The Drakean Paradox Examined

>#The Drakean Paradox Examined >##By Laurentius Andre Salvius, Theurgist of the Imperial Cult (Cespar Mission), 4E 72

#Editor's Note It should be noted that Theurgist Laurentius has been forcibly retired from the Imperial Cult since the publication of this writing due to rumors of blasphemy and swindling of Cult funds for personal ventures. He has returned to his childhood home of Sutch in Colovia, where he has taken to carpentry and writing spiritual romance novels for young adults according to the Primate of Akatosh of the Cathedral of Akatosh in Kvatch, who would provide no further comment on the matter.

#Foreword I have spent two decades of my life devoted to the worship of the Eight Divines – Akatosh, Kynareth, Stendarr, Dibella, Zenithar, Mara, Julianos, and Arkay – alongside Talos, the ascended spirit of the divine-hero Tiber Septim who founded the Third Empire. The Divines are the caretakers of our world, guardians of all that we hold dear and embodiments of all that we need to survive. I have helped many the heretic repent their destructive lifestyles, encouraged the faithful to continue their prayers, and taught the faithless how to properly commune with the deities that have given them life. I myself am a follower of Akatosh, He-Whose-Perch-On-Reality-Allowed-The-Day, and work hard to honor him and the mentors that committed me to the way of the priest.

But I myself was not always such a holder of the Imperial Faith – in my youth I had been a zealous follower of Peryite, one of the Daedric Princes that rule the dark, sin-filled abyss known as Oblivion. I am not proud of the deeds I committed in the Blighted Lord's name, but my fifteen years of servitude to him combined with my now unwavering faith in Akatosh has caused me to develop new perspectives on both dragon gods. Make no mistake, dear reader – I do not believe that a Daedric Prince has more power or sway than the Dragon God of Time, nor am I encouraging traffick with demons, but I have spent the last few years studying connections between the two deities, and I would like to share my thoughts on what I have proposed as the “Drakean Paradox” to countless scholars and priests across the Empire, its' territories, and its' trading partners/neighbors. I hope it may serve to be 'illuminating', to say the least.

#Origins of the Dragon Gods Although my brothers and sisters in the Imperial Cult will swear on their lives and souls that Akatosh has always been, and always will be, I do not quite believe in the former. Traditionally, the majority of the races of Nirn (except for the Argonians and the Dunmer) acknowledge the two most important figures of the Mythic in their religions – the Dragon God (Akatosh), and his traitor-twin the Serpent God (Lorkhan). The Chameleon God (Magnus) is also another, but his uneasy departure from the Mundus at the end of the Dawn has led to his worship largely being replaced by his chief disciple Julianos amongst men (mer, on the otherhand, continue to revere him). The Dragon God is known by many names throughout Tamriel depending on the race and culture – Auriel to the elves, Alduin to the Nords, Alkosh to the Khajiit, and Akatosh amongst my people the Imperials and assimilated citizens of the Empire. According to my former mentor Alexandre Simon (who remains the High Priest of the Akatosh Chantry in Wayrest still at the time of this writing), the other dragon gods worshipped in different cultures are not separate entities, but are instead cultural aspects created through fables and legends of the true Dragon God, Akatosh (he writes of this in his excellent read The Alduin/Akatosh Dichotomy).

