Boethiah's Spine
Boethiah's Spine is a large House Telvanni-controlled mountain region in Telvannis District, Morrowind. It borders the Mephalan Vales to its south, Dagon Urul to the north, Molag Ruhn to the west, and Sunad Mora to its east.
The region was originally released in Tamriel Rebuilt's 2006 Telvannis and 2008 Antediluvian Secrets expansions. It is slated to be redone in the far future, in a manner which will make it a true volcanic mountain range, harsh and barely liveable.
Current Implementation
The Boethiah's Spine in current implementation is a mountain range which makes up the southeastern portion of the Telvannis.
The mountains of Boethiah's Spine themselves are warm and unpleasant to traverse, most points of interest in the region instead lying in the sparse plains and woodlands that lie between the major ranges. Central to the region is Lake Boethiah, an inland lake bordered on all sides by the mountains of Boethiah's Spine. The shores of Lake Boethiah are home to the sparse Telvanni – Tel Mothrivra and Alt Bosara – and Velothi settlements of the region, the economies of which revolve around salvaging from shipwrecks that fall into the lake. Dwemer ruins tower over the mountain range, most prominently, a forest valley in the west of the region is home to Amthuandz, a Dwemer ruin currently undergoing excavations by the Imperial Archaeological Society.
Plan
Boethiah's Spine will be the primary region of the Dust Adepts of House Telvanni. It will also be the main ashlands of the East, directly joining the Dagon Urul ashlands.
Challenge-wise, it will be the most dangerous region in all of Telvannis, save for maybe parts of the Telvanni Isles.
It is as of yet undecided whether Lake Boethiah, the current region's centerpiece, will survive redo. It will make it difficult to implement a compelling heightmap for the region, since large lakes above sealevel are not feasible in (vanilla) TES III. Some voices have been calling for it to be preserved. E.g, be-a-stranger:
Lake Boethiah is the biggest sulfur lake in all of Morrowind, a colorful yet very dangerous spectacle of nature. The impressive lava cascades running down nearby volcanos create massive clouds of toxic fumes as they meet the highly acidic waters. Dustmasters are the only people able to stand next to the lake without some kind of protection of the airways and eyes. They come here to inhale the fumes on purpose to give them visions of things that have passed and things to come in order to deepen their understanding of the ancient magics they use.
Settlements
- Ranyon-ruhn – the oldest-developed settlement in Tamriel Rebuilt. The redo proposal pushes the settlement south and gives it a real purpose. It is at the crossroads between three major areas: Molag Ruhn and its bugherders, Sunad Mora and the coastal Tels, and the harsh Boethiah's Spine heartlands and its Dust Adepts. Master Mithras has been trying to get a foothold in this tri-region-area, and to push his area of influence for political gain. The questline can be refitted for this location to have a real purpose. Ranyon-ruhn will also be the conventional route into Boethiah's Spine, and so here is where the player will be warned that they shouldn’t venture up there, it being hinted that the Dust Adepts will be hostile from the outset.
- Tel Aranyon – Master Mithras’ tower.
- Tel Falvon – The westernmost Dust Master’s Tel is the home of Master Dothan, who is under the influence of the Sixth House. He was formerly a Dagoth who cleverly defected to House Telvanni to avoid the destruction of his house, so he can hear the whispers despite the distance.
- Tel Sharan – The home of Master Leven, a vampire who sequesters himself particularly deep in the volcanic chasms beneath his Tel rather than inhale the fumes from the surface like most Dust Masters do.
- Tel Haresi – The Dust Magister, Magister Rasith, resides here. It is the highest peak in Telvannis, and fuels most of the ash that settles in the Dagon Urul region.
- Tel Arad – Home of the most lucid of the Dust Masters, Mistress Tirrava. She is the player’s patron/main questgiver on this particular council.
- Tel Udra – The home of Mistress Nirmannu, an ancient mabrigash who was cast out of the Telvannis ashlander tribes for her particular interest in bad daedra and dark magic, as well as her murderous tendencies.