Lorkhan

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Lorkhan is one of the primary gods from The Elder Scrolls fictional universe. He, perhaps, more directly influences the events of the Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind: though he's not physically present, his heart is one of the primary catalysts of the predicament that befalls Morrowind during TES III: Morrowind.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

In Oblivion, near the last parts of the main quest, Mankar alleges that Lorkhan was actually one of the Daedric Princes and that Tamriel is really the mortal name given to Dawn's Beauty, the Princedom of Lorkhan and therefore actually a Daedric realm of Oblivion. Whether this is true is never confirmed. Although not conclusive, the evidence is against Lorkhan being daedric, but instead points to him being a "Padomaic Aedroth" (as opposed to the rest of the Aedra, which were more Anuic)

[edit] The Heart of Lorkhan

According to the creation myths of Nirn, Lorkhan's heart was ripped out by the Dragon-god of Time, commonly known as Akatosh, the primary god of Cyrodiil, though his exact nature and name changes from culture to culture. This was supposedly done as punishment, because the Dragon-god felt betrayed by Lorkhan after finding out that his agreement to help Lorkhan construct Nirn, the mortal plane, left him and the other participating spirits weakened. In fact, most of the spirits ended up dying.

After being torn out, the Heart of Lorkhan landed in what would later become Morrowind, forming its famous volcano, Red Mountain. Its exact role is unknown, but there are some suggestions that it is somehow essential to the continued existence of Nirn, the Altmeri creation myth calls it "The Heart of the World" and suggests that is cannot be destroyed without destroying, or at least severely destabilizing, Nirn [1].

A great time after the Creation, the Heart resurfaced again. Specifically, it had been found by the Dwemer, and had become a part of the plans of the Magecrafter and High Priest of the Dwemer, Kagrenac, to bring the Dwemer to a state he believed to be greater than their current one, though the exact nature of the plans and how well known they were among the Dwemer is debated. When the old enemies of the Dwemer, the Chimer, found out about the Dwemer's tampering with the divine, the War of the First Council broke out, ending an over two hundred year peace in which the Chimer and Dwemer had lived together in a nation they called Resdayn.

Exactly what happens during this time is unclear, other than that the Dwemer disappear, the Chimer become the Dunmer, and councilors to the leader of the Chimer, Lord Indoril Nerevar, use the power of the Heart of Lorkhan to make themselves gods. Calling themselves the Tribunal, they rule Morrowind for well over three thousand years, the source of their power unknown to the Dunmer. Another friend of Nerevar, Voryn Dagoth, also gives himself godlike powers and becomes known as Dagoth Ur and the enemy to the Tribunal.

At the end of The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind the player character must destroy enchantments upon the Heart of Lorkhan. This fulfills a prophecy that ends with Dagoth Ur dead and the Tribunal mortal once again.