Lore:False Ebony

A statue of false Ebony

The Vassir-Didanat Ebony Mine in the Ascadian Isles region of Vvardenfell had changed ownership over the years.^when A barely kept secret is its source of Ebony, which is mostly lackluster, but just enough to be worth mining. Unsatisfied, one of the previous owners of the mine turned to Clavicus Vile, and erected a shrine within its interior. They made a deal with the Prince of Bargains, requesting a limitless supply of Ebony, and Vile provided them a formula for them to do so. This substance, dubbed "False Ebony", looks and feels like real Ebony, but can be told apart by a skilled craftsman.

Clavicus Vile's False Ebony is created by subjugating a mortal to his liquid alchemical formula which ultimately turns the afflicted's flesh into the ebony-like material. Centuries after the Daedric pact, Circa 2E 582, the mine passed into the ownership of Rethan brothers of House Hlaalu, who decided to hire an alchemist by the name of Gavros to further research the formula. He subjected much of the miners to the formula, discovering that "blood pressure must remain consistent until the last possible moment". His final breakthrough involved turning the formula from liquid to solid based, making the process much faster, but it came with the caveat of turning the victims of the experiments feral. With a vapor based formula perfected, and its ability to make its victims feral creatures that would eventually degrade into statues, Gavros hypothesized that vapor-based False Ebony could be used as an airborne alchemical weapon. Unfortunate for him, the breakthrough proved to be too effective, and he was exposed to it when it got loose, leaving him to the same fate that he subjected his victims to.

An adventurer was hired to investigate the rumored curse of the mine, and discovered the feral victims that now populated it. There, they recovered Vile's foul formula, and Balmora's Hlaalu Councilor requested it remain within the Houses hands, but it is unknown if the adventurer complied.