Archaeologists Discover Ancient Religious Text in Skyrim

Part 1: (Your Current Location: In Media Res: War of The Gods)

Part 5: (Coming Soon: The Dawn of Man, Redefining Hircine)

Part 6: (TBA: The Men/Mer Schism Begins, Mankind Becomes Divided)

Part 7: (TBA: Interlude: Folk Origin of the Reachmen)

Part 8: (TBA: Flashback, Creation of The Universe: More to Follow)

Author's Note: This post was made before I had come to the decision to make my writing an interconnected series, hence why the title does not begin with "The Chronicles of Jsashe" like all later entries do. Apologies for any confusions.

>Dear Vibianus Cindiras of the Imperial Archaeological Society, I hope this message finds you in better health than I. Until recently, our expedition into the Western holds of Skyrim have yielded little of historical significance, much less that collection of Mythic Dawn amulets I heard rumors about. While camped outside the paltry city of Whiterun a fantastical sight befell our eyes - a sinkhole manifested behind the home of some Farmer Pelagia, revealing an earthen burial tomb beneath his aforementioned dwelling! The man was quite irate given the circumstances, but with our blessings from his Jarl, the plebeian had to begrudgingly permit our excavation. Tests on the antiquities within lead us to believe that they date back to the Late Third Era, roughly around the time in which enigmatic Queen Jsashe allegedly reigned over Whiterun.

>Fear not, we haven't informed the local Jarl, for I know as well as you do of damnatio memoriae - that these barbaric Nords have made concerted efforts to ferret out and remove all traces of her existence, as they had in the past with Gauldur the Witch-Warrior (or rather "Archmage" as some legends say). Our most exhilarating find was a religious codex constructed of horker vellum - clutched tightly by the tomb's resident cadaver - greatly detailing the fabled state religion that Witch-Queen had instated over residents of her hold. Enclosed alongside this letter is an excerpt from the text, with annotation, based on my team's deciphered understanding of the rotting tome; we believe this belief systems exhibits strong similarities to the multifarious Reachmen systems of faith as well as strong Nordic influence.

>Yours truly, Imperial Archaeologist Erasmo Gibrmorti 4E 198, 3rd of Frost Fall.

...Thus waged on the first great war of Nirn, MAY FATE PIVOT JUSTLY, nearing the end of a cycle be it. With a liver of treacherous intent, Jhunal the Runic Vanir left wide the path to his Khan, allowing Iqa-Touf to raze Sheor's battalion of lurching Treefolk berserkers (burly kin of the Birch-Elk Nymphs be they) and sunder his brass heart; prostate lay Kyne, Witness to King-Now-Rebel's murder of the Rebel-Now-King. A gentle old soul was overcome with ferocity, Hehrsich the Gardener [1], Son of Sheor and Steed of Steed [2], thusly he rushed headfirst into the conflict with not' but his hoe and a buckler thrice his size. Iqa-Touf [3] howled at such obstinate acts of feeble compassion and descended upon the foolhardy tiller, grasping him in his eaglelike talons, and ascended once more to toss him from atop dread Direnni Tower into the tumultuous molten sea of chaotic creatia below. Daebelle the Moth and Matriarch of Flame, one of [the] three fractured sisters that make up Sheor's Threefold Warrior Consort, hurriedly flew across the battlefield illuminated by cold flames to free this youth [of hers] from the barbed oblivious waves of Oblivion. Take heed, the fury of flames is more swift than even the fastest of manifest beasts! Never waver or disregard its fury, for destruction is truly inévitable! Wretched from the abyssal tide, Hehrsich’s flesh had twisted and gnarled into [text illegible] with a strange brute blood beating heart befitting his dominion over claw and boot-bearer [4], while his hoe became the illustrious spear [that] would [be] blessed by Her benevolence [5]; for at last his birth rune, HEFHED [6], had caught up to him. In a bitter, senseless tantrum of passion, he lacerated and ravished her staggering winsome form. He proclaimed their new domain to be the Wild Woods of Nirn, thus in the years that followed, he filled the land with the Folk of Horn and Claw, repopulating our Kalpa; they say on the most humid of spring days you can hear him bemoan the hircine [7] depravity he executed upon one of his blood mothers, "I am agony, marked by blackest of all treacheries!", for she dispensed forgiveness with her half-immaculate & half-decomposed wings upon [his] spear.

