The Chronicles of Jsashe: Mankind's Matriarchal Protohistory and the Divine Fire That Dwells Within All (Revision)

Part 2: (Your Current Location: Interlude: Discourse on Femininity and Matriarchy in Society)

Part 3: (War of The Gods continued, Creation of Oblivion and Shattering of Iqa-Touf)

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: Protohistory is defined as, "a period between prehistory and history, during which a culture or civilization [that being Man] has not yet developed writing but other cultures [that being Mer] have already noted its existence in their own writings," so in this context I am referring to some time around the Merethic Era.

>By secret glyph: Inner-Cyrodiilic Dreamsleeve Transmission

>Dreamsleeve: security algorithm bypassed by nymic homebrew PrivatOS - subtype carrier: pigeon

>Priority: Urgent

>Transmission Relay Date: 4E 198, 28th of Sun's Dusk

>Tonal Data File Attachment Detected: Jsashe Text-Page 40-Translation.BGS

>To Vibianus Cindiras, with Stendarr as your humble advisor, I humbly apologize for taking so long to respond to your dreamsleeve pigeon. There's scantly been time to enter a meditative broadband state as of late - since last we spoke, the expedition's plans have veered ferociously off course. You see, somehow that ignoble local Jarl discovered our treachery and demanded we relinquish the devotional manuscript detailing the Witch-Queen of Whiterun's state religion, deeming it, "...a blasphemy upon our Nordic way of life and a contradiction to the [version of] history we Jarls of Whiterun have spent nearly a century propagating to the general populace of this hold."

>Naturally, we refused, but the stubborn Nord dispatched a troop of Nightblades to silence our tongues and retrieve the artifact; you would think acquiring the relic would be sufficient, but I suppose we "sullied his honor" and we're "dangerous" on account of what we have learned from the tome (which, considering the size of it, isn't very much). They have relentlessly pursued us on Bearback across the southern border into Cyrodiil and only half of the expedition remains; we are currently camped out in the sewers of Bruma. As per your instructions, I am channeling another deciphered & annotated page to you via high-priority glyphstream, but I implore you to send one of the local Reachian Foederati (I know you're not great with Imperial ranks - you know, those subsidized barbarian tribes) posthaste - with every passing hour the local trolls grow more cognizant of our encroachment upon their territory and the eels are quite snappy.

>Yours truly, Imperial Archaeologist Erasmo Gibrmorti.

Embrace the ways of the forsaken Reach, for King Sheor the Vilified AE Shor the Bloodthirsty AE Shezzar the Submissive AE Shoar the Heartless King AE The Black Drake AE The Tusked-Trickster AE The Dead Thread Remade AE Ansu-Gurleht the Changer of Sex AE Lr'khaj the Sabrecat AE Lyrkhat the Sea Serpent AE Crux the Cephalo of Eton Nir Lyg AE Alorkh the Hammer AE Lorkhan the Drum [1] - Forswearer of The [Padhome(?)] Longhouse - has bred from the Reach a new prophet whom we call Jarl of Whitehold [2] and The Foxsworn [3], she who reveals that wool [which] the Empire of Cyrodiil [has] pulled over our eyes; Jsashe performs the role of prophetess for us not out of gain, but out of samsara obligation, for it is the sworn duty of Foxsworn and Huntersworn alike, that [our] ever-sleeping Chieftain is renewed by each mortal quest he undertakes. If thy life is governed not by her forbearing fists, examine your society and its women - now enclose your foggy mind in absolute darkness, take a step into [that] Longhouse of roused-dreams. In order to live a righteous life one must start by living relentlessly, destroying and reshaping their tainted conception of the feminine, only then can the augmenting Daebellan Flame cleanse their soul from intemperate ash-heap centuries of deception and sideways speak; femininity is neither weakness nor exclusively embodied to women, it is the true zero-sum passion that encompasses our universe and flows through all sexes to compose great creative potential.

