Hermaeus Mora is the Daedric Prince of knowledge and memory, the power behind the whole Dragonborn DLC story on Solstheim. He rules Apocrypha, an endless library realm where every forbidden secret is hoarded. He doesn’t appear as a person but as a mass of tentacles and eyes, and he speaks like a being who already knows how your story ends.
Where to find them
You meet him in Apocrypha, reached by reading the Black Books found across Solstheim, and once in the mortal world, when his presence bursts out of a Black Book in Skaal Village.
Quests
The Path of Knowledge – You enter Apocrypha looking for the shout Bend Will, the power you need to stand against Miraak. Mora gives you the second Word of Power almost casually, but keeps the third back. His price is knowledge for knowledge: the Skaal have kept their secrets from him for ages, and he wants them.
The Gardener of Men – The Skaal shaman Storn Crag-Strider agrees to read a Black Book to pay that price. Mora rips the knowledge out of his mind, killing him in front of his daughter Frea and the villagers, then calmly hands you the final word.
At the Summit of Apocrypha – After you defeat Miraak, Mora finishes him off himself and declares you his new Dragonborn champion, with a gentle reminder that rebellion did not work out well for the last one.
Personality & relationships
Mora is patient, cold and very sure of himself. He doesn’t threaten so much as state facts: everyone who seeks knowledge ends up in his service, willing or not. He calls himself the Gardener of Men, knower of the unknown and master of fates, and treats mortals as plants in his garden.
His bond with Miraak is the core of the story. Long ago, during the Dragon War, the Dragon Priest found his way into Apocrypha, and Mora taught him Bend Will. Miraak used it to turn on the dragons, and ended up trapped in Mora’s realm, serving him while secretly planning to escape back to Tamriel. Mora knew about the plan the whole time. He even explains that Miraak’s return would spread his influence but also loosen his grip, so a more loyal replacement seems like a good idea. That replacement is you.
Every promise he makes is kept to the letter, which is exactly why he’s so unsettling. Ask how you can trust him and he answers that his word is as sure as fate itself.
Good to know
If you have already finished Discerning the Transmundane, Mora greets you in Apocrypha as his champion and remarks that the Oghma Infinium was only the beginning. Do it the other way round and he mentions he has been watching you since Miraak fell.
Neloth sums him up well: subtler than most Daedric Princes, and plenty of scholars have been caught by the promise of his secrets.
Details checked against community wiki articles and the Skyrim/DLC game files, written in our own words.
