The Chronicles of Jsashe: Kyne's Crescendo of Devastation (Revision)

Part 4: (Your Current Location: War of The Gods Finale)

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)

>Cindiras Journal Entry #578: Subject – Gibrmorti and the Witch-Queen Relic: Date – 4E 198 10th of Evening Star:

>It pains me to say that the man’s condition has hardly improved in the days since he has arrived, primarily because the archaeolinguistic and ephemerides expert that survived alongside him have barely any valuable understanding of the text, though I suppose that matters little considering recent events. Gibrmorti sleeps for hours on, tossing with terror and fever in his sleep, nearly impossible to awaken. Porciulus the Whisperer was unable to detect any magical properties from the text before he arrived, though that could just mean that the College of Whispers is indeed more incompetent than the Synod.

>I had summoned for a trio of priests to restore him to proper order – their failure to do so was infuriating enough, but then it came to pass that my decision to approach the Chapel of Stendarr for assistance was an even greater blunder. The paladin that had been sent to protect them was of the Vigil order, so when she overheard my pupils discussing the text and its adoration of certain Daedric Princes (such as Hircine) she flew into a fury like some foul Daedroth!

>Nearly half of the relic's pages were reduced to ash before the priests and three nearby guards could restrain the she-beast, cursing my name for daring to associate with those "blasphemous" Whisperers, for her devotion to the Nine Divines was excessive like most members of that repressive order. Following the incident, I continue to pray daily (reluctantly) to Stendarr that my colleague’s health improves post haste since I feel certain that his input is pivotal towards obtaining an adequate understanding of the text. Until that time comes, I will busy myself with personally translating what remains of the text.

…many a priest and scholar has pondered, “what words could justly summarize such an imposing and abysmal convulsion of devastation?”, that era of history defined solely by war and merging paradigms filtered through murder and faith. Bestowed genius by the Fox, our Witch Jarl allows us to comprehend this chaos [known by most scholars as simply the Dawn Era].

"Can existence ever be as beautiful as it once was?" [text illegible] Standing amid [the] sacked stronghold of Sheor in Bleakwind Valley, the Moth and Wolf [1] both did plead with their eldest sister-self to cease her rampage, but their prudence rang hollow in the face of a soul enraged to its very roots; Kyne’s flesh had become as dark as the unnumbered ragged void and her face snaked, the very form of Creation intermingled with Destruction. With gritted teeth, the Witch-Warrior Matriarch donned her horsehair roach (headdress) [2] and wandered the crisp realm of Nirn in an ecstatic annular dance, her sobbing obscured by blood and rivers of matted raven hair; all abominations or kin of Iqa-Touf – along with those begot by the three dozen kin traitors – who had the misfortune to cross her path were slaughtered; from the ribs of Iqa-Touf and the blades of those spirit foes, Kyne would come to construct the spikes that border Nirn’s edge, guarding us against the horrors of Oblivion [3]. Some were punished by her cosmic war-hammer Irthbon, whose pounding shaped the mountains, [though] sideways speaking Orkey survived [his] squashing [4]; ORKEY AE VA GRAVIA DARTHRUMBI ALTADOONKYND AV BOETRIMA NA NELDE! [5] Many saw a merciful death, brought to ash by the great consuming fire of her dance. Yet some were crushed under the sheer exponential force of her gleaming ebony musculature and the endless whirlwinds brought on by her frantic seabhac wings.

A number of ghosts tried to follow fleeing Hyrma-Mara [the] wreathing Salmon to his endless bardic-hall beneath the languid sea, so Kyne shackled them with ice – that berg which became a beacon for the [future] wandering Atmorans and a cairn for Yngol (blessed be his tempest forge); [6] as all good Nords know, to this day [the] ghosts still thrash about and raise treacherous storms to drag mortals down to their prison, such be the fate of many an Atmoran [such as Yngol]. Some monsters, orphaned by their profane creators, tried to flee with that haughty skat-karl Magnar beyond the skies of Nirn and were chained to stars for their insolence [7]. Many were overcome by the caper and sway of her dance, their skeletons vaulting out from all orifices just to be ground into dust, for Nirn’s bones hunger relentless. Yet some laid at her feet in humility and submission, their burning hearts doused by the war rain of Kyne; heap mountains of salutations upon Zh'enna of Tillers and Barterers, Phardigast the Teacher of Voice, Mirmulnir who guards the Reach, and the legions of Jills (handmaidens of AKA be they) [8]; if dragons can transcend their soiled kin than surely all creatures are endowed by the Threefold’s wisdom with great potential for absolution.