While Sheor and Kyne slumbered, the mytheopic song-reins of worship were co-opted by the Degenerate Spirits [4] who thus perverted early peoples' conception of the sexes and made themselves entitled kings or emperors; in time all institutes of education [have] abandoned the divine path of wisdom and love and mysticism to be subsumed by masculine ideologies - logic, wealth (and therefore greed), vanity, pleasure without conscience, power, ambition, domination, and conquest - MORANYAMMIS EMERATU ALTADOONI AV VA PADHOMERIMA NA SITHIS ANDACAVA [5]. This taint was absent in the Reach, where [our] blood's ancient memories were upheld by [the] lorekeeping Clan Bards [(or is it Poets?)] [6] and wise Hags through the Sheogoric art of oral tradition; the elders guide our souls to Their Truth AE Her Truth AE The Truth, to visions of the earliest societies, when man and beast all lived as one under the Wood-Like-Law of Dru-Mantia's nurturing gaze and the merciful fists of druidic matriarchs - those whose legacy the Druids of Galen [7] once upheld, while the ever stoic Centaures and Nereids and misjudged Hags or Wyrd Women continue to uphold.

Look once more towards your women - is there not power evident in all they do? Each woman is a fragment of the multifaceted Threefold Goddess - an appellation dictated by the Fourth Sister's eternal slumber - she/they who among [Imperial] Men is invoked by the names Mara, Dibella, and Kynareth [8]; the first seed planted by our Empyreal-Matriarchs, they who sail the river-dream, Pshaday and Danu [9]. Each woman is a single absolute CHIME [10] within her/their glorious eternal hymnal ballad, imbued with the power of her/their many aspects, the ecstasy of her/their primordial spirit and the passion of Nirn. That [which] dwells within is the Daebellan Flame of creation and destruction - that transitory energy which drives us to grow, improve, and transform our [intrinsic] shrine along with the surrounding grove - the purest form of energy in the ocean that is Aurbis. Daebelle knows this fire best for she was borne from it, drenched in the destructive rune HEFHED, mantling the sensuality and creativity her sisters had taken for granted an' which the Psijics feigned ignorance; as the priestess, she comes to aid you in tuning your dreaming mind to the flame's vibrational frequency, thus COULD becomes SHALL becomes TRUTH once more.

To give but a sample of their substance, for there are several different ways to perceive the Goddess, we illustrate thusly: like the Hawk, a woman's vision and ambitions are wide, and like the She-Bear, her fierce desire to nurture and encourage raises champions out of cubs. Like the claircognizant Satyr, a woman is intuitive, speaking [only] truthhoods to those of pure intentions while speaking sideways to those of Ill-intent (for they easily smell deceit), and like the Moth, her talents in crafts outpaces that of any male smith or artisan. Like the Elk, her beauty and grace surpass [her] predators' carnal ambitions, and like the Snow Whale, their patience knows no bounds. Like the Mammoth who mourns the passing of kin, women have the greatest capacity for compassion, and like our globe Nirn (who is Y'ffre), she can regrow from any tragedy that befalls her. Like a goblin, you may stubbornly assert this all [to be] falsehood, on the notion that you have met many a loathsome woman in [your] lifetime; while there are certainly vicious and mercurial aspects of our beloved Goddess, those women who exhibit an abundance of adverse attributes are more than likely tainted by the Dragon and his mistress the Threefold Demoness - the Rose Cat, Dual-Sexed Spider, and Stonefall Hound be her/their [prime] totemic manifestations [11].

Now re-examine your society in its entirety - more than likely the elite and nobility consist primarily of men. Why do the specially favored subgradient inheritors of Our True Creator's Will live subjugated and exploited as subordinates in society when they possess such great strength and honor within their souls? It's the will of dragons' life is such, the malefic AKA - drawing lines with his hawkish talons to confine our power and shackle our ambition - all in his endeavor to expunge the eminence of Kyne from this dream. Alas, renew your spirits now, for the will of Sheor speaks anew from the Hunting Grounds of Sovngarde, that shining abode of twisted horns [12]. "Forge ahead and pave Sheor's way!", the hallowed Jarl preached atop the carcass of Tryggr Stormcloak to restless masses while flanked by Winterborn [13], "Lest Kyne's wrath banish your soul beneath the sea to Oblivion most foul, as she had with the vile Princes - Mer and Empire together have raped this land of its culture and values for centuries, desecrating our faith, but The Fox Khan has chosen me to bring Skyrim overdue vengeance and salvation under a decorum of passion and the banner of the Old Ways!"

