Lore:Dusk

This article is about the city. For the daedra, see Lord Warden Dusk.

Dusk
Type	Settlement
Continent	Tamriel
Province	Summerset Isles
Region	Summerset Isle
Appears in	Arena, ESO

Dusk Keep circa 2E 582

Dusk (formerly known as Dusk Keep or the Tower of Dusk) is one of the eight major city-states of the province of the Summerset Isles, being situated on the southeastern point of the Summerset Isle. It acquired its name because when the sun sets behind the mountain, it leaves the tower in a shroud of shadows.

Layout & Geography

Dusk is located on the shores of Summerset Isle, hidden behind the southern mountains, only accessible through a narrow valley behind the town of Sil-Var-Woad. Dusk Keep is the only building in the area, and it overlooks the beach where the valley empties into the Eltheric Ocean. Buried deep in the mountains, west of Dusk lies the Colossal Aldmeri Grotto, a vast cavern with ancient ruins that once served as the High Elven navy's watering spot. The area is known to contain a variety of Gryphon known as the Pale-Plume Gryphon, which are uncommon and live in the seaside cliffs of Dusk Keep. Dusk is neighbored by several settlements, including Archen Grangrove in the west, and Silver Wood in the northeast.

History

For the longest time, the site where Dusk would be located contained nothing but Dusk Keep, an isolated tower that held some sort of magical containment. The tower's origins are unknown, and it would remain there for quite some time, as far as the late Interregnum. When the explorer Gjadil the Keel-Hauler raided the palace of King Orgnum, she quickly fled Pyandonea with the whole Maormer fleet chasing after her, eventually leading them to the cove at Dusk. She fled to shore, clutching a single chest of treasure, burying it with an enchantment it so that only her descendants could open it, and made her way back home. Dusk was evidently a transit stop for areas like Artaeum, when Morian Zenas travelled there around 2E 418.

Ertival, the keeper of the tower, had a vision of the impending abyssal geysers and Yaghra hordes set to invade the island, and left his journal detailing the recounting of his dreams before leaving the Keep. In time, a group of Gjadil's descendants came to Dusk during the Daedric War and dug up her treasure, only to discover it contained nothing but a scroll relaying the importance of family. During the time of the Second Aldmeri Dominion, in the ninth century of the Second Era, a port was built near Dusk Keep, which would then become the basis for the modern-day city-state of Dusk.

During the Imperial Simulacrum in the late Third Era, the city-state of Dusk was an active settlement, being ruled by King Saura. It had a rivalry with Shimmerene. By the Fourth Era, the city-state of Dusk would become a primary port for the East Empire Trading Company.

Gallery

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  Dusk during the Imperial Simulacrum

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  The Colossal Aldmeri Grotto

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  A map showing the location of Dusk

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  The Battlereeve of Dusk leading troops

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  Gjadil's Treasure, buried at Dusk

Notes

• Arena was originally conceived as a fighting game featuring a tournament that took the player to each of Tamriel's cities to challenge different gladiatorial teams. According to a file from that stage of development left behind in the final game, Dusk's gladiatorial team would have been called "the Executioners".
• In early cut drafts for ESO's south Summerset zone of Varyllis, Dusk was home to expert smiths (or "Master Metalwrights") known as the Scintillants, and the beaches of the city were subject to a Maormer invasion. The Maormer had also banished Auri-El from his place in the sky, so High Kinlady Astraela of Dusk helped in forging Phynaster's Ring from pieces of the Shattered Crown, which was spread throughout crypts in the city, to return the deity to his rightful place.
  • The Tower of Dusk is based off the Umbral Tower, found on a lone island immediately south of the Scintilla Kinhouse in the bay to the east. Talrien the Archivist (who ended up becoming Telenger the Artificer) would be studying in the deep underground chambers of the Tower and help free the trapped Ascendant spirits from their reliquaries in the Umbral Tower by touching the Pyxides of Ashes.

References

Note: The following references are considered to be unofficial sources. They are included to round off this article and may not be authoritative or conclusive.