The Nature of Daedra and Nirn

The Nature of Daedra and Nirn

Hircine the Hunter, calling the hunt on the blood moon

A question often posed is "Why do the Daedra want so much to do with Tamriel/Nirn anyway?" And the answer, I think, may be quite simple. Nirn represents change, the unexpected, the uncontrolled. The Daedra, in choosing not to become directly involved with the creation of Mundus and instead stepping to one side have retained a greater deal of autonomy* than those who fully gave of themselves, the Aedra. But this autonomy comes at a price. Whilst each Daedric Prince maintains a realm of their own, these realms cannot surprise or confound them, not truly. 

Daedric Prince Azura, slightly miffed at the betrayal of the Tribunal

A Daedra's realm is more than just a space they have set aside and created in, it is a reflection of their own minds and natures. In a sense, a realm of Oblivion is a Daedra, an ultimate expression of ego. As such, a Daedric Prince can no more be surprised by the events of their realms than they can of their own minds. Even things such as the Greymarch in the Shivering Isles are not unexpected to the ruling prince. Sheogorath knows how the pattern goes, it is as predictable an event, to him, as anything else in his realm. Likewise with Clavicus Vile and Umbra or Barnabus. Here the Daedric prince has split his mind into pieces and given those pieces free reign, possibly in an attempt to usher in an element of unpredictability. 

Sheogorath, holding an important discussion

The Daedra may attempt to alleviate this boredom by bringing mortals or the souls of mortals into their realm, but here too they are somewhat thwarted. A Daedra can only claim a mortal if they give themselves to the Daedra, in one form or another. Thus, Hircine claims those stricken with Lycanthropy, Sheogorath those with madness and so on. Nirn, however, remains the only place the Daedric Princes have access to where things completely outside of their control may be found and may interact with one another. However, the Daedra are barred from simply taking over Nirn by a couple of things. Firstly, the Aedric Covenant, signified by the Chim el-Adabal** which physically bars the Daedra from setting foot in Nirn, and secondly by the loss of autonomy the conquest of Nirn would entail. To fully hold sway over Nirn, a Daedra would have to weave themselves into the metaphysical structure of Nirn, as the Aedra did, which would change both Nirn and the Daedric Prince irrevocably in the process. 

Jyggalag, in his singular appearance

But all this leads to a very obvious question: "If it is so difficult for a Daedra to meddle with Nirn, why are so many Daedra meddling with Nirn all the time?"

This comes down to a matter of degrees. The Daedric Princes do not impose their will on those who do not first involve themselves in the affairs of the relevant Daedra. As Sheogorath explains when you ask him about the door to the Shivering Isles in Cyrodiil, it is an invitation, not a threat. The princes invite mortals to approach them, make deals and offer service to them in exchange for boons. In so touching a Daedric Prince, you allow them greater sway over you. Take the town of Border Watch*** where Sheogorath rains flaming dogs upon the villagers. Sheogorath cannot simply bring about the K'Sharra Prophecy† on his own, he first needs to usher things to a point where he can directly interfere through the use of a helpful mortal.

There is more than a touch of the Lovecraftian in Hermaeus Mora

So, although some Daedra by their very nature must strive to conquer Nirn, generally speaking none of them would like it very much if they actually succeeded. The Daedra relish the change and unpredictability of Nirn, but wish to maintain autonomy from it. 

Footnotes:

* Which may be a bit of a double-edged sword, as the Daedra are pretty inherently bound by their own natures.

** More commonly known as the Amulet of Kings

*** A town in TESIV, Oblivion

† Which originated from a Khajiit who was probably at least a little bit mad to begin with. Long term planning from Sheogorath perhaps? 

Got any questions? A favourite Daedric Prince? Let me know in the comments below!

Song of Pelinal I

An Examination of 'The Song of Pelinal'

Pelinal fighting Umaril the Unfeathered

Pelinal is a fairly well known part of history, and possibly the most well known part of the Alessian Slave Rebellion. His story is, in a word, cool as hell. So I thought a good way to start examining that character is to have a look at the most authoritative in-game record of Pelinal, The Song of Pelinal.

Here, in its entirety, is the first volume of The Song of Pelinal, complete with editor's note:

"[Editor's Note: Volumes 1-6 are taken from the so-called Reman Manuscript located in the Imperial Library. It is a transcription of older fragments collected by an unknown scholar of the early Second Era. Beyond this, little is known of the original sources of these fragments, some of which appear to be from the same period (perhaps even from the same manuscript). But, as no scholarly consensus yet exists on dating these six fragments, no opinions will be offered here.]


