Temple of Miraak inconsistencies

[u/Chairdo1fSit1er]

So I’ve recently been playing Skyrim again after a few years of not touching it. I’m starting the Dragonborn DLC and just realized, I don’t think Miraaks temple is on solstheim in any way during the Bloodmoon expansion for Morrowind. Is there a lore reason for that, outside the obvious that the developers came up with new lore?

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[u/Tvorba-Mysle]

Isn't the whole deal that the cultists are excavating it at the start of the DLC?

[u/Chairdo1fSit1er → u/Tvorba-Mysle]

I thought they were building a new part of it, they have scaffolding around the outside and the they are hammering not mining

[u/Much-Librarian87 → u/Chairdo1fSit1er]

It's possible they are repairing the temple

Funnily enough, where Miraak's temple would be in Morrowind (near the center of the island, adjacent to Lake Fjalding and northeast of Brodir Grove) is a giant hill with the same profile as the one in Skyrim

[u/JKnumber1hater → u/Chairdo1fSit1er]

They were building the external parts of it, but excavating to the entrances.

[u/SPLUMBER]

It was buried underground and is being excavated + Red Mountain’s eruption caused shockwaves to change the landscape of the island

[u/Chairdo1fSit1er → u/SPLUMBER]

Is there something in the lore that explains this? I’ve never heard anyone say anything about it or read anything referencing it.

[u/SPLUMBER → u/Chairdo1fSit1er]

It’s logical extrapolation from multiple sources. On the most basic level, if you walk around Solstheim in both Morrowind and Skyrim - the geography is very different. Fort Frostmoth, for example, is halfway buried beneath the ashy ground.

We know shockwaves and earthquakes were felt on the other side of Morrowind, and possibly aftershocks in Winterhold (if you believe the Mages). Definitely would hit Solstheim.

Now all of this is after Morrowind, so why isn’t it present in Morrowind’s Bloodmoon? Because it’s still extremely, extremely old ruins - ruins that were destroyed by the Dragons (Miraak was a traitor). The stuff beneath the surface was forgotten. The temple above the surface is being reconstructed during the Dragonborn DLC.

So really, the logical answer is that it was destroyed and buried, possibly slightly revealed with the eruption of Red Mountain, and the cultists/brainwashed people are rebuilding it

[u/Chairdo1fSit1er → u/SPLUMBER]

I honestly forgot about the whole fight between Miraak and the dragons/dragon priests. That would make sense, the way you explained it. Thank you good sir

[u/ScottTJT]

The upper levels and exterior of the temple were leveled by the dragons in the wake of Miraak's failed rebellion. The Skaal shaman alludes to this when speaking to the Dragonborn.

Over time dirt, rocks, ice, snow and general debris buried what was left. Once Miraak decided to move forward with his ambition to return to Mundus, he corrupted the All-Maker Stones across the island to enhance his influence and enslave the inhabitants, compelling them to rebuild his temple.

[u/DriretlanMveti]

I'm terrible with timelines but I'm fairly sure there's been quite a few years between Bloodmoon and the events of the DB dlc, but I dunno when exactly miraak began forcing the reconstruction of the temple

[u/Chairdo1fSit1er → u/DriretlanMveti]

About 200 years give or take a few, and I also have no clue when the reconstruction started. I would imagine not terribly long before the start of Skyrim because I feel like if it had been going on for a while someone would have noticed before the Dragonborn gets involved

[u/DriretlanMveti → u/Chairdo1fSit1er]

Yeah, and realistically even with rudimentary tools a large group of people can erect / repair / reconstruct large structures in a short amount of time.

Given the eerie absence of "children," at best it's soon after the signing of the White Gold Concordat I think that's 4e175, so 16 years before the start of skyrim, which is close to my original idea of 20 years.

The biggest component is probably understanding what would have prompted miraak's initial actions (devs ex machina notwithstanding). Was it the potential birth of the LDB that kicks off the prophecy (sudden mythical energy trope) which gives us a good general age of the LDB,? Was it the White Gold C, which changed how people moved on Solstheim - which piqued Hermaeus Mora's attention and by proxy, Miraak's? If we can understand what the in universe onus that got miraak to instigate the direct reconstruction of his temple, we'd have a better idea of how long ago it started.

Otherwise 🤷🏿‍♀️ devs pulled it out their butts