I respect my mentor, of course, but I would beg to differ. As a former Daedra worshiper, I was taught that the Aedra were 'dead gods' manipulated by mortal belief (the arrogance of demons knows no bounds). My good friends Eis Vuur Warden and Quintillius Trebates, members of the well-respected Imperial Geographical Society and former Daedra worshipers themselves, also had similar beliefs that bordered on Cult heresy but less so – the Aedra aren't dead, but are trapped in a sleeping state due to losing much of their essence in the creation of the Mundus, and their different cultural aspects arose from early mortal prayers to ease their suffering. This train of thought eventually led me down the path to studying the Alessian Order, the fanatical Anti-Aldmeri theocracy created by the Prophet Marukh that the priesthood looks down upon today. But amongst those fanatics laid the maniacal, and of course now I speak of the controversial Marukhati Selectives. The Selectives were disturbed that Akatosh (and by extension, the other Divines, who had been created by Empress Alessia herself as a 'middle-ground' between the Nordic and Aldmeri pantheons) still retained 'large' amounts of elven taint and wished to expunge all Auriel influences from the Dragon God of the Empire. Led by Fervidius Tharn (ancestor of the infamous traitor Jagar Tharn), who became Arch-Prelate of the Marukhati in 1E 1188, the Selectives conducted a strange ritual on top of White-Gold Tower involving bizarre retrodance-magic and the obscure school of sound-magic known as tonal architecture that expunged all Aldmeri influence from the Divines, but also resulted in the Dragon Break known as the Middle Dawn that lasted from 1E 1200 to 1E 2208.

These sources and studies have led me to believe that Akatosh is not the original Dragon God of Time, but a cultural aspect like the other time gods created from the comatose 'Aka', the Aedra of Time. Although the Aldmeri Auriel would be the first of these cultural aspects formed from mortal belief, Akatosh is indeed the strongest and the most alive, due to the machinations of the Marukhati Selectives. Akatosh replaced Auriel, so to speak, taking his role as the First Dragon and cementing his status as 'always has, and always will be'. And now that we know the origins of Akatosh, let us now speak of the origins of Peryite.

Peryite is known by many names – the Taskmaster, the Imposter, the Blighted Lord, the Conjurer of Contagions, the Caretaker of Cures, the Alchemist's God, the Green Dragon, the Culler, and the Daedra Reaper are only just a few I have used or heard myself. His spheres of power are tasks, pestilence, healing, hierarchy, and natural order (or more simply, balance). He is a Daedric Prince, one of sixteen that refused to help create the Mundus and was therefore confined to Oblivion by the Aedrean Laws that forged the liminal barriers that separate that realm from our own. He is one of the few Princes (alongside his brethren Nocturnal, Clavicus Vile, and Vaermina) who aren't traditionally worshipped in any of the Tamrielic pantheons, which has led him to being viewed as one of the more enigmatic and lesser known Princes.

He is also the only one that takes on the form of a dragon, although this form is often artistically different in form yet eerily similar to in style to Akatosh – for example, the chief difference is that the Dragon God of Time is depicted as a traditional Akaviri drake, or sky dragon; the Taskmaster is depicted as the obscure Tamrielic wyrm, or earth dragon. Wyrms are more serpentine, have four limbs instead of two, and dwell in the dirt whereas drakes are more reptilian, have only two limbs, and are associated with the sky. I remember from my service as a former worshiper that we were to regard the Taskmaster's likeness to Akatosh as an ancient and unknowable jest, which I have always found odd, as Peryite wasn't exactly an entity that encouraged humor.

Although he has no permanent place in any pantheon, the green dragon has always been an important figure in the folklore of men since the beginning of the Merethic Era. In truth, the earliest mention of Peryite in Tamrielic mythohistory comes from the ancient text Draconis Pryedeythos, which was written by the Nedes of Cyrodiil some time in the early Merethic before they eventually became the Imperials of today centuries later. Although it is still being translated today, the text tells a tale involving the 'splintering' of the shadow of an ancient being called the Aka-Tusk (note the phonetic similarities to Akatosh and Aka), which became a deity named Alkel before it was corrupted by a great darkness, becoming the entity Pryit (Peryite). And in those years before the Coming of the Ayleidoon and the Rise of Alessia, before the Creation of Akatosh and the Eight Divines, it seems that Alkel embodied all of the traits our Dragon God of Time possesses. The Nedes viewed him as the god of life, death, and (most interestingly) time in regards to balance and history who was the chief of their massive pantheon of ancestors, saints, animal spirits, demons, and star-ghosts. After his corruption Alkel continued to be the chief of the Nedic pantheon, but as Pryit he became a fickle deity that was both creator and destroyer, and who was to be both loved and feared.

