Lore:Guardian's Eye

The Guardian's Eye

The Guardian's Eye is an ancient artifact of immense power, found within the lost Dwemer city of Volenfell. It is of great mystery, and its true nature is unknown. A number of halls within the city are mysteriously named in connection to the "Guardian" including the Guardian's Helm, the Guardian's Skull, and the Guardian's Orbit. The exact meaning of the names is unclear, though it is suggested that the transition between "helm" and "skull" denotes vulnerability. The Eye is of great repute and worth a small fortune, and as such researchers such as the Mages Guild and Tamriel's leading archeologists are willing to do anything to get it.

History

Tharayya triggers the Guardian's Eye's defense mechanism before it disappears

The origins of the Guardian's Eye are unknown, though it is theorized to be a Dwemer artifact. Old Dwemer logs indicated that the Eye was briefly being worked on (likely for maintenance or cleaning) within Santaki at some point after 1E 420. It was then transported to the Dwemer mine of Aldunz for a brief respite, before being moved to Yldzuun, and afterwards made its final trip to the city of Volenfell.

The Eye's Chamber was constructed alongside the Hall of Volendrung, the site of where the Rourken King's hammer fell, to serve as the Eye's final resting place. A number of safeguards consisting of traps, automatons, and even undead were set up to safeguard the Eye. The Guardian Council, consisting of three Dwarven Centurions, were built to guard the Eye. The Dwemer disappeared in 1E 700, and the Eye was sealed there ever since. Mentions of the Guardian's Eye were found in old Dwemer inscriptions within various ruins of the Alik'r, and for centuries Dwemer researchers attempted to find the Eye to no avail.

For many months in 2E 581, the researcher Tharayya journeyed through the ruins of the Alik'r and found leads in Yldzuun that placed the Eye's location as being within Volenfell. She and her ex-husband Quintus had been developing competing studies on the Dwemer until he poisoned her, stole her journals and notes, and left for Volenfell to find the Eye first. Tharayya brought a number of guards and was accompanied by the Vestige through the ruins, killing Quintus, entering the Eye's Chamber, and defeated the Guardian Council. Tharayya attempted to carefully dislodge it, but it began to spark and released a wave of energy that pushed the expedition team back before vanishing in a blinding light. A swarm of undead made up of skeletons and mummies arose from the ground, forcing the team to flee. Tharayya theorized that the Eye awoke the dead, and was unsure if it was destroyed as the Dwemer magic likely caused it to vanish to someplace else. Tharayya was unable to find any leads, and could not solve the mystery of the Eye or its relationship to the undead that overran Volenfell. The authorities were alerted, but curiously the undead seemed content to remain within the confines of the ruins, and the authorities opted to leave them there.

Gallery

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  The Eye's Chamber

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  The Guardian's Soul

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  The Guardian's Spark

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  The Guardian's Strength

Notes

• In early drafts the artifact was called the Resplendent Pearl of Zeht, which legends said could bring an endless supply of clean pouring water. Fahara'jad sought control it so that his leadership would go unopposed, and sent Vizier Arzedram to retrieve it from Volenfell. It was ultimately cut and renamed to the Guardian's Eye, but mentions of it remained in Satakal mythology, which posits that the Pearl is the Way and the Guide to the Far Shores and back again. In creation myth, Tall Papa created the stars of the Great Map, one of which Sep put in his pocket when he tricked the other spirits, and it fell out when Tall Papa crushed Sep with his staff. Sand covered the Pearl, and it came to Zeht, a god who works the land. When the Pearl is uncovered, the time of Sep's Hunger will be over and water from the Pearl will run over the skins, so the Hungry Stomach will at last be full.
• There were plans to elaborate on the mysteries of the Guardian's Eye in Veteran Volenfell II, but as sequel stories to base game dungeons were scrapped, the nature of the Eye was never expanded on.

References

Note: The following references are considered to be unofficial sources. They are included to round off this article and may not be authoritative or conclusive.