Under the light of Sheor's Lungs [8], these Beastkin were bestowed order from [the confusion of] their shapes by Hehrsich's aunt, clan mother, and blood mother - Y’ffre the Shaper, Az’zrhe the Rose, and Kyne the Witch-Warrior Matriarch. Be wary and respectful if you wander far from home, for their descendants are scattered across this turbulent land of strife and persistence: the lost Phoukiyr of our Motherland [9], the dozen dozens of innocent Sormersete creatures brought to extinction by those ignoble Salache [10], the Harpies and Half-Kyne Folk who trot amongst the Bjoulsae [River tribes] [11], the Lesser Shock Dragons and Root Lizards of the Darkest Marshland who follow the Treefolk (oldest of folk) along an entropic path [12], the Lunar Felines of Lleswer who take many a form, the once kingly Harpies and Taurine of Ol'Cyrod [13], the Great Apes and Goat Men of Valehwoud [14], the defiling Viper Bean and flightless Runners of the Deathland [15], the Walking Sharks and Furry Toads of mysterious Yneslea... [16]

[1] I have never previously encountered any deity by the name of "Hehrsich" in any written text, thus my current supposition is that it could very well be original to this belief system. Furthermore, with the advice of my team's linguistics, I surmise that the name is likely derivative of the daedric prince Hircine, owing to the text's Reachmen influence.

[2] Before leaving on this expedition I had begun doing research on the ancient Nedic people's star-centric belief system, reading Buccney Breh's masterful dissertation, "Astrological Nedic Magic and Daedra Summoning." According to his research, Buccney found that the Daedric Summoning Day widely attributed to be that of the prince Hircine - fifth day of the month Mid Year - aligns with the constellation the Steed. This could partially explain his epithet in the text, "Steed of Steed," though the goddess Kyne is also known to be associated with horses and who the text implies is his mother.

[3] Likewise, before this document I had not encountered the name "Iqa-Touf" in any written text. We strongly feel that the name is likely derivative of our Lord Akatosh, who many conflate with the Aldmeri ancestral-diety Auri-El (who some Bretons call Oriiel). According to orthodox Aldmeri faith, Auri-El killed Lorkhan at Adamantine Tower, otherwise known as Direnni Tower, just as the being Iqa-Touf is said to have done in the narrative presented. Furthermore, this being is described as having "hawklike talons" - hawks are commonly associated with the aforementioned Auri-El.

[4] This section of the passage stood out to many members of my expedition, in particular Tibechllian the Hermeneutic, who interprets "strange heart" as reflecting Hircine's traditional depiction as someone who is half-man and half-beast. He goes on to say that his interpretation is supported by the blood being described as "brute" or "bestial," as well as his authority being over the "claw and boot-bearer," symbolizing beast and man respectively.

[5] My colleagues have unanimously come to the hypothesis that this passage is referencing the "Spear of Bitter Mercy," a legendary artifact associated with Hircine and which is often mentioned in rituals regarding him, such as the infamous heretical text "The Posting of the Hunt."

[6] I remember from my days in Gwylim University that "HEFHED" is a transliteration of the Daedric Alphabet's sixth rune, roughly equivalent to "F" (though that is irrelevant), which Dunmereth scholars such as Drathyn Abelas believe is associated with Hircine and the element fire.

[7] My colleagues were graciously quick to inform me that in Nordic and Bretonic languages the word "hircine", beyond being the name of a rather uncivilized daedric prince, can be used as an adjective to describe something lustful. As I have rarely heard of Hircine being associated with lustful behavior, this puzzles me greatly.

[8] My team's linguistics believe that the phrase "Sheor's Lungs" could very well be in reference to the moons Secunda and Masser.

