QUINTESSENCE
NOTE: Reddit has permanently suspended my account for posting this project. As such, I will no longer be able to answer questions related to it. I am very sorry.
Brief Explanation
This was just a fun personal project. The source is available for everyone to modify.
I envisioned this text to exist somewhere in the Elder Scrolls universe as an obscure codex composed by someone sympathetic to Outlanders and Temple Expansionism. It’s meant to aid western scholars and Imperial speakers who are looking to understand the range of core beliefs held by the followers of the Temple (as Daenthi), the peculiar and insular religion of Morrowind.
The frescoes, the use of Daedric glyphs, and the incorporation of the fan language Casual Dunmeris are all meant to build on the impression of age and development to an outsider perceiving Dunmer culture. And it really is a spectrum and mixed bag, in my needless opinion. I included texts from TES:III, Tamriel Rebuilt, and TES:O to collect up that wide range of players who have experienced differing but relatable versions of the world of the Dunmer.
In editing this into heirographa, I hoped to pass the “First Rule of Nerevarine Club” and play off of the Da-Vinci Code-like impression that there may be more texts floating around at the top of the Temple that laypeople do not have direct access to. In leaving a range of subtle to overt breadcrumbs throughout the book, I hope that it might aid or influence players into exploring more deep and outlandish lore, especially the C0DA (what is c0da?), if only to join in on the discussions.
I also wanted to make a tactile object that people could pick up, hold and look at to help get into character and really engage in the roleplaying mindset. Aside from that, I think there are some wonderful religious and moral ideas woven into the Dunmer belief systems. I hope that pulling these texts more closely together will aid a wider audience in identifying their themes and exploring them further outside of the Elder Scrolls series.
Selection of the Texts
Ultimately, my goal with this codex is to enable readers to push further into research, both in the game and online. By arranging them to loosly tell the process of Dunmer evolution and revelation, I believe that I have ordered the texts somewhat coherently. The first section tells the creation story and explains the conventional gods, with the farthest backward reaching effects of the Tribunal Apotheosis popping up here and there. The stories continue down the subgradient deities and into nature, concluding with several texts that establish the continuing role and relationship of the spirits with the living.
The middle three sections largely serve as gospels dedicated to the three incarnate gods. The 36 Lessons was the inspiration for this project at all, so little needs to be said for the basis of their inclusion. On the other hand, the 12 Sermons of the Truth in Sequence seem to be historically misunderstood. Though, when taken at the value of their ideas, the core themes all align perfectly with The Lessons (& Sithis) and provides yet another protoevangelium narrative.
Almalexia, who chooses the Chimer form and is referred to as patron of Dunmer culture, doesn’t really have her own ideological text, per se. However, there is a growing set of fables that fit well together and I have heard others refer to them as the “third book”, as it were. Have a look at the canon of the Servants of the Tribunal if you’re interested in where I initially found the inspiration to combine them.
The last section serves as doctrinal epistles and prophetic, revelatory texts. I tried to relegate the most potentially disputed books to this one section. It’s also where I did the most editing, which some folks won’t like, so I’ll explain myself.
The Last Section
The opening of the last section contains excerpts from one of the more generally controversial sources in the extended lore —which I don’t necessarily consider a part of the “greater timeline.” However, Michael Kirkbride as Vehk tells a very eloquent account of the Apotheosis, which seems significant to me at least. The Trial is beyond an interesting read, and all five parts can be found here.
I edited two sections of Vehk’s Teachings out of their original Q&A format in order to more closely resemble the other books around them. The Loveletter was shortened and edited to remove some more specific references to the future, and the title was changed to make my crime more obvious. I put The Dragon Break and Memories of Sotha Sil in there to further establish the mysterious role of the Magne-Ge in the universe—and to just further complicate things for everyone. Though, The Prophet of Landfall, that one I added just for me; it was simply too funny not to include it, so I had to put my foot down. :P
C0DA really fills in the details for Kirkbride’s vision of the Dunmer Eschaton, which is why I didn’t include it and chose Sermon 37 instead. I didn’t want to be too concrete with any details of the future, and the latter text initially appears more vague, with plenty of breadcrumbs that lead back to the C0DA.
