[THEORY] Maormer: The exiled worshippers of Lorkhan from Aldmeris?
Hi folks, just recently a curious thought crossed my mind and i want to share it with you. Please let me know what you think of it. :)
Thesis:
The Maormer were originally followers of an Aldmer cult, lead by the nobleman King Orgnum, who worshipped Lorkhan, the Creator-Trickster-Tester deity and unholy enemy of the Aldmer, and after a failed rebellion, with the goal to convert the remaining Aldmer and change/abolish the traditional Aldmer Pantheon with a more Lorkhan-centric one, were banished to a place called Pyandonea, "The Veil of Mist", to never again cause problems on Aldmeris.
Noteworthy informations about the Maormer:
(A) Long ago King Orgnum used his phenomenal wealth to launch a rebellion against the powers of his homeland of Aldmeris^[1]
(B) The Maormer relentlessly raided almost annually the coastlines of the Summerset Isles throughout the First and Second Era.^[2]
(C) King Orgnum was leading every attack personally, his wars and strategies however ultimately proved to be fruitless every time^[1]
(D) The Maormer were hostile towards the First Aldmeri Dominion (the events of ESO). The Aldmeri Dominion allowed the expansion of the Colovian sphere of influence by letting them destroy the Maormer outposts that had been established along the western coast of the mainland during the Second Era.^[2]
(E) In the War of the Isle in 3E110, the Maormer of Pyandonea were very nearly successful in conquering their ancient enemy.[2] The Altmer urgently called for help and so the Psijic Order and the combined naval fleets of the kings of Summerset & Emperor Antiochus Septim faced King Orgnum's invading armada which was destroyed in a freak storm.[3]
(F) King Orgnum is supposed to be a deathless wizard who could even be Satakal, the Yokudan god of everything, also known as the Worldskin.^[4]
Pro arguments:
(C) & (F) -> Orgnum obviously had a deep personal grudge against those who bested him or possibly even regard himself as a chosen hero/incarnation of Lorkhan -> a Shezarrine! To his followers Orgnum could have had a similiar influence like Veloth the Prophet had on his Chimer followers.
(D) -> The ongoing hostilities between the Maormer & Altmer throughout three eras are obvious. They established a few outposts on the mainland, most probably in Valenwood, but interestingly the Maormer never tried to invade any other land aside from Summerset, so they weren't doing it to gain new territories/riches but for a much deeper & very focused reason.
(B) -> what else could spark such incredibly focused persistence (that spans many centuries and three eras) if not religious zealotry? Part of a ritual or call for a divine crusade against the ancient enemy, the Altmer of the Summerset Isles. (Lorhkan versus Trinimac, the ancient battle continuous)
The vast amount of snake symbolism in Maormer culture:
---> They practice a powerful form of snake magic.^[4] -> Who else does this but them?
---> Snake ornaments on their ships, totems & banners (as seen in ESO)
---> Even their physiology shares a certain reminiscence with snakes, in that their eyes are milky white -> similiar to a snake's eyes looking milky blue prior to shedding its skin. This could be viewed as a symbolic "shedding of Lorkhan's old skin" and as soon as the Maormer rekindle Lorkhan's worship among the Altmer, giving him a new skin, their eyes could turn clear again.
- The strong connection in traditional myths between Lorkhan/Shor and Y'ffre/Jephre/Kyne/Kynareth (goddes of air/storm) is also present in Maormer warfare, for they are known to conjure storms and practice other storm related magic. (as seen in ESO)
Contra arguments:
(A) -> King Orgnum's motivation for the initial rebellion on Aldmeris remains unknown
A short-lived alliance with the Veileid Heritance during the Three Banners War in the Second Era (-> but this was done in order to weaken the First Aldmeri Dominion)
The Maormer were allied with the Second Aldmeri Dominion during Tiber Septim's foundation of the Third Empire in the late Second Era.^[5] --> the Maormer's motivation behind this diplomatic move are unknown, however, considering the continuation of the attacks against Summerset in the early Third Era this alliance seemed to be out of necessity, possibly fearing Tiber Septim would use Summerset as a staging point for an imperial invasion of Pyandonea. As soon as it became clear that Tiber Septim had no interest in Pyandonea, King Orgnum resumed his attacks against the now severely weakened Summerset Isles with even greater force -> (E).
SOURCES
[1] Pocket Guide to the Empire, 3rd Edition: Other Lands
[2] Pocket Guide to the Empire, 3rd Edition: The Blessed Isle: Alinor and the Summersets
[4] Pocket Guide to the Empire, 1st Edition/The Wild Region
[5] Pocket Guide to the Empire, 1st Edition: Aldmeri Dominion