Draconis Pryedeythos isn't the only text that speaks of a 'great fracturing' of a dragon god (although it certainly is the first), resulting in the creation of a lesser dragon god that is ultimately consumed or corrupted by the darkness of demons. This spirit is often named Alkel or has a phonetically similar name, before becoming the more cynical and malevolent Peryite either through angering an older spirit or being tricked into embracing the lifestyle of demons; before this corruption, however, Alkel is usually depicted as a kind yet obnoxious entity concerned with the stability of Nirn. Could Peryite have once been a cultural aspect of Aka that was corrupted by Daedric influence, or was he merely a powerful dragon that became a Daedric Prince due to selfish and unknowable reasons? To better understand the Drakean Paradox, I have also included the origins of Peryite worship in all of the provinces and their connections to Akatosh as well. I have spoken at length with my colleagues about my theories, and unfortunately most of them have told me that what I have committed to paper borders on heresy. Perhaps they are right, but I have always been a scholar and I must find some way to ease these thoughts on my mind.

##Cyrodiil As I have stated earlier in this book, the Heartlands were the origin point of Peryite worship in Tamriel. Originally it was in his primal form of Alkel, before he became the spirit that we all recognize today. Alkel was the chief god of the convoluted Nedic pantheon, and continued to be so after he became Pryit, guiding the early Imperials as Akatosh guides their descendants today. It was only until the Ayleidoon splintered from their brethren in the Summerset Isles and began to enslave the Nedes upon their arrival in ancient Cyrodiil that worship of the Taskmaster began in the merish races.

Due to his enigmatic behavior and Aldmeri ancestor worship, Peryite was virtually unknown to the Aldmer and their descendants. Exposure to Nedic religion resulted in the Ayleidoon learning about – and subsequently incorporating – the Blighted Lord into their pantheon. Regarded as the 'younger' brother of Auriel, Peryite became the patron of their government (specifically their judicial system and the structure of their city-states in general), but many Ayleid daedraphiles began to revere him even more than Auriel. Entire cities (like the infamous Ceylasel) became devoted to the Taskmaster, and committed many atrocities in his name – several ancient Nedic texts seem to describe their slavery as a 'Great Testing' that had been placed upon them by their Dragon God, so they could face their weaknesses and gain new strengths, but it became too much for them to bear and Peryite abandoned them in favor of their new masters.

And so when Alessia began praying to the Taskmaster for assistance against their Ayleid overlords, he offered none. Eventually Alessia turned her back on Peryite who was Alkel and began to pray to another dragon god – Auriel – and his brood based on the claims made in the infamous book The Many Names of Perrif, not expecting an answer from the entities that supported the Ayleidoon. The Divines heard her prayers, however, and took pity on the poor girl, sending her three visions as well as the demigod Morihaus the Man-Bull and the star-made knight Pelinal. With their aid, Alessia freed herself from her bonds and launched the infamous Alessian Slave Rebellion that gave rise to the First Empire.

The more Aedra-aligned Ayleidoon and their city-states allied with the Nedes and their newfound Nord supporters to help defeat their Daedra worshiping brethren in what is now known as the Narfinsel Schism. Cities dedicated to the Daedric Princes were razed to the ground; some even disappeared from the land entirely. In the end, the Nedes won against their former masters and drove all of the hostile Ayleidoon out of Cyrodiil. With the installation of the Eight Divines (a fusion of the Aldmeri and Nordic pantheons) as the prime religion of the First Empire and the public banning of Daedra Worship, our Time-Father Akatosh became the new dragon god of the Nedic people and Peryite became displaced. Despite this, however, many Taskmaster cults persisted throughout ancient Cyrodiil (some scholars even suggest that the statues of Akatosh that can be found throughout the Heartlands were based on early depictions of Peryite/Alkel) and eventually found themselves in the other eight provinces.

