The Shadow of Aka: Peryite

To understand the Daedric Prince known as Peryite, one must first discover the origins of the Daedric Prince of Pestilence himself. About a year ago I was having a conversation with MK when I asked him if it was possible for the Taskmaster to be the mysterious fourth Good Daedra of the Dunmeri faith. He replied that Peryite was too busy being “Aka’s Shadow.” Naturally, this interested me a great deal and so I decided to look into this further by exploring the origins of Akatosh and perusing a great deal of other text. To be honest, I think I may have uncovered a breakthrough. The Monomyth explain the creation of Akatosh according to mortals:

>'Aurbis' is used to connote the imperceptible Penumbra, the Gray Center between the IS/IS NOT of Anu and Padomay. It contains the multitude realms of Aetherius and Oblivion, as well as other, less structured forms. The magical beings of Mythic Aurbis live for a long time and have complex narrative lives, creating the patterns of myth. These are spirits made from bits of the immortal polarity. The first of these was Akatosh the Time Dragon, whose formation made it easier for other spirits to structure themselves. Gods and demons form and reform and procreate. – Myth of the Aurbis

>Note that Tamriel and the Mortal Plane do not exist yet. The Gray Maybe is still the playground of the Original Spirits. Some are more bound to Anu's light, others to the unknowable void. Their constant flux and interplay increase their number, and their personalities take long to congeal. When Akatosh forms, Time begins, and it becomes easier for some spirits to realize themselves as beings with a past and a future. The strongest of the recognizable spirits crystallize: Mephala, Arkay, Y'ffre, Magnus, Rupgta, etc., etc. Others remain as concepts, ideas, or emotions. One of the strongest of these, a barely formed urge that the others call Lorkhan, details a plan to create Mundus, the Mortal Plane. – The Dragon God and the Missing God, The Monomyth

When Akatosh (or Auri-El, or Alkosh, or Alduin, or Bormahu, or Pick You’re a Damn God) formed, the other et’ada found it easier to become permanent entities because of it. They were weak, incapable of stabilizing into a form beyond concept until Aka shouted at the top of his lungs, “Guess what, everyone? I’m a person!”, and the other et’ada realized that they were individuals too. Aka introduced the concept of natural order into the Aurbis. In other words, Akatosh introduced the very idea of balance into the Aurbis. And who is the embodiment of Balance in the Aurbis? Peryite, the Daedric Prince of the Natural Order.

Peryite, I believe, was an accidental byproduct of the formation of Akatosh, in a similar way to how light resulted in the creation of darkness. When Time formed, the concept of Balance (Natural Order) was introduced into the universe but because the Dawn Era was still chaotic and mostly unformed, it existed unutilized. Peryite-Concept wasn’t strong enough to crystallize fully, nor was it weak enough to fade back into the primal nothingness that is the Void. So when did Peryite-Concept take on his iconic form of a dragon, or become a Daedric Prince? Well, this theory gets even more complicated as we go on. The OOG Text known as the Magne-Ge Pantheon is both heretical in-universe and in real-life for a lot of various, serious reasons. I’ve read it a lot, more than I should have maybe, but there is a passage in it that picks my brain:

>Pigmius (C Sign) – Scant moments before the Y Blur, Merid commanded that a great Border be fashioned from the Blackblock. Pigmius was the result. In his right hand, he held the Canvas of his sister Mnethm; in his left hand he refused to hold anything except the Lens in his finger veins. Pigmius could not hold back the Monster Legions of the Chrome Device and the foul enchantments of the Y. He was finally undone by the Fiberings of Nana Null. His legacy and promise can still be reclaimed in the gathering and refinement of the Pigment. – Magne-Ge Pantheon

The magne-get known as Pigmius seems to have been, in simplistic terms, a sapient wall-golem of sorts crafted upon the orders of the get Merid (before she became the Daedric Prince Meridia), and an acted as a pseudo Great Wall that shielded Aetherius from everything else. If I’m interpreting the events in the overall text correctly, Pigmius was meant to protect the Ge from the horrors of the Chrome Device (Mundus?) and their more malevolent cousins, the Y (Aedra?). He couldn’t, however, and became lost to the temptations of the mysterious Nana Null (Nirn). Even though he succumbed to the darkness, everything Pigmius once stood for can still be found in the ‘gathering and refinement of the Pigment.’

My personal belief is that Pigmius was the earliest incarnation of Peryite, given form and purpose by Meridia, before he eventually became corrupted by the creation of Nirn. Pigmius functioned as a living Border between Oblivion and Aetherius, as well as the Mundus. In other words, he kept the balance between these three realms, keeping one from bleeding into the other. He sort of functioned like the god Heimdall from Norse Mythology who was in charge of guarding the Rainbow Bridge, which is ironic because if you think of the Canvas of his sister Mnethm as Oblivion and the Lens as Aetherius, the Border is a Rainbow (canvas (color) plus lens (light) equals rainbow).

