Discourses on the Daedra: Daedra Genera, On The Cervine Impidae

>#Daedric Genera: On The Cervine Impidae

>##Zōion, Elementalist of Mustikos’arcere

The Echmeri have had many encounters and dealings with the group of ATEDA we refer to as the DRA, the ones that dwell in the Outer Realm widely known as Oblivion, for centuries. While we don’t usually hold any sort of positive or negative feeling towards them, we do have a certain amount of respect for the DRA and many of our legends feature the most powerful of their kind. Those beings we call the Chaos Numen, but in Tamriel the peoples' there use the term "Daedric Princes." The Chaos Numen have many servants in their employ that carry out their bidding in both Oblivion and the Mundus, and this book focuses on the one my people have a particular fondness for - the Lesser Daedra that make up Order Cervine Impidae of Familae Dae Genera.

When translated from my native Echi the term Cervine Impidae means ‘small deer-like sanguinary hellions’.... the more informal translation ‘deer imps’ is much more popular. The members of this Genera are infamous for the mischief and savagery they commit on mortals and fellow DRA alike. Humanoid in appearance but bestial in mindset, Cervine Impidae consists of the Scamps, Herne, and Morphoid Daedra, who serve as the "Hounds" of every Daedric Prince in power.

According to our own fragmentary knowledge the Cervine Impidae was created by CINEH (who the Tamrielics recognize as Hircine), who took personal offense at how deer are always prey but never predators. Unable to truly alter the deer’s aggression or imbue it with qualities that would make it a more formidable animal, CINEH snatched a deer and mortal child from Nirn in order to create his own "deer" that would be both predator and prey. After combining and readjusting the skeletons of the unfortunate specimens, the new bone-frame was exposed to the chaotic creatia of CINEH’s realm the Hunting Grounds in order to give the new DRA its body, brain, and brawn. Thus emerged the first Scamp into the Planes of Oblivion, who have since been its most seen denizens by mortals.

I think it is necessary to mention in limited detail the Daedric view on mortal reproduction before I discuss the multiple species of Cervine Impidae. It is a commonly accepted fact that the Daedric Princes are not disturbed by sexual reproduction and actively engage in it, the more intelligent Lesser Daedra are not concerned by it but are confused of its needs, and the less intelligent Lesser Daedra find it disturbing, damaging, and disgusting. This stems from the fact that Daedra are not born through copulation, but are reborn anew from the Waters of Oblivion (a more poetic term for chaotic creatia) after death. This process is quite painful for DRA and can take an unknown amount of time to finish, therefore Daedra automatically equate sexual activity with suffering. However, a theory that one of my forebears petitioned to both the Elemental Sodality and the Mages Guild of Tamriel is that despite not having actual ages and being truly immortal beings, Daedra still mature in a way similar to the mortal life cycle (from Infant to Child to Adolescent to Adult). After performing countless tests on DRA he learned that at least the smarter Lesser Daedra scoffed at the notion of mortal love when asked if they experienced sexual desire, and revealed that they only gain sensual satisfaction from inflicting pain on others; this satisfaction apparently makes them stronger, bigger, and more terrifying to their enemies. With my teacher’s reasoning this would mean that DRA maturity depends on the amount of pain they inflict on other beings; he also speculates that the Daedric Princes are the only DRA to ever reach the highly theoretical ‘Elder’ stage of DRA maturity, which allows them to share and maintain absolute power in the Planes of Oblivion. This would explain as well why they are considered the wisest and most respected Daedra. With that said, I shall apply the theoretical Daedra Maturity Scale to my descriptions of the Cervine Impidae.

