Personal letter detailing the Dibellan Cult of the Numinous Lady.

From a personal letter sent by Lady Turelie Sillvari.

My dearest pet,

The worship of Dibella, despite her widespread popularity on the mainland, is largely scoffed at due to her lusty and seemingly licentious nature. This of course is undoubtedly due to the immaturity inherent to our shorter lived cousins. A trait not found amongst those who share the proper blood.

We are above such meaningless hand-wringing over mundane trivialities. We know of love and proper methods of coition through our traditions and by the ever guiding hands of blessed Mara and Xarxes. As I venture through the chaos of the mainland, I am ever reminded of this by that lovely folio you sent to to me through the Thalmor embassy in Woodhearth. It has provided me a tremendous amount of entertainment throughout the long, lonely nights.

The Dominion is destined to bring order to war torn Cyrodiil. This is a fact and those who would deny its inevitability are fools. As a native of the land, due an unfortunate birth, you know I am uniquely suited to the task of enlightening the Thalmor on the people it will soon govern. Those who will soon kneel at our Queen's feet and thank her for delivering them from madness brought about by the failed rule of Man.

As I previously noted, the beliefs and practices of the Dibellan faith are widely misunderstood by the uninitiated. None more so than the cult surrounding the figure known as the “Numinous Lady”. I will quell the rumors now: the Hopefuls are not prostitutes, their faith is not a scam, the Numinous Lady is not a madame and the cult surrounding her is not some hidden high-class brothel. I have had several curious inquiries about such rumors from numerous Dominion officials as well as even the leader of the Eyes of the Queen. Such crass ignorance does not befit those representing our righteous alliance of three peoples.

As I have discovered through my conversations with the Lady and her Hopefuls that the cult originates from the time when Mer first ruled over Cyrodiil. The first Numinous Lady was a nedic slave in the city of Abagarlas, who as cult belief states, prayed to Dibella for the skill to restore a broken token of affection gifted to her by a deceased lover. Dibella answered the Lady's prayer by granting her the preternatural ability restore diminished and broken works to a state of beauty and radiance.

King Anumaril of Abagarlas sought to exploit the Lady's divine gift by forcing her to create works that would glorify his patron -- who you know to be the wretched Molag Bal. However, the Numinous Lady herself could not create as Dibella's gift was one of renewal and inspiration. She was to be executed for her failure. As she was dragged in chains to her impending demise, the Lady thrust herself upon her executioner and pleaded for a clean death, even offering to polish his sword make it so. The Lady worked his blade with the divine vigor and passion of Dibella herself and when she finished her work it glistened radiantly with the Goddess' glory. Upon seeing that holy vision the executioner immediately bowed in worship of Dibella and became the first of the Numinous Lady's Hopefuls.

The cult as it exists today still follows the will of the Numinous Lady; she claims to have inherited her title and abilities from a line of predecessors that can be traced back to the original slave woman of Abagarlas. Her abilities remain consistent with the legend. She can restore items seemingly broken beyond repair to functional use as well as restore the appearances of artwork diminished by the ravages of time.

The cult believes that items restored by the Lady carry within them a small spark of Dibella's divine essence that can spur individuals along a path to greatness. An individual marked by the Warrior, for example, may find themselves emboldened by touching a restored weapon and go on to become a renowned war hero. Wealthy parents often seek out the cult in hope of securing such an item for their children. The Hopefuls largely function as intermediaries between the Lady and such parties. Each of the Hopefuls have sworn an oath of service to Dibella and the Numinous Lady. The one amongst them who proves to be the most faithful and devout is chosen by Dibella to be the Lady's next successor.

So as you can see the Cult of the Numinous Lady is a benign faith. One that in fact provides a useful service to those unfortunate souls living outside of the Isles. It would be a grievous mistake to continue to allow slander against the Cult by those in Dominion uniforms. The Aldmeri Dominion needs to be perceived not as ignorant invaders trampling upon local beliefs, but as the righteous liberators we both know it to be. I expect this matter to be handled promptly.

Ever longing for your caress,

Lady Sillvari