[1] This is clearly a (nonextensive) list of various names for Lorkhan across the cultures of Nirn, with each accompanied by an epithet. Shor, Sheor, and Shezzar are most obvious - the epithet "vilified" emphasizes the antipathy shown to (Sheor) his High Rock variation (due to Elven influence), while Shezzar's defaming epithet of "Submissive" seems to driven by the text's general animosity towards The Empire. According to some papers by the Imperial Office of Reachmen Affairs, "Black Drake" is an honorable surname in the Reach and is one of the many names those people have for Lorkhan, while "Tusked-Trickster" is name used by some Reachmen to refer to Sheor. The name "Lr'khaj" is likely derived from "Lorkhaj", the Khajitti variation of Lorkhan, seeing as how the epithet given is "the Sabrecat".

Comparatively, the names "Lyrkhat" and "Alorkh" were far harder for our resident archaetheologist to recognize - right before having an arrow thrust into his eyes by our pursuers fists, he concluded that "Lyrkhat" is one of the many Maormeri renditions of Lorkhan while "Alorkh" is how he's perceived by the secretive Echmeri.

Finally, my team was at a loss for where Crux, Dead Thread Remade, or Ansu-Gurleht originate, though the sole surviving linguistic thinks the latter-most name may be of Yokudan origin - I suppose that would make some sense, seeing as how the Redguards' God Sep is left unmentioned.

[Note from Vibianus: how many times do I have to remind you novices - don't just accept everything you see in "Varieties of Faith" at face value. Yes, it is an incredible text, but even Mikhael Karkuxor himself would frown at your deliberate laziness to think outside of the box. Lastly, the name "Crux" is clearly derived from the infamous Rendenavvari's "Heirarchical Ranks of the Crustacean-Folk," while the moniker "Dead Thread Remade" is commonly used among Spider Cultists. However, this mention of Crux is particularly interesting since the text calls him, "of Eton Nir Lyg." The mountain of Eton Nir, located far off in the Summerset Isles, is a crucial location in the Cephalomer religion and according to legend may have once been home to the fabled Lost City of Lyg.

[2] Outside of a few old Imperial records, the name "Whitehold" is scarcely present in historical documents or literature regarding Skyrim. One of the few incidents in which I can recall seeing this term was inside the rather obscure book about Third Era Skyrim, "Sky's Wind Rebirthed: Home of the Nords" by Roerich the Weaver, though my professors said it was likely flung into our world from the Red Moment dragonbreak, seeing as it simply appeared in our library following 3E 427 and it contradicts most historical records (except for that silly propagandistic series of travel brochures, "Pocket Guide to the Empire"). Furthermore, I think that book mentioned something about Queen Jsashe, but for the life of me, I cannot remember what it was.

[3] "Sworn" is a common honorific suffix within The Reach, however, the text as a whole makes it seem as though the word "Fox" prefacing it has a religious significance in relation to Lorkhan (the Fox is considered by many to be the Nordic totem for Lorkhan, though some scholars are intensely devoted to the theory that the Snake is his Nordic totem). Furthermore, my team's linguistics (when they were all alive) discussed the possibility that the title "Foxsworn" may have an etymological relation to the title "Dragonborn", as well as the Nordic folk heroes Hans the Fox and Arnand the Fox (who may be the same person according to ongoing scholarly debate).

[4] The vague term "Degenerate Spirits" could be in reference to the Daedric Princes - but there are many incongruities within the text that make such an assumption hard to support. For example, though some Daedric princes are evidently detested in the tome, such as Trinimac and Hermaeus Mora, others are glorified, such as Hircine and possibly Azura. Furthermore, our Aedric Lord Akatosh is portrayed rather negatively and thus could just as likely fit under this belief system's aforementioned categorization of "Degenerate Spirit".

[5] While staying the night at the border town of Falkreath my team's remaining linguistic deciphered this bit of Ehlnofex mixed with Ayleidoon, given the context of the passage, to mean "Dark-Life Music Weapons of the Padomay who is Sithis Longhouse." - which calls into question my decision of using the word "Padhome" to contextualize that first sentence. Furthermore, perhaps the term "Dark-life" could be interpreted in this context to mean "Anti-Life".

