/tes/ - The Elder Scrolls Discussion

>If you were a writer for Bethesda, who would you make the Sadras be? What are their customs? How do they fit in with the Argonian Invasion? What do they believe?

Let me give it a shot:

Great House Sadras is for the most part, an offshoot from House Telvanni.

They're actually "peasants" who lived in Telvanni lands, particularly out of Sadrith Mora, hence the name "Sadras" which loosely translates from vulgar dunmeri as "of the mushroom" or "like the mushroom".

House Sadras is actually formed by several different Dunmer families from across Vvardenfell joined through marriage and "distilled" into a single "dynasty". Each family had worked towards gaining influence on their own, but through their union were they able to really put economical and political power towards establishing themselves as respectable force in the eyes of the populace. The families became some sort of "Coucil of Dunmer People, for the Dunmer people"; they quickly gained sympathy through their image as "common folk" who rose through sheer will and effort; though in reality, the Sadras used economical backstabbing and market manipulations to amass a considerable wealth and to bully the competition out of business.

When the oblivion crisis broke out, the Sadras (Now known as the Sadras trader's guild) acted as an unofficial civic institution of sorts that offered relief for the victims of the Daedra hordes in coordination with the temple and house Redoran. While most great houses in Vvardenfell were occupied defending their most important holdings, the Sadras families aided the swaths of lands scorched by Daedric forces in places too remote or unimportant. They used their coin to hire mercenaries, provide healing services and even managed to bolster their small armed forces with Young ashland warriors whose tribes had been ravaged in the wake of the crisis, providing protection to pilgrimage location and fresh water sources.

During the red year, the now fully-formd Sadras Family had to flee Vvardenfell having lost a few of their Holdings, however, since they claimed no significant land, they actually suffered very little. The Sadras family had worked hard to provide grounds for themselves in the city of Mournhold, where they quickly used their reputation and resources to Re-establish their Trader's guild. soon enough most shopkeepers, craftmen and laborers in the city fell under the jurisdiction of this "trade union". Once again, they took advantage of the current crisis and started a relief campaign to relocate refugees.

During the Argonian invasion they assumed the same mission of offering relief to the victims of the war. By the time the invasion began, the Sadras had minor holdings in several settlements across mainland Morrowind, using their influence they secured arms and money towards the Redoran's war effort.

The rise of the Sadras Family to the status of Great house came because of their popularity, the common Dunmer folk felt a debt of gratitude to the Family's constant altruism towards the people during the most difficult times. Great House Dres, Redoran and Indoril respected the Sadras for being observant of traditions and customs, as well as their commitment towards helping rebuild Morrowind after each catastrophe; House Telvanni had long been on friendly terms with the family due to how their business had brought prosperity (and power) to Telvanni lands in the past.

The only great house opposed to their recognition was the weakened House Hlaalu, and with reason; for it was the Sadras' intention to usurp the place the Hlaalu held, and for years both factions had clashed covertly with each other for economical power. House Sadras was largely responsible for secretly spreading propaganda to further taint the image of Hlaalu in the eyes of their fellow Dunmer and are even responsible for the assassination of several Hlaalu Retainers and operatives all over Morrowind.

[cont]

>What are their customs?

>What do they believe?

Great House Sadras has half its roots in the lower echelons of common Dunmer Society, they're peasants turned craftsmen, turned traders, turned wealthy merchants and landowners. The other half come from the lower ranks of House Telvanni, who were dissatisfied with the House' Mage's seeming disdain for dunmer society at large.

House Sadras respects traditional Dunmer culture and even ashlander traditions, however they value adaptability and strength, like their Telvanni side would. They do not let customs get in the way of progress though, and would happily -if they could- restructure all of Dunmer society if it contributed towards the Supremacy of the nation of Morrowind over all others. They see themselves as representing the true future of the Dunmer race as they believe themselves to be the sum of all that which all the other Great Houses have historically represented.

