Lesser-Known Peoples of Tamriel V: The Weyache Skygazers

The High Elves permit no anthropological research within their lands- not by outsiders at any rate. This is perhaps not so great a loss as it may appear, for the evidence suggests (and my contacts within their society have confirmed) that the Summerset mainland is rigidly homogenous, with overt social deviation not tolerated. Those who wish to practise a different way of life must do so in secret, working within the strictures of Altmer etiquette, or they must leave and find other lands in which to live as they wish.

On isolated stretches of Valenwood’s western coast, and on the small islands between there and the homeland, small misfit societies of High Elves have taken shelter. Each of these communities represents a philosophical, political or religious conceit that was not permitted to flourish in Alinor’s arid intellectual climate. A striking example of this are the Weyache, or Skygazers.

Through magical artifice the Weyache have fashioned themselves an unusual home. What appears at first to be a ring-shaped island is in fact a great inverted cone, perhaps two miles across and reaching deep into the ocean. This has created a strange pocket of air, a space beneath the sea surface that is yet open to the sky. The inner wall of the cone consists of a series of concentric steps leading to the bottom, allowing for many flat surfaces on which they build homes and cultivate fruit orchards and great quantities of a single variety of flower, whose purpose I could not ascertain. Their realm is not large, but the Skygazers are few in number and it serves their needs.

These Skygazer elves look exactly like their Altmer kin, and most were born in Summerset. Unlike their cousins they shave their heads, and often forego clothing altogether. They have no industry, and very little agriculture. They trade a little with passing ships, but prefer to limit outside contact. They have very few resources of any sort, and are emaciated, ascetic folk. Their nudity makes obvious the fact that the males are all castrated. Of course there are no children here, and their population does not grow save for occasional new arrivals from other places. They speak only rarely, and in whispers. I felt like a rambunctious child amongst ancient ghosts.

The Weyache society (if it can truly be called such) is built entirely around a form of meditation which they call Parting. They spend most of their time in their allotted portion of the colony, on their knees in perfect stillness, gazing toward the sky. There is no horizon here, and nothing at ground level to distract them from their purpose. With their heads thrown back they remain in position for hours, perhaps days, stopping only for the basic functions of living. They claim the most skilled of their number can subsist solely on the light of the sun and stars, but they seemed content to remain in meditation even when the sky was overcast, or when it was pouring with rain. The purpose of this Parting, they told me, was to “Forget the world”. I observed one of them weeping as she meditated.

They have no leaders as such, but there are certain elders who seem to garner particular respect. These figures have begun a process of bodily mortification, discarding body parts associated with the senses. They deafen themselves with thin blades, remove their fingers or entire hands, and cut out their tongues. The final stage is to blind themselves, and yet even after that they remain with their faces towards the sky. These are considered to be the masters of Parting, and one step from the gods.

I have seen many peoples, and have had many peculiar and dangerous experiences in my travels. Never have I been so glad to leave a place.