Tamriel Rebuilt:The Star Wound

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Explain the birth of Tamriel's largest volcano. Quest Giver: Tarom Location(s): Firewatch, Grand Chapel of Akatosh Prerequisite Quest: The Sword of Taldeus Next Quest: The Blood Mage Reward: Rod of Divine Light Reputation Gain: +1 (general), +10 (Imperial Cult) ID: TR_m1_FW_IC6_Lore

Quick Walkthrough

1. Talk to Tarom in Firewatch's Grand Chapel of Akatosh.
2. Speak to Sergius Antellius about Red Mountain.
3. Speak to Fainat Masiriran about Red Mountain.
4. Journey to Ahemmusa Camp and talk to Sinnammu Mirpal about Red Mountain.
5. Return to Tarom and ask about Stories of Lorkhan.
6. Go to the College of Firewatch and ask Adrieldan about Stories of Lorkhan.
7. Go to Ember Keep's wizard tower and ask Selura about Stories of Lorkhan.
8. Retrieve a copy of Sithis from the Lower Tower of Tel Darys, in Gah Sadrith.
9. Bring Sinnammu a copy of The Monomyth and of Sithis.
10. Return to Tarom with your theory.
11. Share your theory with Sergius Antellius.
12. Return once more to Tarom.

Detailed Walkthrough

A Hot Topic

Following your recent success retrieving holy relics for the Imperial Cult, Tarom wishes you to make a theological enquiry into the true origins of Red Mountain, as he has lately heard a perplexing and more secular one:

"Red Mountain is a mystery to me. I recently attended a lecture by Sergius Antellius at the College of Firewatch, and he claimed that what we call Nirn is in fact a thin shell of rock and dirt encompassing a ball of lava afloat in the sea of the Void. Apparently volcanoes, such as Mount Sarrunabi or, more to the point, Red Mountain, arise when cracks form in the surface of this shell, and the lava presses up through the cracks. What do you think of his theory?"

He will ask you for your feelings on this, yet it is clear that he has come down on the side of the theory being nonsense:

"Precisely as I thought! A work of natural majesty and power such as Red Mountain is clearly the work of divinity, but when I raised this point with Antellius, he asked for evidence of its divine providence, and I came up short. Truth be told, I know of nothing in our teachings which pertains to Red Mountain. It was very embarassing! I could barely sit through the rest of the lecture. I need you to find this out for me. How did Red Mountain come to be? A non-secular explanation, thank you very much."

Tarom wishes you to find an explanation of the volcano more appropriate to the Cult's teachings on the divine.

Volcanology on Nirn

Leads are required. Sergius Antellius, the academic who sparked Tarom's curiosity, can provide one. He is in his house in Firewatch. Talk to him about Red Mountain and he will gladly regale you with his lecture—and less gladly realize that you are with the Imperial Cult:

"Ah. You must be from the Imperial Cult. Listen, I don't know what your people believe. Apparently those Ashlander savages believe it formed when a god, or a piece of a god, fell to Nirn. If you want to talk that kind of nonsense, maybe talk to that fellow in the square."

The fellow in the square is Fainat Masiriran, an Ashlander you have already encountered in Blessing for a Beast. Ask him about Red Mountain. He will answer thusly:

"I will tell you what I can, healer. The Mountain was made when a god fell from the sky. I think a Wise Woman will know more. You should seek out tribe Ahemmusa on Vvardenfell. They have a Wise Woman."

Lorkhanic Renditions

It is time therefore to travel to Vvardenfell itself. Ahemmusa Camp has been marked on your map—it's in the Grazelands, on the northeast corner of the island. You can take a circuitous fast-travel route by boat from Firewatch to Dagon Fel/Sadrith Mora, and then from there to Tel Mora and Vos. Ahemmusa Camp is directly north of Vos. Once there, seek out the Wise Woman, Sinnammu Mirpal, in her yurt. She struggles to remember the old stories:

"I have heard stories that a piece of a god fell to Nirn and made the mountain. I believe that god is who the settled people call Lorkhan. But I am unsure. Perhaps if you brought me Stories of Lorkhan from your people, I could remember, and speak with certainty. Speak with learned men, find these stories, and bring them to me."

To narrow down your search, you can return to Tarom and ask about Stories of Lorkhan. He will give you a copy of Five Songs of King Wulfharth (representing a Nordic account of Lorkhan), and bid you speak to Adrieldan at the College of Firewatch. He's in one of the college's lecture halls. Talk to him about Stories of Lorkhan. He will give you a copy of The Monomyth (representing the High Elven account of Lorkhan). Adrieldan will also make reference to Sithis, the final book you need to collect (for the Dunmeri perspective), and suggests that the Ember Keep's court wizard, Selura, might know where to find this.

Selura's tower is accessible via the Ember Keep's High Halls, and is relatively separate from the west of the castle, forming Firewatch's northernmost castle tower. Ask her about Stories of Lorkhan, and she will inform you that Sithis is indeed a good book to look for, and that one copy lies within the lower tower of Tel Darys, in Gah Sadrith, belonging to the Telvanni wizard lord, Mistress Eldale. Not being a fan of the Telvanni (as indicated by the events of her separate quest, Double Meaning), she even supplies you with scrolls of invisibility to assist in your thieving.

