The Undiscovered Aurbis: HYAET CHIM AE EKUA; The Princes of Victory, Mutation, and Gambling

The Second Most Powerful Alliance of Oblivion

Although the 15 are the most powerful alliance of Oblivion, they are not the only alliance. Allies are scarce in the cold waters of Oblivion and friends, if such a thing even exists, are scarcer. However, like attracts like. There are many other Daedra who, in an attempt to further their own influence, have banded together to control Oblivion.

HYAET CHIM AE EKUA

HYAET CHIM AE EKUA is the second most powerful alliance in Oblivion. Its name’s literal translation roughly means “Highest of High Splendor is Ekua”, which is the name of the chief of their alliance. It is composed primarily of three Princes.

KAHARAG

Kaharag is the Prince of High Stakes Endeavors, Reckless Behaviors, and Cheating. His realm is the Casino of Souls, a giant gambling hall containing any game you can imagine. Everyone is given a set amount of currency upon entrance to his realm to gamble with. Stories spread throughout Oblivion of spirits who came to his gambling halls to play, but became addicted to his games until they were deep in his debt.

His most common servants are the Bouncers, composed of Daedric Spirits who were so deep in debt to him that they choose to serve him in exchange for being able to keep playing the games in his casino. Their job is typically to keep the gamblers in line with the rules, and to make sure the House always wins. They are also charged with keeping ejected Spirits from trying to get back into the casino, as a few have.

Kaharag usually appears in the form of a well-dressed, inky black humanoid. Unsurprisingly, he is not adverse to gambling. He’ll gamble at any game, and is famous for never turning down a bet. He rarely loses, but when he does, he honors his debts. It is said that quite a few daedra have become very powerful after gaining a favor from him, but they end up in his debt more often than not. Regardless of these risks, daedra continue to play against him in the hopes of gaining more influence.

GHARTOKHAN

The second most important Daedric Prince in the alliance is Ghartokhan, the Prince of Alteration, Growth, and Modification. The Lord of Hands is one of the most feared Daedric Princes for his close connection to the utter chaos of Padhome. He has the power to mutate and modify any being short of a Daedric Prince, and sometimes even that is not enough. He appears as a grotesque figure with man arms and hands, each of which is colored differently to inflict a different curse.

It is very unwise to cross Ghartokhan, as many Daedric spirits have discovered. His favorite tactic is to curse his enemies into becoming his slaves. He then locks them away in his mysterious Realm of Padhomthustra.

No one has entered into his land and returned, but it is rumored that he experiments on his slaves to catalogue how many different kinds of changes and modifications there are in the universe.

No lesser daedra gravitate towards him as they do other Princes. Instead, he uses his slaves to do everything for him. If he ever needs anything new done, he either hunts down an appropriate spirit or makes another modification on his slaves to complete the task. It is said that he is even able to alter AEs, a power that is feared across all of Oblivion.

EKUA

Finally, there is the leader of the alliance, Ekua. It wouldn’t be right to call him a mere Prince, as he often reminds his subjects. Ekua is The King. His concepts are Glory, Victory, and Splendor. There is a reason why the alliance is named “Highest of High Splendor is Ekua”.

Ekua’s preferred form is that of a giant man with shining golden skin. The whites of his eyes are diamond, and the pupils are onyx. All of his teeth are made of pearl, and he wears a robe made of silk-like Aetherium. His long hair is made of shimmering silver, and upon it rests his Crown. It deserves capital letters. The Crown is made of golden Sun rays given form, and its rim is designed to contain enchanted gems.

Ekua personally owns two realms of Oblivion, though many others are his vassals. His first realm of Oblivion is the Diamond Palace. Words can scarcely describe the majesty of the realm. It is as beautiful as Moonshadow, but far more ostentatious.

There is not much in the way of land at the Diamond Palace. Rather, it is like a large tropical island had been fashioned by the hands of the finest jeweler in Tamriel. The sea is rolling waves of liquid lapis lazuli, and the beaches are composed of powdered pearls. A grand lawn of grass blades made of flexible jade extends to the Palace, which is just as opulent as it sounds. On the rare occasion there is precipitation, silver clouds cover the area and rain drop-shaped cerulean opals.

