Meesei, though she was somewhat tired, reflected Vera’s good mood. There was a great deal she could be worrying about, but it was occasionally helpful to remember that there were positive developments she could focus on. “Indeed. And if we are ever short of livestock, there is always the Falmer and their Chaurus. Dangerous prey, but if we arrange a steady supply of ingredients for poison resistance potions, our warriors could organize hunts to sate their hunger, and thin the Falmer’s numbers. Although, I am beginning to question whether it would actually be a good idea to eliminate them entirely. They are a reliable source of meat and souls, and they keep intruders away from the Blackreach entrances we do not yet control. They seem to avoid the Silent City out of superstition, likely because of whatever wiped them out before. If they did not occasionally attack us, I would not mind them as neighbors.”

After Oswall and Gallus arrived, it was not long before most of the others followed suit. Vera’s lieutenants were, of course, present as usual, but there were also several scholars, alchemists, and a curious Bosmer who had specifically asked to attend. Members of Meesei’s pack, like Lorag, were also in attendance, though he had nothing to do but observe. The Dwemer scholars had brought a stack of parchments as tall as a child, as well as a rather large crate. The others, like Marcaille, had a more tame collection of research notes, but it was clear they would have quite a lot to cover. 

Once everyone had taken their seats, Meesei started off the meeting. “It seems we have quite a lot to cover today, so I shall begin directly. We do have some administrative matters to discuss. For instance, Saras has reported that he has nearly established secure communication routes between us and the rest of Tamriel’s clans, so we should be able to resume regular communication soon. However, I believe the first matter we should address is the results of our many research projects so far, as, from what I understand, they could all have a large impact on the short and long term course of this clan. To start, I will give the progress of a project myself and Darahil have been closely involved with.”

Reaching into the bag beside her chair, Meesei produced a broken shard of a disk or crest, made from a glowing blue material and etched with obviously Dwemer markings, and slid it onto the table between them all. “As most of you know, we discovered this unusual shard in Raldbthar shortly after we arrived. Now that we have had a chance to study it, we have found that it is even more unusual than it appears on the surface. It seems to be near indestructible, and as Marcaille has confirmed, entirely alchemically inert. There is a great deal of magical power locked within, but we have found no way to tap into it. There is no way to forge it, or otherwise work with it. But, we have learned more about it. Based on translations our scholars have made in Raldbthar and the Silent City, and other writings we have gathered from elsewhere in Skyrim, we have determined that this shard is made from a material known to the Dwemer as Aetherium.”

Meesei paused a moment to collect a few of her notes in front of her. “Evidently, the dwemer learned how to mine and forge with this Aetherium. They described it as being immensely powerful, and considering that this is the race which build a machine god from the heart of Lorkhan himself, that is not a description I take lightly. Considering its name, it could be related to Aetherial fragments, the rare and powerful materials from which the Ayleids created many of their magical constructs, like welkynd and varla stones. However, we have only just begun that avenue of research. What we do know is that several of Skyrim’s Dwemer cities played different roles in the production and refinement of Aetherium. Raldbthar just happened to be the city that mined this Aetherium; Blackreach was the primary source of this material. From what we have learned, some of the glowing blue crystals we have found in this cavern are pure Aetherium. However, despite its power, we still cannot work with it. The Dwemer built a special forge specifically to work with Aetherium, but we have not been able to locate it. All we can say is that it is not in Blackreach, or any of the ruins connected to it. It is possible that, if we explore some of the other Dwemer cities involved in Aetherium production, we could perhaps locate this forge.”