The Exempla of the Draconis Peryedeythos: Introduction and Exemplum One

Translator’s Foreword: Draconis Peryedeythos (often shortened to just Peryedeythos) is one of the oldest works of mythohistory in Tamriel. It is one of the few texts that had somehow survived the First Era, perhaps hidden away to avoid its destruction. It is of Nedic origin, and by looking at the writing style one can tell it dates back to both before and after the Alessian Slave Revolt. Peryedeythos itself is just a small piece of an even greater text, a palimpsest despite consisting of multiple narratives.

Draconis Peryedeythos (which translates into ‘Baneful Serpent, Coils of Life’) are lengthy, imageric, and full of symbolism. But for those that understand their meanings, one shall find beautifully conveyed stories of both optimism and pessimism; the tales of Nedic slavery, and their godly patron. They are shortened here.

####Exemplum One, “On The Origin of Nedes”

This was the [untime] of Auriel, who Sung a song of narcissism to the point where even the world told him to shut up…

Such were the days of unweaned Nirni, whose mother was not around for suckling. Everything was-now-just-new-but-still-very-old, for the epoch eater (whose shadow was now making leave for the dawn) had just regurgitated all of the important bits that gets recited every turnaround and that was good.

And even in the heart of baby Celediil one could one hear the sounds of many feet and legs and hoofs and tentacles and tails and claws and [five hundred and sixty-nine other ways to move] a marching in Elder Wood because the turnaround was here again and all songs must be sung right even if repeating them over and over again makes their singers want to change them.

But the spirits who dwelled in the Turmoil Place liked to visit Nirni during the turnaround (because who would miss such a time of voluntary bloodshed amongst their kin?) and one such spirit was Peryite. Now the little dragon usually doesn’t like to fly about on Nirn as much as his siblings, but during the turnaround he always pays a visit because this was the only untime where everything was disorderly and frankly he just didn’t care.

So Peryite alighted down on the tallest hill and coiled himself up so tight one couldn’t tell where he begun and where he ended (which was a very sneaky of him staying true to his sphere). [Many] lesser spirits came up to play [ditties] on his scales, but one [plague-snort] sent them back quick enough.

“Oh, look at the mess old Leaper Demon King made this time around!” Peryite said with a chuckle (and the little dragon rarely found anything funny) as he saw all of the [kalpa-]pieces shoved in strange places. “But of course, he’s gone now so that’s all kinds of funny business anyway.” And then the little dragon took a big bite out of baby Celediil because he was hungry (which is why the land today has such a big hole in the middle of it) and sighed deeply to himself.

This was the moment when Merid-Nunda, [Lady of Sparkles], alighted down next to Peryite and curled up beside him. For it was a [little known] fact that she was the first spouse of the little dragon (his second spouse was [Namira], who was busy corrupting Old Ehlnofey) and they rarely did anything together (for his was a dark place while hers was a colorful one). But during the [untimes] they always found a moment to be with each other, which one could say was kind of romantic (even if they did it to mock the other two).

And Merid said, “What about the little ones over there?” and Peryite just went “…”

Every time the turnaround came around Merid would always try to get her husband to play with the things that lived in baby Celediil, because she liked the [pointy-eared] ones the best while no else did. But Peryite didn’t like the things that lived in baby Celediil (or anywhere else, for that matter) and so he always fled from his first wife with agitation. But this turnaround Merid-Nunda had grabbed his tail (and the wise always know that a dragon can’t fly if something is holding his tail).

Merid-Nunda began to [etch] finger-runes on the little dragon’s scales, which made him go “Gah! Every time the turnaround comes around you always want me to help you with your [pointy-ears]! Can’t I just live in my holes in relative peace until everyone starts messing things up again?” (Peryite was always rather disgruntled no matter what, even if being with his w[ives] kind of made him a tad bit happier).

But Merid was getting irritated with her husband’s responses and had devised a plan to get Peryite involved with baby Celediil. So she said, “But haven’t you seen yet why I want you to help me? If you had already, then you would be thanking me!”

Now, Peryite was growing suspicious with his wife (because whenever he told her didn’t want to play with baby Celediil she stormed away so fast her sun-father got eyeburn) but he was also intrigued with what she said. “Thanking you? What for light-wife?”

So Merid led Peryite to [the world river] and they [swam] to the previous turnaround, which looked more chaotic than they remembered it (which was good). The Sparkling Lady pointed at dead Celediil and said, “Everywhere else there is conflict between [strong walkers] and [pointy-ears], but not in the Starry Heart.”

This made Peryite frown, but he still didn’t see what his wife was trying to say. “So?”

“In the Starry Heart there are only [pointy-ears], but everywhere there are [strong walkers] living with them. Why is that?”

Peryite frowned deeper, and he breathed in a great gust of [other-kalpa-wind] into dead Celediil that killed all of the Cephalomer that weren’t dead already (which was strange). “But it’s always been like that during the turnarounds, why would it be any different?”

Merid-Nunda was starting to get upset at her husband’s uncaring ways (even though she knew that was part of his nature) and so they [swam] back to the current [kalpa] and settled in their favorite spot in baby Celediil. The fighting between [Akalorkh] amongst himself was almost at its end, and so Merid knew she had little untime left to convince her husband.

“Well, it’s quite the imbalanced thing” she coyly said as she began to play with the [freshly blooming] flowers on their hill. Peryite was curious now, for she only did that when she wished to travel to their [vaulted chamber]. The little dragon hated everything imbalanced, so he had to calm himself for [fifty-two year-seconds] before answering his wife.

“Gah! How so? Every turnaround the [strong-men] don’t start in Dawn’s Beauty. That is a very balance thing since it always happens. I’m starting to think you are trying to trick me, light-wife.” Merid knew that her husband was beginning to doubt her, so she picked a few of the flowers and placed them in her [hair] of fire for decoration.

“Well, that means Dawn’s Beauty is left out! All of the other lands of Nirni will soon have both [pointy-ears] and [strong men] living there, but not baby Celediil. I thought you wished for all things to be balanced, pit-husband? Doesn’t this means that every turnaround is imbalanced and doomed to fail?”

And this made Peryite really, really think (and he only rarely does that) and he knew that Merid’s words were true (even if they were kind of false) and this made him feel very ashamed. “I must remedy this situation then!” he mused. “But how? I know! There are much [strong-men] still wandering and Spirit-Law hasn’t [imploded] yet! I’ll just snatch some of them and make things balanced again.”

With those words Peryite flew towards the dwindling army of [Akalorkh] during the [night] and stole much of the [strong-men] in his claws. Some of them woke up and tried to attack him, but a few shakes of his [plague-wings] killed them instantly (which is why even in modern times when someone dies in their sleep people say that the ‘dragon must have been flying overhead last night’).

Peryite dropped the [strong-men] in baby Celediil and told them “This is your land now which you share with the [pointy-ears] beloved so by my wife Merid, and I swear that I will look after you always if I’m not to busy (which is why today the citizens of Celediil love the dragon more than the stars)” and traveled back to the Tumult Place with Merid-Nunda, who smiled to herself knowing that her trick had worked so well. And with that Spirit-Law was planted into the soil of Dawn’s Beauty like a [metal tree] and the untimes ended, this time a bit more different than before.