The Lie of the Dovahkiin

Part of a small series of books I'm writing about my upcoming ESO role-playing guild, the first of which can be found here: http://www.reddit.com/r/teslore/comments/27a8wb/the_true_nature_of_alduin_the_worldeater/

This turned out much longer than I expected, and I may make some corrections here and there as I read through it a few times. Oh well, here you go:

This tome, among others, was unearthed during the Empire's recent great excavation of the nordic tomb Labyrinthian, or "Bromjunaar". They were written by a nordic scholar who fancied himself a dragon priest. As the investigation continues, hopefully more tomes will be unearthed for the good of the Empire.

The Lie of the Dovahkiin

By Vokriiwuth of Solstheim, 2E 582

As the Dov, led by Al-Du-In, flew defeated from Akavir, torn from the skies by the Snake People in Shor's name, they came unto Atmora, Elder Wood, taken from Mer in the War of the Gods. The Men of Atmora were lost and forgetful; far away from their homelands Yokuda and Akavir, the Atmorans had forgotten nearly all of their past and their heritage. They had forgotten the Gods, Shor and Kaan, Stuhn and Tsun, Jhunal, Dibella and Mara, and remembered them only as their animal avatars.

But they remembered the World, that they had been blessed with Life by higher beings, and they worshipped all of Creation, and the Maker of All. Their shamans spoke to the wind and listened to the earth, and sought wisdom from the water. They praised the sun, were friends with the beasts and took care of the trees.

The Dov took pity upon them, and gathered among them those who would listen; they taught them the Truth of Creation and the betrayal of Shor by Auriel, and the Atmorans listened. But not all abandoned the Maker of All, and civil war broke out. In the end, those sworn to the Dov set sail to the south, and happened upon Mereth.

The elves of Mereth lived in peace with the Men of Atmora for a time, but as is their nature, the elves feared men, and on a Tear-filled Night, great city Saarthal cried blood and knelt in defeat.

Then came Ysgramor Elf-Grinder with his Five-Hundred, and the Wuuthrad sung the fall of the Snow Folk. Great was a warrior among the Five-Hundred, Hans, whom Ysgramor called Fox, for a Fox is the Snake-Possessed hunter, the Nameless God, the Cunning Beast that hunts alone: the Ghost of Shor himself.

And Men did call Ysgramor Ysmaalithax, for so great was his abilities, that the Dov recognized his skill to rival their own. But despite his title as Northerly Dragon, Ysgramor was no true Dragon, and like all Men, had a Voice of Air, not of Storm. But everyone hailed Ysgramor as Dragon, as Ysmaalithax, and Hans the Wandering Fox, who knew that in truth he was not, was forgotten.

And Men and Dovah prospered in the Sky's Rim, and honored Ysgramor and the Dovah, and built temples to Al-Du-In who had enlightened them, and shown them the True Faces of the Animals, and taught them Civilization.

And Auriel looked upon the Sky's Rim with rage, and wished to punish Al-Du-In. And he saw the way men hailed Ysgramor, and he hatched a nefarious scheme. When one day, many winters later, was born a boy destined to be Priest of the Dovah, Auriel did split his soul again and gave it to the boy.

The boy grew up and gained immense power as a Priest, and he had something most peculiar: He spoke like a Dragon with a voice of Storm. And Men hailed him as Ysgramor Reborn, the New Ysmaalithax. Even the Dovah admitted he was one of their own, and dubbed him Dovahkiin.

Yet Auriel urged the Dovahkiin to destroy Al-Du-In who had forsaken his role as World-Eater, and the Dragon Priest betrayed his masters. He ate the Dragons, yet to Auriel's dismay he refused to battle Alduin; rather he sought to make his own power greater, and turned to Herma-Mora, Demon of Knowledge.

The Dovah tasked the Eight Elders to send a chosen Konahrik to destroy the Traitor. A young Priest donned the Ninth Mask, Warlord, and led the assault on the Traitor's temple. So great was the battle that the ground itself shattered, and the battleground flung into the sea. But the Traitor was snatched away by Herma-Mora before the Konahrik could kill him. The Konahrik returned with the Mask, his purpose fulfilled, and the Elders named him Vahlok, and sent him to watch over the battleground, should the Traitor return.

But the people of Sky's Rim, who had not witnessed the Traitor's evil with their own eyes, could not believe that the Dovahkiin, Ysmaalithax, was evil. Instead they deemed the Dovah and the Eight Elders evil, and rebelled.

Yet on the island of Solstheim, Vahlok continued his rule as a just and wise leader. And when he had died and the Eight Elders were vanquished from Sky's Rim, the people of Solstheim turned back to the Maker of All, yet remembered the evil of the Traitor, for that is the nature of all men born as Dragons.

And the Fox, the Ghost of Shor, saw how a glorified Lie had taken form of a False Hero and the downfall of the Dovah, and he sighed and left Man to their devices. And he did say: "Today Ysmaalithax the Invented Hero has prevailed, and Man is forever fooled. Thus I, True Hero of Men, will also call myself Ysmaalithax; that the name might one day remind Men of the True Hero and not the One that Eats Dragons."

And thus today we honour the Fox as Ysmir, and the people of Sky's Rim honour the one Born of Dragons as Ysmir.

They do not know that the Dovahkiin is a servant of Auriel, and they believe the Dragons evil. They think Al-Du-In is the World-Eater, while in Truth he is its Guardian and Overlord, and that the Ghost of Shor and the Dragon Born are one.

We will show them the Truth, and banish the Lie of the Dragonborn