[9] The term "Motherland" could very well be a reference to Skyrim, considering the fact that Nords often call Skyrim their "Fatherland" and that some later portions of this tome suggest a rather matriarchal religion. However, taking Jsashe's role in the writing of this text into account, the term could also be referring to High Rock; overall, I think further analysis is necessary before we can truly come to a conclusion on this matter. As for this "Phoukiyr", our linguistics disregarded it as nonsense but I feel like I've come across mentions of this beast before in some zoology book by Travis Ulchovik. Perhaps some extinct species of Satyr native to Skyrim?

[10] My team's linguistics have pointed out that the term "Salache" is a rather archaic Valenwood-Ayleidoon word for "Altmer" or "High Elves". We are rather stumped as to what such a word would be doing in a Nordic text partly inspired by Bretonic traditions. Furthermore, "Sormersete" is one of many rather obscure names the people of High Rock have given for the province of Summerset Isle.

[11] The term "Half-Kyne" was a little harder to decipher compared to some of the other creatures listed. Since horses are commonly associated with Kyne the term "Half" could mean that it is in reference to centaurs, creatures native to High Rock and in particular its river system Bjoulsae. Furthermore, a popular theory among academics is that the nomadic tribes who inhabit the Bjoulsae River had close relations with their Centaur neighbors and were able to remain free from Direnni control because of them.

[12] The name "Darkest Marshland" would seem to indicate that the region being discussed is Black Marsh. Therefore, these "Lesser Dragons" are most likely a reference to the native Wamasus or "Swamp Dragons" as they are known by Nords. Furthermore, the term "Root Lizards" is most likely in reference to Argonians, who call themselves the "People of the Root". Based on these inferences, my team theorizes that the term "Tree Folk" is in reference to the enigmatic Hist, who are variously said to be the center of Argonian culture and quite possibly the oldest beings in existence. Our resident archaetheologist suggests that the word "entropic" is in reference to Sithis, who many Argonians (notoriously) worship and claim that the Hist acknowledge.

[13] Seeing as Harpies had already been mention previously in this passage, it's possible that the Harpies referred to in this section are in actuality the legendary "Bird Men" that inhabited our home province of Cyrodiil around the Middle Merethic Era, long before most Ayleids had migrated from Summerset to Tamriel. As for the term "Taurine," it is quite clearly a reference to Cyrodiil's vast Minotaur population, therefore "once kingly" is most likely referring to the ancient belief that they are descended from Emperor Belharza, son of Morihaus and Empress Alessia.

[14] This section of the passage is quite clearly referencing the Imga and Satyr, Beastfolk who are well known for inhabiting the forests of Valenwood.

[15] My team's meager traveling manual of common Reachmen phrases claims that the word "bean" is often used to refer to a woman. Also, it is well known that the term "Deathland" is what the Nedic people use to refer to the largely desert province known as Hammerfell. Based on this information, we hypothesize that this "Viper Bean" is, in fact, referring to that province's native population of Lamia - a rather primitive Beastfolk known to be "femina-mono-gendered", or in plain terms, made up exclusively of females. Furthermore, based on this hypothesis, the adjective "defiling" could be inspired by a number of Ra'Gada or Redguard folk tales that tell of Lamias abducting men and ravishing them for purposes of reproduction, though the accuracy of such tales is unverified. As for the "flightless Runner," it is most likely in reference to the Fellrunner birds native to this province.

[16] The text drones on for two more pages, becoming a list of fanciful names for various races of people that may or not be analogous to any number of existing Beastfolk and beasts. It would likely be in our best interests to contact members of the Imperial Flora and Fauna Survey for a more nuanced perspective on the matter.

Furthermore, I recall earlier pages mentioning something about "Worms of the Pearl Sea", however, none of the names indicate a reference to the infamous Sload or Dreugh, people who are academically concurred to be of the "beastial" category of sentient life. Perhaps this religion (or more fittingly cult) Queen Jsashe concocted was influenced by the work of Nordic scholars, some of who propose that both beasts are "trans-kalpic entities".