Morrowind/Government

The government of Morrowind was composed of a central governing hand known as either the King or Queen of Morrowind, which was put in place by the Emperor for the Empire of Tamriel. The person holding this office was also a member of the Elder Council of the Empire of Tamriel.

The province was also controlled by five clans, known as the Great Houses. The head members of each Great House were all part of the Grand Council, which was under the command of the King of Morrowind and indirectly by the Tribunal.

The Great Houses of Morrowind were political parties that ruled over the province. The Great Houses derived from ancient Dunmer clans and tribes, from their ancestors, but in the modern era, were political parties.[9]

As of the modern era, there were five Great Houses: House Hlaalu, House Redoran, House Telvanni, House Indoril, and House Dres. Of these five Great Houses, three were interested in Vvardenfell. These three Great Houses included House Redoran, House Telvanni, and House Hlaalu. House Indoril and House Dres were not involved in the affairs of Vvardenfell, and instead centered themselves on the mainland.[9]

Being a member of a Great House usually meant being a part of the corresponding family that owned the Great House. However, if one was not a part of a Great House, that person could become a retainer or be adopted into a Great House. If an outlander wanted to become a member of a Great House, they could gain status as a servant and/or hireling and pledge exclusive loyalty to a single Great House. After working hard enough, showing faithful service, loyalty and honor, and advancement in lower ranks, the outlander could be adopted into a Great House. Adoption into a Great House and advancement in ranking required that a Great House councilor stand as sponsor for the candidate. Finding a council to sponsor an outlander often had the outlander performing a great, important service to the councilor.[9]

House Indoril
House Indoril claims kinship with all three of the legendary Tribunes, which doubtless accounts for Indoril's preeminence among the five clans. Indoril's capital is Mournhold, also the capital of Morrowind itself, and the Temple priesthood (which is one and the same as the bureaucracy of civil government) is dominated by the Indoril and their subclans.

House Hlaalu
House Hlaalu is the smallest and weakest of the five clans, clinging to Great House status in their ancient capital ofNarsis, but have since been thrown off the Grand Council, their seat taken by House Sadras. Traditional enemies of theIndoril, who have controlled the levers of government for 3,000 years, the continued resilience of the Hlaalu must inspire a certain respect. Merchants and traders in a land that despises outsiders, the Hlaalu nevertheless maintain a limited commerce with the Empire, trading stout Imperial broadcloth and Cyrodilic Brandy for the elegant trinkets produced by the admittedly skilled craftsmen of Morrowind. In the Fourth Era House Hlaalu lost its position as a great house due to its ties to the Empire after it had pulled most of the Imperial Legion from Morrowind to protect Cyrodiil during the Oblivion Crisis, it was replace by House Sadras.

House Sadras
House Sadras is a Great Dunmer House that rose to prominence during the Fourth Era. Having past ties to the Empire immediately turned House Hlaalu into the scapegoat for the Dunmer people's suffering. This led to House Hlaalu no longer being recognized as a Great House and were dismissed from the Council. Therefore, House Sadras joined the ruling Council of Morrowind, along with House Telvanni, Dres, Indoril, and Redoran.

House Redoran
House Redoran guards the western flank of Morrowind, and are known as the best warriors among the Dunmer. Each warrior of the house is sworn to a strict code of honor as to maintain the Redoran's warrior reputation. Redoran towns and strongholds, such as Ald'ruhn, generally have distinctive buildings made from the shells of Emperor Crabs, large creatures who are long extinct.

House Telvanni
House Telvanni is the most xenophobic of a xenophobic race, shunning all contact with outsiders, preferring to tend their herds of giant insects amid the rocky hills and islands of the extreme northeast. Telvanni Bug-Musk is a highly prized perfume among the Dunmer, and their riding-insects command the highest prices in the markets of Almalexia andNarsis. House Telvanni is controlled by a high council of wizard-lords. Each Lord has domain over his or her own stronghold, which is usually the center of a small town of which they also rule. Wizard-Lords are often extremely powerful Dunmer wizards, often reigning for hundreds or even thousands of years. Telvanni towns are often distinguished by their towers which are entirely organic structures that are literally grown as plants. These towers often house the wizard-lords and their subjects who live nearby. The other Dunmer clans give the Telvanni the worst reputation, mostly because they choose to stay out of struggles among houses and remain isolated, caring only for their own.

House Dres
House Dres rules the southern sweep of Morrowind, where the fertile Deshaan Plains merges with the swamps of Black Marsh. The Dres are the great slave-traders and plantation owners of Morrowind. Thousands of wretched captives, mainly Argonians, but including a few Khajiits and even Imperial citizens, pass through the infamous slave-pens of Tear, the Dres capital, from whence most find an early death on the plantations which surround that ill-omened city.