Interestingly enough (and I apologize in advance that I do not have more to say on this subject) as a side note to Ayleidoon Dragon Worship, Peryite is believed to have been one of the Ten Ancestors of the Ayleid Empire alongside Auriel and Merid-Nunda (otherwise known as the Daedric Prince Meridia, another one of the demons of the dark) if the inscriptions etched on the walls of their ruins and esoteric instruments are reliable. In the eyes of the Ayleidoon, Peryite was married to three other entities – Namira, Vaermina, and Meridia herself. Scholars of the Imperial Cult and other institutions have noticed that this parallels the divine marriage of Akatosh (or Lorkhan, in some cases) with Dibella, Mara, and Kynareth, but the fact that Daedra do not possess such familial or romantic ties (or at least, in the conventional sense) in the slightest makes these claims seem quite odd and dubious, at best.

##Skyrim In Skyrim the Nords worship Alduin, another facet of the Aedroth known as Aka, who is called the 'World-Eater' and the 'Firstborn of Aka-Tusk'. Although considered to be a Dragon God of Time like Akatosh and Auriel, Alduin has a much darker role in Nordic religion; as the World-Eater, he represents the end of time, and literally eats the entire world to make way for the next one. According to Nordic shamans and clever men, he shows up at the end of every kalpa (an Atmoran word that seems to mean 'living cycle') devouring the souls of the mortal dead in the Nordic afterlife of Sovngarde to gain enough power to consume Nirn down his mighty gullet. The other gods (like Shor, the Nordic Lorkhan; dead chief of their pantheon and the ruler of Sovngarde) seem to be unfazed and even prepare for this grim event, although some legends claim that in between kalpas Alduin occasionally awakens from his long sleep tainted by the sins of the world, and must be engaged by the 'Dragonborn God' of that kalpa and returned to his rest (as all religious scholars know, the Dragonborn and those of the dragon blood have been intrinsically tied to the Empire since it was founded. For more information, I recommend reading the excellent Book of the Dragonborn written by the Talos Cult of Weynon Priory).

As one might guess, Alduin and Peryite seem to be barely connected – the former's worship originated in Atmora and was carried over with the Atmorans themselves in their ancient colonization of Skyrim in the Merethic Era; the latter's worship originated in the heart of Tamriel and didn't get exposed to the northerners until after the Alessian Slave Rebellion. And yet, there is a connection. The name of the Taskmaster, 'Peryite', is in itself a Nordic word that means 'balance corrupting'. It seems to have been an accidental combination of the Nedic word pryit (which means 'to seep') and the Ayleid word pyrite (which means 'harmony'), which probably arose when Nord travelers began to interact with both races in the First Era – and with these interactions, the Nords were exposed to dragon worship that was drastically different from their own.

Peryite was a 'loan god' incorporated into Nord religion as an upstart dragon who became a nature demon and a harbinger of death after he was cursed by an awakened Alduin in a previous kalpa as penance for aiding Shor in his battle against foreign gods (presumed to be the Aldmeri deities, as the Snow Men see all elves as their natural enemies). In their legends he is the one that first brought sickness to Atmora and made it harder for its' natives to grow food, resulting in the Atmoran mass exodus to Skyrim; this aligns nicely with the traditional Nordic resentment and fear towards dragons that originated with Alduin and the Atmoran Dragon Cults. However, dragons are also seen as symbols of unbelievable power and authority in the Fatherland and thus Nordic shamans and clever men respected Peryite. Draconic totems created to revere the Green Dragon are thought to have been fusions of Dragon Cult ideology and Nibenese customs brought from Cyrodiil, and were especially profound in the Reach. According to an ancient fable, Peryite once transformed a worshiper of his into a sickly tree after she forsook him for the goddess of Kyne as a reminder to those that break their contracts with him, and it became his main shrine in Skyrim. This tree still stands, for I have seen it, and poisons the land surrounding it with it's roots.

