User blog:Banneram/Moons and Trees

Lore Blog- Moons and Trees

Moons and trees, these are the objects that are central to the creation myths of two of the major races on Nirn. The Khajiit and Argonian creation myths share similarities with the elven and human myths, however the differences set them worlds apart. There is also a great lack of information when it comes to the Argonians. When you discuss the Khajiiti creation myth you must try and view it through their eyes.

Khajiit
The overall theme of the Khajiit creation myth is similar to that of The Monomyth and The Annotated Anuad however it diverges to explain the role of the moons in everyday Khajiit lifes, also the roles of the various Daedra and Aedra are in places completely different. ""Poor Nirni, stop your tears. Azurah makes for you a gift of a new people."
 * Ahnuur(Anu) and Fadomai(Padomay) were siblings, they eventually have litters of their own
 * Their first litter is the Aedra, and the second is the Daedra
 * The third litter is the moons, which were created to keep Khenarthi(Kyne) company.
 * Azurah and Nirni were born in the third litter, thus they always fought for their mothers affection.
 * Before Fadomai can finish giving birth Ahnuur finds Fadomai, he chases her into the great darkness where she gives birth to Lorkhaj. The great darkness knew itself after Lorkhaj's birth, thus Namira came into being.
 * Nirni gives birth to the various races, Azurah will take one of them and tell them the three secrets. They must be the best climbers to return the moons to their place, they must be deceivers so other races do not guess at their true nature, and they must be survivors because Nirni will turn the deserts and jungles against them.
 * Lorkhaj tricks the Et'Ada into a new place, some escape forming the stars. Those that remain tear out Lorkhaj's heart and force him to walk Nirni.

- Words of Clan Mother Ahnissi


 * Nirni's favored children, the forest people, did not know their shape so they kept changing. Azurah gives some of them shape by sharing with them the secrets of Fadomai, thus are the Khajiit born.
 * Y'ffer turned Nirni against the Khajiit, and then tried to form the remaining forest people yet they all became similar to the elves. Thus the Bosmer are born, no longer in the same litter as Khajiit.
 * Azurah whispers the third secret, thus allowing moon sugar to filter down into the forests and deserts.

So as we can see there are many ideas in here that gives us a different perspective on creation with this, Lorkhaj the great trickster convinces the Et'ada to come to a certain place that weakens them. We see Fadomai as much more feminine, to the point of being a mother and guide to the differing gods. Another interesting departure is the origin of the Bosmer, they were at one time similar to ancient Khajiit, due to meddling by Y'ffer however they were guided to become similar to elves.

Modern Day Hypothesis
It is important to note however that according to the Pocket Guide to the Empire, Third Edition: Elsweyr, the common vein of thought states the Khajiit to be nothing more than an indigenous cats that evolved to suit their environment. However given the overlap of the creation myth mentioned above and the other mentioned creation myths one can believe the more supernatural act is closer to fact. The facts of the relationship between the moons and the Khajiit, also the creation of moon sugar and its pivotal role in Khajiiti culture.

Argonian
The basic version of creation according to the Hist resembles that of the elves, however as we saw with the Khajiit the devil lies in the details. When talking of Argonian religion and creation, one is at the same time talking about the Hist. The relationship between the two cannot be separated. All of the races are survivors of the 12 original worlds while the Hist are considered to be Tamriel's original inhabitants.
 * The Hist do acknowledge Padomay as the more important of the two primeval forces, without change there would be no life.

The Argonian story begins some time after the destruction of the 12 worlds, they are commonly believed to have been uplifted by the Hist. They may have actually been created to give the Hist the ability to view their world, seeing as how they are rooted in place. There are accounts of Argonians that state that the Hist actually give the Argonian's their soul, which returns to the Hist at their death. There is actually an account of something similar to this that happens in the The Lord of Souls book, where the Argonian in question experiences rebirth, he begins as remembered emotions and eventually solidifies.

Taking this information into account, the Hist sound similar to the Ehlnofey. When also taking into account that the original Ehlnofey constantly shifted between forms, it is possible that the Hist were an Aedra that favored the form of trees or became stuck between the two. It is also important to note, that there is no other province so alien and so unexplored on the whole of Tamriel as Argonia one can only speculate on the absolute truth.

As always, feel free to leave comments, disagreements, and suggestions in the comments section. I absolutely love the Elder Scrolls lore, and would love to discuss people's different interpretations. The next blog will be particularly long, it will cover the Yokudan, Cyrodiilic, and Nordic creation myths. Hopefully as you read along you can begin to see the overlap, and find out truths for yourself.

Thanks for reading.

Sources:
 * Words of Clan Mother Ahnissi
 * The Infernal City, Greg Keyes
 * The Lord of Souls, Greg Keyes
 * Pocket Guide to the Empire, First Edition: Wild Regions
 * Pocket Guide to the Empire, First Edition: Elsweyr Confederacy
 * Pocket Guide to the Empire, Third Edition: Elsweyr
 * Pocket Guide to the Empire, Third Edition: Black Marsh
 * The Monomyth