"After his defeat, Miraak was banished to Solstheim and the guardian was made his jailer." - Quest: The Lost Legacy

So, Vahlok defeated Miraak, he was banished to Solstheim, and then he wages another war against the dragons, starts to lose so Hermaeus Mora takes him to Apocrypha? So was Hermaeus Mora introduced to Miraak in Skyrim? or what?

I'm just confused about the order of things...

For some reason, I was under the interpretation that Vahlok defeated Miraak, but then Miraak slipped away to Apocrypha<-- All this happening ON Solstheim.

thoughts?

The Guardian and the Traitor seems to run contrary to other sources we have on Miraak.

Provides interesting ideas.. did Miraak serve Alduin? Plotting against him certainly seems contrary to him refusing to deal with Alduin though. Is Solstheim really a product of a Thu'um battle ejecting a piece of Skyrim into the sea?

From other sources though, Miraak ruled over Solstheim.. not Vahlok.

Very weird book.. suggests some very weird things.

Miraak fought teh dragons, wanting power den he took an arrow to da knee

Exactly, none of it seems to line up very well in the 'time-line' of things.

Between what Miraaks tells us, "The Guardian and the Traitor," and what is translated by Tharstan--- None of it makes sense.

I look forward to learning more stuff about Solstheim's history.. part of me is annoyed at how little we know, yet the things added are very interesting to consider. Solstheim being a product of a Thu'um battle is pretty awesome to me.

My general understanding was that Miraak was defeated by Vahlok somewhere either in Skyrim or Solstheim. Then, he was taken to Vahlok's Tomb to be jailed. Eventually, he broke out (after the death of Vahlok, I would assume) and built his temple. Eventually he did battle with the dragons at that temple, and was killed. His soul was taken to Apocrypha.
I assume that's it, because most of the information says "After his defeat" when he was taken to Apocrypha. Then again, he might have just been defeated and brought to Apoc before he died.

I can get behind this explanation.

I refuse to adhere to the notion that Miraak died and was whisked away to Apocrypha.

As I said, he might have just been near death or defeated in some way, and then taken to Apocrypha to save his life. Given the way they said it, those are the only two options that actually make sense and follow that lore.

Yeah, if you remember his tomb, the deeper you went, the more of a "hermaeus mora" vibe was given off... Chances are, when defeat was looming all about him, he opened up the black book and skadooed right in.

I would assume that the reason for the change in his temple (temple, not tomb. xD I'm pretty sure he doesn't have a tomb, which just proves that he didn't actually die and go to Apocrypha, but that he was taken there physically before he did) was because as time went on, and during the construction of his temple, he began to worship Herma-Mora, and then began to sink into worship deeper and deeper, hence how the Herma-Mora aspects grow as you go on.

That's how I see it as well... His temple, thanks for the correction, is basically a 'time line' of his transition from Dragonpriest to Herma Mora follower.

Which basically goes to show that the confrontation between Vahlok and him was before his transition.

I'll try to make an accurate timeline, based on what we've discussed here.

Miraak's Timeline:
Dragon Priest -> Turns on Dragons and is defeated by Vahlok, causing him to be locked inside of Vahlok's tomb with him -> Vahlok dies/is murdered by Miraak -> Miraak begins to build his temple nearby Vahlok's tomb and his former jail -> As Miraak does so, he begins to become consumed by worship of Herma and gaining power and knowledge -> Is eventually found/attacked by the dragons, who overwhelmed him with sheer numbers and defeated him -> Is taken to Apocrypha by Herma-Mora before his death -> Thousands of years doing whatever he does -> Events of Dragonborn DLC.

This is the best I can do. Note, to everyone reading this, this timeline is based on speculation and reasoning and conclusions drawn based on in game lore, not solid fact confirmed by any source, in game or otherwise.