Mention has been made of one of the most illustrious wizards to ever dabble in magicka that is also one of the oldest living creatures in all of Mundus. Though he has passed out of stories since the dawn of the Fourth Era, there exists no record of his death, leading many to surmise this immortal mage is still alive. His story begins in the early First Era, and while immortality might be his most profound accomplishment, his most interesting might be his four daughters. How are daughters an accomplishment, you might be wondering, but fret not. In order to understand how four daughters might be an accomplishment at all, much less an interesting one, first we must unravel the mysteries surrounding whom this report defines. Without further ado, allow me to introduce… Divayth Fyr.

(Divayth Fyr as seen in The Elder Scrolls Legends)

Born as a Chimer in Tel Aruhn sometime in the early First Era, Divayth Fyr quickly established himself as a sorcerer to be remembered when he arrived on Artaeum and began to study as a Psijic Monk. His career in the Grey would not last long, though, just long enough to learn some note of conjuration. His departure was described as “…a sharp-elbowed upstart”. In his youth, he began to dabble in necromancy, but he ultimately decided it was too corrupt a magic to focus his time on and instead turned to other subsects of conjuration. Although he had great aptitude for necromancy, he preferred to not traverse it as his means to immortality. It is said that, while he was searching for answers, he travelled the planes of Oblivion, as mentioned in both The Doors of Oblivion and Varieties of Daedra – the latter of which was actually written by one of his own former apprentices; additionally, the latter confirms his – Fyr’s – ventures in Oblivion, stating that Fyr himself said he only consorts with two Princes, Mehrunes Dagon and Azura.

Azura, he said, knew and understood all things, and declined to speak of these things, or only spoke in riddles.

Mehrunes Dagon, on the other hand, out of pride, fixity of purpose, and a predictable lack of subtlety, in thought, knew nothing and understood nothing, and was inclined to speak freely and without falsehood.

 (Divayth Fyr experimenting with necromancy, as seen in The Elder Scrolls Legends)

As for The Doors of Oblivion, it recants the story of one professor Morian Zenas, a scholar of the Arcane University in the Imperial City, who enlisted Divayth Fyr’s help in traversing Oblivion. The author – Zenas’s Argonian assistant, Seif-ij Hidja – attests that, through his own interpersonal encounters with Fyr, he believes Fyr betrayed Zenas and conspired to trap the scholar in Apocrypha, a plot which succeeded and Zenas was never seen nor heard from again – at least, not physically; this matter is touched upon in the report on Apocrypha - Apocrypha: Insight to Hermaeus Mora and the Skaal.

(an excerpt from The Doors of Oblivion by Seif-ij Hidja, as seen in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim)

Nevertheless, Divayth Fyr ultimately used his journey through Oblivion to build relationships that would earn him more knowledge – a quirk of his that would remain consistent through the entirety of his career as we know of. In fact, this uniquity would earn Divayth Fyr’s rather endearing pseudonym, the Flower Child of Tamriel. Between his rocky relationship with the Daedric Princes, his friendship with the Emperor – ironically, though Fyr has respect for the Throne, he does not believe in its authority, much the same way he views the Telvanni – and his relation to the Telvanni Council all work towards his one purpose of more knowledge.

(House Telvanni)

Divayth Fyr, as mentioned above, is also a member of the Great House Telvanni, and once spent time on its Council, though outside of his earlier years, he tends to stay far away from the politics of it all. Instead, Fyr acts more as an advisor or consultant to the Council, though he does respect their command and will more often than not carry out requests made by them, so long as they don’t betray his principles. Despite leaving the Psijic Order early into his studies, he still mostly believes their philosophy on the Old Ways and acts as a neutral overseer and a Master of Secrets, seeking, above all else, balance in the world of magic.