That he took the name "Pelinal" was passing strange, no matter his later sobriquets, which were many. That was an Elvish name, and Pelinal was a scourge on that race, and not much given to irony. Pelinal was much too grim for that; even in youth he wore white hair, and trouble followed him. Perhaps his enemies named Pelinal of their own in their tongue, but that is doubtful, for it means "glorious knight", and he was neither to them. Certainly, many others added to that name during his days in Tamriel: he was Pelinal the Whitestrake because of his left hand, made of a killing light; he was Pelinal the Bloody, for he [drank] it in victory; he was Pelinal Insurgent, because he gave the crusades a face; he was Pelinal In Triumph, as the words eventually became synonymous, and men-at-arms gave thanks to the Eight when they saw his banner coming through war; he was Pelinal the Blamer, for he was quick to admonish those allies of his that favored tactics that ran counter to his, that is, sword-theory; and he was Pelinal the Third, though whether this was because some said he was a god guiser, who had incarnated twice before already, or that, simpler, he was the third vision given to Perrif, anon Alessia, in her prayers of liberation before he walked among the quarters of rebellion, is unknown."

Pelinal, or perhaps someone wearing his armour

Now, let's break this down.

"That he took the name "Pelinal" was passing strange, no matter his later sobriquets, which were many. That was an Elvish name.."
"...Perhaps his enemies named Pelinal of their own in their tongue, but that is doubtful, for it means "glorious knight", and he was neither to them..."

Pelinal is a derivation of Pelin-El (As we will hear in volume 2). This naming convention suggests that Pelinal has intrinsic ties to the mer of mundus. This does not, however, mean that he has to like it. Or them. As evidenced by:

"That was an Elvish name, and Pelinal was a scourge on that race, and not much given to irony."

This tells us both that Pelinal really does not like the elves (and believe me, we will be hearing rather a lot about Pelinal's views on our pointy eared friends) and also that he is a very serious fellow.

"Pelinal was much too grim for that; even in youth he wore white hair, and trouble followed him."

From this we can infer that the natural colour of Pelinal's hair is white. This again makes mention of the inherently serious nature of the man. The trouble also points to the arrogance and aggressively confrontational character of Pelinal that will continue to colour this narrative and inform the story of his life. Pelinal does not play well with others in general. We then go on to learn much about the role Pelinal played through the following listing of his titles:

"Certainly, many others added to that name during his days in Tamriel: he was Pelinal the Whitestrake because of his left hand, made of a killing light;"

At this point it bears mentioning that Pelinal is almost certainly a time travelling robot sent from the future.* Well, probably not a robot in the sense that if you opened him up you'd see whirring cogs, but robot in the sense of an artificial life. The left hand of killing light we are quite sure refers not to a usage of magic, but to some manner of laser based weaponry integrated into his being. 

"he was Pelinal the Bloody, for he [drank] it in victory;"

Now here's a happy chappy!

Pretty straightforward, Pelinal drank the blood of his slaughtered foes. Whether this is for some manner of sustenance or simply for sheer intimidation is unknown. 

"he was Pelinal Insurgent, because he gave the crusades a face;"

It is possible that, although Pelinal is undoubtedly a central figure to the Alessian Slave Rebellion, the details of his story and the deeds of other heroes may have become blurred, with some achievements of other heroes being attributed to an already powerful figure, both in might and in myth. This also holds with a recurring theme of certain things being "eaten" conceptually by other things, and being absorbed into the eater. 

"he was Pelinal In Triumph, as the words eventually became synonymous, and men-at-arms gave thanks to the Eight when they saw his banner coming through war;"

Pelinal was very good at fighting, and very good at tactics too.

"he was Pelinal the Blamer, for he was quick to admonish those allies of his that favored tactics that ran counter to his, that is, sword-theory;"

Having said that, the tactics Pelinal favoured weren't big on finicky stuff like magic. Pelinal liked to wade in and smash things. Direct confrontation, that's the ticket!

"and he was Pelinal the Third, though whether this was because some said he was a god guiser, who had incarnated twice before already, or that, simpler, he was the third vision given to Perrif, anon Alessia, in her prayers of liberation before he walked among the quarters of rebellion, is unknown."

The god guiser part refers to Pelinal being a Shezarrine, or reincarnation of Shor/Lorkhan. As to the third vision of Perrif (it is noteworthy that Alessia is a corruption of "Al-Esh" or High Highness, and was thus originally a title rather than a name) Alessia is known to have prayed to the Aedra, and specifically (probably) Akatosh for salvation from the slavery of men in Cyrodiil. As Akatosh is the dragon god of time, it is not impossible that he gave her a glimpse into the future where exactly the hero her cause needed might be found. 

A moody picture of a Silt-Strider, because I very much enjoy moody pictures of Silt-Striders.

So there we have it, an examination of the first part of The Song of Pelinal! You can see that this simply must be broken down into parts, and even then I worry this post may be a little too wordy. 

Footnotes:

* Or, at least, so Michael Kirkbride tells us, and as he wrote The Song of Pelinal, we can be pretty certain he'd know. 

Have any questions? Think there's something I missed? Have an amusing anecdote about forcing the Nights of the Nine to dance to 'What is Love'? Let me know in the comments below!