[6] (Additional Annotation by Vibianus) Having now read through many documents published by the Imperial Office of Reachmen Affairs, I would infer that the proper translation here is "poet" rather than "bard." I am not vexed by my colleagues translation error, for it has been observed by many Reachian Anthropologists that it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between the three druidical groups of Reachmen society from one another. Furthermore, two of these three druidical orders in Reachmen society are often both translated as "bard" despite their differences.

The first group is variously known in the Bretonic languages as: druwits, dryw-wyrd, draoithe, draoidhean, druidae, but most commonly known as druids; as it pertains to later sections of this tome, I find it pertinent to mention that the word druids appears to be derived from the Proto-Nedic-Bretonic word druwits ("Oak-Knower"), which in turn is derived from the word duir ("Oak"), a genus of tree that has a long history of reverence and romanticization among the people of High Rock. The second-most group is known as the "Filidh" or "Historian Poets," who like druids serve in a variety of roles across Reachmen Clans - most frequently the upholding of oral tradition. Lastly, there is the "Baird" or "Melodious Poets," a societal role that's far more analogous to our civilized conception of "Bards."

[7] Druids of Galen - legendary progenitors or "common ancestors" of the Bretonic ethno-linguistic group. As most scholars reading this presumably know, there is very little in terms of written or visual records regarding this order, due in part to their "alleged" dedication to oral tradition. The likeliest theory is that they were merely an idyllic fable manufactured by the emerging human nobility of Greater Bretony, a tool for forging a shared Breton or "man-mer" ethnic heritage and identity (as distinct from the Nedes) in the wake of the Direnni Clan's deteriorating hegemony and the encroaching Atmoran settlers.

[8] I speculate that this "Fourth Sister" the passage's referring to is, in fact, Y'ffre, an entity who the page identifies as being Nirn itself and which the tome, in general, seems to exalt near equally as to this "Threefold Goddess"

[9] From an etymological view, it would seem to me that the names "Danu" and "Pshaday" are variations of the deities "Anu" and "Padomay" respectively. However, Nirnian belief systems which incorporate some variation of these anthropomorphic deities predominantly fashion them into opposing sexes, therefore, if my hypothesis is correct, both entities being referred to as female within this text is a profoundly exceptional occurrence.

[10] Possibly a reference to the spiritual-metaphysical concept known as CHIM, an Ehlnofex word, especially seeing how all letters are capitalized for emphasis (as is typical of Ehlnofex).

[11] (Additional Annotation by Vibianus) Coming back to this at a later date, I can see now that these three totemic creatures represent Azura, Mephala, and Boethiah respectively - the "Three Good Daedra" of Dunmeri faith. While the association of Azura with cats and Mephala with spiders was relatively easy to ascertain, the third was much trickier; Stonefall is most likely a reference to the central region of Morrowind which borders Skyrim, but canines are very rare in Morrowind and even more so in this volcanic region, therefore "Stonefall Hound" most likely refers to the "Nix-Hound". But why would the author(s) go through the trouble of using a Nix-Hound to refer to Boethiah? I theorize that it's because they are alien, foreign beasts that are often found domesticated, and the author wanted to emphasize that women who exhibit such negative traits are un-Nordic and by-products of an Elven and/or Imperial civilization.

[12] These "Hunting Grounds" are a prime example of my theory that Queen Jsashe's state religion was a mixture of Nordic and Reachian belief systems - such a metaphysical realm is rarely mentioned in Nordic texts regarding Sovngarde, but the name "The Hunting Grounds" is generally used to refer to the realm of Daedric Prine Hircine.

[13] There is some sort of illustration on the accompanying page of a woman, presumably Jsashe, dressed in a cloak of feathers. Next to her appears to be some members of the dwindling Winterborn Clan, evident by their distinctive Frost-Iron armor, and she is standing atop what looks like the corpse of a werewolf rather than a man. This is very likely influenced by that age-old Nordic legend involving Ysgramor and the Stormcloak Clan's ancestors that warrants no further academic discussion. Though strangely, this seems to mirror a (horrific) illustration in another section of the book, which features a rather macabre Daedric depiction of Kyne - black skinned, avian wings, and dremora-esque horns - standing atop the corpse of Lorkhan with whirlwinds on either side.