Out of all the Tribunal members, Sotha Sil was perhaps the most mysterious. His creative inventions drew upon the ancient knowledge of the Dwemer as well as his own clever brilliance. The sum of all his work culminated in the magnificent Clockwork City.
But Sotha Sil, like his Tribunal compatriots, was doomed the moment he drew upon the power contained within the Heart of Lorkhan. The fulfillment of the Nerevarine prophecy would spell the end of his time as a god. For a being who has lived as long as Sotha Sil, there are inevitably details about his life players may have missed along the way.
10 It Was His Idea To Use The Heart
Sotha Sil was one of Indoril Nerevar's closest friends. When the Heart of Lorkhan was discovered beneath Red Mountain, Sotha Sil studied its mysteries in secret. Using the tools of Kagrenac he managed to tap into the Heart's immeasurable power.
Sotha Sil convinced Nerevar's other companions, Vivec and Almalexia, to use the Heart's energies to turn themselves into gods. After Nerevar's death, and against his wishes, the trio utilized the Heart of Lorkhan to establish the Tribunal Temple. Sotha Sil was the mastermind who got the ball rolling down the primrose path.
9 Mehrunes Dagon Destroyed His Village
Sotha Sil held a personal animosity with the Daedric Prince of Destruction, Mehrunes Dagon. In Sotha Sil's youth, before he became a god, Dagon raided his village. His home was utterly destroyed and he was reportedly the only survivor. Details of this event can be found in The Elder Scrolls Online.
The game doesn't provide clear insight concerning Dagon's motivation for destroying the town. Causing destruction for destruction's own sake is, after all, what he does best. Once a member of the Tribunal, Sotha Sil would gain some measure of revenge against the Daedric Lord.
8 Anticipation Of Azura
Prior to their transformation into gods the Dwemer people worshiped a select pantheon of Daedra. They were categorized into two distinct groups, the "good" Princes and the "bad" Princes (often called the House of Troubles). The Tribunal maintained this tradition, albeit slightly altered.
The Tribunal cast themselves as "Anticipations" of their respective patron Daedra. In Sotha Sil's case, his Anticipation was supposedly Azura. It's ironic considering Azura's curse was a direct result of Sotha Sil's meddling with the Heart of Lorkhan in the first place.
7 Murdered By Almalexia
The Tribunal's godly powers were doomed to wither away as foretold by the Nerevarine prophecy. The subsequent return of Dagoth Ur severed the Tribunal's access to the Heart of Lorkhan. Unable to maintain their divine stature, the influence exerted by Vivec, Almalexia, and Sotha Sil slowly waned.
Almalexia was driven mad by this new development. She sought to kill her fellow Tribunes in the hope that her own powers would be preserved. Her plan succeeded in regards to Sotha Sil, who she murdered in cold blood. His corpse can be found by the player in The Elder Scrolls III: Tribunal.
6 Subdued Mehrunes Dagon
Sotha Sil and Mehrunes Dagon would actually meet again on a more even footing. A story is recounted in the book, "2920, The Last Year of the First Era," where Dagon confronts two members of the Tribunal in a deadly and violent encounter.
Almalexia and Sotha Sil sought retribution from Dagon. The Daedric Prince had sacked the city of Mournhold and laid waste to the surrounding territory. After a hard-fought battle, the two Tribunes subdued Mehrunes Dagon. Sotha Sil reportedly banished him to the depths of Oblivion. The Lord of Destruction would be unable to manifest in Tamriel again for quite some time.
5 Invented The Fabricants
Examples of Sotha Sil's handiwork can be found all over Morrowind, particularly in The Elder Scrolls Online. In addition to Clockwork City there exists a wide variety of curious creatures known as Fabricants. These mechanical beings are a blend of biological and artificial engineering.
Interestingly, two distinct artistic styles can be observed on these constructs. On one hand, they bear Sotha Sil's peculiar, clock-work style characteristics. On the other, the creatures themselves are comparable to Dwemer technology, something that should look familiar to veteran dungeon-delvers of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
4 Partly Mechanical
Sotha Sil's fascination with technology and advanced machinery wasn't limited to his own inventions. There's a drastic change in his appearance between the events of The Elder Scrolls Online and The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. As time wore on he steadily became more of a machine himself, emulating his creations.
In The Elder Scrolls Online Sotha Sil looks relatively normal. The only feature of note is a robotic limb that serves as his left arm. By the time of The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, his entire lower body had seemingly been replaced by wires and machinery. It gives him an undoubtedly grotesque appearance.
3 Met Vivec In His Youth
In The Elder Scrolls, ancient history, much like our own, is often vague. Books found in The Elder Scrolls Online, like "A Brief History of Ald Sotha," seem to suggest that Vivec rescued Sotha Sil shortly after the destruction of his village. Naturally, this would place Vivec as the older of the two individuals.
Other books, such as Morrowind's "The 36 Lessons of Vivec," contradicts that version of events. In it, Sotha Sil is depicted as the elder to Vivec. Regardless of which version is true it can be assumed that both individuals knew each other well before their divine transformation.
2 Wields Sunna'rah
All members of the Tribunal carried their own personal weapon. Vivec wielded Muatra, while Almalexia kept Hopesfire in her possession for generations. For someone more magically-inclined like Sotha Sil, his weapon was a staff. Sunna'rah is a staff unlike any other and is a reflection of its creator in almost every manner.
According to Barilzar in The Elder Scrolls Online the name of the artifact translates to "blessed staff." It incorporates Sotha Sil's unique clockwork technology as well as the tried-and-true power of magicka. The staff had the power to drain portions of Sotha Sil's own divine essence so that he could study it. It could then be returned back into his body once he was finished.
1 Sought To Perfect The Universe
Sotha Sil's greatest creation was invariably the Clockwork City. Made out of an amalgamation of brass, gears, and other machinery, the project proved to be the culmination of his life's work. Few ever possessed the knowledge of how to even enter the city. It was said to exist beyond the mortal realms of space and time.
The ultimate goal of Clockwork City was to correct the imperfections of the physical world. Sotha Sil endeavored to use his powers to create a perfect world from scratch, one that would never be marred by the various calamities of Tamriel's history.