To me the War between C and M seems to be the Magne-Ge take on the War between Time (Aka) and Space (Lorkh). The Y Blur is the act of Y’ffre stabilizing Nirn by becoming the first Earthbone. Pigmius was built to be the barrier that kept the balance between the realms, but was unable to do so. The Monster Legions of the Chrome Device attacked Pigmius, upsetting the balance, severely weakening him, and before he was ruined by Nana Null. Pigmius then became the Daedric Prince known as Peryite, after discovering he could no longer return to Aetherius. The Border still exists, but without Pigmius to guard it anyone can travel upon it if they know how to use it properly.

Right now I’m imagining quite a few of you are saying that I’m reaching. However, there are some more things I think I may have explanations for. For example, the iconic dragon image Peryite so strongly maintains? Because he’s a byproduct of Aka’s birth, he is literally the Time Dragon’s shadow. And a shadow is basically a darker, immaterial copy of something original. This would make the Taskmaster akin to a divine, sapient automaton – he isn’t a shard of Akatosh or a Magne-Get, and neither is he one of the original dwellers of Oblivion. He is, however, an et’ada and a Daedric Prince because of the tremendous power he wields (despite being drained by Nana Null) and because he resides within Oblivion now.

Before I go on to describe the Taskmaster’s sphere and personality, we should also look at Peryite’s and Meridia’s relationship in another light because of this theory, due to the fact that both of them have connections to Aetherius (one was once a Magne-Get, the other was created by said Magne-Get). Fortunately, the Exegesis of Merid-Nunda has some interesting things to say about this:

>"The Lords of the Chaos-Realms chided Merid-Nunda for her trespass and bade her return to Aurbis, claiming all existing spheres as their own. But Merid-Nunda formed of her substance a great drag-lens, and the light of Magnus was bent thereby. The rays [carved? focused?] a new sphere from the chaos, which Merid-Nunda, [laughing? sparkling?], did claim for her own." – Exegesis of Merid-Nunda

Drag-lens. That is an interesting word, don’t you think? Almost sounds like…dragon. ‘But Merid-Nunda formed of her substance a great dragon, and the light of Magnus bent thereby.’ Interesting. It becomes even more interesting when one remembers that Peryite always had the form of a dragon, but as Pigmius he also held the Lens (Aetherius) in his left hand. Drag-lens. Peryite-Pigmius aka the Border. Except its being used contrary to its original purpose, as a path from Aetherius to Oblivion that’s simultaneously forging the Colored Rooms.

>"… thus does Merid-Nunda [ride? slide?] across the rainbow road from end to end, at one end stretching the dragon, at the other end compressing him …." – Exegesis of Merid-Nunda

And you thought that the Heimdall and Rainbow Bridge references were made just for metaphor. To me, it seems, that the Rainbow Road is in fact the Border. Meridia was the one who ordered Pigmius to be created, so of course she of all people would know how to use what he was made to defend. Meridia used the power of the Border to carve herself a realm of Oblivion utilizing the light of Magnus, then stretches Time (Aka) and Space (Lorkh) to travel to the Colored Rooms safely. Pigmius may be gone (in body), but his essence remains and the Border still functions.

To take this a bit further, Meridia’s and Peryite’s realms are even inversions of each other: Meridia remembers her time in Aetherius and still has her light power and the Colored Rooms reflect that, consisting of floating islands of multicolored crystals. Peryite, however, had his rights to Aetherius stripped away and was tossed into Oblivion. The Pits are nothing but a series of holes that light can barely reach.

In a sense, Peryite is Meridia’s son or younger brother. But let’s now talk about the Taskmaster’s personality and his sphere:

>Peryite, whose sphere is the ordering of the lowest orders of Oblivion, known as the Taskmaster. – The Book of Daedra

>Mehrunes Dagon, Molag Bal, Peryite, Boethiah, and Vaernima are among the most consistently "demonic" of the Daedra, in the sense that their spheres seem to be destructive in nature. The other Daedra can, of course, be equally dangerous, but seldom purely for the sake of destruction as these five can. Nor are these previous five identical in their destructiveness. Mehrunes Dagon seems to prefer natural disasters -- earthquakes and volcanoes -- for venting his anger. Molag Bal elects the employment of other daedra, and Boethiah inspires the arms of mortal warriors. Peryite's sphere seems to be pestilence, and Vaernima's torture. – On Oblivion