 (Sadrith Mora, the seat of House Telvanni, ca. 2E 582)

To the end of his ability, Divayth Fyr has often been compared to the likes of Vanus Galerion and Shalidor. He quite resents the former comparison, believing Galerion to have been a “…nitwit who wasted his potential with his focus on the Mages Guild”. Shalidor, however, he considers a more accurate comparison, agreeing mostly with Shalidor’s viewpoints on mages in civilized societies, but believes Shalidor was “…a victim of a short-sighted sentimentality”. Oddly enough, Shalidor also allegedly racked up quite a debt with Fyr, a debt that the Dunmer intends to collect in full one day.

The Telvanni are known for their talented mages, and perhaps most powerful among them is Divayth Fyr, who is compared to the likes of Shalidor and Vanus Galerion. Do you know of any figures from my Breton race that I can look up to that measure up to their power and/or accomplishments, perhaps even within the Great House Telvanni?

                - Lady Allene Ashcroft

First and foremost, you have my compliments for choosing such an appreciative way to request this information, Lady Ashcroft. Your fellow question writers could have taken a page from your tome, contextualizing your true goals within the framework of charming obsequiousness.

The comparison to Arch-Mage Galerion is apt, but short-sighted. The Mages Guild is a halfway house for those with the mystical aptitude to slowly float a quill over a parchment, or light the lanterns in Wayrest with incantations a Dark Elf child masters before their tenth year. In short: lackwits. That a talent like Vanus Galerion has shackled himself to that sprawling edifice to mediocrity proves that wisdom is no requirement for arcane power.

Your touchstone to Shalidor is more complimentary, but still flawed. The master of the Labyrinthian ultimately fell victim to short-sighted sentimentality. I do share agreement with some of his older writings about the role of spellcasters in civilized society, however. He also has the dubious distinction of owing me more outstanding favors than half of House Telvanni combined. I will eventually come to collect, old man. Count on it.

You Bretons have a reputation for mystical aptitude, but I would argue that the cost of that success has been a lack of lasting impact on the greater magical community. I could find numerous instances of Mage So-And-So making a splash with war magics for a few decades, and then dying. Or a great divinator prognosticating portentous events, and then dying. Breton mages burn brightly but briefly, I suppose, a sad commentary on the lifespan your uncaring gods have gifted your people.

A gift, then, for you and the rest of your Covenant kin seeking validation in the wider world. Research Sage Voernet, a scholar of the First Era who has come down to you as little more than a footnote but was a keen and masterful manipulator of the magical arts in his time. The adventures and prominence of the man known to history as "Gyron Vardengroet" (that was not his true name) are vastly overblown by tale-telling, but speak to a powerful and wise Breton mage. And while I find the ethos of the druid cult to be pedestrian in the extreme, the Druid King Kasorayn was as powerful a spellweaver as any to be found in the Direnni culture his people fled from.

This will have to satisfy for now. Please direct any follow-up correspondence to the University in my care. Perhaps if you found this educational, another exchange might be possible again in the future.

If I can leave readers with a word of advice, it's this: I have lived for thousands of years without melancholy or misanthropy because I have always found something to engage my keen mind. Find hobbies. Engage your faculties. Stay curious.

And never, ever cheat a Telvanni.

                - Excerpt from The Loremaster’s Archives – House Telvanni, written by Divayth Fyr (archived by the Elder Scrolls Online Loremaster Forum)

Divayth Fyr has been speculated by the Dremora Lyranth that his armor was a crude imitation of Daedric craftsmanship, put together in haste with lesser materials. His armor appears Daedric, reminiscent of armor worn by other members of House Telvanni. Whatever his skill with armor-crafting, his true power lies elsewhere. After all, by the Third Era, it was said one could not even get close to Morrowind without feeling his presence in Mournhold. 

Divayth Fyr is also an accomplished writer, having at least two books published, one of which he wrote because he grew tired of commonfolk assuming all conjurors were necromancers. The other book he wrote was his own musings on Mephala. Oddly enough, in the book, he describes his discussion with Sotha Sil, whom he titled the “self-proclaimed priest and scholar of the Tribunal Temple” and states himself shamed that Sotha Sil – indeed, and the rest of the Tribune – were grossly misunderstood about the natures of the Daedra. Specifically, that any Daedra could ever be described as “good” and how he detests that describing Daedra as “good” has become common practice. If you wish to dive more into his writing on Mephala, you can find it here.