They no more Xenophobic than House Dres, but certainly much more so than the Redoran , they do not allow any sort of outlander to join their ranks, non-native Dunmer may join but are limited to being guards, servants and minor associates. The house has no objection towards hiring the temporary services from non-dunmer or even having open trade policies with neighboring nations, they are every bit as shrewd as the Hlaalu were but as disdainful of foreign culture and values as the Dres.

After the Temple faith began deteriorating, following the destruction of the Devil Dagoth Ur at the hands of the Nerevarine, the Sadras became one of the first groups to vocally support the Dissident priests and fully aided them in proselytizing towards the reformation of the temple by embracing the reclamations. This did not favor their image with House Indoril at first, but as the "Holamayan movement" gained traction with the people, the Indoril acknowledge the valid claims of the Dissident priests and accepted the Sadras' support of them.

Politically Speaking, House Sadras doesn't hold as much power, during Great Council Meetings, their votes are often downplayed and their Opinions are usually heard last, however, due to their growing riches and considerable popularity, they often have the ability to sway the tides of politics to their favor.

[cont]

After Great House Hlaalu was stripped of their title as great house, their holdings were trimmed by the other Great houses and their core territories were given to House Sadras.

The Sadras began the expansion and renovation of much of the city of Narsis. The House decided to strive for a Neo-velothian architectural style which kept traditional shapes while observing modern construction standards and considerably more austere structures to compensate for the scarcity of traditional bugshell and other chitin-based materials.

Most settlements under Sadras administration still hold strong Hlaalu architectural backgrounds, however they tend to be much more colorful, with a heavy presence of teal lamplights, dyed banners and a stronger use of multiple fungi such as emperor Parasol as a decoration motif and greenery.

Guards for House Sadras often wear a mix of traditional Bonemold and Netch leather armors with teal and crimson sashes and scarves, these are the colors commonly used to represent House Sadras and they represent the color os of Dawn and Dusk, in reverence of the Daedrik prince Azura.

The Banner of House Sadras bears an elaborate design of an Emperor Parasol with its roots twisting around three stones representing the reclamation.

House Sadras' economy is strong and has ties to every industry and business in Morrowind. Althought they are merchants and financiers by history and have no monopoly over any particular activity, they own numerous small plantations, most of which are not run by slaves but by free laborers and farmhands under the Sadras' traders guild, which pretends to bring every dunmer worker under its unionized jurisdiction. Currently they are attempting to shift Morrowind's agrarian production away from slave dependency as they see it as harmful towards the Dunmer people, Llaaran Sadras the current house patriarch rallies support towards this shift under the phrase "Why would we feed a beastfolk, when we can pay a Dunmer?". This proposal has caused friction with some representatives of House Dres, who view it as a disregard for traditional rights and a transgression against ancient trade of their respective house, however Llaaran assures that in Securing more jobs for the dunmer people is less wasteful under the current national situation, and would allow families to buy their own house slaves where formerly they were unable to.

Although most Dunmer who live under Sadras rule seem content with their administrators, some traders, primarily craftsmen and shopkeepers have often come to clash with the Great House due to their impositions and regulative trade policies. Criticism of the House is quickly dealt with by means of intimidation and some times even covert violence, but those living in Sadras Lands have positive opinions more often than not.

>>9225

>>9224

>>9226

Nice stuff m8, now I'm curious about how would a Sadras mod based on that would work

>>9221

Seeing as they replaced Hlaalu, I would say that they were an old merchant clan that kept a more traditional style of localized trade and caravaning and therefore managed to survive and grow more influential after the Empire abandoned Morrowind. This, coupled with charity relief efforts and vehement support of the New Temple by House members, made Sadras the perfect choice to succeed the failed Hlaalu. Also that they are more than likely a toadie of House Redoran.

As of the events of Dragonborn, the House spends much of its efforts prospecting, salvaging, overseeing outlying economic settlements, and aiding the distribution of trade in Morrowind. They often trade with Ashlander clans and hire them to protect caravans heading through the wastes. Due to their hand on commerce, they also have a large role in Morrowind's tenuous foreign relations.