The Palace truly is magnificent. Towering diamond pillars, each carved with intricate designs detailing one of Ekua’s many endeavors, hold up a golden roof that seems as expansive as the sky. The halls are lit by the glowing golden etchings and by the miniature Aetherium spheres that float around throughout the palace as you call.

The number of rooms in the palace are uncountable. Only Ekua himself knows exactly how many there are, but each one seems to hold a new luxury. One room is a vast art gallery containing sculptures and paintings of his various feats, some of which will reenact the event for you on request. Another room contains a vast garden containing many cut gems in the likeness of fruits and vegetables, where Magnus’s rays shine down through a crystal skylight.

His second realm is the Treasure Vaults of Ekua. It has similar aesthetic as his Palace, but it has no outdoors or living areas. It is primarily exactly what it sounds like: a treasure vault containing any kind of treasure you would like. Gold and silver coins are scattered everywhere, and an unlimited supply of every currency in the Aurbis is found inside in addition to all of his other innumerable treasures. I can personally attest to Ekua’s wealth, given that he gave me the components for Prismata after the Golden Voyage did an adventure for him.

It is not his immense wealth that makes him so unstoppable, however. It is the ADABALs, or Spirit Stones. Deep within the Vaults, there are millions upon millions of ornate gemstones lined up next to each other neatly. But to call them mere gemstones would be like calling Snow-Throat a hill. The Chim-el Adabal of the Ayleids was but a pale mockery of the Stones held by Ekua.

Each stone is the reflection of a spirit’s sphere, and thus contain a reflection of that spirit’s power. I’ll let the implications of that set in for a moment.

…You see why he is the Spirit of Victory. He has the power to beat any Spirit he has ever seen, because he has a stone for each of them. This allows him to summon the powers of any spirit he has ever met, meaning he can exploit his enemy’s weakness to its fullest.

The closest equivalent mortals have ever seen of this is Martin Septim becoming an Avatar of Akatosh to defeat Mehrunes Dagon. Mehrunes Dagon is the Prince of Destruction, Ambition, and Revolution. However, Imperial Akatosh embodied everlasting legitimacy, making him an effective counter against The Razor. The battlefield being the place of Akatosh’s power and his opposing concept ensured victory, and so it is with all battles between Greater Spirits.

It isn’t a perfect analogy because Ekua doesn’t mantle the spirits he takes powers from. The Ada Stones just temporarily shift his AE. Suppose he were to fight Nocturnal. He would summon his Magnus stone to enhance his power, turning him from simple “Victory” to “Victory Over Darkness”. In effect, this means he can defeat almost anyone.

Fortunately for most Princes of Oblivion, Ekua is not interested in fighting unless he can gain greater glory from the battle or he will be entertained. He turns down duels from all but the most powerful Princes.

His Daedric servants are the Royal Hoplites. Each one looks like a metallic statue of a man with sparse details. No eye sockets, no mouth, no genitals. It is only the general outline of a man. The rank of the Hoplites is determined by the quality of their metal. Bronze is the lowest rank, followed by silver, and the highest ranked are gold. Each of them wear a laurel of green gemstones cut to look like leaves, and each are given a cape depending on their rank. The Bronze Hoplites are given a vibrant Royal Purple cape, Silver Hoplites are given a crimson red cape, and Gold are given cerulean blue capes. Each of them wield a spear with a different colored gem that can be imbued with a mere fraction of their master’s power.

It is important to note that each and every Hoplite is a King over their own realm of Oblivion, conquered by Ekua’s forces. Even the footmen of the Diamond Palace are royalty somewhere. This should further give you a picture of who Ekua is. His Army of Kings is nearly unstoppable by all but the greatest of enemies. Rarely are they aroused for war, but when they are, it is an amazing sight to see. Ekua truly is a force to be reckoned with.

It should be clear by now that the HYAET CHIM AE EKUA is an incredibly powerful alliance. I try to limit our dealings with them when I can. I’m adventurous, not suicidal. You may be asking yourself why Ekua and his allies haven’t conquered all of the Aurbis yet. Well, there is a reason, and it actually deals with you mortals quite a bit. That is for my next story, however.