[UM] On The Nature of the Black-Welkin

>#On The Nature of the Black-Welkin

>>#By Anonymous >__

Tamrielics describe the Black-Welkin (or Yregrui-a’sazt in Echi) as the afterlife of the Echmer people, the place where our souls travel to and comingle after death. This is of course nonsense originally devised by the naysayers known as the Imperial Cult, to make our cultural customs much more identifiable to the diverse races of Tamriel.

The Black-Welkin in reality is our name for the Void, the primal IS NOT given form. For Tamrielics the closest equivalent would be the entity they refer to as Sithis, who is merely an echo of the original Void that is the entity they remember as Padomay. Our connection to the Black-Welkin is one of the major distinctions that separate our beliefs from those of the Dwemer, who derived theirs from the Aldmeri. Whereas all merish races (including the Khajiit, who were changed during Aeon Null or the Dawn Times) excluding our creators believe that their souls travel to Aetherius upon mortal death, we Echmer know for certain that our souls travel into the Void upon death, where they are dissolved by the Nothingness and cease to exist.

Nevertheless, our cultural practices are rooted deeply in the same tree so to speak of Aldmeri traditions. The name that we call ourselves, the ‘Ech-mer’, displays this clearly. From my studies into the diverse cultures of mer that populate Tamriel, I can truly say that our beliefs are truly unique when compared to theirs. All of our races sense that the Mundus is a trap, keeping us constrained to an endless life cycle of birth and creation. For some, Aetherius is true escapement. For others, ascending into godhood is true escapement. But it does not matter, for both ways our not the true way: your soul still lingers in the Aurbis, remembering the experiences of mortal life, instead of being completely freed from it.

The majority of the Echmeri people follow the edifications of HRAHNDEYL – The Four Honorable Troths and the Eight Virtuous Paths of Illumination – that teach that by undergoing many difficult mental and spiritual lessons and preparations one may be able to escape the Aurbical Prison permanently and completely. However, they realize that their chances of succeeding this are minimal and therefore remember that the Black-Welkin, the Void, also allows escapement as well. Because of its nature of being nothingness incarnated, everything that enters the Black-Welkin must therefore dissolve into nothingness as well. For this reason our souls enter the Void to cease to exist, while our spirit – our memories, personality, and emotions – go on to become the waters of Nirn.

The reason why our souls are attuned to the Void instead of Aetherius, Oblivion, or the Dreamsleeve is directly because of HRAHNDEYL himself. When he was still mortal Hrahndeyl the ATEDA was very passionate about finding a way to end the reincarnation cycle for our people at all costs. During his twenty years of exile he discovered the secret of doing this, and when he apotheosized as HRAHNDEYL he showed his love for his people by severing our connection with any other outer realm and linking us to the Black-Welkin for eternity.

Because of this, the souls of Echmer are distinctly different than that of the souls of Tamrielics. Not just because of the Black-Welkin, but due to the fact that our souls are born from the insubstantial realm known simply as the Dreaming City. But that is a story for another time.