We take refrain to lament the exterminating Mer, for their lineage thrives on the slaughter of whole species; the few to escape her wrath [besides most dragons] were amber Faefolk who followed Oriiel, gliding along the Eastern Winds he trapped in a bag of chitin, far beyond The Dawn to the Isle of Never Setting Summer; he was a mer-morphic fracture of Time, a thornslinger who scattered Sheor’s viscera across Maendush [9] and built cities from stolen poetry simply to enrage Kyne further. Half of those making this journey [who were] Left Handed fell to the ocean’s unyielding force, loyal to Kyne be she, and were taken in by sideways speaking serpents [10]. In times [that were yet] to come, a further half migrated northwards, corrupting with their elven seed those men fashioned from Hircinian loins and Y’ffic placenta. Strangest of all were the pale Cellar Elves, for they were godless & love rejecting smiths [who] stretched their brass skin like scarabs and dug down till there was but no ground to stand but Brass Mountain - no doubt shit-startled at the arrival of Shor's Tongue and his dagger-eared devil general Dague-Or to Red Mountain, sacred Foxsworn as our Prophet Jsashe be his [essence] [11]; frenzied be that Year of Sun's-Death, for Wulfharth rose from his tomb to reclaim our Khan's heart from the ash lands of the Threefold Demoness and castrated Dumac Khan with the fangs of Dro'Zira AE Lr'khaj as the Ghosts of Sea raged below [12]. From them would come the last subgradient of mer - their genocide salted the souls of their golden brethren, those who venerated the dread Threefold Demoness, shaping their flesh unto ash and raising from them a feetless devil who nearly doomed Ysmir to the glens of the Underworld - he who they affectionately call Vör-Vahk [13].

Now her blood, tears, and creatia did bathe every land on our globe. Most shaped the Folk of Horn and Claw, along with those Valiant Elves of Wooden Hearth, and brought fertility to Y’ffre’s conflict-ravaged flesh. But some enthused the whirling ash of her enemies into bound choir-armies of coal-skinned Leaping Kyn – those who would fall to her second son, the Spirit of Tyrants and Disaster [14]. They fought alongside [the] Birch-Elk Nymphs with their atonal voices and held aloft instruments of flesh, bone, and stone; immaculate was their hernois, composed entirely of language and crowned by submission-torcs bearing their nymic-oaths. Abominations could hear and feel the vibrations of their chanting and marching from canyons away, yet never could they outrun the turbulent Storm; the ever growing Kyn’s hymnal ballads were an empowering belief-engine to her flesh, while the tone-color-melody of their war stitched sigil instruments enriched her very soul, thus the Hawk’s inverted war flight went on near perpetually across the globe.

In time Kyne’s burning passionate frenzy cooled, her flesh grew pale, and her tongue lay speechless; at last Kyne did stop to feel beyond her grief – she recognized a fundamental fragment of her inner-self was astray. The lamenting rains she had wrought for centuries of strife turned to hail and, for the first time, the shield-maiden of limitless primordial energy felt exhaustion. With a single prolonged breath, she whispers, "His breath was the breath of me - O as to him my heart is broken and wrung, his death is the death of me. A garden this was meant to be, a gleann so green, but look at me - [a] desolating beast with hands unclean, hands that gave life turned to hands that take. Ochone, what is become of me? The winds - my breath - blow cold with a song of anguish, remorse, and mourning. No longer can I walk free, his death is the death of me." Like a poppy closing its petals, her material form fell fetal into a deep slumber whereupon the Sky meets the Rim of the land and sea, which became as cold and desolate as her distraught heart. Far to the west of this rim, star-faced Irthbon and elemental Beldama of the [Wyrd] Treefolk helped mold Kyne's lower half into an earthen temple choked by fog, a prison of bruise-roof'd mountains of Cold Rock to contain that blood-stained monolithic (idol/tower) of war [15]. The bones of Kyne’s soul became one with the earthen Nirn that is Y'ffre and for a time the whole of her being felt peace. Now life from war is brought to fore, for deep within the dim womb caverns that intersect with Y’ffre, beneath the Hawk's snow-covered maw, groaned Sheor’s precious Last Seed – Mankind [16].