>Peryite is the daedric prince of tasks, order and pestilence. He is considered one of the weakest of the princes, despite being depicted as a dragon. – Skyrim Loading Screen

>"He is the pus in the wound. Oh, proper ones curl their noses, but it's pus that drinks foul humors and restores the blood. I worship Peryite, yes, because sometimes the world can only be cleansed by disease." – Kesh the Clean

>O'er the treetops, the worm takes flight, 'Tis no dragon, it is Peryite. Like a shadow over country and city, Comes the harbinger, Peryite. Pestilence blooms with each wing beat. For whom doth seek Peryite? – Mad God's Masque and Bellicose Ball

Peryite is one of the sixteen Daedric Princes that reside in Oblivion (I no longer think Jyggalag is an actual entity, but a concept created by Sheogorath, so I will not be saying seventeen), and is also known by the monikers of Taskmaster and Blighted Lord. He is one of the more quiet Princes, but mortals tend to believe he is one of the more truly ‘evil’ Daedra. But for what reason? What has Peryite done that makes himself look so bad in the eyes of mortals? A lot, actually. Let me explain:

Peryite’s sphere isn’t actually pestilence. It’s Natural Order, which is also known as Balance. Diseases are just one of the many ways he keeps the balance in the Aurbis, and the one he most frequently uses. There are diseases that kill and others that keep you alive, and the ones that kill are usually painless while the ones that keep you alive are painful as hell. There are also cures for these diseases, which Peryite can choose to bestow whenever he feels the balance is trying to tip over to one side. I know I’ve explained how important Peryite actually is to the Aurbis more times than I can count, but my pals /u/MareloRyan and /u/Doom-DrivenPoster give excellent explanations that I will post here for more clarity:

>Not sure of a good place to stick this in your ongoing conversation with the others, so I'll just make a top-level comment. I think your idea that Mundus didn't have the concepts of the Daedra to begin with is deeply flawed. Look at Azura. Do you think Mundus had no concept of transition and oscillation before Azura meddled with it? Or Hircine, who, as /u/Sakazwal notes, has all hunting as his sphere? Or Peryite, whose sphere includes natural order, balance of forces within a system, which he maintains with "disease," which is far broader than mere sicknesses? Peryite in particular! – /u/MareloRyan

>The Daedric Spheres as we see them aren't necessarily their actual Spheres. The Ada represent concepts, especially those who existed prior to the formation of the Mundus. Take Mephala. She is seen as the Daedroth of Sex and Death according to mortals, but neither sex nor death existed in the traditional sense prior to Mundus. That's because her actual sphere is Origins and Conclusions, with a destructive tilt to them. Peryite is another case. He isn't really the Daedric Prince of Pestilence. He's the Ada of Progression of the Natural Order, or the mechanisms behind the continuation of an existing system. Pestilence is just one manner in which he does this. Its population control, making sure things don't get too out of hand. That's one reason I think he hates Vampires. They don't die, and thus disrupt the rule of death which is the natural order on Mundus. – /u/Doom-DrivenPoster

Even Peryite’s artifact Spellbreaker enforces the concept of natural order – it shields the owner from both magical and physical attacks, but as soon as the owner gets used to having it the shields disappears. Peryite is literally Obsessive Compulsive because he is always trying to maintain equality in the Aurbis; is trying to prevent one side from leaning above or below the other. Unlike the other Daedric Princes, Peryite doesn’t do favoring. Everyone gets equal shares or no one gets anything at all.

Due to this mindset, the Taskmaster can be seen as one of the more sadistic Princes. But what makes it more disturbing is that he himself doesn’t know that he is a sadist, as in his eyes he is merely doing what he was made to do. As Pigmius he was solely made for the purpose of guarding the great Border between the realms and maintaining the balance. When he was undone by Nana Null, he decided to continue his previous job as one of the Daedric Princes.

Are mortals living too long? Just created diseases and killed half of the world’s population. Molag Bal created Vampires? Better make them weak to sunlight and only able to live off of blood. Hircine created Lycanthropes? A weakness to silver and spontaneous transformations should correct that. A plague killing too many people? Just send in another plague that keeps them alive but in constant pain as a counter-measure. Peryite doesn’t seem all that weak or timid now, does he?

Oh, and remember how in The Book of Daedra Mehrunes Dagon, Molag Bal, Boethiah, Vaermina, and Peryite are considered the most evil of the Daedric Princes? I believe that distinction is made because they are supposed to be Tamriel’s version of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, although in some cases Pestilence is exchangeable with Conquest, so upgrade that list to five: Boethiah is War. Mehrunes Dagon is Conquest. Vaermina is Famine. Peryite is Pestilence. Molag Bal is Death.

And I’m finished. Peryite, the Shadow of Aka people.