Analysing the Song of Pelinal, v7: On His Battle with Umaril and His Dismemberment

The seventh volume deals with the final showdown between Umaril and Pelinal, and its aftermath. This volume is much more fragmented than the earlier six.

Instead of the introduction the first six volumes have, the seventh volume has its own.

>[Editor's Note: This fragment comes from a manuscript recovered from the ruins of the Alessian Order's monastery at Lake Canulus, which dates it to sometime prior to the War of Righteousness (1E 2321). However, textual analysis suggests that this fragment actually preserves a very early form of the Song, perhaps from the mid-sixth century.]

Lake Canulus was the site of the most important monastery of the Alessian Order, a religious group that at some point held most of the political power within the Alessian Empire. They were known to have formed an almost monotheistic religion centred on Akatosh.
It is common for most real-world epics to survive in different versions (or recensions, as they are called). The translation you pick up at the local bookstore is often a compilation, cross-reference, and with some editorial additions. Some epics have very few recensions, like Beowulf and the Epic of Gilgamesh, which both survive in one recension, or the Táin, which survives in three main recensions. Other epics are compiled by a myriad of different recensions, like the Iliad and the Odyssey, which each have over 2000 recensions. This volume is from a very early version, probably being composed within 400 years after the events, with likelihood of the original composition being even older.
The War of Righteousness was the end of the Alessian Order, and with it the Alessian Empire. It is believed the war erupted due to internal struggle within the order, which led to many of the areas of Cyrodiil to opt-out of the Order’s rule. The Order’s monastery was destroyed during this war, but some scraps seem to have survived.

> [And so after many battles with] Umaril's allies, where dead Aurorans lay like candlelight around the throne, the Pelinal became surrounded by the last Ayleid sorcerer-kings and their demons, each one heavy with varliance.

Pelinal went alone to White-Gold, and it seems he had to fight through both Ayleids and Daedra to even reach the Tower. In the Tower, Pelinal had to fight more Aurorans and Ayleids (note the light symbolism surrounding the Aurorans, who are linked to Meridia).
The last surviving kings had already retreated to the Tower at this point, and were holding out against Pelinal.
Varliance isn’t a word in English (at least, both the Oxford Dictionary and Wiktionary didn’t yield anything), but it is probably linked to Varla stones, which are, along with Welkynd stones, important in Ayleid sky-magic and the city-states.

> The Whitestrake cracked the floor with his mace and they withdrew, and he said, "Bring me Umaril that called me out!"

Pelinal only came here to settle his feud with Umaril, and didn’t care much for victory for the Nedes, as volume three mentions that he left most battles to the Rebellion, while fighting his enemies in pre-arranged single-combat.

> ... [And] while mighty in his aspect and wicked, deathless-golden Umaril favored ruin-from-afar over close combat and so he tarried in the shadows of the white tower before coming forth. More soldiers were sent against Pelinal to die, and yet they managed to pierce his armor with axes and arrows, for Umaril had wrought each one by long varliance, which he had been hoarding since his first issue [of challenge.]

This shows a major difference in tactics between Umaril and Pelinal. Where Umaril would send his troops forwards, and stay in the background organising, Pelinal would rush in and fight on his own. While Pelinal is slaying things left and right, Umaril is waiting for him to tire.
This is also the first time Pelinal’s armour is pierced, as volume three mentions that his armour was undamagable for the Ayleids. Umaril’s men were able to do this by magic weapons, which Umaril seemed to already have when he called out for Pelinal to fight him. The exact workings of Varla magic is unknown, so what “long varliance” implies is anyone’s guess.

