Lore:Sun-in-Shadow

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Oathman Sun-in-Shadow
LG-cardart-Sun-in-Shadow.jpg
Oathman Sun-in-Shadow
Race Argonian Gender Female
Resided in Vvardenfell
Appears in ESO, Legends

Sun-in-Shadow was an Argonian slave who lived in Tel Naga on Vvardenfell. She was mostly disconnected from the culture of her race, and leaned more towards the culture of her Telvanni slave owners, which she was born into. She was ambitious and calculating, like many of House Telvanni's Dunmer members.[1] As a result, her fellow slaves referred to her using derogatory terms such as "smoke-scale" and "elf-heart". Gradually advancing through the ranks, she achieved a series of promotions, starting from gaining her freedom and progressing to become a Hireling,[2] and then a Retainer,[3] ultimately attaining the esteemed position of Oathman,[4][5][6] granting her the authority to possess slaves of her own.[1]

History[edit]

Sun-in-Shadow was ambitious and sought to elevate her position from that of a slave. She studied magic in secrecy, and had potential that surpassed even some Telvanni mages. Therana, a recently elected Telvanni Councilor, noticed Sun-in-Shadow's prowess, and sought to exploit her for her own benefit.[7] Sometime in 2E 582, her opportunity to use this upstart came, as the Argonian sought to earn her freedom and become a hireling of House Telvanni.[2]

Despite being discriminated against due to her existence as an Argonian, Sun-In-Shadow sought to rise up through the ranks of Great House Telvanni, and enlisted the aid of an adventurer to take advantage of Therana's interest in her magical capabilities. The magister wanted to expand her territory of Tel Branora into the area around the ruins of Zaintiraris, a cursed Daedric ruin associated with Sheogorath. Sun-in-Shadow asked the adventurer to retrieve the Finger Bone of Saint Felms from the ruins for Magister Therana, who couldn't do so herself due to the fact that Zaintitaris belonged to House Redoran at the time. The house-less adventurer retrieved the artifact from the ruins, and in return, Therana sponsored Sun-In-Shadow as a Hireling of House Telvanni.[2]

While she was enslaved, Sun-in-Shadow caught the eye of a male Argonian named Eoki. He dreamt of escaping Vvardenfell with Sun-in-Shadow and living blissfully with her among the Hist, but Sun-in-Shadow's ambitions laid with House Telvanni. However, Eoki had grown on her, and she wanted to try freeing him from his enslavement to Archmagister Nelos Otheri,[3] who was also her master.[8] Sun-in-Shadow intended to accomplish this through means culturally accepted by the Dunmer, but this was put on hold as the Great House watched her closely. She sought to purchase a plot of land north of Vos to sell to Councilor Firuth in exchange for a sponsorship, but even this goal had its roadblocks. First, the land that Sun-in-Shadow was interested in purchasing had to be earned, as the landowner's son was kidnapped by lustful Winged Twilights and whisked away to the nearby Daedric ruin, Esutanamus. Regardless of the obstacles set before them, Firuth saw the deal as a bargain and agreed to sponsor Sun-in-Shadow, allowing her to rise to the rank of Retainer.[3]

Unfortunately, Sun-in-Shadow would face roadblocks in her rise up the social ladder, for the more conservative members of the Telvanni Council (namely Magister Gothren) saw the circumstances of her birth as a blemish within the Great House, and sought to deny further advancement with the ranks. As a result, she resorted to subterfuge to eliminate the opposition. Sun-in-Shadow offered a batch of poisoned Marshmerrow Cakes to Gothren's Mouth with the intent of killing her.[4] The plot succeeded, but Magister Gothren was offended by this, and suspected Sun-in-Shadow was the culprit. He kidnapped her, and as one of the most powerful mages in Tamriel, an adventurer was forced to cooperate to free her. Gothren desired Otheri's secret Dwemer research and the adventurer complied with his request.[5]

While Sun-in-Shadow was imprisoned, her plans to free a handful of slaves were set back, as the cave they took refuge in collapsed. Eoki became impatient and angry, and decided to take the matter of his freedom into his own hands. He contacted the Ropefish, a gang of abolitionists led by the Orc Khartag. He then enacted his plan to free slaves in the Glass mines of Vassamsi, and flee with his brothers in bondage to Black Marsh. Vassamsi was a place where Magister Gothren sent slaves who displeased him. It was a brutal and often fatal place to be assigned. Eoki took Sun-in-Shadow along with him, intending to show her the horrors that took place there with the hope that her eyes would reopen to the reality of slavery. Sun-in-Shadow would not return to Black Marsh with Eoki, but she cared immensely for him. She was faced with a choice: she could allow Eoki to flee to Black Marsh with the slaves they rescued that day, or she could return Eoki to Sadrith Mora and keep him for herself.[6]

What happened to Sun-in-Shadow is unknown, but she continued her studies with the goal becoming a magister of House Telvanni.[6] According to Divayth Fyr, she betrayed most of her allies.[9]

See Also[edit]

  • For game-specific information, see the ESO and Legends articles.

Gallery[edit]

  • Sun-in-Shadow as a slave (ESO)

  • Sun-in-Shadow, now a member of House Telvanni (ESO)

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Sun-in-Shadow's dialogue in ESO
  2. ^ a b c Events of A Hireling of House Telvanni in ESO
  3. ^ a b c Events of Rising to Retainer in ESO
  4. ^ a b Events of Objections and Obstacles in ESO
  5. ^ a b Events of The Magister Makes a Move in ESO
  6. ^ a b c Events of The Heart of a Telvanni in ESO
  7. ^ Meet the Character - Sun-in-Shadow
  8. ^ Angharal Suth's dialogue in ESO
  9. ^ Sun-in-Shadow in Legends
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