Speaking of Sotha Sil, the Clockwork God and Divayth Fyr were, in fact, friends. Fyr enjoyed listening to Sotha Sil’s riddles and unraveling the contemplations of pain. When Azura cursed the Chimer into the Dunmer, though Sotha Sil was one of only two who could resist the curse, his choice to be Dunmer was something Fyr would always criticize him for, believing it to be a mistake. When the Tribunal ascended as gods, Fyr let his friend know he would never worship the Tribunal as such.

In the Second Era, sometime during the reign of Akaviri Potentate Savirien-Chorak, Divayth Fyr entered a romantic squabble with Morian Zenas – the Professor of Transliminal Arts – over doctor Alfidia Lupus, the Imperial Ethnographer for the Potentate. Though Fyr was known to be a womanizer and had oft been called a philanderer, the doctor ultimately chose Zenas over Fyr. Sometime later, despite their conflict, Zenas went to Fyr for help trying to journey the various Planes of Oblivion, eventually becoming lost in Apocrypha. Lupus eventually discovered that Fyr was behind Zenas’s disappearance and she confronter the Dunmer wizard about his deal with Hermaeus Mora. Doctor Alfidia Lupus would never be seen again. Around this time is when Zenas’s Argonian assistant would have his own encounter with Fyr, eventually leading to the writing of his book, mentioned earlier. Of his own account, Seif-ij Hidja reported that Fyr left shortly after Doctor Lupus went missing, and, of Fyr’s departure, Hidja stated “…[he] will not be missed.”

(Tel Fyr, the home of Divayth Fyr, a testament that rank had nothing to do with power in the Telvanni Council) 

Circa Second Era 582, Divayth Fyr wished to extend his tower of Tel Fyr deeper into the Abanabi Caves. During this process, a portal to his friend’s domain inexplicably opened. From within the Clockwork City, fabricators and refabricators poured forth. To combat this unexpected invasion, Fyr enlisted the aid of a group of Undaunted. Together, they repelled the fabricants, entered the Clockwork City, defeated the Assembly General, and disabled their productions – if you wish to understand this better, check out Morrowind: Insight to the Tribunal and Sotha Sil: Insight to the Clockwork Apostles. Divayth used this opportunity to study the Clockwork City and the portal that had opened. This would rekindle Fyr’s desire to study his friend. To that end, he traveled to the island of Dranil Kir, preparing a Daedric ritual to re-open the portal using a Dwarven device. He also was attempting to locate the Skeleton Key. However, upon the island was a Psijic Monk named Lilatha, who protected the island. She interrupted his ritual, declined to assist him, and persuaded him to leave Dranil Kir.

(Dranil Kir, ca. 2E 582)

Unperturbed by the setback, Fyr enlisted the help of the Vestige to enter the Clockwork City. Once inside, they uncovered a plot by the Daedric Triad – a most unholy alliance between Mephala, Nocturnal, and Clavicus Vile – who wished to take control of the Clockwork City. Nocturnal took command of Sotha Sil’s shadow and used it to supplant his throne, using the Skeleton Key to attempt to separate Sotha Sil from his seat of power – the Throne Aligned. The Vestige and a Clockwork Apostle named Luciana Pullo intervened and defeated the shadow, but Nocturnal enveloped the heroes in her shadows in an effort to consume them. Luciana summoned a shadow-banishing light to keep the darkness at bay while Divayth Fyr arrived and put a stop to the shadow while keeping Sotha Sil alive, buying the Vestige enough time to extract the Skeleton Key from the Throne Aligned and reawaken Sotha Sil. Sotha Sil, now reunited with his shadow, banished Nocturnal from his realm and gifted the Skeleton Key to his friend for safekeeping before returning to the Cogitum Centralis to prepare for the others in the Triad. Despite getting his hands on the Skeleton Key, Fyr would remain relatively quiet for the rest of the Second Era, except for a small issue with a Spiderkith selling a false Ebony Blade in the Oblivion Plane of Fargrave – a situation in which the Vestige assisted Fyr yet again.