##High Rock Although the Bretons embrace both their elvish and mannish ancestry, their Dragon God constantly alters between Akatosh and Auriel depending on which region in the province you travel to, that region's ruling kingdom, the warlocks, druids, and witch covens that operate in that region, and (of course, for we are speaking of Bretons after all) the current political climate of the region itself. In some of the more northern areas you may even stumble into a Breton village or city that reveres Alduin, which brings this old quote to mind: “There are a hundred cities in High Rock, and a hundred kingdoms to govern them. But for each of those cities and kingdoms, there are a hundred different types of Bretons to rule them.” This attitude is ingrained into High Rock culture and always has been – when the Direnni Clan of Aldmer arrived in the province and began breeding with the Nedes who lived there, who in turn mated with the Orcs, Atmorans, Yokudans, and other races that trafficked the province, a race of men were born that had ties to all of the cultures of Tamriel. Interestingly enough, however, no matter who is the Dragon God at the moment in High Rock, they are always at odds with the entirely Bretonic deity known as Sheor. Sheor is the demon-god of the suffering of men and crop failure, the archenemy of all Bretons, and is believed to have been a corrupted version of Shor that arose when the early Bretons were taught of the Fall of Saarthal by Nordic occupiers. He is a warped entity, a god that embodies merish and mannish traits, whose battles against the dragons are destructive and make for good fables.

Naturally, the worship of Peryite found it's way into High Rock through the Reachmen (a suborder of Bretons who are far more primitive and barbaric in lifestyle, and who are rumored to have Daedric blood running in their veins), who often kidnapped Nordic shamans and practitioners of the clever craft to use as sacrifices for dark rituals or as new breeding stock. They then combined Peryite worship with the tattered remains of the traditional Nedic worship of Alkel, giving birth to the deity known as Paerite. I have spoken in length with the Druadach mountain-men (a distinct tribe of Reachmen who are much more 'social' and 'nicer' than other known tribes), whose infamous oral-dance known as the Logdjoflaogdreki tells of the legendary battles between Aka-Tusk, Alkel, Sheor, Majnar (Magnus), and Druadach (Trinimac) himself, which were all caused by the demon-god's machinations. In their traditions Alkel was a dragon who was eaten by Sheor when he discovered the latter's intent to kill Tharstaag (Alduin; theology can be very confusing dear reader) and was belched up tainted by Sheor's blood, becoming Paerite. Although the other Reachmen tribes recognize Paerite and revere him as a shadow-drake highly associated with curing agents, poisons, and plague magic, it seems like only the mountain-men acknowledge his former form of Alkel.

After their incorporation into the First Empire and the eventual Fall of the Direnni, the civilized Bretons of High Rock began to revile Paerite due to his association with hedge spirits and the Reachmen, and mostly tried to stamp out his worship. He, however, remains a popular deity amongst the healers, witches, and warlocks of the province and is often referred to as the Alchemist's God in public to avoid persecution from knight templars and other servants of the Divines.

Side Note: In regards to the Orsimer (or Orcs, as most people know them as) that inhabit the Wrothgarian Mountains, not much can be said about their worship of both Akatosh and Peryite. The orcs have traditionally either worshipped Trinimac (the Conquering God of the Aldmer) or Malacath (the Daedric Prince of the Spurn, who Trinimac became after being betrayed by Boethiah and Mephala). Of their dragon myths, not much is known; they may not even have any outside of legends learned from Breton, Redguard, and Imperial culture.