The Dilemma of Morrowind’s Hero Saga:
Another Temple Stricture that I wanted to balance any apocolyptica against was the tenet that lay worship must directly benefit the gods. Daily offerings, prayers, and thanksgiving should be centered on the Triune to increase their influence on the lives of the Dunmer. This is a key aspect in the struggle against Dagoth Ur. Directing attention away from the gods is antithetical to the salvific mission behind Nerevarine Club—which can’t be spoken of directly.
Click to Expand
From what can be gathered in the 36 Lessons (especially 11, 13, and 15), Vivec explains in a roundabout manner that the Tribunal already know of their probable mortal fates through prescience, and that the best way to stop Dagoth Ur, who shares that same prescience, from swatting down the Nerevarine is to cast as much doubt over the the threads of fate as possible so that mythically, no one can be sure of the outcome. This might allow the Nerevarine to eventually slip back into mortality unseen—perhaps even to themselves.
Another way of looking at it is that the world of Nirn is just a big, embryonic organ and it takes the gods a good bit of effort and pressure to stimulate it into reproducing Nerevar as closely as possible. The Dunmer have a chaotic alignment and with that comes much fewer qualms over exploiting evil for their families' gain.
Do not read this profanity.
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The Hortator Nerevar isn't just a holocaust either. He's also a catalyst that sets off a series of divine events bookended by the two eruptions of Red Mountain. But these events also play out as an echo of the advent of the universe, creation of the Mundus, as well as the eating of Trinimac which founded the Chimer. Each event is a divine contemplation on the intricate balance between position and inversion, as well as unity and multitude.
What's so dangerous about this divine interplay between the roles of Sharmat and Hortator is that the difference between the two is so mythically thin that it's possible for Dagoth Ur to occupy either one. Sure, the Tribunal can curse him by declaring him the Sharmat, but if Dagoth Ur can overcome such mythical incantations, he could seize the role of Hortator for himself.
What makes Dagoth Ur so dangerous in particular is his tilt towards absolute unity, which stomps on the multiplicative expressions of creation that we find exemplified by Lorkhan, Tamriel, and Morrowind itself, as well as the struggle between the Aedra and Daedra. In foreboding opposition to this nature, we can see via the physical transformation of Dagoth Ur's own Sixth House apostles that all things would be enveloped and transformed into himself, not unlike cancerous cells.
On the other hand, the Tribunal take great care to stimulate the world-organ into reproducing the Hortator of their own choice, being Nerevar. Through the natural, inherent conflict that is cultivated by covering up his death, they prompt their society to shore up and cut down potential Nerevarines until this "critical harvest" is ready of it's own accord.
Look away, my dear children.
Click to Expand
I see it as a play on the aspect of quantum states. To grossly oversimplify, in quantum theory, once an object's position can be identified, it's trajectory can no longer be predicted. Vice-versa, if an object's trajectory can be predicted, it's position cannot be verified. Vivec's gamble as expressed in The Lessons (and Sithis) is that casting doubt over the threads of fate will allow the Nerevarine to approach Dagoth Ur with total openness, leaving the Nerevarine's movements largely unseen by him and his mythical schemes
Dagoth Ur has his own memories of Nerevar, and his own divine effects on these events in reality, but the rest of this reality and it's past events remain muddied through the Tribunes. They keep the potential comings and goings of Nerevar from being known—even from themselves—via a divine expression of the Three-body problem. That is to say, they mythically revolve around his fate so that it cannot be predicted. This way, when their pick for Hortator is truly ready, that figure will show up unbeknownst to any of the significant interests.
If you saw the movie Mystery Men, think of Invisible Boy's silly-sounding power: "I can only become invisible when no-one's watching. If I look at myself, I become visible again." The Tribunal believes this method will work to tip the scales of fate towards the Nerevarine becoming the Hortator, thus achieving the security and stability of Morrowind. All it will cost is their divinity.
To produce a book with the appearance of approval by the Temple, I couldn’t state anything even remotely like this directly, which meant cutting up The Trial for sure. The Nerevarine plays an important role in the Amaranth as well. Again though, looking too far into the future takes focus off of the gods in the now. Thus, I tried to only include texts—or parts of texts—that lean heavily on the role of the Tribunal and left the rest of the information for players to find for themselves through personal research and gameplay.