It is known that, during the Second Era, Fyr maintained minimal contact with the Council House of Sadrith Mora through a proxy – he enlisted the services of Master Firuth’s own Mouth, Vaelin Oren, for mundane affairs – however, by the Third Era, he had withdrawn entirely from the council. Regardless of how often they attempted to sway him back, he always refused. Instead, Fyr was devoting his time to studying Corprus, the Divine Disease, where his Corprusarium would become a refuge for all those afflicted by it, including his oldest friend and the last living Dwemer – Yagrum Bagarn. Fyr took a deep interest in Dwarven history, collecting many artifacts related to the Dwemer. Know for his ruthlessness, Fyr also managed to collect several Daedric Artifacts – the Ebony Blade, the Savior’s Hide, Scourge, and Volendrung, among them – however, it is said he did not mind if adventurer’s looted his dungeons, so long as they did not bring harm to the corprus victims under his care.

(the Daedric Triad - Mephala, the Queen of Oblivion; Clavicus Vile, the Politician of Oblivion; and Nocturnal, the Dark Saint of Oblivion)

Before Third Era 427 when the Nerevarine would ascend, Fyr believed the Nerevarine Prophecy impossible to fulfill. When the Nerevarine contracted Corprus, he sought out Fyr for treatment. Though Fyr could not “cure” the disease, he was able to make the negative effects vanish – namely, the crippling deformities and insanity. This meant that all the positive things Corprus caused remained in effect – immunity to all other diseases, enhanced physical attributes, and, most conspicuously, possible immortality, as it appeared Corprus prevented aging.

(Yagrum Bagarn, the last living Dwemer, also infected by Corprus whom his close friend, Fyr, was attempting to cure) 

And so we come to Divayth Fyr’s most interesting discovery. During his time studying Corprus, he wished to study its effects on those who would not truly be victims of the disease, should his experiments have turned awry – despite his harsh nature and apparent lack of sensitivity, Fyr was not a bad person and wished to help his fellow people more than harm them. To that end, he removed long pieces of his own flesh and used a vile corruption of conjuration and necromancy to create four clones of himself. Four female clones, to be precise – Alfe, Beyte, Delte, and Uupse. Whatever else they were, Fyr always described them as “…a side benefit of [my] researches into Corprus.” With his four “daughters” who were also his wives, Fyr eventually used them and his other research into Corprus to find a way to extend his life – that is, to become immortal.

(Alfe Fyr, first "daughter" of Divayth Fyr)

It is said that, if it were possible, Divayth Fyr’s skill with magic might be able to clone anything, though it is fully believed it was a painstaking process to clone himself just once, much less four times or anything else. Not much else is known about Fyr’s endeavors in cloning magic. Outside of immortality, towards the end of the Third Era, Divayth Fyr became acquainted with the Blades. Friend to Uriel Septim VII, the Blades would guard Fyr during a meeting he had with the Emperor. When Uriel was murdered by the Mythic Dawn during their onset of the Oblivion Crisis, the Blades requested Divayth Fyr come to Cyrodiil to assist them, though the Elder Council dissuaded this request, asking Fyr to remain in Morrowind lest his presence stir up further conflict – possibly the better idea, since the Mythic Dawn served Mehrunes Dagon and Fyr was known to have dealings with Dagon; that is to say, the kind of dealings a scholar might have with a naïve professor telling them everything they think they know.

Beyond the Third Era, it is unknown if Divayth Fyr survived the Red Year and made it into the Fourth Era, but there is nothing to suggest he died. In fact, Alfe Fyr’s – the eldest and most powerful daughter – existence in the Fourth Era almost confirms that Fyr likely survived as well. Besides, after all Divayth Fyr had been through, the small matter of Red Mountain erupting can’t possibly have been more than a nuisance to the likes of Divayth Fyr, right?