##Hammerfell The pantheon of the Redguards is hard to discern, even for this old theurgist, as they brought it with them from their ancestral homeland of Yokuda before it sank beneath the sea. The Yokudan pantheon differs vastly from the Aldmeri, Nordic, and Imperial pantheons that have shaped and defined the religions of Tamriel since ancient times – where the latter mythohistories focus on dragons and the earth, the former focuses on serpents and the stars. Many priests and scholars have claimed that the Yokudan deity Ruptga (the chief of the Redguard pantheon) is clearly Akatosh in disguise, but the natives of Hammerfell scoff and laugh at these claims, stating that Tall Papa is above 'measly dragons' (the nerve of some people). Other scholars often point out that Ruptga is much more connected to the now obscure and forgotten deity Ebonarm, as his name is sometimes spelled as Eruptga and he is described as having an arm made entirely out of ebony that allows him to place new constellations in the sky. Even if the Dragon God of Hammerfell isn't easily discernible, it is clear that their Lorkhan – a great serpent known as Sep – still slithers throughout their religion in the shadows (please read Varieties of Faith in the Empire and The Monomyth for further details).

Despite the absence of Aka in Yokuda, Peryite was still very much involved in both Hammerfell and Yokudan culture. The tribe of Nedes known as the Keptu worshipped the Taskmaster in a way similar to that of their Heartland brethren, but eventually supplanted his worship with strange star gods known as Celestials. There have also always been speculation that the Blighted Lord once had a connection with the estranged Rourken Clan of Dwemer due to his chief artifact – the Spellbreaker – being a powerful shield of Rourken make. When the Yokudans invaded the western coast of Tamriel in their Ra Gada wave they slaughtered all of the races that lived in the Deathlands (what Hammerfell was called back then) to make way for their civilization, traditional Peryite worship was all but stamped out. In the Yokudan faith Peryite is known as Pe’erite, the god of banes and cleansing. According to Yoku mythohistory he was the one that taught the Redguards how to kill giant scorpions and use their venom for poison, as well as how to concoct healing potions from cacti; in short, he taught them the basics of alchemy. This cemented him as both a god of healers and warriors, but a minor one in both areas, and in the modern day and age his cults are noticeably few in number.

##Valenwood & Summerset Isles In Valenwood, the home province of the Bosmer, Auriel retains his position at the head of their pantheon as the Father of all Elves. However, it is Y'ffre – the Spirit of the Now – that is held in the highest esteem due to her role in helping the Wood Elves gain stable forms during the Dawn Era and installing the enigmatic Green Pact (a divine contract that forbids the Bosmer from consuming or harming any vegetation native to Valenwood) over their people. The Dragon God in Valenwood is relegated to a role best described as a present but distant king, while Y'ffre is revered as the ever-watching and ever-loving queen.

Perhaps due to this strange power struggle between the Dragon and the Forest, Peryite worship is rather unique amongst the Bosmer. In Valenwood he is known as Rite, the 'Pear-You-Eat', who is closely associated with Y'ffre and is believed to exist on a much higher cosmic order than most other deities. Tales told by Bosmeri Spinners imply that Rite embodies both the human (civilization, community) and bestial (cannibalism, the Wild Hunt) traits of the Wood Elves and as Warden of the Ooze he is the one that decides whether a Bosmer maintains their merish body or reverts back into the primal, monstrous forms he or she possessed back in the Dawn. Interestingly enough, Rite is much more associated with natural order than he is with pestilence amongst the Bosmer, a stark contrast to most other cultural interpretations of him. Ayleid refugees from Cyrodiil also brought their Pyrite to Valenwood when the Wood Elves gave them shelter from the Alessians, but his worship only prevailed in their cities and died out when they did.

Of Peryite worship amongst the Altmer of the Summerset Isles, little can be said – the High Elves have been strong persecutors of Daedra worship for thousands of years, and the mere thought of a 'false dragon god' taking the place of their greatest ancestor and god-king is blasphemous to them. Ayleidoon who fled from the Slave Rebellion and successfully reintegrated back into Altmeri society attempted to bring their Pyrite worship back with them, but their cults were eventually destroyed or banished from the islands. However, there have been archaeological excavations in the Isles that have revealed the ruins of ancient Peryite shrines engraved with images of Aldmer fighting against Sload, suggesting a connection between the two races and the Taskmaster.