So, it is preached: spoken words are distilled creatia, one of Kyne’s many gifts to Nirn and Tamri-Elle, while written word is that divine blood fashioned into flesh – the mandates (such as this) of spirit’s even more so. Kyne weeps in her sleep, for she feels the squabbling of mortals – their attempts to eradicate with flame those which reject your nihilistic god’s dominion. Your antiquity etched voice believes it can muffle the slumbering Fox’s flesh; can (I) an awake soul drifting along the Daedric winds of dream and nightmare be restrained? Tread warily across the esoteric stones of Past, dear Professor, for some antiquity craves the substance of Present. [17]

[1] Based on previous passages and my knowledge of Nordic totems, the Moth and Wolf mentioned are most likely in reference to Dibella and Mara respectively.

[2] Though roaches made of horsehair are more commonly associated with the nomadic River Tribes of Bjoulse, neighboring Reachmen have also been known to display such headdresses during times of war. This lends some credence to the academic theory that Witch-Queen Jsashe was of Reachmen birth.

[3] This passage seems to indicate that the state religion of Jsashe favored the (false) Flat-Nirn theory, however, other passages in the book clearly reference Nirn to be spherical in shape. I seem to recall similar imagery in one of those sermons the Dunmer of Morrowind love to collect. Furthermore, the specification of these spikes "protecting Nirn from Oblivion" would seem to indicate a reference to the Liminal Barrier or Lunar Lattice.

[4] This event seems to echo the Yokudan genesis fable, in which the god Ruptga smashes the serpent Sep with his "big stick", though this is likely a coincidence seeing as how most scholars agree that deity to be an echo of Shezzar rather than Malacath, who Orkey is often equated with.

[5] This bit of Ehlnofex mixed with Ayleidoon roughly translates to, "Orkey is the Ugly Clever-Sound Weapon-Child of Boethiah who is Three." The context of this statement in regards to the rest of this codex will require further investigation, though the compound term "Clever-Sound" could be interpreted as one who is fanciful with their words, meaning a liar. However, "Clever" could also be taken to mean "Magic".

[6] This passage is most likely in reference to the Sea of Ghosts - the northern iceberg laden region of the Padomaic Ocean, which the largely discredited "Out of Atmora" theory considers as where man first landed on the shores of Tamriel (specifically Skyrim). This is further supported by the text stating this area was, "...a cairn for Yngol...", as the Nordic historical figure Yngol son of Ysgramor is said to have died while sailing (the longboat Harakk) through the Sea of Ghosts.

[7] I theorize that these Orphan Monsters chained to stars are in fact a reference to the Magne-Ge, otherwise known as the "Star-Orphans" and "Children of Magnus". This is further supported by the mention of a spirit named Magnar, a Nordic name derived from Magnus. Though of particular interest is the derision shown towards Magnus, for he is referred to as a "skat-karl" or "shit-carl." According to the book, "Imperial Guide to Regional Colloquialisms and Ethnophaulisms: Skyrim Edition," the term skat-karl is a Nordic vulgarity derived from the job position of stable & chamberpot cleaner.

[8] Based on its association with farming and commerce, this "Zh'enna" could possibly be derived from the Bosmeri god Z'en, who many scholars conflate with benevolent Zenithar, though it could also be derived from the obscure Nibenese god "Zunna". Furthermore, besides some codexes of the ancient Dragon Priests, Zenithar is rarely depicted as a dragon - perhaps this is a subtle form of denigration? "Phardigast" is likely derived from "Paarthurnax", a dragon who according to Nordic legends was spurred by Kyne into teaching mankind the way of the Thu'um or "Voice". Lastly, the only text I can find in Cyrodiil's Imperial Archives that reference a "Mirmulnir" is an old Atlas of Dragons - the scarcity of available records regarding Reachian culture make it difficult to ascertain whether such a being was (ever) actually venerated by the region's tribals.

