I've had this character for quite some time (level 78) and he's probably my favorite. When I made him, the only idea I had in mind was that he would be an exile from Morrowind. For what (inevitably) cliche'd reason, I'm not really sure as I'm not too keen on Dunmer culture & society. The only thing I knew was that he would be a master swordsman, 1h and no shield, and to be morally bankrupt, but not a chaotically evil character (not someone who'd be slaughtering entire villages for virtually nothing etc,.) but, rather, someone looking to achieve great wealth and political power in a land of what he considers to be just a bunch of ignorant barbarians. Not afraid to murder, torture, steal from and sell whomever stands in his way or presents an opportunity. (through intrigue and great service he's managed to hold the reins of both the Dark Brotherhood and Thieves Guild of Skyrim, as well as sewing utter discord across the Empire by slaying General Tullius and assassinating the Emperor - knowing eventually this will lead to the annihilating of the Stormcloaks.) He would be very secretive but live very affluently and like an aristocrat. Perhaps some vampirism in there, I'd like to get him involved with the dlc. He'd have been very savage and opportunistic before his second rise to power in Skyrim.

Now here's my main problem, I want to have a somewhat compelling and rich history for him (that deals with Morrowind) but I don't have much clue of what goes on there, other than the Wiki entry and Imperial-Libray guide that I read. I just can't think of what my character would have been doing in his old life. Perhaps a member of one of the five great Houses? What kind of stuff could a Dark Elf get into that might find him exiled/unable to stay in Morrowind for fear of losing his head and life? Could bastards exist in Morrowind? Some of the things I was thinking would be that I was the bastard son of a wealthy slaver who was never acknowledged (grew up poor with his real mother) 'til he one day finds out, etc etc, murders the father and takes over the business and eventually finds himself exiled? Or I was thinking I could have been bitten by vampires as a child and, wanting to share my news powers with my friends, lead them to the vamps one at a time..obviously leading to problems when the parents found out all their children are infected. I've never had this much trouble coming up with a history for my characters, but this one just vexes me completely. So, who better than fellow players of the game to give a little insight? I'm sure more than a few of you are Dunmer experts and could shed a little light on my dilemma.

A descendant of the http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Morrowind:House_Hlaalu fits your character like a glove. I suggest you read everything Hlaluu-related from Morrowind (including their members...a lot of interesting stuff there, especially the Dren family). Or even better, buy and play Morrowind a bit