##Elsweyr & Black Marsh In Elsweyr the Khajiit worship Alkosh, who was the firstborn of Ahnurr's (Anu) and Fadomai's (Padomay) litter. Although still considered a time god by the Khajiit ('for who is as slow or as fast as a cat'), the cat-folk depict Alkosh simply as a large cat with scales and wings (because in their eyes, a dragon is nothing more than a 'really big cat'). Alkosh is seen as the wise yet playful protector of Khajiiti society and their way of life, but can become fiercely protective and destructive when Elsweyr is in danger; it is said that during the Alessian Rebellion, Alkosh himself came down from the heavens and defeated Pelinal in single combat before banishing him from the land for all eternity, as retribution when he slaughtered Khajiit in the thousands in his belief that they were elves.

The Khajiit were introduced to Peryite worship (in his aspect of Rite) by their neighbors the Bosmer at some unknown time in the past, but many suggest that was during the Merethic Era. In Khajiiti legend his name is Perjit in their language of Ta'agra'iss, one of the many children of Fadomai and Ahnurr’s second litter, and is known as the Herbal Cat (‘for who can smell the differences between spices and poisons better than a cat'). A minor deity, Perjit seems is the god of cooking, baking, and alchemy in Elsweyr. He is also tied to the making of skooma out of moon sugar, resulting in him being interestingly connected to Sheggorath the Mad Cat/Sheogorath (and therefore, insanity). Khajiit believe that cooks and alchemists are often driven mad by their work, which can be quite stressful and tedious.

In Black Marsh, the Argonians as a whole do not worship Aedra or Daedra (instead choosing to revere their precious spore-trees known as the Hist, who allegedly gave them life, and Sithis, the Great Void), although the individuals that assimilate themselves into other cultures (known as Lukiul) are capable of doing so. It is also telling that Argonians do not have a concept for time in their native language and mindset, and prefer to live in the Aurbic Now; therefore, both Akatosh and Peryite are often difficult deities for them to understand. Peryite worship may have been practiced in Kothringi and Lilmothiit beliefs, but the extinction of both of these races in the Second Era means we may never know for sure.

##Morrowind In Morrowind, there is no Dragon God. The native Dunmer refrain from the word of the Imperial Cult as much as possible, so Akatosh unfortunately holds no place in the heart. And most traces of the Aldmeri Auriel disappeared from ancient Chimer legends during their so-called 'exodus', primarily due to his association and esteem with the Altmeri. However, several aspects of Akatosh/Auriel which seem important to the mortal races, namely immortality, historicity, and genealogy, have conveniently resurfaced in Saint Almalexia, the most popular of Morrowind's Tribunal; as a mother-figure, she also embodies the idea of being a progenitor (albeit a female rather than male one). So one may say that, at least, the qualities of Akatosh/Auriel are not entirely neglected amongst the Dunmer, even if his name is.

In regards to Peryite, the Dunmer have a particularly interesting legend about the Taskmaster. He was one of the ancient spirits that accompanied the Chimer during the Velothi Exodus, but was always a more lesser known (albeit still respected) deity compared to Boethiah, Azura, and Mephala. When the Tribunal came to power during the First Era, they gave counsel and admonishment to the Daedric Princes. Some (like the Three Good Daedra) complied with the will of the Living Gods, while others (like the House of Troubles) rebelled against them. Peryite, admiring the strength of the Dunmeri people but at the same time feeling slighted by the Tribunal, simply chose to redraw from Morrowind in it's entirety. Although several Peryite cults have settled in mainland Morrowind and on the island of Vvardenfell due to the natives open-minded view towards Daedra, they usually dissolve or get destroyed immediately due to the Taskmaster’s intentional and complete disregard for the region.

#In Conclusion As the reader may see, Akatosh and Peryite have an interesting rivalry that has lasted for thousands of years. Even after finishing this work I still have yet to figure out the reason behind this. Perhaps others may take this information and do what they can with it, and find a better solution than I. Until then, my readers, I wish thee a good day and I hope Akatosh watches over all of you.