Analysing the Song of Pelinal, v5: On His Love of Morihaus

The fifth volume deals with the relation between Morihaus and Pelinal, as well as Morihaus’ love for Alessia.

> It is a solid truth that Morihaus was the son of Kyne, but whether or not Pelinal was indeed the Shezarrine is best left unsaid (for once Plontinu, who favored the short sword, said it, and that night he was smothered by moths).

It has already been made clear that Morihaus holds a tight relation with Kyne, mostly due to his epithet Breath-of-Kyne. Again, the text avoids mentioning Pelinal as the Shezzarrine. Not only would it piss off Pelinal to no end, as illustrated in the last volume, but it is also associated with a curse, apparently. The moth is a holy symbol in Cyrodiilic, and especially Nibaney, culture. The Ancestor Moth is involved in religious ceremonies revolving around ancestor veneration and the reading of the Elder Scrolls. Why this curse rests on the mentioning of Pelinal as a Shezzarrine isn’t exactly clear, although it could have to do with the relation between Pelinal and Akatosh, the polar opposite of Shezzar/Lorkhan.

> It is famous, though, that the two talked of each other as family, with Morihaus as the lesser, and that Pelinal loved him and called him nephew, but these could be merely the fancies of immortals.

If Morihaus is the son of Kyne, and Pelinal is a form of Lorkhan, it would mean that Pelinal is the (step-) father of Morihaus, being the husband of Kyne, or, indeed, the uncle (assuming Kyne and Lorkhan can be called siblings, being created around the same time from the same creating forces). The text does leave the exact nature of Pelinal in the middle again, stating that it could merely be nicknames the divine heroes used.
The love that Pelinal felt for Morihaus appeared in the previous volume, where he carried the wounded bull to a healer.

> Never did Pelinal counsel Morihaus in time of war, for the man-bull fought magnificently, and led men well, and never resorted to Madness, but the Whitestrake did warn against the growing love with Perrif.

Apart from loving Morihaus, Pelinal also deeply respected him. It has been shown multiple times that Pelinal did not play well with others, especially when it came to tactics or military decisions. He did not have a problem with Morihaus, though, and let him fight his own battles.
Pelinal does seem concerned with Morihaus, giving him advice regarding Morihaus’ relation with Alessia.

> "We are ada, Mor, and change things through love. We must take care lest we beget more monsters on this earth. If you do not desist, she will take to you, and you will transform all Cyrod if you do this."

Pelinal and Morihaus are divine spirits, as Pelinal mentions here. Pelinal is mostly warning Morihaus for offspring, since this will create a lot of little demi-gods running around. The 36 Lessons of Vivec has some pretty gruesome scenes dealing with semi-divine beings running around, causing chaos. Pelinal also warns that this might change Cyrodiil, probably due to the demi-gods being dangerous to the Nedes (or intermixing with them, creating a divine race).
The mentioning of love is interesting. Changing through Love (capitalised) is often associated with CHIM, a state of enlightenment that lets a person create and shape through Love, which is often unassociated (or very hard to rhyme with) love without the capital. Still, it is doubtful Pelinal is implying CHIM here, as the only two known individuals that have achieved this state are Talos and Vivec, who both aren’t Ada (although Talos could have changed himself into this by mantling Lorkhan. He wasn’t born as such, though, unlike Morihaus and Pelinal).

> And to this the bull became shy, for he was a bull, and he felt his form too ugly for the Parvania [sic] at all times, especially when she disrobed for him.

Awww, Morihaus is in love. Still, Alessia doesn’t care much for his bull-ness, apparently.

> He snorted, though, and shook his nose-hoop into the light of the Secunda moon and said, "She is like this shine on my nose-hoop here: an accident sometimes, but whenever I move my head at night, she is there. And so you know what you ask is impossible."

Mortals are a whim of chance. Where divine beings generally have their own spheres, this is not the case for mortals. So in short, mortals are nothing more than an accident.
The line also means that Morihaus and Alessia seem to end up in each other’s bed ‘by accident’ (yeah, right). Morihaus basically confirms to Pelinal that whatever he warned him for already happened.
This creates an interesting question: what is the effect on the Imperials from Alessia’s and Morihaus’ relation? This could merely be propaganda of the Imperials, saying that they are of divine heritage. It does, however, explain why the Imperials were as able as they were to create not one, but three major Empires. The Bretons are also of Nedic descent, are as, if not more, shrewd than the Imperials, and also maintain extensive trade contacts, yet they are stuck in constant in-fighting and petty city-state wars. It is possible the Imperials used this to explain their efficient conquest, being the race born from the intercourse of the son of a god and one beloved by the gods, or that there is something more to this story, and the Imperials are indeed part divine.

And this ends the short, but interesting fifth volume: On His Love of Morihaus.