Gah Sadrith is located south of Port Telvannis, upon a lonely island. Fast travel routes are circuitous. An example one would be by boat, from Firewatch to Nivalis, then Bal Oyra and Tel Ouada—changing onto River Strider to get to Gah Sadrith via Port Telvannis (Gah Sadrith being reachable via a separate river strider to the one you arrived on). The copy of Sithis is in the northern portion of Tel Darys: Lower Tower, in an area with many books. Take it, and get out (with an Intervention scroll if necessary).

You now have everything you need to return to Sinnammu Mirpal.

The Vvardenfell Book Club

Back with Sinnammu Mirpal, return to the topic Stories of Lorkhan. She will ask you to read to her from Sithis, and will have the following commentary:

"I have heard this story, but I only half-remember it. The Altmer are foolish, and revere nothingness, and the nothing that was before the world. But the trickster, Lorkhan, sought to destroy them, and make the nothingness into the world. And so he has done it. But what was Lorkhan's fate? Lorkhan no longer exists, so the Aedra mush have destroyed him. What remains of him, and where are the pieces?"

Raise the topic Stories of Lorkhan again with Sinnammu, and she will ask you to read the Five Songs of King Wulfharth, and will have this to say:

"This book of the Nords very strange (sic). They are a mongrel people. But there is one thing of note here. Their "Shor", who is their memory of Lorkhan, finds his heart underneath Red Mountain. And they go unto the Mountain in search of it. I have heard talk of a great power under the mountain, that Gods and men have long quarreled over. Perhaps this is it?"

She will then sum up:

"Knowing what we know from the books you have brought, the story of the mountain's creation is clearer. The God Lorkhan, who went unto the foolish Aedra to destroy them, tricked them into creating this world, which is alive and vibrant, unlike the nothing the Altmer revere. The Aedra, then, surely killed Lorkhan in revenge, and threw his heart to the earth, creating Red Mountain where it landed. The Nords could not have concieved (sic) of the heart, were it not truly there. That is my wisdom, %PCName."

This definitely non-secular story is enough now to return to Tarom with.

A Point to Prove

Tarom is intrigued by Sinnammu's theory, and promises to do some research—by himself, this time. He asks however that you go to Sergius Antellius in his Firewatch house, and see what he makes of the theory. Go to him, and talk to him about Red Mountain. He will dismiss your theory:

"I see. You gathered a few stories that point to a piece of a god falling to Nirn. How compelling. What you have failed to consider is that these may be mere stories describing the creation of the world in a way informed by the storyteller's own understanding. That the Dunmer and Altmer say that Lorkhan was killed by some ancient Aedra, and the Nords say his heart landed in the Red Mountain, doesn't truly mean anything without further evidence. Who is to say this "Heart of Lorkhan" is not mere myth?"

And will further dig-in even if you happen to have been inside Red Mountain and seen the myth yourself:

"Your confirmation of the materiality of Shezarr's heart is an intriguing claim, though one for which you auspiciously lack any concrete evidence. But, even giving you the benefit of the doubt, you fail to comprehend the geological timeframes at work here. It is far more likely that the object you perceived to be the Missing God's Heart landed on and buried itself in Red Mountain, rather than the frankly ludicrous notion that it somehow caused the mountain to rise up around it!"

Whether he agrees with it or not, your job is done. Return now to Tarom for your final reward—the Rod of Divine Light, and, should you wish to begin it, Tarom's final errand.

Bugs

• In version 22.11.03, Fainat Masiriran returns generic Ashlander dialogue for Red Mountain, rather than his own specific line, making the leap to the Ahemussa something you will have to find on your own. Also, if you ask Sinnammu Mirpal about Red Mountain with a disposition lower than 30, the dialogue will loop and will not let you get out without a "Goodbye" console command. ^?

Quest Stages

The following Journal ID and Index codes can be used with the Journal console command to manually update the quest to a certain point.

The Star Wound (TR_m1_FW_IC6_Lore)
Index	Finishes Quest	Journal Entry
10		Theurgist Tarom has asked me to find an explanation for the divine origin of Red Mountain. He didn't provide me with much direction on how to do that.
20		A Wise Woman told me to bring her Stories of Lorkhan such that she could jog her memory on the lore of the Ashlanders on Red Mountain's creation.
70		I have collected several stories of the Heart of Lorkhan from the Ashlander wise women. They have said that Lorkhan, after tricking the Aedra into creating the world, was killed by the Aedra in revenge. His heart was flung to Tamriel, creating Red Mountain. Perhaps this explanation will satisfy Theurgist Tarom.
80		Theurgist Tarom seemed satisfied, if somewhat unsettled, by the explanation for Red Mountain's origins I provided. He asked me to deliver this information to Sergius Antellius.
90		I have given Sergius Antellius a non-secular explanation for Red Mountain's creation. Tarom will want to know his reaction.
100	Finishes quest	Tarom has thanked me for finding an explanation for Red Mountain's creation, and rewarded me with a powerful enchanted staff.
The Star Wound (TR_m1_FW_IC6_Lore2)
5		I read to a Wise-Woman a copy of "the Monomyth". She was able to provide some insight.
The Star Wound (TR_m1_FW_IC6_Lore3)
5		I read to a Wise-Woman a copy of "Sithis". She was able to provide some insight.
The Star Wound (TR_m1_FW_IC6_Lorefail)
300	Finishes quest	The wise-woman I was to bring Stories of Lorkhan has died. Now I will not be able to hear her insight into the creation of Red Mountain.

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