the third installment of The Elder Scrolls series, Morrowind, is by far my favorite.
I wanted to talk about it here because I haven't talked about it in a while, though I've been consuming a constant stream of Morrowind-related media. I want to talk about Morrowind.
I discovered Morrowind in December of 2023 after being completely ignorant of its existence. Skyrim was my first Elder Scrolls game; I played Skyrim in 2014 back when I was a kid and fell in love with it. Funnily, I thought Skyrim was the only Elder Scrolls game ever.
Everything from Ashlander, townie and urbanite culture, like clothing and residential and commercial space layouts; the Sixth House bases and Vivec City's ziggurat and mosque-like architecture; the etymology, Dunmeri language and religious beliefs; horticulture and the Dunmer's relationship with animals like Silt Striders and Guar, to the overall geography and topography of the province of Morrowind in the greater continent of Tamriel attracted me to its inspiration : West and Central Asian cultures.
I also really like Vivec and how he was written to be the exactitude of humanity and our amorphous, fluid alignment. I like Vivec because he claims he's neutral, then claims he acknowledges he's a horrible person, then denies everything and puts on a "good" mask; the fragmentation of the Tribunal after their murder of Nerevar is also something I really liked seeing be explored throughout the game : I found it a similar story to the decadence of the Soviet Union and even some political regimes that happened in Egypt from the early 1900's to the early 2010's--think Al-Sadat and Mubarak--during my initial play through.
Vivec is my favorite character. Vivec I really did like indulging; trust in authority, trust in oneself, and trust in the people are somethings that also caught my attention while playing, and that I really did like lots.
I love Morrowind.
26 Aug 2025, 10:22 pm
