About "Pelinal Reborn"

I have some problems with the "Pelinal Reborn" aspect of KOTN. It seems to be a widely held belief that the CoC mantled Pelinal as part of the KOTN storyline. There is, however, a tremendous mismatch between the character of Pelinal and the deeds required to become the Divine Crusader. I want to talk about the differences between the two, look at why those differences might exist and compare the situation with another well known instance of saint-mantling. Then I want to propose some ways we might resolve the conflict. So without further ado...

KOTN introduced the Song of Pelinal to provide some background on the legendary antagonists, Pelinal and Umaril. However there seems to be a disconnect between the Pelinal portrayed in the Song Of Pelinal and the steps needed to become the Divine Crusader. The Pelinal in the Song was driven by hate and rage and ancient pain and it seems he was only really happy when he was cutting down elves on the field of battle. By contrast, The player's actions largely involve ritual purification and demonstrating restraint, compassion and wisdom.

Now a certain amount of this can be explained by the fact that these are quests of the Divines. The Aedra were beings who were willing to sacrifice much of what they were in order to make Mundus work properly. Self sacrifice is a big thing with them, and it is not unreasonable that they would expect their would-be Crusader to uphold certain standards. Hence we get a series of pseudo-chivalric hoops through which the prospective Crusader must jump to demonstrate his worth.

The problem comes when the Prophet hails the Crusader as Pelinal Reborn which is often taken as indicating that the CoC has mantled Pelinal. If we accept that Pelinal is an avatar of Lorkhan then the mantling part is not unreasonable, and this has been used to further argue that the CoC therefore must be (or must have become) a shezzarine themselves.

My problem is that the the CoC's quests for the Crusader's Relics bears little resemblance to Pelinal's actions in the Song. When talking about mantling, the phrase walk like them until they walk like you is often used. But as far as I can seem, the only to walk like Pelinal would be to go on a bloody rampage, brutally murdering every elf you could find and then when you run out of elves, fall to your knees and curse Akatosh for not providing more of them so that you could properly sate your hatred.

That's not to say Pelinal didn't have a softer side. From the Song he seems to have been genuinely fond of Alessia and Morihaus. I just have problems imagining him doing some of the the things the would-be Crusader has to do, such as letting bears smack him about, or taking curses onto himself to demonstrate his compassion.

We can contrast this with the Neravarine who arguably mantles Saint Nerevar. The Nerevarine has some adventures that are unrelated to Nerevar's life, but in being initiated into the Ashlander clans, claiming Moon-And-Star and going on to unify the Dunmer by being proclaimed Nerevarine and Hortator, he is very much walking as Nerevar walked. There is no such correspondence in the CoC's quest to become the Divine Crusader.

So there is a clear tension between the depiction of Pelinal in the Song and the steps needed to become the Divine Crusader, and this would seem to cast doubt on any notion of mantling Whitestrake. How then to resolve this?

It's possible that the challenges posed by the Divines is just another way to mantle someone. The "walk like them..." line is the Fourth Walking Way if memory serves. I've yet to find a list of all eight Ways in terms that I can understand, so it's certainly possible that this is one of the other Ways. Still, there remains a fundamental disconnect between who you work to become in the quest and the mantle to which you aspire. For that reason alone, I'm reluctant to accept this explanation.

It is also possible that Saint Pelinal is not the same being as Pelinal. That the Saint is some aspect of the Divines raised up by centuries of mythopoeic forces. In mantling Saint Pelinal, you are performing the actions attributed to the Saint whose exploits have been rather cleaned up compared to those of the being that inspired them. I rather like that, although I'm not sure how defensible the "mythopoeic aspect" idea might be.

The simplest thing is probably to say that "Pelinal Reborn" is just an accolade. It acknowledges that you are the champion of the Divines as Pelinal once was. You are not Pelinal, but you have his old job and all the perks that entails[1]. I think this is probably my preferred option.

So, to sum up: The Pelinal of the Song of Pelinal doesn't seem to have much in common with the persona the CoC must adopt in order to become the Divine Crusader. The fact that the Divines are posing the challenges explains the somewhat chivalric nature of the tests, but doesn't do much to explain how this lets you mantle a being whose metaphorical walk is almost diametrically opposed to the steps the divines make you take. This stands in stark contrast to the Nerevarine's actions in mantling Saint Nerevar.

Is there another Walking Way that better fits the story? Is it possible that Saint Pelinal and Pelinal Whitestrake have become distinct entities over the centuries? Or is "Pelinal Reborn" just a job description, without wider metaphysical implications? [2]

I really don't know, but I'd welcome your thoughts on the matter.

[1] Laser Hand and Cyborg Heart sold separately. Batteries not included.

[2] Also, if all the Relics once belonged to Pelinal, how in Oblivion did Pelinal ever pass all those tests of purity and compassion? The man must have been notoriety incarnate!