On Aemer Life and Faith Vol. I

Keep in mind that I'm not the best at writing apocrypha nor am I a total lore-expert, but in case you missed it this is a piece originating from my alternate C0DA in which the "Left-Handed Elves" arrive instead of the Redguard, among other things. The Lefthanders are known as the Aemer, in this case. If something doesn't match up with lore or is inconsistent, or even if you have suggestions, let me know!

Original Beginning Concept here:

http://www.reddit.com/r/teslore/comments/2fudwp/chronicles_of_uludrek_alternate_c0da/

--You stumble into a warmly lit trackside tavern, stuffed full of impatient customers hoping to get some food or drink before their steamsteeds arrive at the station. After filling your mug with some cheap ale from a coin-operated keg, you find a spot in the corner. You open up your copy of the anthology, "A Foreigner's Guide to Zharet" and flip open to where you left off--

ON AEMER LIFE AND FAITH, Volume I

Stonnir Bleak-Crest

Anyone who has ever met a Sun Elf will immediately notice their stark differences from other elves, namely their warm shades of brown skin and their forked ears. Some are also marked by their mystifying, sand-forged swords or their head-coverings. However, their lifestyles and beliefs are far more unique than such superficial things.

Family structure is much more broad. There are larger families in bigger households. Uncles and aunts are treated the same as father and mothers by children, thus one's cousins are simply brothers and sisters. Leaving the household before a certain age is frowned upon, and usually only happens in cases of divorce and disowning of children (even rarer). Another reason why there is no distinction between aunts/uncles and parents is because polygamy is extremely common in Zharet. Gender roles are also flexible, thus a child will often refer to one of their parents as "Patri" followed by the parent's name.

Aemer society is divided into castes, generally based on income or social status. There is the Common caste, composed of workers and the peasant farmers who serve the landowning Korids. The Korid caste is composed of powerful landowners, who enforce their holdings with Kumei who serve them. The Kumei class is economically less powerful than the Korid, only owning personal farms and land. However, they have more political power, as they not only enforce Korid landholding but also answer directly to the Antra, the Aemer equivalent of a king. Changing one's caste is extremely difficult.

Something to consider, is that the Antra's in Zharet's history have usually opposed commerce, trading, and non-government manufacturing. However, with Dwemer competition rising and so many foreigners coming in, the government has been pressured more and more to recognize and grant status to merchants and traders.

One of the most difficult parts of Aemer culture to understand is their faith. It varies in moderate amounts across regions, but there are some themes and concepts that are essential to the faith.

Aemer believe that the world and spirits once existed in an unstable, constantly transforming and shifting state where everything was always destroyed and rebuilt. One of these early beings rose up, powerful enough to maintain their form, and sacrificed their own body to create a world where spirits could settle and take form. This led to the creation of mortals. Thus all evil, chaos, and suffering is a result of pulling away from divine stability. Ultimately, there is one god in this faith, Matra-Cha, the powerful spirit who sacrificed themselves to create the known reality. Death causes ones spirit to leave the world and drift, eventually coming back to reality in some form. Daedra, to them, are viewed as powerful spirits who have managed to maintain stable form of their own but did not create the known world, instead simply living in the "shadow" of Matra-Cha.

Matra-Cha themselves IS the world, according to some Aemer. The longer one is attached to Matra-Cha (living) the closer one is to the creator. Thus, people who have lived exceptionally long, or found ways to remain in reality beyond death, are praised as Saints, and are often consulted for guidance. This would suggest that Necromancy is revered in Aemer faith, but rather than abhorring it, most Aemer say that it is a sacred art, restricted only to those chosen or allowed by priests or the Antra. Interestingly, the reigning Antra is always considered a Saint, however, the Antra is extremely mysterious, and the few who speak of the ruler often suggest that there has only ever been one Antra. Nobody has ever been granted direct contact with the Antra, so it is impossible to know.

The story Aemer will tell you of how they arrived here, in Tamriel, is that they once inhabited a forgotten, faraway land that was even greater in size than our own continent. The Antra once ruled over a vast, massive empire. Over many, many years, the Aemer built a mighty Tower out of what they claimed was solidified "blood" of Matra-Cha. This tower supposedly guaranteed that the "gift" of life and reality would persist as long as it (ultimately a symbol of the people's faith) stood. However, there were Rebels, who hated Matra-Cha, and stole from the Tower itself to create horrible weapons to attack the good Aemer empire. In the end, the Rebels perverted the blood of Matra-Cha and shattered the tower, destroying the world. The Aemer fled, while the Rebels sank with the land. The Aemer landed in Tamriel, where they named their new home "Zharet".