[9] This passage is undoubtedly referencing the Aldmer and their god "Auri-El", known by many in High Rock (such as the Reachmen) as "Oriiel" and in Valenwood as "Auri-El Time Dragon", who according to various Elven faiths had shot out the heart of Lorkhan with an arrow; "Thornslinger" is a Reachmen term for an archer, something that Orriel is described as.

[10] An ancient race of Elves taken in by sea serpents is most likely a reference to the Maormer, though the text signifying their left hands to be most dominant suggests the author supported the "Yoku to Sea Mer" Theory - that the fabled Sinistral Mer or "Lefthanded Elves" of Yokuda are actually the Maormer.

[11] Having meticulously analyzed contents of this passage, I am doubtless that the creatures described here are the Dwemer and their mysterious disappearance during the Battle of Red Mountain. Furthermore, "Shor's Tongue" is a common Nordic epithet for High King Ysmir Wulfharth of Skyrim, who legends say rose from the grave and fought in the Battle of Red Mountain of 1E 700. As for this "Dague-Or," I theorize that this is most likely in reference to Voryn Dagoth, Lord High Councilor of the defunct Velothi house Dagoth, who is also known as Dagoth-Ur in the Tribunal Temple faith of Morrowind. According to both Nordic legends and Imperial records (which are based on the former), Voryn Dagoth convinced the Nords that the mythical Heart of Lorkhan resided within said dormant volcano, as shown in the Nordic ballad "King Wulfharth - The Ash King." However, this reference to a "Brass Mountain" still escapes me - my dominant theory thus far continues to be that it is a reference to Numidium.

[12] High King Ysmir Wulfharth and the Dwemeri King Dumac both being mentioned in this passage reinforce my earlier assertions, though quite peculiar that the Khajiiti folk hero Dro'Zira is mentioned within a Nordic text. Furthermore, following his name with "AE Lr'khaj" seems to imply that Dro'Zira is a Shezzarine much like Wulfharth, a rather controversial topic among Khajiiti scholars. The "...ash-lands of the Threefold Demoness..." is likely referring to Morrowind and the Dunmeri faith's "Three Good Daedra" - Azura, Boethiah, and Mephala. Lastly, the "Ghosts of Sea" is most likely in reference to the aforementioned "Sea of Ghosts" which encompasses the area around Red Mountain.

[13] This passage seems to be describing the historic transformation of the Chimer into the Dunmer, though the rather awkward wording would suggest that the author(s) are blaming the Dwemer for this. Furthermore, it is most likely that this devil "Vör-Vahk" is in reference to the regional saint Vivec, otherwise known as Vehk, who according to the Nordic ballad "King Wulfharth - Red Mountain" "...blasted the Ash King into Hell...".

[14] "Kyn" is another word for "Dremora", a Daedric race often associated with the Daedric Prince Mehrunes Dagon, who according to some Nordic legends was once known as the "Leaper Demon King". It is difficult to ascertain why the author(s) of this text are associating the Daedric Kyn with Kyne, outside of possibly the similarity in names - much like how some ancient writers would associate Hermaeous Mora with the Morag Tong based solely on the shared Ayleidoon word Mora ("Wood").

[15] This passage is clearly describing the creation of High Rock, with the "...monolithic tower of war." being the Direnni Tower mentioned in on previous pages. Most interestingly though, the text describes Kyne's hammer (Irthbon) as if animate/sentient, as well as Glenumbra's famous Beldama Wyrd Tree, the latter of which is worshiped by locals as a sort of spirit that presides over the fundamental elements of Nature. Lastly, in Gibrmorti's first letter there was mention of a "Treefolk" who (according to his team) resembled the Hist, but if that passage was (as I believe) correctly translated then why might this Wyrd Tree be referred to as a member of the same species?

[16] The passage, "...beneath the Hawk's snow-covered maw, groaned Sheor’s precious Last Seed - Mankind.", is most likely in reference to the Throat of the World, a mountain in Skyrim which according to some Nordic myths is where the Goddess Kyne breathed them into creation.

[17] Do my colleagues or daresay my pupils take me for a fool? That last paragraph was clearly not on the paper when I had finished translating this text! I am retaining this as evidence of vandalization and possible threat – by Stendarr’s will, I shall see to it that whoever did this faces a conviction.