Artwork
The ALMSIVI frescoes seen in the Temple Oath was originally made by Tyddyner (1, 2, 3). I styled the vertical Daedric writing on that page after Llevndryn Sershilavu’s Manuel de calligraphie.
The Anticipation frescoes for each god were originally made by TheMyzel (1, 2, 3). The Velothi page-border pattern, as well as Sotha Sil meditating were done by Lukkar. The Anu/Padomay depiction is also based on Lukkar’s work, with some touch-ups from the Morrowind Artbook.
The maps are originally made by Nathan Wilkes. The Temple of Vivec was done by Matthew Weathers. The Telvanni logo was made by XardasMage and LAAMDT. The Ghartok Trigon and Redoran Scarab frescos were custom-made by me.
Now, I totally admit that the selection of the Telvanni symbol for the World-Egg is a bit far-fetched but it does seem like more than just a mushroom tower to me. Just like the Judge’s Scale of House Hlaalu or the Scarab of House Redoran, I decided that there is likely a motif in writing somewhere that matches the symbol for Telvanni and felt that the World Egg most closely described the depiction. Later, I came across an artist’s rendition of the symbol in the form of a mandala, which bolstered my belief that I’m not the only one to read more into this.
List of Books
Five essential collections of Heirographa, according to the monks of the Monastery of Sinramen.
Collection of the Ancestors
Sithis (and the original/French ending)
The Myth of Aurbis (sans bracketed Imperial notes)
The Changed Ones
Exodus from Summerset
End of the Journey
The Real Nerevar
The Worship of the Ashlanders (retitled The Daedra)
The Anticipations
The House of Troubles
The Doors of the Spirit
Blasphemous Revenants
Spirit of Nirn
Collection of the Homilies
Homilies of Blessed Almalexia
Almalexia and the Mudcrab
Blessed Almalexia’s Fables for Morning
Blessed Almalexia’s Fables for Afternoon
Blessed Almalexia’s Fables for Evening
Collection of the Sequence
The Truth in Sequence
Collection of the Lessons
The 36 Lessons of Vivec
Collection of the Avowalments
Selections from the Trial of Vivec (combined and retitled Mystery of the Apotheosis)
The Judgement of Vivec (Post #2291665)
Hogithum Hall II (Post #2343246)
Selections from Vehk’s Teachings (combined and retitled The Selected Teachings)
Post #1830714: More on the Psijic Endeavor
Post #1486877: The Tower
Book of Hours, concerning the Dragon Break (retitled Hour of the Dragon Break)
Post #1473312: Spokes and Towers
The Memories of Sotha Sil
Selections from the Amaranth IRC Reveal (retitled The Post at the Turning Point)
Loveletter From the Fifth Era (trimmed and retitled The Obscurred Loveletter)
The Prophet of Landfall (text only)
Sermon 37 (trimmed and retitled The Amaranth)
Credits and Thanks
The opening of the book has several introductions. To The Reader and Love Under Will were written by me. The other three are The Living Gods, Worshiping the Illogical, and St. Rilms’ Lesson. Many of the quotes throughout this volume come from The Book of Dawn and Dusk, as well as various banners.
I wrote the Temple Oath and most of the prayers. A few of them use passages from Saryoni’s Sermons as well as plenty of texts already included here. However, the Prayer for Forgiveness was adapted from one written by Moraelyn Ithren and the Ruhn Ania comes from Tamriel Rebuilt. The quote beneath the Tribunal fresco comes from The Battle of Red Mountain while a majority of the Oath itself comes from Fellowship of the Temple.
The description for Morrowind was made out of careful selections from the Pocket Guide to the Empire: 2nd Edition as well as Vivec and Mephala. The text I placed beneath the Telvanni symbol comes from the 1999 post Cosmology, which I also edited out of it’s Q&A format.
Thanks to Michael Kirkbride, Douglass Goodall, and all the writers and teams at Bethesda and ZeniMax Online. Thanks also to the authors and contributors of Tamriel Rebuilt, and of course the rest of the Morrowind community as well.
Thanks for looking!