town. During a battle against the Coven, Mother Ciannait and her hags summoned hordes of undead Nords to defend themselves from Imperial forces of the Second Legion. She also used illusion magic to strike fear into the soldiers. Many Legionaries fell under her influence and fled the field. She also used elemental magic during the encounter. The Legion was forced to withdraw, leaving the matters surrounding the Reachfolk incursion to the local Nords, who eventually managed to cast the faction of Reach Witches out back to their ancient base in the island of Icereach.

The leadership of the Icereach Coven ca. 2E 582

After returning to the Icereach island, she entered into an alliance and partnership with the Gray Host, an army of vampires and werewolves, led by ancient vampire Rada al-Saran. She and her subordinates were tasked with mastering and performing the Harrowstorm ritual using reagents provided by their benefactor. The coven began conducting magical experiments that resulted in the creation of unpredictable and unnatural storms around the Sea of Ghosts. The ritual's purpose was to resurrect members of the Gray Host that had died and been sent to Coldharbour in the First Era.

In approximately 2E 582, King Jorunn, who was the enemy of the Coven, dispatched an expedition from Windhelm to investigate a sudden and unexplained surge of storm activity in the Sea of Ghosts in the vicinity of the isle of Icereach. Although the forces sent by King Jorunn initially faced fierce opposition, they ultimately succeeded in defeating the coven members residing on the island through a combined effort of Lyris Titanbon, the Undaunted guild and the Vestige. Mother Cinnait personally engaged in combat against the invaders, utilizing her storm-based powers, along with other high-ranking members of the coven. Despite her powerful abilities, Mother Cinnait was ultimately defeated and killed in battle. As a symbol of their triumph, the Undainted claimed Mother Cinnait's distinctive wicker mask as a trophy. She was recognized for her distinctive weapon style.

See Also

For game-specific information, see the Elder Scrolls Online article.

Books

• Meet the Character - Mother Ciannait by Optio Cornelia Midara — A legionnaire's eyewitness account of the Icereach Coven