Scamps (the Infants) are the most common Cervine Impidae and are usually the only one you'll ever encounter. They are very small, around the size of a two-year old, and the lower half of their bodies is covered in thick, coarse fur. Their feet possess three claws instead of toes, and their upper body resembles a child's except for being well-muscled. Their ears are almost laughably large (larger than the ears of us Echmer) and their mouths are lined with razor sharp teeth. Despite being considered simple in intellect, Scamps are in fact very intelligent, and choose not to speak unless spoken to first. Their voices are high-pitch and they tend to speak in the third-person when conversing; they also have a habit (which stays with them even as they mature) to refer to mortals as "manlings", even when they’re speaking to elves or beastfolk. What separates them from their more evolved forms is the lack of antlers and hooves (as well as their tails not being forked), which denotes their childlike status amongst their kin and superiors. They are incapable of using magic (although it has been reported that those on the brink of maturing can use some basic spells) and resort to melee in combat (but they do not use weapons). Their hearing and smell are exceptional, allowing them to track their prey with ease. When a Scamp starts to mature it begins to violently secrete a white fluid that covers it from head to toe, encasing it in a cocoon-like shell so that its body can be protected from outside forces as it begins to mature.

The Herne (the Child) will then emerge from the cocoon and take its place higher up in the Order. At this state of maturity the Herne is now the size of a ten-year old and has sprouted antlers, calling back to its origins as a deer. Its clawed-feet have melted into hooves, allowing it to run faster than the simple Scamp, and its tail has grown longer and become forked as well. Its ears have decreased in size, but its hearing has become better than ever. While still unable to use magic the Herne compensates for this weakness by wielding one-handed weaponry, which they use to deadly effect. They are more intelligent and much more willing to talk than Scamps, and display an amusing yet smug curiosity for manlings when conversing with them. Like their younger brethren the Scamps, the Herne go through a similar metamorphosis after they cause enough pain to mature, except for one thing - their cocoons catch on fire and begin to emit intense steam and levels of heat.

The Morphoid Daedra (the Adolescent) will then erupt from the cocoon, terrible to behold. Their antlers are much more curved and regal-looking than those of the Herne, and while their lower halves are still covered in fur their skin appears melted and is a painful orange in hue, as if they were dipped in boiling water. They are around the size of a seventeen-year old, with their ears being smaller than that of a Herne and their forked tail being much longer. A new physical trait is that they have horn-like growths protruding from their shoulders that they use in combat. Morphoid Daedra are highly intelligent and will converse frequently with mortals and DRA alike, but their dialogue is often deviant and perverse. They are also capable of using fire magic, which makes them much more deadlier in combat than their younger siblings. They often forgo the need to use any weaponry at this stage of maturity, as their magic and natural strength is often enough to take down their foes.

Although one has never been encountered in Yneslea before, it is often speculated that the final level of maturity for a Scamp is a Lesser Daedra called a Cervintaur (the Adult). When a Morphoid Daedra undergoes metamorphosis again it is believed that its cocoon is made from liquid fire that is secreted from it's skin, and they emerge from it with their skin charred and a blood-red in color. Cervintaurs are theorized to look like the centaurs of Tamriel (but rest be assured, they are not related), having the body and legs of a deer. Their shoulder-horns and antlers are larger and much more majestic – with the latter being on fire – and their forked tails are longer as well. Their upper halves resemble the upper half of a Morphoid Daedra, except more muscled and defined. Their intelligence is said to rival the intelligence of a Dremora, and they utilize both a wide assortment of fire spells and two-handed weaponry in combat. The Cervintaur is the final form a Scamp can achieve, which may take several centuries of warring to do so.

Although the DRA do not actually have genders, many choose to diverse themselves by taking on males and female forms, and Cervine Impidae are no exception to this rule. Female Scamps, Herne, and Morphoid Daedra certainly do exist, but the males are much more common and judging from their comments it can be suggested that Order Cervine Impidae is a matriarchate, with the women being in positions of power and the men performing the grunt work.

I shall end this volume by describing the allegiance of Cervine Impidae and their Oblivion Plane. Although created by CINEH, the Scamp and its kin can be found in the realms of MEHAGON (Mehrunes Dagon), MOBAL (Molag Bal), and many of the other Chaos Numen. This suggests that the Lesser Daedra swear oaths to multiple Daedric Princes at the same time. They hail from Cervinus, a pocket dimension linked to the Hunting Grounds. It looks like an autumn forest set in a forever dusk, where Cervine Impidae can hunt and be hunted by each other endlessly until the end of time.