> ... [Presently] the half-Elf [showed himself] bathed in [Meridian light] ... and he listed his bloodline in the Ayleidoon and spoke of his father, a god of the [previous kalpa's] World-River and taking great delight in the heavy-breathing of Pelinal who had finally bled…

Umaril is a half-god, and the son of a divine being from a previous kalpa. Whatever the World-River is hard to say, as there is little known of previous kalpas. It is possible that this might be a god from the same world that was ruled by Dreughs. Along with his divine heritage, his divine pact is also shown, namely in the light of Meridia.
As I mentioned before, this was the first time Pelinal bled, and it seems Umaril was hoping that it would work (and probably was a bit hesitant about its success).

> [Text lost] ... [And] Umaril was laid low, the angel face of his helm dented into an ugliness which made Pelinal laugh, [and his] unfeathered wings broken off with sword strokes delivered while Pelinal stood [frothing]... above him insulting his ancestry and anyone else that took ship from Old Ehlnofey, [which] angered the other Elvish kings and drove them to a madness of their own...

The exact details of the battle are lost, but it seems to be a pretty heavy brawl. It ended with Umaril’s physical form being killed, and his head carved in by Pelinal.
Again, “Unfeathered”. Umaril isn’t entirely Ayleid.
At this point, Pelinal is already badly hurt, and his mouth is foaming from rage and exhaustion, probably. It is also interesting that there might be more than just his mouth frothing. MK, who wrote this text, mentions that Pelinal “was and is an insane collective swarmfoam war-fractal from the future”.
Pelinal also shows his hatred for the Ayleids and Elves in general. Now that Pelinal has settled his feud with Umaril (or so he thinks), he still has to mend his own pride by calling Umaril, yet again, names. This, of course, pisses off the kings still present in the Tower, who attack Pelinal.

> [and they] fell on him [speaking] to their weapons... cutting the Pelinal into eighths while he roared in confusion [which even] the Council of Skiffs [could hear]...

Eight is a magic number for the Ayleids, and possibly in reference to the Spokes of the Wheel. This is further strengthened by the fact that some Ayleid ruins with top-side structures still standing often have a circular planning, most notably the Imperial City itself (although the IC does not have eight Spokes or districts, but ten (nine if you don’t count the Palace districts in the hub). This might be the reason they were “speaking” to their weapons, or something similar. As I pointed out in the first volume, square brackets indicate that the text is either illegible or the meaning of the word is only implied in the original text, but is required for a normal sentence in the new language. It is possible “speaking” here can also be swapped for “chanting”, “invoking”, or “singing to”.
The action is brought back to the Nedic armies, who were still holding back. They hear Pelinal, and are concerned with his well-being.

> [Text lost] ...ran when Mor shook the whole of the tower with mighty bashing from his horns [the next morning], and some were slain-in-overabundance in the Taking, and Men looked for more Ayleids to kill but Pelinal had left none save those kings and demons that had already begun to flee…

The Nedes finally stormed the city, and Morihaus rushes in to try and get to Pelinal. The exact events during the storming are lost, and it is unknown who was/were fleeing for Morihaus, although it is probable the Ayleid kings took flight.
The men secured the IC, which wasn’t that hard since Pelinal already ravaged through it.

> It was Morihaus who found the Whitestrake's head, which the kings had left to prove their deeds and they spoke and Pelinal said things of regrets... but the rebellion had turned anyway... [and more] words were said between these immortals that even the Paravant would not deign to hear.

The eight body parts of Pelinal, along with his armour, were scattered throughout Cyrodiil. His head was left at the site. Apparently, the dismemberment of his body wasn’t his death, as he still seems able to talk to Morihaus. Pelinal was feeling sorry for the whole course of events, even though the Rebels did manage to secure the throne for Alessia.
The Song does not mention what was said exactly between Morihaus and Pelinal, but the Adabal-a does. Since I’m planning to do that as an extension of these posts, I won’t go into too much detail here. According to the Adabal-a, Morihaus and Pelinal briefly discussed Pelinal’s return in one form or the other, and the return of Umaril how dangerous that can be.

This ends the seventh volume of the Song of Pelinal: On His Battle with Umaril and His Dismemberment